Our October meeting was led by Marilyn, who reviewed with us a tied book structure ( Alisa Golden has this in one of her books). This was a request from a member, but it turned out that it was not the book that she had meant at all, so we’ll be making the one she actually wanted next year!

 

It was a relaxed making session, which was useful as the meeting was immediately followed by the Liverpool Book Fair at the Bluecoat Centre. 

We did very well at the fair despite atrocious weather conditions which we feared would not only put members off attending our meeting but also fair visitors.   All fears were in vain, and we had lots of interest in the group and our activities, with plenty of flyers handed out. We’ll see if this actually translates into new members of course.

Members had brought works in progress which is always interesting, and Frances has found a new binding method for board concertina books  which she will show us how to make at our next meeting in November.

Gelli Plate Prints

 

We had a messy but very enjoyable workshop this month, led by June. 

The focus was mono printing using gel plates to produce papers that are suitable for book pages, covers and many other things. June uses this methodology all the time in her work and her enthusiasm encouraged us all.

We will be exhibiting at Liverpool Book Fair over the weekend of October 4th and 5th.  Volunteers to look after the stall are as follows:
             Saturday afternoon- Julie  and Cath 
             Sunday - Jac, Marilyn
Marilyn will bring the set up equipment and take it away on Sunday.  

Please remember to complete a form with your books-I will bring more to our October meeting for those who don’t already have one.    At present we seem to have five exhibitors, each of whom will pay £5 , the remainder being paid by the group as agreed.

Details of what you will need for our tied books will be sent out nearer the October meeting.

 Banner flags for collaging were given out by Frances to be returned at the Christmas Meeting. 

It would be interesting if each  one reflected the makers personality and  interests.

 

 Glue tips for collage by June

I've tried loads of glues over time & the one that works for me & always gives me the best result is Golden Matte Medium, it works well & doesn't leave any shine or residue (unlike PVA), it can be let  down a little with water if you find it too thick, but I usually use it as it comes.   Tip for getting rid of any wrinkles would be not to put down too thick a layer, but make sure you don't miss any patches, then I smooth the paper down with my hand/fingers then immediately use the 'flat' of a palette knife to really smooth the paper, from the centre out to corners & edges, this will help to squish out any excess of glue & helps to avoid wrinkles.  It dries quickly, but you can reposition a piece if you look lively!   Occasionally of there is a 'bubble that won't smooth down, it might be that you missed little patches & didn't spread the glue evenly, if it's not possible to pull the paper up to re glue/re position, I have used a scalpel to cut a cross in the 'bubble, opened it up & carefully sparingly repasted that bit before smoothing down again.

 

Flip Flap Shutter Book

Video is available on NWBA Whats App 

This month Jac led us in making a Flip Flap Shutter Book, adapted from a card.   It was complicated and needed concentration, but most of us managed to complete it by the end if the meeting. June suggested it would work well for a ‘what the butler saw’ end of the pier book! There are several YouTube videos which show how to make this, the best probably being at Ruth’s Stamping corner, where it is the Reindeer flip flap shutter card. There’s also a transcript which might help.

We discussed the Liverpool Book Fair, and decided that we would have a table and pay half from our funds and half from those who are taking part. Julie, Mary, Cath, Jac and Marilyn have volunteered to help look after the stall on the two days.
June will lead our next meeting will be using collaging techniques on a geli plate.

Alltered Books

Our workshop this month concentrated on altered books. Not the many folded pages sort, although folding does have its role, but much more cutting and collaging, with the alteration of words to give new meanings also playing a part. 

Everyone had brought a book that they were willing to cannibalise, and we showed each other the results at the end of the session. Some were happy with what they had produced, others not, but this was very much an introductory session with possibilities of future work on this book or another one waiting to be explored.  No one person actually did the same thing so the outcome was very interesting

We also enjoyed a show and tell session, many of us having completed the previous two month’s theme of ‘boxed’. It was so interesting to see where our different interests had led us on this one. 

We will be receiving an item to customise from Frances at our next meeting as our two month theme.

Jac will be leading our August workshop, details to follow by email and What’s App group chat.

No stitch or glue

It was great to have such a well-attended June meeting, with plenty of great work to share,  if not all  it on our ‘boxed’ theme which is, of course, an optional jumping off point for anyone who feels inspired. 

We discussed the opportunity that bigger meetings give us to possibly book a larger room at the Quaker Meeting House, and Marilyn agreed to research how much this would cost.

Julie led the meeting in making a book with a removable spine. Despite the fact that no glueing or sewing was involved, this seems to be a robust structure which we all enjoyed making.

Our July meeting will be on the theme of  'altered books'. These are not the folded books which are so popular now but a different structure altogether.