Sue’s hands are a little blurred in some of these pictures - mostly because, when she gets involved in her art, she is moving right along and we didn’t want to interrupt the flow. So we just kept shooting “action” shots as she kept creating. You will be able to tell what is going on - even with the blur.

Sue makes the handmade paper for many of her pages herself, but you may use any purchased handmade paper and follow the same procedures. We really appreciated the down-to-earth approach to “tools” here - mostly homemade from whatever happened to be around. So, this supply list is not likely to break anybody’s budget.
What You Will Need:
Handmade Paper of your choice
Metal ruler or straight edge
Hammer or mallet and thin nail
Glue Stick and Krazy Glue
Needle with a large eye and Beading Thread #2 or Silk #4
Piece of scrap wood
What To Do:

Step 1.
Paper for the inside pages may be cut or torn to size depending on how rustic a look you desire. Take a good look at the shape of your covers and measure the approximate dimensions. You will want the page size of your book to be 1/4" smaller on all sides than your cover. When you have the single page measurement, double the width to work with a 2-page spread. Using a steel ruler or straight edge, tear the paper to size. Limit yourself to 4-6 sheets for best results.

Step 2.
Fold your stack of page spreads together and fold down the center. Check the size against your cover, and then burnish the fold.

Step 3.
Measure to find the center of the folded spine of your booklet.Using the piece of scrap wood to protect your work surface, make a hole in the center with the nail and hammer. Make a hole about 1/2" in from each end of the spine. Using needle and beading thread or silk, sew the pages together in a Figure Eight pattern (see below).
This “charming” hand drawn diagram attempts to clarify the thread path used in this binding method (think “figure eight”).

Bring the thread up from the outside of the spine through the center hole and then down again through the hole to the right. Up again through the center hole and down through the hole on the left.. At that point, the two tails of the thread can be tied with a square knot and the knot sealed with a drop of Krazy Glue. If you are not using strong beading thread, you may want to repreat the figure eight before knotting.

Step 4.
Make endpapers by tearing two strips of paper - about 1" wide by the height of your pages. Fold each of these in half lengthwise. Apply glue to one side of a folded strip using your glue stick, and place it onto the inside back book cover. Burnish.

Step 5.
Apply glue to the top side and lay your bound pages in place. The back cover is now attached. Repeat the procedure to attach the front cover. It is a good idea to clamp your book along the bound side for a short time until the glue sets. Thread tails from the binding may be cut off or beads may be added for embellishment.
And, speaking of embellishment, there are many possibilities for the front of your book. Sue gathers things she thinks might work and lays them in place until something feels right, then glues the embellishments into place. Here are a few of the things she tried with this book.
I voted for the one on the far right, but I don’t know what Sue’s final decision was. She was still deciding when one of our great Southwestern thunderstorms told me I had to leave - doggies were outside at home and had to be “saved”.

Our thanks to Sue Denniston for sharing this great afternoon.

Contact Sue at www.stonenote.com
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