Product Description

This guide takes traditional bookmaking out of the box and into the realm of limitless possibilities. Crafters, scrapbookers and bookmakers will delight in the pages of this highly inventive and energetic guide that shows how to create books with never-before-seen effects. While most bookmaking guides focus on classic binding techniques, Books Unbound keeps the sewing to a minimum. Instead, it uses basic techniques to explore the creative potential of the pages and paper. Projects include: Step-by-step instructions that make these incredible 3D and layered designs achievable, even for beginners; Materials that are easy to find at any craft store; Templates for each design; Content that is completely original. Crafters will learn how to create pop-up designs, multiple layers, and special folds that are sculptural, multi-dimensional and extremely clever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151586 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author
Also the author of Cards that Pop-Up, Flip & Slide, Michael Jacobs designs and produces papercraft kits. Michael is a book artist who has worked in mixed media and sculpture for over 25 years. His work has been widely published and exhibited throughout the USA.

Customer Reviews

books unravelling
I bought this book along with Expressive Handmade Books by Alisa Golden because I needed to make a special book for a photography project. I'm a novice bookbinder although a relatively competent craftsperson, and found that this really wasn't the book that I needed - maybe the subtitle '20 innovative bookmaking projects' should have told me that.

It's written by a grandmaster paper sculptor who can't resist putting an additional layer of bells and whistles on almost everything that he does. There is a tassled criss-cross book which comprises four minibooks on a single base, a piano hinge diary with interchangable journals, a pyramid of matchbox drawers for tiny books and - the magnum opus - wire and bead dangling structures. This creates some beautiful and invariably interesting sculptures and art objects. For me the 'bookness' often becomes lost in the complexity of the finished articles.

I'm sure that this will be great to delve into on wet Sunday afternoons, or to look to for inspiration when packaging other paper scupture projects. When I want to make books to be read and written in I'll be using Golden's Expressive Handmade Books.

Inspiring take on known bookbinding skills
I got this one for Christmas and had a huge, silly grin on my face all day!

This book is packed with ideas, build instructions and some very clever, beautiful and on occasions completely bizarre examples. I have to say a few of the examples are just plain weird but the ideas are great and to be fair most of the examples are outstanding.

A lot of the ideas in here, if you've been making books for a while, will not be new to you however the way they have been applied maybe. It's a book of pure inspiration, magic projects and great colour pictures, which I prefer to use to work out how the book has been created rather than read the instructions.

The project instructions give you a rough make time (their idea of 45 minutes and mine are slightly different), a list of materials, sizes, tools, etc and written instructions on how to make the project. There are also diagrams to help along the way. The written instructions are absolutely fine but I found the diagrams gave me all I needed to know when I needed a prompt.

Get this book if your skills as a book maker are at intermediate levels and above. If you are an absolute beginner and what to see what you can be doing after mastering a few of the basic skills, buy this book. If you just like to see another person's take on accordion, stitch bound, origami pockets books and boxes to put them in to, go no further.

This is a great book!