Die Mumins - Tove Jansson (The Moomins)
(Keep reading for full cover pictures, close ups of the endbands with a peek of the endpapers and links to the individual book posts)

Kaledo Art

blake kathryn
KIROKAZE
Sade Olutola
Misplaced Lens Cap

祝日 / Permanent Vacation
No title available
Monterey Bay Aquarium
todays bird
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Not today Justin

★
i don't do bad sauce passes
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
will byers stan first human second
art blog(derogatory)
trying on a metaphor
NASA
Xuebing Du
hello vonnie
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@bindingwhore
Die Mumins - Tove Jansson (The Moomins)
(Keep reading for full cover pictures, close ups of the endbands with a peek of the endpapers and links to the individual book posts)
Book Decoration: AKA All The Ways I Don't Use a Cricut
(this post is for people who don't want to buy an expensive cutting tool, or for those that do have an expensive cutting tool that would like to mix things up a little)
1. Print That Shit
If you're already printing your own textblocks, an easy step for titles is to print them. Above is a title printed onto an "obi" of decorative paper. I measured out where I wanted things on the finished book and laid it out in Affinity, then printed it on a full sheet & trimmed it down to wrap around the book. A more simple method is to print & glue on the label into a slight indent in the cover (to protect it). A third option is to do the spine in bookcloth, while you print on paper for the cover and then glue that paper onto the boards (this usually looks even better when it is a three-piece bradel bind).
2. Foil Quill / Heat Pens
The heat pen is one of my go-to tools, but it can be a bit touchy about materials. The most popular version is the We R Memory Keepers' Foil Quill (which is one of the most ergonomic), but other pens exist that can get you to a higher heat temp, finer lines, or more consistent foil. For example, I have a pen created by a local Japanese bookbinding studio that fares way better on leathers than the WRMK quill & with a finer tip, but it's hell to control. Best results in general are on paper or smooth bookcloth (starched linen, arrestox, colibri - even duo will work but its less solid). The fuzzier a bookcloth is, the less your foil quill wants to deal with it. This means the heat n bond method of making bookcloth does not play nice with a heat pen usually, but there are two solutions: 1) use this tutorial on paste + acrylic medium coated bookcloth instead that will get you a perfect surface for the heat pen, or 2) use the pen on paper & then glue onto the cloth. I did a video tutorial for both foil quill use and this type of homemade bookcloth for @renegadeguild Binderary in 2023.
You get the most consistent results by tracing through a printed template that is taped in place, as I do in the video above.
3. Paint That Shit
Acrylic paints will do you fine! The above is free-handed with a circle template, because I wanted that vibe. If you need straight lines that won't seep, lay them down with tape first & then paint over it first with a clear Acrylic medium, then your color. Same goes for stencils. Two more examples of painted bookcloth:
4. IT'S GOT LAYERS
By using layers of thinner boards, you can create interesting depths & contrasts on your cover. You can also make cutouts that peep through to the decorative paper behind. The most important part to this technique is the order in which each edge is wrapped. To get a good wrapped inside edge, you will split the turn in into tabs to get them to conform to a curve. You can also layer multiple colors of bookcloth without multiple layers of board, as seen below left, so long as you mind your cut edges for fraying.
5. Inlaid... anything
Mirrors! Marbled paper! I saw someone do a pretty metal bookmark once! The key is creating a little home for it to live in, which is pretty similar to the above layering method. On one layer you cut the shape, & glue that layer onto the bottom solid board before covering. You can do the top layer as an entire 1 mm board (like I did for the mirrors) or a sheet of cardstock, like I would use for inlaid paper.
6. Decorative Paper
Decorative paper is always helpful & adds to the paper hoard... & its effects can be layers with other techniques, as below. Marbles, chiyogami, momi, or prints & maps of all kinds can be great additions. Some papers may need a protective coating (such as wax or a sealer).
7. Stamps (with optional linocut)
While I've not used many more regular rubber stamps, I do know some who have, successfully! And I've used one once or twice with embossing powder (see photo 3 up, the gold anchor on the little pamphlet bind). What also works is to carve your own linocut or stamp, & then use block printing ink to ink it onto your fabric (as i did above). A bit time intensive, but it was nice how easily reproducible it was, and I liked the effect I got for this particular bind.
These methods are not exhaustive, just ones I've used, and there are of course many others. I haven't gone too into detail on any of these for the sake of length (& post photo limits) but feel free to ask about more specifics. Usually I'm using them in combination with other options.
this is gonna be a Christmas present for a friend; this is his favourite book. Super happy with how it turned out!!
I'm like super normal and not unhinged in the slightest (I spent 3 days formatting, printing, and binding a niche internet story about sci fi football into a 280 page physical book)
I know I've already rebound this exact book before, but I got a signed copy of the paperback version, and I HAD to rebind it. Overall I'm incredibly pleased with how it came out! This is only my second time layering vinyl over other vinyl like this, and it went perfectly.
I decided to reproduce the original cover design, bc I actually really like it (unlike the American hardcover design).
Naturally, however, Dan's signature was on the inside of the cover itself, which meant I couldn't just tear off the cover and discard it like I normally would when rebinding. Instead, I had to cut out the sticker with Dan's signature on it and then make a window in the front endpaper for it to be glued into. It's not quite perfect, but i really only had one shot at gluing the sticker in, so it is what it is!
Finally finished rebinding this book - life has been hectic. Someone broke into my late Nanna's house Monday night and stole all of her identification and important documents, including bank information and the like. How anyone could be so deliberately cruel, I don't know, but we've been fortunate in that the theft was discovered only a day later and we were able to secure her accounts before any transactions could be made.
This book was given to my Nanna for Christmas in 1944, shortly after her tenth birthday. She kept it for the rest of her life, and after nearly 80 years, the cover was beginning to fall apart. I chose to keep the cover design as close as I could to the original, pictured below on the left. I'm quite pleased with how it came out; I've never tried layering two colours of vinyl like this before.
Another of my Nanna's books; Mrs. Beeton's is a Victorian recipe book my Nanna used throughout her life. It's possible that her mother or grandmother had a copy; I never asked. Her copy was printed in the 1960s, and my mom and uncle grew up with it. I have not inherited this book; my uncle asked that I rebind it for him.
The book has an interesting history; first published as a segment in Isabella Beeton's husband Samuel Beeton's publication, it wasn't published as a book until 1861. It was an instant best-seller.
Mrs Beeton died in 1865, and a year later the copyright was sold to publishers Ward, Lock, and Tyler after Samuel Beeton fell into debt. The book has been revised steadily into the modern day.
Rebinding a beloved book from your childhood is so rewarding. Right now, I'm working on The Island Of Adventure by Enid Blyton. My copy was given to my Nanna in 1944, when she was ten years old, and has been well loved through the years by her, my mom and my uncle, and me when I was a child.
My Nanna recently passed away, and this book was the only thing I really wanted from her estate, because it so strongly reminds me of her. The cover was in good condition for its age, but it was beginning to wear out. Thankfully, the text block is fully intact. I'm so grateful that I'm able to give this beloved book some new life!
beyond thrilled with the way this series turned out; I had so much fun designing it and seeing it come together, and I love the bold colours (however much my best friend disagrees lmao).
More photos under the cut.
A sneak peek at my next bookbinding project!
I'm only committing to the original pjo series for now, though I'll probably end up doing the heroes of olympus series as well at some point, and perhaps the kane chronicals too. (I don't have all of the magnus chase books or the trials of apollo books yet, so i can't do those)
When I say weeding the vinyl around the Elvish script was a pain in the ass... But it's done (mostly well) and I'm very happy with it!
The artwork is by Tolkien himself.
The Unicorn's Secret is actually a series of seven small, thin books. Rather than attempt to bind them individually, I've kettle stitched them together into one larger volume.
Mistborn was a lot of fun to rebind, I really enjoyed positioning all of the allomancy symbols, and the mistcloaks turned out really well too.
Don Callander's 'Mancer books are one of my favourite series, so of course I had to rebind my copies.
this book isn't actually finished yet; i still have to case in the text block, but it looks so good i had to share it now.
the text block for this book decided to fall out of its original case, which was, it turns out, all the excuse i needed to start a bookbinding hobby