Customer Reviews

The Weekend Crafter: Making Books And Journals: 20 Great Weekend Projects

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved this book! It had great ideas for a number of different types and constructions of books, but all of them are accompanied by excellent instructions, suggestions for variations, and photographs that further illustrate this craft. Great for beginners, or for those looking to expand their papercraft skills to bookmaking

Very inspiring. I made two books shortly after I received the book. Easy instructions and great illustrations. I teach art classes using rubber art stamps. I can't wait to utilize some of the new techniques I learned.

What makes this book special is the many unique and wonderful full-color examples, and the suggested variations for each. There are also several unusual book structures, as well as old favorites, to savor.

I recently found myself making a blank book to fit a leather cover after searching everywhere to find an unlined book that was of the proper dimensions. This is the book I turned to for inspiration and instructions. Only to be sadly disappointed. Most of projects in here were interesting but the "how to" parts of the book were confusing and vague to the point of absurdity and the pictures only made things worse. As a veteran crafter and owner of well over a hundred craft books and a person perfectly capable of programming a VCR or assembling IKEA furniture even when the instructions have been lost. I don't think the fault is with me especially since I had several other people try to decipher the instructions for these projects with no success. I was not happy with this book and if I could do it over again I would never have bought it. There are many fine books on bookbinding but in my opinion this is not one of them. Thank You

The auther is not consistant in how hinged book covers should be measured and cut. I am no math wiz, but the Wedding Album directions were very confusing. The measurements just don't add up right. If you have any sence of how these types of books go together, you should be ok.

This is an excellent book for the beginner in book binding, but don't expect boring flat books in spite of that. Richards presents numerous clever techniques including the faux fruit recipe book shown on the cover. You'll be making beautiful and interesting pieces in a single afternoon!

You are going to feel like such an artist after you buy this and make a few of these fantastic books. It's all spelled out for you plain and simple. Even better..........there are pictures for you to follow too! This is a very good book to start out with as the projects are easy and very very creative. I did the fruit book on the cover. It was the first thing I ever did and it came out great! Trust me, I'm no artist!

Richard's book contains numerous photos, easy, concise instructions, and several book types to make. The instructions are easy to read and understand and few should have any trouble completing the projects.

The techniques all are geared towards each of the specific types of books to make. This is definitely not for the beginner who wants useful books.

The biggest minus with this book is the types of books being created. Many of them are smaller in size. Few have real value for the journal or book maker. While the recipe book made from faux fruit on the cover is interesting it has no real practical value. Where do you store a pear shaped book??

Definitely geared towards the "art" bookmaker.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to say I have some experience with bookbinding and was probably expecting more from this book than I should have. Apart from that, though, I still think this book is not really worth buying if you're interested in beginning bookbinding. Not only are the instructions vague and unhelpful, some of the instructions go against everything else I've learned about bookbinding. An experienced bookbinder might be able to interpret the directions for some of these projects, but only because of previous practice instead of clear instruction and helpful photos and diagrams. I would recommend Handmade Books, by Shereen LaPlantz, Making Handmade Books, by Alisa Golden, anything by Keith Smith, or internet tutorials instead of this book.

The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is that there are some fun ideas that could inspire a bookmaker.

I'm a scrapbook enthusiast. The colorful photos in this book caught my eye immediately. It is filled with detailed instructions and ideas to create journals and scrapbooks or embellish existing ones. I love it! I must say, though, many of these projects are fairly detailed, and require some patience. But they are so worth it! And the projects make terrific gifts!