WASTED Box Sets

Hello everyone!

I said I'm going to post something around the 15th. Well, the 16th pretty much still hugs around the 15th, yes? Anyway, I was just so tired last night to post anything at all, so I'm doing it now.

Yesterday, Gerry had a signing at Comic Odyssey for one of his comic books. Also, we got to deliver 10 of these box sets as well. We offered 20 box sets but as it is submissions time at the uni, I wouldn't be able to do that for the 15th. So, 10 sets, and another set for delivery on April 12th for this Summer Komikon or the Philippine Komiks Convention. I actually made something similar back in 2009 for Elmer comics.

Anyway, what is a box set? I think, you guys are familiar with your dvd or Blu-ray box sets, right? It's similar to that. It is a set of related materials in a box, simply put. For this one, it is a set of printed and handwritten materials related to the comic book Wasted. My husband made this comics 20 years ago and it still has such a following up to today. This edition is the third printing, excluding the one that was printed in Fudge magazine years back. Now, for Summer Komikon, we are going to launch another comic book written by my husband and drawn by my cousin, Arnold Arre, titled Rodski Patotski. It's in full color and printing is not really cheap so we thought of raising some funds for that. One of them was to produce these box sets.

It contained a hardbound copy of Wasted with a slipcase. If you look at the above photo, the book is the one splattered in red paint and the one behind it is the slipcase. It goes inside the bottom compartment of the box which is also the main box, and on top of it, there is another compartment for the extras as shown here:

The box is black to complement the comics, and lined inside with a textured red board because textured board is very glue-friendly. The bottom inside of the main box has strips of black board that act as corbel to hold up the top compartment. It also has a black ribbon to pull up the book as it would be difficult to remove it without something aiding it up. If you also notice, the top compartment also has a ribbon loop so it would be easy to pull it up as well.

Here's the inside so you can see more clearly:

And here's Zara, wrapping and labeling the boxes in Japanese (tissue) paper and plastic bags to avoid dirt and grime sticking to them. And of course, I wouldn't want the photo on top sticking to the plastic:

Here's a link to the digital version of the comics if you want to read it. Be ready for the angst! You will know also why the book cover is splattered in red paint.

Wasted Comics Online

Here's a link to my husband's web site:

Komikero.Com

I would like to make a video or photoset tutorial for these boxes. Sometimes, though, when I'm so into it, I forget what other things I'm supposed to do. I hope I don't forget this time.

See you next time!

That Day in November

Hello everyone!

I hope it's great where you are.

First of all, we, here in the Philippines, experienced the worst typhoon in recorded history ever, as I'm sure you all know by now, and our countrymen from the south experienced the worst. There are relief stations set up in places but you can also donate through Red Cross below. Just click the image to direct you to the site:

In other news, I survived my first semester in my chosen MA. I'm finding Curriculum Studies really fascinating, and I'm realizing Education as a course is really hard. I had a hard time adjusting to academia, I don't even know if I've adjusted yet, but it's very exciting to have my brain exercised that only academics can. I'm enrolled for this semester and, hopefully, I won't have any reason to stop until I'm finished with my thesis. One of my professors suggested a very, very good topic that I'd really like to explore. It has something to do with heritage conservation, K-12 curriculum and nationalism.

Less than month ago, I took a trip with the husband! However, I'd write about it some other time. I don't think it's the right time to talk about with what happened yesterday. As a sneak peek, though, this is where we went:

For the next few days, I'll be busy with some bookbinding, slipcases and boxes that would go together for a special project. Here goes something all black. I'll talk about it when it's finished. I have yet to find some red boards for the lining which I haven't found after visiting some supplies store.

So yes. Papercrafting is still a go. It's not going to be as often as I would like it to be. Sometimes, I'm just exhausted thinking about curriculum-related things whether I'm on either side of a lesson plan. I hope it changes soon enough.

Till later.

October Project Updates

It's been awhile! While I resolved to post things as often as I could, I find myself writing less. Why is that? Anyway, a friend ordered 100 pieces of 2010 calendars for Christmas along with 5 notepads with hard cover that I'm going to start doing by Thursday. I'm telling you now, they're really a lot! But they're so much fun to make and early orders are always, always easy to deal with and very much appreciated.

Yesterday, I delivered a coptic-bound scrapbook album with pre-made pages to another friend. I think I really did well on that one. :) Sadly, I didn't take a picture. :( There's another one for December so I'm going to make an effort to remember to take its photo.

There's a project I've been doing for the past few months. You might think that it's really huge. Not really. It's just a 4" x 8" (plywood size) bulletin board that would go up a clinic wall. It's really a cool project. That board would hold up hundreds of photos of children who are patients of my pediatrician friend. She said, they're her pride and joy aside from her own. Cutting up the photos took a lot of time. Then there's the matter of finding a 1/2" or 3/4" thick cork board (we haven't found any!), but we ended up using the ordinary 1/4" ones. My furniture-maker did not disappoint! They're going to deliver that to the clinic on Thursday where it's going to be painted a deep, deep brown, the same color as the trims in that room. I can't believe it! I've been doing bulletin boards almost my entire life!

And I'm doing some projects to get rid of my scraps I've had since 2003. Geez! Some of those papers I ordered through eBay or some Canadian firm because nothing was available here at that time... or at least, nothing I knew of. I'll post them next time. Yes, before October ends!



My friend Chris, gave me these beautiful, hand-carved unmounted rubber stamps for my birthday! How lucky am I to be the recipient of these. She took the time out of her very, very busy schedule (being both a student and a lecturer), to make me these. Awwwww... how sweet that is. Thanks so much Chris! And DON'T go easy on the kids. :)

So, that's it for now and see you later!

Search for Bookbinding Thread

For so long I've been doing my amateurish way of binding books, I used any string available because, as long as they're stitched together, it doesn't matter, right? Then again, I started taking the craft a bit more seriously than I've ever previously done. I learned about linen thread and it's the one being used in binding books traditionally.

I researched about them online and what did I find? A 200g spool of thread costs $100. Oh man! I'm not in the US so I'll convert: that's Php4,800.00!!!! Almost 5K for a spool of thread. That's professional-plan-internet for a month with lots of long-distance calls thrown in. That's a very comfortable, air-conditioned studio for a month. That's rent money. *sigh*

So I looked for alternatives. First, the readily available crochet thread, but it's made of cotton and it stretches, and if you stretch it a bit more than usual, it breaks and frays. Second, nylon thread. I have black and white here. Unfortunately, the three strands that make the thread separate each time it passes a hole. And it knots at the slightest move. Not good. Yesterday, I was on a hunt again to find a more acceptable substitute and there at the topmost corner shelf, behind the spools of ribbons, at Carolina's in Megamall, almost hidden from the casual customer, I saw: "kite thread". I had to look at it and feel it between my fingers. I pulled, tugged and tried to smoosh it up to see if it would fray and it didn't. Today, I tried to pull it into punctured holes on paper and it went smoothly. Yay for the find! And for the girl who assisted me there, thanks so much for your patience. She's genuinely helpful.

I haven't given up on that linen thread. I found another one that's $31 for a 50g spool of raw linen string. I might buy it someday, if I so decided to close my eyes, add it to cart, enter and never look back.

For the Love of Bookbinding

Hello everyone!! It's the beginning of the -ber months and we know what it means: Christmas is just around the corner. The weather, though, isn't helping us setting the mood. No matter. In a few days time, it will be better.

Of all the papercrafting that I dabbled in, bookbinding is my most favorite. I love them all, don't get me wrong, but there's something about making books that hold so much appeal to me.

I've been doing a lot of this for quite awhile but Coptic stitch binding had eluded me for so long that when I got the chance to really sit down and learn it, it was such an accomplishment. So here are my first couple of coptic stitch-bound books. I truly enjoyed and loved the process I went through to get to these two.


I wanted to post this a long time ago but haven't gotten around to do it. It's Gerry's copy of the Elmer boxset and slipcase.

I'm planning on making a few more books for personal mini-albums that I've been planning to do for the last three years that I haven't gotten around to doing because, well, other things take priority. This time, I'm making it a priority. This house is distinctly lacking in albums! The irony of it is very glaring, I know. But I'm planning on rectifying that.