This is how I attach the covers.  It’s not the final step, but anything bulky that gets glued (rather than sewn, for example) to the outside goes on after this.

Top left: I cut a strip of matboard to protect the spine and, after figuring out which part of the cover I’m going to use, I align it and glue it to the cover.  Then I glue the front and back boards of the signature block to the cover as well. (I know I’m not using the proper terminology, but the proper terminology is counterintuitive and not accessible to laypeople.)

Top right: I trim the cover to match.  This is one of the more difficult steps, and I’ve often gotten it wrong. 

Bottom Center: I fold the cover in on itself for a dry fitting.  It took me several books before I figured out that this step was necessary.  If the cover material is too thick, for example, if I’ve used too many layers of cloth, this is where I curse and regret.

Bottom Right: some epoxy “stickers” I’ve made, potentially to use on the red face book.

I decided that the green cover would look good if there were blue stamps over it.  I have a large collection of commercial rubber stamps that are so varied (and copyright free) that I sometimes use them despite my aversion to using others’ art in my collage.  Of course, once I’d inked up the glass (with acrylic mixed with gel retarder), it made sense to do a few more stamps.  And then I changed the hue slightly, by adding more paint. And then I stamped some more. And then I changed the hue to a more purplish one. 

For my next stage, I need focal pieces on the covers, preferably something with texture so the book’s owner can fiddle with it.  I was going to try to make epoxy stickers, by dropping epoxy on magazines or other 2-d art, then cutting around them.  Unfortunately, I got casting resin instead of epoxy, and I don’t know if it will work or not.  As with most of these projects, it will probably make the most sense to create a hundred times what I need, select the best one for this project, and store the others to use later.

I had some time tonight, so I painted on washes of acrylic over the book covers. This brightens them up and makes them look more cohesive. Still have very little idea as to what the final pieces will look like. I have a vague idea to make epoxy stickers for them, but haven’t tried yet.

The paint I use is Ceramcoat acrylic. It’s the best of the cheap kind that they sell in craft stores. Golden and Liquitex are much better, but they’re very expensive.  Apple Barrel, which they also sell in craft stores, is worthless.

Yet another smiley ball.  This is from the original ten, but I have another batch that will be coming out of the kiln in a week or two.  I decided I’m going to just keep making them until they aren’t fun anymore.

I’m having technical difficulties with my photography set up, which means I can’t photograph anything new until I get it fixed.  Lucky for me, I’d photographed all these smiley balls as filler for just such a contingency.