The Paris Book Project

This book was the main project for our retreat weekend. I love all things French, and Paris in particular - I was a French major in college and spent my junior year abroad living and studying in Paris. So, I was ecstatic that our theme for this year was Paris.

We made the entire book from "scratch." The front and back covers are black matboard, approximately 8 x 10." We each decorated the covers as we wished - I added alot of the goodies we received all weekend to mine. The focal point is a tag that I made from a "kit" given by one of the members. The flower corsage was made by another member from an old wool coat and gold bullion embroidery trim. The Eiffel Tower was made by a member who couldn't attend this year and is polymer clay stamped with a texture and has a silvery metallic sheen to it. I didn't have, nor could I find, gold brass corners so I cut a rectangular frame to make corners.


Here is the first spread made by Cher. Her attention to detail is amazing. These pages were to represent the trip, complete with a passport, a trunk spilling with maps, and even bits of clothing (lace). The box in the foreground opens to reveal tickets and more. There was alot of cutting to be done for this!

The second spread represents French haute couture. These were my pages which I've posted previously.

Next we have a spread from Autumn representing the sights of Paris. We even made a coiled wire card holder for extra monument images.

Gloria's spread below represents the cafes and dining in Paris. There's even a little menu!

The last two pages were designed by Jeri - "Postcards from Paris" - with lots of vintage postcards and a ribbon-tied pack of letters home.

On the back cover I added an image made by Jean for each of us, printed on muslin. It's a great reminder of the retreat, including the date.

We hand-bound the books using a version of the Coptic Stitch binding. We made five "signatures" from heavy paper reinforced by gaffer's tape, punching four holes along the length of each and then lacing them together with ribbon. I still intend to add something decorative to the ribbons, possibly beads. It was a fun binding technique.

Everyone finished their books and we have very special mementos of a very special weekend.