Another Bonus Post: Making a Book Out of Two Potato Chip Bags

But first, some drawings from today.  Here is a drawing of a ceramic plate that I made (599), a pecan pancake in the pan (600!), and the pancake plus blueberries on the plate.

These next  drawings have nothing whatsoever to do with cooking, obviously.  On the left, a woman at Dobra, done while Jacob and I were there having a post-workout snack.  And on the right, two failed attempts at drawing Jesse.  This is also the last page in this journal, so this morning I made a new journal out of two potato chip bags.  I made it up as I went along and did some very rough sketches so that I would remember how to do it next time.  Here they are, plus some notes to myself.  If you're interested in reproducing this journal, let me know and I'll answer any questions. 

Here's the first part-- you begin with the pages, choosing paper that you really like to draw or paint on, choosing the exact size you want the pages to be.  You must double the width since the pages will be folded in half.  Then you cut open the two chip bags, clean them out if they need it, and trim them to the size they need to be relative to the pages (as directed on the drawing).  Then you hem the left side of one and the right side of the other, and fold the other sides in as directed here.

Step 2 shows the hemmed bag that will be the front of the journal with its fold.  It shows where to sew the edge of the big fold down without hemming it.  (This big fold turns the cover into a two-layered cover for more strength.)   Figure 3 shows the same thing but with the bag that will be the back of the book.  Figures 4 and 5 direct you to sew the two bags together at their un-hemmed edges, which will end up in the middle of the cover where the spine will be.  You sew them with right sides together, and then flatten the seam and sew one side over the other, as in the circles drawing between 4 and 5.  Figure 6 shows you how to fold the cover around all 9 of the signatures to determine where to fold the two pockets.  And then it shows you how to hem each pocket and finally hem the top and bottom edges of the book to enclose the pockets and complete the cover.

To sew in the signatures, either sew on a machine or by hand, beginning with the center, then progressing to the outermost left and right signatures, then fill in the other signatures.  I drew a diagram for this part of the book in the posting I did called Bonus Post:You Can Make this Book back in August.  Again, ask me if you have questions.