Customer Reviews

Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand

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This is a wonderful book for learning to make artistic journals and memory boxes. It is filled with exciting projects and a diverse gallery of artists examples to inspire the reader. Great for beginners or more experienced book artists looking for new directions.

But DON'T buy this book in conjunction with the book "Making Journals by Hand" by Jason Thompson. That is also a great book, but it is actually contained within this book. The last 100 pages of "Making Memory Books and Journals" is the ENTIRE contents of "Making Journals by Hand". And I don't mean it covers similar information. I mean it is reproduced page by page, word for word, image for image.

Both books are excellent, but just pick one.

I really enjoyed flipping through the book and seeing all the colorful illustrations and designs. It comes complete with photographs and explainations. The first half section shows you different ideas you can use and then in the second half section, it shows you step-by-step instructions. It has introduction, the basics, choosing paper, materials and supplies, and tools (a good couple pages here), etc. It shows you how to make memory books, journals, and memory boxes. I plan to use the memory box idea to store my photos and make couple of journals with my girls so they can practice their cursive and even write stories in. This book comes highly recommended from a crafty person.

This book is an excellent source of inspiration for those who like to fabricate blank books as well as those who like to write, paint, or sketch in journals. I know that I, and I am assuming many others, reach a point where insightful ideas are few and far between and it is hard to resume creating without some form of inspiration...this book provides new ideas for incorporating art into journals, ideas for different types of blank book creations as well as creating different embellishments for blank books. It also helps a writer or artist by offering tips and insightful ideas to write about as well as giving helpful tips to break through the worry for those of us who are perfectionists and worry about having a perfect and aesthetically pleasing journal. the only thing that this book did not touch upon to my satisfaction was book binding techniques, but ht einspiration and idea factor of the title was why I purchased the book. I highly recommend this book to those who dabble in book arts, both for the novice to gain insight on the amazing projects that can be created as well as the expert who needs a little push for inspiration.

There's a lot in this book and overall its pretty good but its not a favorite book of mine simply because the instructions aren't that detailed. Instead, there's more text around the artists who made the different samples and what the story is around the resulting book or box that they created. In some cases there are just pictures of finished products with no description of how to make it other than a description of what it is (e.g. "five wedge shaped pages with silk-screened pop-up illustrations). In sections where there are instructions it's a bit more useful but they assume you know things (like the blanket stitch). Overall I think you can use this as an idea book but not really as an instruction book.

I don't recommend you buy this book if you're looking to learn the basics of how to bind books. Styles like coptic and codex are not specifically covered here in clear, easy steps. Instead, I have to go hunting for info and pull together a semblance of something useful from several of their silly (but creative) projects they've stuffed the book with.

Beginning bookbinder, don't be fooled by the description given for the book! You'd be better off searching for bookbinding information on a website such as Craftster.

Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand is actually 3 separate books reprinted as a single 304 page text: Making Memory Books by Hand, 22 Projects to Make, Keep, and Share by Kristina Feliciano; Making Journals by Hand, 20 Creative Projets for Keeping Your Thoughts by Jason Thompson; Making Memory Boxes, Box Projects to Make, Give, and Keep by Barbara Mauriello.

Diverse visual stimulation by 3 separate authors is augmented by numerous artists who share personal journals as a motivation gallery. The book's primary value is visual; the text I found confusing as if sentences had been inexplicably truncated without subsequent proof reading and revision. It is disappointing that such a well illustrated artistic compendium should not be supported with equally well written explanations.

For exact detailed "how to" instructions on bookbinding, buy Cover To Cover: Creative Techniques For Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums by Shereen LaPlantz: stitch by stitch drawn illustrations, photos and specific, easily followed instructions. Please see Shereen LaPlantz's website for her unfortunately sad experience with the editing of her final book which is as garbled as this one; Cover to Cover is explicit, simple as well as encouraging, like being with a kindly mentor who wants you to enjoy bookbinding.

Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand, like Masters: Book Arts: Major Works by Leading Artists, The Penland Book of Handmade Books: Master Classes in Bookmaking Techniques and 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form (500 Series), is for visual inspiration only.

If you wish instruction in Coptic binding: Making and Keeping Creative Journals by Suzanne Tourtillot 2001 128pp includes instruction for Coptic binding and sewn in headbands. In Tourtillot's book each chapter features a pair of artists; a journaler artist is paired with a bookbinder (Daniel Essig, Gwen Diehn, etc) who design and execute a handbound a book according to the specifications of the journaler. Photos of the journals in process are photographed with comments by the journal owner.

What would you do with a blank journal which suddenly appeared before you as a gift from the universe? DVD 1000 Journals tells the story of San Francisco graphic designer Someguy who sent 1000 blank journals into the world with his website 1000journals.com to return books for scanning in process, and return home when complete. In 2003 one journal made it home. This documentary follows filmaker Andreas Kreuzhage's pursuit of the other 999 journals worldwide. Her commentary in the Special Features is intriguing. Where are the other journals?

2011 addendum: Gwen Diehn has written a new comprehensive book on bookbinding for specific writers and purposes Live & Learn: Real Life Journals: Designing & Using Handmade Books (AARP) which contains back and front cover envelopes, one with a folded map of basic bookbinding technique, the second an interactive booklet which guides you in finding the book form suitable to your unique purpose. The bookbinding instructions augment examples of indiviudal journalers who specify what they want in a journal. After a book is handbound for each, they practice using the volume for it's stated purpose for 3 months. Follow-up interviews reveal surprises: journalers discover more exacting requirements for their record keeping instrument and plan redesigns of subsequent journals. This unique chronicle of journalers, hand binding and follow up is not present in any other instruction book on bookbinding. Compelling informative diaries of the book's adventures reveal the flexibility the book form can assume to meet individual needs. And of course the visuals accompanying the memoirs of the books' journeys inspire an passion to make and write one's own book.

This is a great book for ideas, but it doesn't give you a step by step on how to create your own memory book or journal. For the most interesting ones, it tells you some of the items they used to make it. If you already know how to create your own book, this is for you. If you are like me, and wanted a step by step, look for something else.

I picked this book up before I was starting to get really serious about making my own journals. I was disappointed once I started looking at it for ideas. It has tons of pictures, but little instructions on how to make what you're looking at. More details would have made this a great book.

This was a third party purchase from Amazon! It was around $5.00! I ordered in on the 18Th and it was in my hands on the 19Th!
It was truly one of my great finds.
I was searching for a pattern for a book sleeve protector . Found it straight away.
Also, it gives short histories along with the instructions. Full of illustrations, I am on my way to yet another technique to test.

It is a rather heavy book, as it is a combo of three books in one. If, you can get yours hands on this book. Best to snag it up. It might just be a real find in time to come.

This book shows a very clear way to learn a new craft. Great pictures
and clear explanantions.