15 Things To Consider When Creating A Homemade Book
When I was a child, I always used to go with my Mom to book-stores for buying my course books, story and fiction books. I was very much attracted with the designs of the book. At the same time, I was also very much selective. I never found myself satisfied with the designing of any book and it always seemed something lacking. Sometimes, I found the title page of the book a bit dull while the other times, the binding did not attract me. The little reader in me turned out into an author as I grew up. If you are also the one who likes creativity in every aspect, DIY projects regarding homemade books must have gathered your attention. It’s always a charm and grace to create a homemade book. Almost every 10th person in a count of hundred is a keen reader, a bookworm or a writer. You can create your own handmade book at home very easily. Just take care of the following 15 tips that I am going to suggest you. I have learnt these guidelines in my life of book designing that can also make your homemade book look promising and compiled:
1. Always Use Template:
I highly recommend you to make template first of any card board of the same dimension in which you want your book to be. Graph-paper can help you great if you are a beginner as the dots would not let you go out of the tract.
2. Book Cover:
Book cover matters a lot. The relevancy of the book cover page is a great deal. It should be attractive too. If it’s a fiction book, make computer graphic cover page. If it’s a story book for a child, try to use colorful cartoon art that would be fascinating for them. If it’s a scrap book, then incorporating some of your pictures on the cover will be an amazing idea. Typography will be incredible to use on cover page.
3. Title Page:
Most of the book designers neglect the idea of title page. To discriminate title and cover page is also very important. Cover page is usually the hard bound paper on the outer side of the book but the title page is the very first page in the book. Title page must include the title of your homemade book, author’s detail as well as any other important information regarding author or book. Title page in your book will show your professionalism.
4. Index the Content:
To make content page of your story book is very much illustrative about the idea of the book. It will be more feasible for you if you mention page numbers on the content of index to go to the desired page and plot of the story quickly.
Index the Content
5. Make Piles Of Papers:
I recommend you to make piles of the papers that will be used in the book. You will definitely go throw heartbreak if your handmade book tears away within a few days. If you need 100 pages in your book, make 10 piles having 10 papers in each pile. Join the papers of individual piles and then attach the piles together. It will increase the strength of your book.
6. Dust-Jacket for Books:
For the protection of your book, make a dust-jacket of a glossy paper or plastic sheet. It will maintain the newer look of your book always just like the first time.
7. Book Spine:
If you are going to place your handmade book in the shelf, the spine should also be considered so that you could recognize your book at a single glance. To gift a homemade book, make eye-catching spine that will attract the viewer at once.
8. Perfect Binding:
If you are thinking to paste your book’s pages with glue or to attach them using the traditional hammer-nail method, then hold on for a second. There are a lot of DIY book binding methods to give your handmade book an artistic look. Some of the famous book-binding homemade methods are Japanese Binding, Long-Stitch Binding, Saddle Stitch Binding, Coptic-Stitch Binding and Duct Tape Binding, Hard-Cover Case Binding.
9. Book-Marks:
If you are writing a story book, always use a bookmark. Instead of using single ribbons, try to use a handmade twisted ribbon or bow ribbon bookmark. Doodle and striped bookmarks are very easy to make. To show more creativity, you can make any shape of paper and tie it with a thick thread to use as a bookmark in your manuscript.
10. Page Numbering:
To customize your page numbering, use different colors or make shapes in which you will number your page. Embossed page numbering is also an inspired idea.
11. Add Dimensions:
To make your book look more striking, you can add different dimensions in your handmade book. This may include pop-up elements, fold-out pages, images gallery etc. if you are a mom and gifting a handmade scrap book to your daughter, her fascinating world would become much more delighted by incorporating some fragrance into pages. The modern scratch and sniff technology is an adulteration of it.
12. Fore-Edge Painting:
If you are a wonderful artist along with being a creative author, paint some scenery on the edges of the pages of your handmade book. Try to create the painted art relevant to the book genre.
Homemade Book
13. Book-Case:
Book-case is a novel idea for your homemade book. You can use many items easily available at your home as the case of your book. Recycle your shoe box or any other cardboard box to make the case exact of the size of book. If you are a girl, make a purse of the card board and hang it to the wall with your handmade fairy-tale book enclosed inside.
14. Embellish With Accessories:
Title page and the content of your homemade book can be embellished with many accessories like shells, pearls, glitter, peacock feather, rose petals and anything you want to. You can also use related items to the content of the book as accessories.
15. Post-Face:
Post-face should include a brief plot on how you went through the whole creation of the book along with the main conclusion. Add a memorable remark, comment or picture as afterword.
I hope you liked these tips to make your homemade book durable, attractive and unforgettable. Always let the artist in you to breath with putting personal creativity in your DIY projects. As a famous quote says that ‘The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist himself’.
The article is sponsored by DigitEMB – Embroidery digitizing
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