Book board ready to cover with papers
Cover each mountain separately
Be sure to hide any board that will show
Lacy papers make great snow
The finished cover ready to be drilled for sewing.
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The front cover is 4
layers of zigzag-cut mountains, adhered to an uncut piece of book
board. So you need 5 pieces of book board total for the front
cover, and one for the back cover. My book is 8 1/2 inches wide
and 5 1/2 inches tall.
Cut the back zigzag
mountainscape first. Then cut the one in front of it, using the
back one as a guide. Duplicate some of the mountain tops for depth,
and if desired add additional mountaintops that will appear to be
closer. Repeat for the 3rd and 4th pieces of book board, creating a
multi-dimensional mountaintop scene. Cut carefully so that your
mountaintops will line up when the pieces are stacked together.
Using various
decorative papers, cover the individual mountaintops on each piece
of book board. Wrap the papers around the slopes of each
mountaintop, mitering and notching as necessary. I used mulberry
papers and momi gami (that crinkly metallic paper) as they are quite
forgiving and thin enough so they won't bunch up.
Some things to
remember - since the book board will be layered, you don't need to
worry about completely covering the pieces - just the mountaintops
and the front-most mountains. Also, remember to completely cover
the sides and bottom of the pieces. I left extra paper extending
from the bottom of the front most pieces, so that I could wrap it
around to the back of all the layers once they were assembled. You
could do this to the sides, too, for a more finished look. I also
tore some papers to give a "foothills" effect in the foreground. Be
sure to use the same decorative paper for each layer of the same
mountain!
The "snow" is the key
to hiding the layers and making the mountaintops look
seamless. Japanese lace paper works beautifully - just rip bits and
glue them to each of the mountaintops, wrapping the paper around to
the back. Then, starting with the top layer, glue it onto the 2nd
layer. Add more "snow" to any mountaintops that are now 2 layers
thick, wrapping around both layers to the back. Repeat the process
by gluing the top 2 layers onto the 3rd layer, adding "snow" to the
layered mountaintops, then gluing the top 3 layers onto the
4th layer, adding more "snow". Wrap any extended paper around the
bottom and/or sides of the entire assembled mountainscape.
Cover a piece of book
board the size of your book with decorative paper - I used the
marbled papers that sort of look like a sunset. Then glue the entire
assembled mountainscape to the book board cover.
It's helpful to have a book press to help keep the layers from
warping. Press each layer as it is glued together. You might
need to add book board shims so that even pressure is applied to
the entire glued surface.
Proceed with the
construction of your book however you prefer. I made a plain back
cover and did a 4-needle Coptic stitch, using 8 signatures of
watercolor paper, 3 folios per signature.
Have fun... think
rooftops, high rise buildings, a forest, a beach scene... anything
with depth and dimension.
The completed book cover
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