A Fan Fold Book

This is a fan fold book made from Watercolor Paper. The buildings and the trees are molds that I made using matt board. I laid the buildings and trees on a piece of Masonite that I use for "printing plate" for a small press. The watercolor paper is submersed in water for several minutes, just long enough for it to become pliable, then the watercolor paper is placed on top of the molds and passed through the press. This embosses the shapes (in this case the buildings and the trees) into the watercolor paper. I then took the paper off the printing plate and placed it on a large piece of wool blanket that I use for couching when making paper. I let the paper dry for about 24 hours. Then I watercolor on it just like any other piece of watercolor paper...the clouds and grass are free hand, but the buildings and trees are painted within the embossing. Sometimes I like it just to be the white of the paper and I don't paint it. But, in this book I wrote a little story using my grand children's names. I made 3 of these, 1 for Bryan, 1 for Chelsea (my grandchildren) and this one I kept for my self. They loved their books by the way, I made these when Bryan was 12 and Chelsea was 7, but now that they are in their 20's they enjoy them more than ever.
The books cover is cardboard covered with handmade paper and embellished with rose buds. The books are 4"x9" when closed and 9"x30" when completely expanded.