Print run 2018

I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in December and did a few things I don't normally do. After wrestling with the anxiety and social awkwardness..it wasn't too bad. In fact, it was fun. Running on that high, I got in t he mood to do a print run of my books. Now that turned out to be sooo much fun that I look forward to doing it again!

I picked the ones I wanted to print and ran 20 copies of each. Twelve tittles total with a few that I ran special in sets of five.

All printed and ready to cut and bind.

Ran a special colored copy of Rainbow Flip. First ever colored print run! That was pretty exciting seeing that come off the copier.

It was dreamy to see my art work and images of youth and fun, and play.

To remember a time when I daydreamed of a time every kid would have my books on their shelves. Sweet dreams of quietly working in my shop like an elf and handmaking books for everyone.

Cut and ready to assemble.
I have learned  much over the years with doing multiple runs. One being that all my books are 8 x 8 .... Now...but not back then. LOL The old masters are all sorts of sizes and its a real pain in the buns to have to pay attention to the sizes as you cut them.

I should mention that I chose to cut/bind the colored copy first and proceeded to make every error in that process. Mangled the first two books so bad I had to reprint and start from scratch. Which made me heehaw with laughter.

First set done and in the box.

Two down

I stopped to have my son shoot a few pictures of me working so I could look back. I'm binding here. That machine was the best thing for my books ever. 

Its like yoga or meditating for me the rhythm of cut-sort-punch-bind is relaxing and hypnotic.

I still do the back covers by hand. Each and every one. I at one point looked into getting a stamp to do that bit, but, it felt cheap to stamp hand made vs hand writing "hand made."

Cutting, sooo much cutting. Relaxing also.

Box is filling up.

Continuing the tradition of throwing in custom backs everyone in a while. Always thinking ahead and dreaming of the day my books are fought over by collectors and the rare custom backs are high money bringers at auctions.

Discovered something new, as I have never printed this many books at once. If I back 60 to 100 books at one time I get high from the pen fumes. gaahhh…...head ache. LOL

Fuller.

wait are we all most done? I'm not ready to be done yet.

Casualty of backing books. RIP my hand. Maybe I DO need a stamp after all LOL.

darn it only two left.

That's twenty set of books to give away to twenty kids.

Blackberry War Paint.

Oh, Bonnie and Todd...the two original kids who started my book empire.

I started stamping and numbering the books a while ago. As I started stamping this run I hit number 1000 after like the 3 book. It was a moment of reflection. A long journey. I tossed the counter into the trash and ended this practice. It just felt like time.

Thing have dropped off the printing process all along. This run I changed a few things, refined them....and FINALLY after forEVER  called its quits to writing the tittle: A very boring Tuesday afternoon on each copy of that book and renamed it Tuesday.  bwhahahahhaha! Wish I had thought of that years ago!!

I also ran that one you see on the top. First time its ever been printed! It was fun to run a few special copies of books that I don't regularly print.

I want to do more. Heck I want to write/illustrate some new books. It feels good to create again.