Handmade Books

Here at Cloth Paper Scissors, we love handmade books! See how expert mixed-media artists come up with altered book ideas and learn bookmaking techniques with these inspiring articles.

Download this fantastic selection of vintage ephemera images today and start creating stunning mixed-media art!

Free September Downloads: Elegant Ephemera

Another successful trip to the flea market means one thing: new free ephemera downloads! For September, we’ve got some awesome vintage images for you that you can print today and use in all of your mixed-media artwork. I’ve also cooked up a few projects for some inspiration, so let’s get started. These detailed images are…

Looking for a great new mixed-media challenge? Try sewing on paper for a stitched diary!

Studio Saturday Stitched Diary: Sewing on Paper and Fabric

One reason I love doing these Studio Saturday posts is that it gives me an incentive to try projects we feature in Cloth Paper Scissors. As we work with our artist contributors, I can’t wait to check out their techniques. The Jumpstart feature in the Fall 2018 issue, “The Hand-Stitched Diary” by Lynn Krawczyk, features…

Get 11 Bookbinding Projects in One Download!

Have you been bitten by the bookbinding bug yet? Bookbinding projects are so fun and gratifying, and they’ll keep you enthralled. In my role as Chief Enabler at Cloth Paper Scissors, I can’t wait to tell you about our brand new eBook, Making Books Cover to Cover. This downloadable resource has 11 projects specially curated…

Free June Downloads and a Mini Book Tutorial

Welcome to another installment of our free monthly downloads. We have something truly spectacular for you for June: a mini book! Included in the download is a cover and three inside pages, and all can easily be printed with designs on both sides to create your own special book. Most of the designs are from…

Achieve Your Bookbinding Goals with this Kit!

Every few weeks or so I get an itch to make a handmade book, and this time my efforts are being fueled by something really special: our new Bookbinding Collection that you can’t get anywhere else. Book lovers, take note: This exclusive set includes videos, a Lineco Bookbinding Tool Kit, and a downloadable eBook, Making Books…

Bookbinding Tutorial: The Romantic Art Journal

In the last Studio Saturday project we made an abstract floral art journal spread inspired by Laly Mille’s article “A Secret Rose Garden” in the March/April 2018 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. I promised I’d show you how to make the book I was working in, and here it is! This romantic art journal…

Making Handmade Books with Meaning

I always thought it was ironic that, as a writer and editor, I had trouble filling the handmade books I created. Finished books would sit idly on a shelf, with no purpose to their lives. I think that’s why I immediately fell in love with Rachel Hazell’s handmade books—they’re beautiful and interesting to look at,…

Tutorial: Recycled Envelope Journal

Studio Saturday is on a short break. Please enjoy this blog post, portions of which were previously published on our sister site, ArtistsNetwork! ~ Jeannine As mixed-media artists, we don’t take a cookie cutter approach to creating art—we always make it our own. In that spirit, I was inspired by Seth Apter’s Inspiration Journal featured…

Get Hooked on Handmade Books

Growing up in India, I remember my father making simple three-hole pamphlet-bound books for us to practice vocabulary exercises. Back then I did not know anything about handmade books beyond that simple utilitarian object. It was after I came to the U.S. a few years later that I was exposed to the amazing world of…