I Am Done - I Quit - Day 34 - The 100 Day Project

Most people, when making cluster books or handmade journals, sew in the pages to the cover before they do anything else. I decided not to do that since I didn't know what I was going to do for a cover and I thought it would be easier to stick clusters to the pages if they were loose.

It turns out it was good decision since I ended up removing 4 pages as I've run out of time to make clusters for them. Correction (added later) It turns out it was a bad decision . . . read below.

I find the whole process of book assemblage nerve-wracking. It's easy for the pages to come out of aliagnment when you're'sewing them in and the covers always seem to be too short or too narrow in places. I've not done one yet that I've felt pleased with.

I can't put it off any longer though. I have to give my friend her present tomorrow so Day 34 of The 100 Day Project is cover making and assemblage day.

I mentioned on Day 23 I'm going to use the tea-bag wrapping paper I made on Day 21. My plan then was to reinforce it a bit with the hand cream paper but I've changed my mind about that now.

I'd already lined the tea bag paper with some upcycled green paper which was once the wrapping around a bunch of flowers. Once the gel medium I'd used to glue it with, had dried it felt sturdy enough without the handcream paper so I decided to use one of those as decoration on the front instead.

I cut the cover to size, just slightly bigger than the biggest page in the cluster book which is the music score and then cut around the darker pink roses and stuck that on.

Oh dear, that's already looking pretty wonky.

Next comes the impossibly tough bit - lining up the pages and keeping them lined up long enough to make holes in the centre crease. I literally spent hours trying to do this and had to give up for today feeling totally disheartened.

Now I know why people bind their pages first. Having paper different sizes, different thicknesses and then different weights due to the clusters I'd stuck on, made it extra difficult.

The weight of the wire in particular make it practically impossible. I tried using washi tape to keep the pages in place but look as the disalignment of the edges in this picture. Actually you can't really see how bad it is in the photo but, take my word for it, it is very higgledy-piggledy.

I also tried bulldog clips and paper clips, both things that I have used "successfully" in the past, but to no avail.

Normally I'm pretty casual about things but even I can't live with that level of disalignment, especially when it's going to be a birthday present.

So that's me. Done for the day. I quit!

Now I'll be trying to fix this tomorrow, under acute time pressure. Grrrrr. 😢