I have signed up for Sketchbook Revival 2026 for this year, 36 free classes for eleven days, then I have the option to pay for VIP with access to the classes for now on. I did this last year and enjoyed it immensely. Looking forward to it this year! Sketchbook Revival 2026
Before the classes actually start on the eleventh of April, there is a free video class with Sarah Matthews, teaching how to handmake an Australian Piano Hinge Sketchbook/Journal. It requires no sewing. Only paper and glue!
I made one last week just to see if I could. It took a minute to figure out the hinges, and it requires patience, but it is also very calming and meditative, at least for me.
I used the backboard of an old sketchbook, cut to size, and some scrapbooking paper, also cut to size, for the front and back covers (above and below). I just used materials that I already had on hand. The back is actually the same color as the front. I made the photos with my phone camera and didn't get the best photos.
Below is the book completed, showing the hinges, which were made by folding two strips of paper into accordion folds, placing each fold through a slit cut into each signature page, and slipping a paper strip through the folds to hold the page in place. I used printmaker paper to make the hinges and didn't color them, but most of the students are using colored paper for them, which makes a difference. The next one I make will have colored hinges, so they show up better!
The pages open flat, below. I used mixed-media paper from an old 18" x 24" sketchbook that I didn't fill completely. The signature has twenty-one 9" x 12" pages, folded, which gives me eighty-six pages to work on, but you can add or subtract as many pages as you want. You just have to make the hinge strips longer or shorter to adapt.
Each page, below, is held in place by a strip of paper, which can be removed to add or subtract pages, take out to work on, or switch the pages around.
The completed book, not perfect, but usable. I had a lot of fun making it, and am proud of myself for finishing it. I'm not sure if I'll use it for the Sketchbook Revival classes, or not. It depends on what teachers and classes are being offered when the schedule is revealed tomorrow.
The book is 6" x 9", but can be made any size, and some students are putting tied closures to hold it together. There are lots of variations for the covers in the FB group, also part of the revival.
I made a couple of bobbles with this one, but I'm still pleased with it, and look forward to making another one with mixed papers and colored hinges. I will show you when it's done!
Life has been pretty busy for the last 2-3 weeks, and I've slept a lot in between, so my art practice has been a little lax, as well as, my physical therapy exercises, and I can tell it in my hip and peace of mind. Hoping to get back into both, starting tomorrow!
See you in the next post!
No comments:
Post a Comment