Marjorie will provide fried chicken  - you bring a side to share! RSVP to Marjorie please at tap126@aol.com

Agenda: 

• dining and discussing projects, including a possible show of HBAG member books at Heights library
• continuation of Embellishments program: 2 button closures, a ribbon and a braided closure.
• people who participated in Embellishments at the last meeting, bring your kit!
• people who would like to buy a kit for $5 at the June meeting can contact Anna at freehandart@btinternet.com

Hope to see you there!

Pockets, button closures and more to embellish your handmade books!

RSVP to Anna Phillips at <freehandart@btinternet.com> by Thursday, April 26.

Paper press - ready for papermaking in the driveway!

Papermaking field trip – April 5, 2012, 6-8pm
Led by Amanda Focke & Lee Steiner 

• limited to 12 participants – FULL as  of 3/12/2012
• $7 kit fee
• Where? In the driveway of Amanda’s house
• Amanda will send directions to folks who rsvp’d – thanks! 

• Hands-on paper making in a variety of shapes and sizes such as…
• fine, white writing / text block paper using pre-prepared cotton rag pulp with sizing (from Twin Rocker)
• variety paper with textured recycled paper pulp made in a blender
• colored (dyed) paper with inclusions such as glitter and plant materials

• Use the big paper press!
• Variety of deckles & moulds, big and small
• Try the nesting washtubs deckle from TwinRocker

Pulling a sheet of paper up with mold and deckle

cranking the paper press down

paper press squeezing water out of the paper and bonding the fibers

peeling the wet felt (white) away from the pressed paper (golden)

watching the pressed paper dry on fresh felts

Burning Bones Press, Houston, Texas

Thursday March 1, 2012 at 6pm

• HBAG met at Burning Bones Press (on 1518 Yale Street #1, in the Heights)
• HBAG member and Burning Bones studio manager Nancy Luton showed us around Burning Bones as well as show us how to ink a plate to create our own unique book. Master printer Patrick Masterson very kindly helped us with the press.
• We used long skinny mat board coated with gesso as our “plates” instead on the more usual plexiglass plates. The resulting prints could be folded into parts for books.
• We inked them with rubber based black ink, applied evenly all over with a brayer.
• Then we chose some objects such as netting and yarn to create texture and laid it onto the plate.
• We placed white paper over the plate and placed it on the press. Clean newsprint and then felt pads we laid over the plates/ paper and we ran it through!
• The first print had dramatic deep black and stark white. Then we ran the plate again without re-inking or moving the objects, and got a “ghost print” of soft subtle tones.
• After we played with the prints we cleaned up, visited and toured a bit more. A great evening!

Inked plate with objects & the resulting print

Arranging plates on the press

Patrick Masterson of Burning Bones Press

There are just a few more spaces left for “Single-Sheet Folded Books”  led by Marjorie Silverstein

Thursday, February 2nd at 6:00pm at the Museum of Printing History

In this ‘make and take’ meeting you will learn how to make five single sheet books.

The kit cost is $2.00

Please bring your bone folder and scissors. You may also want to bring a glue stick,markers, and embellishments.

Please RSVP to Marjorie Silverstein at tap126@aol.com

Thursday, February 2nd at 6:00pm at the Museum of Printing History

In this ‘make and take’ meeting you will learn how to make five single sheet books.

The kit cost is $2.00

Please bring your bone folder and scissors. You may also want to bring a glue stick,markers, and embellishments.

Please RSVP to Marjorie Silverstein at tap126@aol.com

• New Book ArtsTools and New ways you use your old tools….
• New Books you’ve done this past year ( finished or nearly finished)…
• New Books about Book Arts ( bring your favorite – it will be new to us)….
• New magazine articles or pictures to share…
• New  ways to use old books….
• New Friends!

Here are some highlights of what we shared: 

• Book cloth tip — use Heat n’ Bond interfacing from the fabric store to adhere cloth to your paper backing, to avoid using the usual glue process
• Measuring tip for folks who don’t like math or rulers — Brass spacer strips from the hardware store which come in different tiny widths. Keep a variety of widths around!
• Homemade weights / squaring tools: clear acrylic boxes with bb’s (a.k.a. shot) in them
• Drilling holes in cover boards or stacks of sheets: hand drill made by Fiskars
• Scoring tablet – Martha Stewart’s scoring tablet – a plastic board with ridges in it, place paper on top and use a bone folder to press scores into the paper
• Tunnel book accordion folds made easier — instead of making long accordions on the sides out of one piece of paper, use smaller pieces of M folds glued together (this can help avoid the dreaded accordion creep)
• “Ecraft cutter” is a computer tool which cuts *your* drawing out of paper like a Cricut but doesn’t depend on their design cartridges.
• Ink embossed drawings and writing using embossing pens and powder (and heat) – ink embossing isn’t just for rubber stamped designs!
• Make light-weight paper into cover weight paper — use ModPodge Paper Preserver (it doesn’t stay sticky)

Please join us for a fun evening and bring your favorite finger food to share!
Drinks will be provided.
2012 plans will be discussed!

Book swap details:

• please bring one hand-made Blank Book to swap
• which should be larger than 4 inches by 6 inches
• a sewn structure
• at least 30 pages
• made by you

• New Book ArtsTools and New ways you use your old tools….
• New Books you’ve done this past year ( finished or nearly finished)…
• New Books about Book Arts ( bring your favorite – it will be new to us)….
• New magazine articles or pictures to share…
• New  ways to use old books….
• New Friends!

NEW IDEAS for the NEW YEAR!

We are also looking forward to the 2012 year and the Houston Book Arts Guild future.
We have some fun events scheduled and we would like you to bring some suggestions!

Anne Rita Taylor plans to bring her “Cinch” machine which makes a spiral binding.
This is a good example of a new book arts-related tools to demonstrating and explain its use.

Please join us for a fun evening and bring your favorite finger food to share!
Drinks will be provided.
2012 plans will be discussed!

Book swap details:

• please bring one hand-made Blank Book to swap
• which should be larger than 4 inches by 6 inches
• a sewn structure
• at least 30 pages
• made by you