DIY Network

Long Stitch Resin Book Visit DIY's Craft Lab to learn how to make a beautiful polymer clay journal. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-140

Guest Geraldine Newfry joins host Jennifer Perkins to create a dazzling journal with textured polymer clay, resin, copper plate, acrylic paint and card stock.

The DIY crafters get started by making the cover with textured decorative clay layers and then attach a base layer of clay, cut to size. Then they cut out a window from the front cover of the book and glue in a key and cover it with resin — followed by decorating the back cover with a copper plate and textured clay. To complete the book covers they apply an acrylic paint to create an antique look.

What's a book or journal without an interior? For this particular Craft Lab project, the inside is created by folding card stock to create signatures and a binding with copper sheeting.

To complete the book signatures are sewn into the binding using a long stitch.

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	Guest Geraldine Newfry demonstrates how to create unique journals such as these.
	And this unique journal book is the one DIY's guest and host Jennifer Perkins create in the Craft Lab!
	This particular journal's interior card stock pages feature long stitch, as seen here.
	PDF Download the binder template.

Long Stitch Resin Book

Project designed by Geraldine Newfry.

Materials:

12 oz. black Premo! Sculpey
2 oz. white Premo! Sculpey
1/2 oz. translucent liquid Sculpey
Sculpey super slicer
acrylic clay roller
gridded plastic template material
20 sheets of text paper (8.5" x 11", grained long)
1/2 sheet of decorative paper (8.5" x 5.5", grained short)
1.5 yards of 4-ply waxed linen
1 binding needle
baking sheet
PVA glue
super glue
burnt umber acrylic paint
10" x 6" sheet of fine copper mesh
ultra thick embossing enamel (UTEE)
spring green pearl-ex
pasta machine
found objects to encapsulate
light duty awl
bone folder
craft knife
paint brush
eyelets
japanese screw punch
acrylic drafting triangle
texture plate
spray bottle of rubbing alcohol
corn starch
Junque rubber stamps
ruler

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Be creative with your book-cover designs — such as the caterpillar stitch and butterfly-in-a-tin idea seen here.

1. Base of covers: Condition black Premo! Sculpey clay and form a sheet of clay (figure A) at the #1 setting of the pasta machine. Cut it a bit bigger than the template. Create another base cover in the same manner. Set these aside.

   Note: Even though some clays are already soft when purchased, it's important to go ahead and condition the clay to improve workability and strength.

2. Texture covers: Condition black Premo! Sculpey clay and form a #1 sheet of clay. Use a texture plate to add dimension to the surface. Spritz the texture plate liberally with rubbing alcohol and run it and the clay through the pasta machine at #1. Loosely trim the clay to book template size (figure B). Create another textured cover in the same manner.

3. Faux celadon base: Condition the white Premo! Sculpey and form a #1 sheet of clay. Gradually thin out the sheet by rolling it through the pasta machine at #2, then #3, and finally #4. Add a light coat of corn starch over the surface of the clay and impress several rubber stamps into the clay. Trim these white embellishments and add them to the front and back covers, being careful not to trap air bubbles in between layers. Metal embellishments and eyelets may be added at this time by pressing them gently into the clay.

4. Resin well: Determine the size of the well opening in relation to your object. Use a ruler and a craft knife to cut the well out of the front textured cover.

5. Trim the covers: Trim the spine edge of all four cover pieces. Place the untextured sheets on the baking surface, leaving one inch between the spine edges. Place a 5 x 10 piece of copper mesh (figure C) over the top of the two sheets, and roll it into the surface with the acrylic roller. Line up the spine edges of all the covers and lay the textured sheets on top of the base sheets, being careful not to trap any bubbles. Trim the book covers to the exact size of the template.

6. Faux celadon glaze: Mix 1/4 teaspoon light green mica powder into 1 oz translucent liquid Sculpey. Paint this colored liquid Sculpey onto the celadon base, letting the excess run into the lines created by the rubber stamps.

7. Fill the resin well: Place a found object in the resin well. Cover it completely with ultra thick embossing enamel. Take care not to get extra UTEE on the rest of the cover.

8. Bake the covers (275F, 30 min).

9. Securing embellishments: Remove the metal embellishments, if possible, and secure them with super glue.

10. Crackle glaze: Paint a one step crackle glaze on top of the celadon glaze and allow it to dry.

11. Antiquing the covers: Use burnt umber paint to antique the covers and accentuate the crackle (figure D). Apply the paint with your fingers or a paint brush, being sure to get into all the crevices. Remove the excess paint with a baby wipe.

12. Add the end papers: Cut the end paper in half to form two 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 pieces. Glue to the inside front and back covers using PVA glue.

13. Prepare the signatures: Take four sheets of text paper at a time and fold in half to create 10 signatures. Crease the folds well with a bone folder. Place the signatures together in a text block and number them in the upper right hand corner with a pencil.

14. Place the text block flat on the template. Use a sharp pencil and a triangle as a guide to draw a line marking all the binding holes on the spine edges of the signatures.

15. Make the holes in the signatures with an awl.

16. Use the bone folder to tighten the folds on the signatures so that the text block stays compact.

17. Sew the book: Thread the binding needle with the waxed linen.

18. Start sewing inside the first signature. Pass the needle from inside the top hole, through the copper spine, around the head of the book, and back down into the center of the signature. Tie a knot, and pass the needle out the second hole, through the copper spine, and back through the spine and signature at the third hole.

19. Repeat the running stitch through the fourth and fifth holes, and out the last hole. Wrap the thread around the tail of the book, and pass the needle back through the sixth hole in the spine, but not through the signature. Instead, pass the needle into the sixth hole of the second signature. Wrap around the tail of the book and repeat the running stitch down the spine.

20. Continue binding in this manner, making sure that the thread wraps once around the head and tail of each signature. Tie a knot inside the last signature when finished binding.

RESOURCES :

Gridded Plastic Template Material
EZ Quilting® by Wrights®
Website: www.ezquilt.com

Premo! Sculpey Clay, Translucent Liquid Sculpey, Sculpey Super Slicer, Acrylic Clay Roller
Polyform Products Co.
Website: www.sculpey.com

Mohawk Superfine Soft White Text Paper
Mohawk Paper Mills, Inc. Website: www.mohawkpaper.com

Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel
Suze Weinberg
Website: www.schmoozewithsuze.com

Waxed Linen, Binding Needle, Copper Mesh, Light Duty Awl, PVA Glue, Japanese Screw Punch, Bone Folder, Eyelets
Website: www.volcanoarts.biz

Pearl Ex
Jacquard Products
Website: www.jacquardproducts.com

Junque Rubber Stamps
Website: www.junque.net

Polymer Clay Texture Plates
Grant Diffendaffer
Website: www.diffendaffer.com

GUESTS :

Geraldine Newfry
Polymer Clay Book Artist
Website: www.newfry.com