“When I want to read a good book, I write one.” —Benjamin Disraeli
There are tons of options out there for making your own books, but a lot of “self-publishing” sites require a huge investment because they work on the theory that you want to sell your books to lots of people. But, alas, we little people are satisfied, sometimes, with just making a book or two — for ourselves, for our family, for presents, for a portfolio.
Here are a collection of a few of my favorite places where you can construct your very own book (from McDonald’s publishing to A list restaurant, so to speak) and none of these places force you to purchase more than a single copy of your book.
Espresso Book Machine
I posted about the Espresso Book Machine from On Demand Books a few weeks ago. I’m pretty obsessed with the fact that you can be standing in front of a machine, bookless, and ten minutes later have your self-written opus in your excited hands.
Lulu
I have no personal experience with lulu.com but I re-visit the page again and again, dreaming of the books I can create, sell (if you want you can set a price and sell your books online with no inventory costs), or give away. At Lulu, a paperback book with 100 pages can cost you less than $7, and you can order a new one anytime you want. A color comic book might cost you $15. You can also print cookbooks, textbooks, brochures, and there are even special software packages for children who want to create a book.
Lulu even has a Vintage Publishing service. This is more expensive ($150+ for the creation of the book, but regular prices apply to book purchases), but Lulu will scan in old books like scrapbooks, family heirlooms, or out-of-print books and turn them in to new, not-falling-apart books for your family to enjoy. They’ll also give you a high-quality pdf version.
Blurb
Blurb.com seems to be an artsier version of Lulu. Prices are a little steeper (for example, a 40 page 8×10 book is $20), but all include four color printing. There is also special, downloadable software if you need help building your book. You can flip through some already created books here. Book by Its Cover also did a very honest review of her blurb-created book, which I suggest you read before you take the plunge.
Good Stock
Good Stock is the cream of the book publication crop and is especially for those who want to make some kind of epic memory book probably for a momentous occasion like a birth, an anniversary, a wedding, etc. Yes, these books are expensive (maybe something like, say, $500), but I think they are amazing, beautiful, and incredibly professional, especially good for someone who knows he cannot quite create a fully-polished product on his own.
Kim at Good Stock has her own blog, and is one of the people who personally takes your shoebox full of pictures and memories and turns it into a visual story (with detailed input from you, of course). If you can’t afford your own book, you can look at some of the books already created here.
I recently discovered the new “got milk?” web-site while surfing NotCot.org. I love the white paper cut-out look, very milky. There are also lots of fun moving parts and colorful characters. An excellent example of corporate web-design (for those of us with fast enough connections to keep up with it).
My favorite part of the site? DIY projects for the crafty milk-drinker-recyclers among us. The downloadable pdf instructions are availible for both milk cartons and milk jugs. I know, it’s all a little kindergarten, but the youthful part of me can’t help but get excited.
“Do it your mole” was a contest to create your own “cut and assemble” paper figurine from a pre-made mole figurine (available for pdf download). The translation on the page is a bit rocky, but the project looks like it was fun!
The Basic How-To
Take a screenshot during expose’s “show all windows” when all of your pictures are opened. If that didn’t make sense, read more below for a full “tutorial”. This all takes about 10 seconds, especially if you already have all of your pictures opened.
Why?
My biggest disappointment when I first switched from PC to Mac was the absence of Picasa. One of my favorite features on Picasa was creating easy photo collages. Also, I refuse to use iPhoto (because I’m stubbornly waiting for Picasa to be developed for Macs and don’t want to get too emeshed in another program in the meantime!).
So, when I first received my brand new Mac, I created my own picture collage technique. I’m sure there are other ways to do this, but I usually open all of my photos in Photoshop anyway to do a little editing before posting them to Facebook and whatnot, so this is a really simple way to create a fast collage.
So, I’ve just discovered Polyvore on a friend’s blog when she created this Madeline Set (which I love!). On Polyvore, you can easily create sets of items from stores like Urban Oufitters and Luck Lady Rules (so, many options from big to small!). You can even install a “Clip to Polyvore” button on your browser’s tool bar, so if you ever see something lovely you want to share with the world, you can add it to a set.
You can search for what you want (ie: donuts, sprinkles, candy, circles, and tiered dresses were a few search terms I used to create my Donut Set <–click here and you’ll see my set on the Polyvore page, with all of those products linked to the web-site where they can be purchased). Once you find the items, they are (more…)
Just found this “Make Your Own Slime Creep Toy” at The Blog of Rowan Tedge (a pretty cool Australian illustrator). You can make your very own crazy toy by printing out this sheet & cutting & taping away!
Welcome to my first YouTube video from the new Stickers & Donuts YouTube Channel. Our first video (by Maria) is a bottle cap jewelry & magnet do-it-yourself tutorial. This how to should provide some basic instructions, tips, and tricks on how to start creating fun crafts out of bottle caps!
Here are two photos from the depths of my own Bottle Cap Craft Lab: (more…)
I thought I’d share the thrill of having an inspiration board. I hang mine between my closets (yes, closets, but they are both very small) in an alcove with my jewelery. This (above) happens to be my current fashion inspiration board, and this month featuring mostly bright colors, many of which I found in Vogue, as well as as few tags and logos from places like Target and Urban Outfitters. (A fashion inspiration board doesn’t always have to include photos of clothes because “inspiration” can come from anything. I hung up the Jenna Malone photo in the lower right hand corner because I like the style of the photograph, not because I particularly like the clothes.) I like using magnets because they make it easy to switch images, but a bulletin board or sticky-tack directly on the wall works, too!
There are a lot of graduations & birthdays in May, and I generally expect to give friends & family something artsy and personalized (same problem at Christmas) along with their gift. So, how do I make my presents LOOK personalized without having to hand drawn 15 cartoons or make a dozen scrapbooks? I get crafty about my crafts.
Linoleum prints are easy (but don’t seem easy), are really fun, and can be completed while watching Netflix movies. Although you need a “linoleum” block, these blocks are not actually made of kitchen-tile linoleum (as some imagine), and are not actually that expensive. Supplies can be purchased at stores like AC Moore, or online at places like Blick. A simple starter set (that’s what I have) is less than $25 and can be easily supplemented with linoleum blocks that cost from $1-$10 online, depending on the size.
How do you create a cool linoleum print? Well, this is how I do it:
Flicker user nina-cuneo creates a stuffed felt monster and shows you how to make one, too! (more…)
