the last few days have been furiously spent trying to finish the book that i'm binding for my cousin's wedding.  as a gift to them, i offered to make their guest book, since a) i'm quite poor and can't afford a proper gift, and b) i wanted an excuse to do the only craft i know how to execute well.

two days, 64 feet of waxed linen thread, four sheets of handmade paper and an entire Strathmore pad of heavy weight drawing paper later, we have a book!

the cover is going to be decorated with a title and maybe a simple image, but i want to keep it clean and classy.  i used a new method of binding (double needle coptic) that was somewhat difficult to understand, as i've only ever used single needle.  with single needle, you use one length of thread and one needle to stitch the entire book.  with double needle, you use two lengths of thread with a needle at each end, so 4 needles all together - quite a lot to keep organized and untangled!  but, it paid off, because double needle coptic allows for a lovely braided effect down the spine of the book. 

my desk is covered in paper scraps and i have a pack of 5 brand new blades for my exacto knife.  now comes the important, artistic part - how to make the cover look stunning!