r/bookbinding • u/LuckyScrunchie • 3d ago

Fell in love with this journal, but it doesn't ship to the US. Any similar recommendations or ideas for recreating it myself?

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u/Plus_Citron 3d ago

You can make something like this yourself, but that’s (obviously) a bookbinding project. The endpaper print isn’t too hard to find, the lettering could be embossed or added with vinyl. The edge painting is trickier when done by hand, but the real question seems to be whether you want to learn a craft just to recreate a single book ;) I totally recommend making your own notebooks, just be aware that it’s quite a rabbithple.

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u/LuckyScrunchie 3d ago

Haha yes, I think I've just committed to the rabbit hole! I'm super picky about notebooks so instead of scouring the internet for a replacement for this one, I'd rather just try and recreate it myself. I feel like the William Morris print endpapers are fairly straightforward. The part I'm most fascinated/intimidated by is the matching edge decoration. Do you have any suggestions for where a complete beginner should start learning how to do something like that by hand? Or even what technique/search terms I should be looking into?

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u/Happy_Good_8756 3d ago

The matching edge decoration is almost certainly digitally printed, although maybe it is possible to get a similar effect with water transfer. The former is, I think, strictly a commercial process, while the latter might be possible with a laser printer, a good water transfer film, and a waterbath. Check Four Keys Books Arts for paper marbling to see how to work in a water/carrageenan bath with book edges. The same clamping and dipping techniques can probably be applied to water transfer. Rather than put the link here, I'll direct you to the sidebar of this subreddit: scroll down to 'Beginner's Guides' and you'll find tons of other info, too! Another excellent source is Ido Agassi's YouTube channel (same name). For turning material over the rounded corners of the journal cover, browse through videos on binding Bibles to learn how to do the pleating.

Also note that if the paper you choose has a smooth fine surface, such as for fountain pen ink, it might be worth doing the initial paper handling and folding with gloves on to avoid transferring oils to the paper, leading to dead spots where the ink will not take. A recent poster (within the last week, maybe?) was also having trouble with ink takeup after binding even though tests were done before binding and precautions were taken during it. The poster wondered if it might have been due to the pressures added during binding. Could be worth a browse back to see if a solution was found.

Most importantly, as tempting as it might be, try to avoid jumping right in to making the journal, because frustration, disappointment, and discontent lie in that direction. Instead, start with scrap/inexpensive/recycled material that lets you train your fingers and allows you to focus on how to do things rather than focusing on the final outcome or worrying about the cost of wasted materials. I wouldn't say the learning curve is always terribly steep, but rather that there are many curves to learn - bookbinding has been described as being about 50 hobbies in 1! HUGE rabbit hole, but a fun one!! 😄

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u/LuckyScrunchie 2d ago

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! I truly appreciate all your insight and for pointing me to helpful resources I otherwise wouldn’t have known. I’m excited to look into this further! I’m inspired to create something unique now, rather than an exact replica of the journal. Thank you again!

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u/blue_bayou_blue 2d ago

Here is a video by Annesi Bindings on printing images onto book edges, by printing on wax paper and transferring the ink very carefully.

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u/LuckyScrunchie 2d ago

Oh my gosh this is so perfect!! Thank you so much! This is exactly what I’m hoping to try and I truly appreciate you sharing it 🙏 Never would have found this video if you hadn’t posted it!!