Good morning readers.

Yesterday was a busy day finishing projects, running errands and getting ready for school. Last night we had a major storm blow through and power went out for a short time. It brought with it high winds, thunder and lightning and some more of the much needed rain.

It’s Wednesday and of course the day that I mention possiible sites to visit to find book arts gifts as well as gifts for your book artist.

Fototiller is a website covering all things photographic, with a particular focus on the intersection of photography and design. They do mention journals and albums as well as other unique gift ideas. One of my favorites that they mention is this pop-up album. You can also see a little video about the album here. Make sure to count how many times the announcer says “photo-pop pop-up photo album”.

Here’s a Christmas pop-up photo album which is actually kind of cool from the Goffengel Workshop.

Moo has some unique items that would make great gifts. Not only do they have those great little Moo cards but they also have sticker books and notecards. The sticker books would make a great promo item for your handmade books.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Good morning readers.

It’s overcast and looking like it might rain here in Va. Beach today. We could use the rain but I’m hoping that it will clear up by later this afternoon as I have a family photo shoot this evening. 

While surfing around for more information on pop-up books, I came across a site about an elective course that was offered at MIT.  The course was called Building With Books and offered in 2004.  Basically students spent the semester creating things from discarded library books. Some of the items built were a reading lamp, a bookcase, an umbrella stand and a rocking chair. You can check out these and more in the gallery section of the site.

Has anyone seen the new TGI Fradays TV commercial where the menu is being opened and the scenes pop out of it like a pop-up book? It’s really cool. They have a pop-up on their main site but I couldn’t find a video of the commercial to link to. If you’re at work turn down your speakers as there is loud music on the page.

If you’re into the mathematics of pop-ups there are a few articles on pop-up cards as a vehicle to teach mathematics as well as some on the engineering of folding on this site. Gotta love student research projects.

Here’s some nice PDF tutorials on book making from the San Diego Museum of Art education department.

You can find some nice beginner tutorials on pop-up book techniques on the Art Is Smart website of Jay Davison Ballanger.

That should keep you all busy for a while.

I hope everyone has a great day.

 

I had ordered the book Elements Of Pop Up: A Pop Up Book For Aspiring Paper Engineers by David A. Carter and James Diaz and it showed up in my mailbox today. What a great book! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in creating pop-up books. Not only is it instructional but there are actual examples for each technique described so you can see exactly how they are applied to the page. Very cool.

Here’s a link to David A. Carters site.

Good morning readers.

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Va. Beach. It was def. a great day to go to the beach. It was really quiet at Jerry’s so I’m assuming the nice weather kept everyone outside doing things.

Today will be another hot one and of course we have no AC as we lost it this morning due to a faulty electrical connection. Nothing like a hot summer day in the south with out air conditioning. Guess I’ll have to sit out on the lanai all day and sip mint juleps whilst the freeloaders fan me with their tails.

It seems like pop ups are popping up in front of me everywhere. I’m wondering if there is some cosmic meaning to it?

Here’s another cool video. This one is animated with scenes that are like pop up book pages. Go see Looking for Joe.

Another pop up inspired video.

Here’s a great article in PingMag on pop up books

Of note…

Bookgirl has a nice book arts related blog. I love her profile pic.

I hope everyone has a nice COOL day.

Good morning readers.

I have three dogs. Two boys and a girl. My girl will go outside as soon as the door opens but the boys are wiennies and like to be inside. To get them to go outside I have to use a different sounding voice with each one before they realize that I am serious and will head for the door. Just like kids but worse because they never grow up and leave home. You can see photos of my group of freeloaders over on my neglected photo blog.

We finally got that rain we needed last night in the form of severe thunderstorms. My plants are happy.

Of note…

This is the coolest video. It makes me want to dig up all my info on pop up books and “attempt” to make one.

This video has some cool pop up books in it too.

In this video illustrator Maurice Sendak talks about his pop up book Mommy. He colaborated on the book with writer Arthur Yorinks, and paper engineer Matthew Reinhart.

Here is the site of paper engineer Robert Sabuda. Lots of good information as well as a in depth book list with descriptions. 

I mentioned Mark Hiner in my last post about pop up books but he is def. worth another mention as there is some really great info on his site as well. I especially like the description of the book creation process.

Also, worth another mention is the website of the Moveable Book Society for even more great info about popup books.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Good morning readers. 

The Sat. morning surf report is back.

Grab your morning beverage of choice, pull up a chair and let’s go surfing.

Here are a few sites with fun things to try to get you warmed up…

Here’s a site where you can learn how to antique paper.

This is fun. Make your own Card catalog cards with the catalog card generator.

Check out A Term For The Terse. From the site: The terminology and subtleties of the book trade can seem rather cryptic, arcane and even stupid. What follows, is a primer of the terms and tactics used among the purveyors and collectors of out-of-print and rare books. Many of these terms have been in use for several hundred years. Unfortunately, the Internet has brought with it a general dumbing-down of any traditional knowledge or nomenclature. Many of these terms are endangered. Read quickly!

Now that I’ve got you warmed up …

I don’t know about you all but I’ve always been fascinated with pop up books. I think that some of them are wonderful feats of engineering. I admire folks who can create those detailed pop ups. I wish I had the dexterity and patience for them.

This is a great site where you can take a tour through the history of pop up books.

Check out this cool pop up exhibit from the Rutgers University Libraries.

The PopUpLady site has lots of information as well as the history of pop up books.

Mark Hiner is a paper engineer.  From the site: Well, I am a paper engineer and this site will show you what I do and what can be achieved with paper engineering. Most people will be familiar with some simple pop-up books from their childhood, but I hope that by browsing this site you will see that pop-ups (or paper engineering) can be used for many types of book. If you are not already a lover of the magic of pop-ups, I hope you will learn to appreciate them and the work that goes into creating interactive, pop-up books.

Here is a tutorial where you can learn how to make your own pop up book.

And finally if you really get into making pop up books there is a worldwide group called the Moveable Book Society that you can join.

Surf’s up!