Bonefolder alternatives and Twitter awesomeness

Every now and then, I just want to give Twitter a hug.
Over the past year, I have come to really love the Twitter bookbinding community. After leaving a full-time office environment for the solitude of my studio, I found camaraderie in my Twitter friends – they became my studio mates. These folks are so generous, [...]

Free Make-and-Take at Frog Hollow craft gallery

Come visit me today at the Frog Hollow craft gallery and make your very own origami accordion book ornament!
This make-and-take is suitable for both kids and adults (sorry, dogs aren’t good at making books) – and it’s FREE FREE FREE!
I promise it will be super-fun. If it’s not super-fun, then I’ll give you your money [...]

Craft Vermont 2009 wrap up

I can’t believe that I haven’t written a blog post in two weeks. I think I’ve had a longer than usual recovery time after my craft shows ended. Even though it’s nice to be past the stress, I still go through a period of loss when my shows end.
Last November I exhibited at my first [...]

A Bookbinder’s Black Friday

I don’t know about you, but I’m a total Black Friday shopper. I will get up early and fight the crowds to get a good deal.
My name is Elissa and I’m a compulsive bargain shopper.
Thankfully, I’ve been notified of some great online sales that may be of interest to you bookbinders out there.
Volcano Arts is [...]

Countdown to Vermont Hand Crafters…

In four days, I’ll be attending my first craft show of the season, Craft Vermont. The show, hosted by Vermont Hand Crafters (a.k.a. VHC) is in its 57th year. I joined the VHC board earlier this year and have enjoyed pushing my social media agenda on the organization.
[start shameless plug]
To find out more about the [...]

Ode to studio piles

I have a craft show in 1 1/2 weeks and I am stressed out. Anticipation of the first show of the season always makes me a bit wacky. The truth is, I’m in pretty good shape as far as inventory, but I’m not where I want to be.
And that’s located somewhere in the land of [...]

So a 5 gallon tub of PVA walks into a bar…

…and says,
This is a stick up! Everybody spread ‘em!”
Yeah, I bought a big-ass tub of glue.
Now I can finally say something that I’ll probably never be able to say again:
That tub is a few inches shy of an inflatable Jerry French.

Trip to Taurus Bookbindery

The Guild of Bookworkers is presenting their annual event, The Seminar on Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding, in San Francisco starting today. As my trip to Taurus Bookbindery was one of the stops on my bookbinding spree in San Francisco this summer, I felt it necessary to finally write about my visit.
Taurus Bookbindery [...]

American Art Therapy Association Conference 2009

Every now and then, I experience a bit of longing for my days as an art therapist. I’ve long believed in the healing power of art and my chosen career path as a bookbinder has definitely been influenced by my graduate training.
I remember when I proposed the thesis topic of using bookbinding in the expressive [...]

Peggy Skycraft is so cool

I mean seriously cool.
Peggy Skycraft has been making the most gorgeous marbled and painted papers since 1970. She is considered a master marbler and if you look at her work, you can see why. I became acquainted with Peggy’s work when I worked at Paper Source in the mid-90’s. From the moment I saw her [...]