Design: Owl Spine

I've always wondered about adding a design to a book that wrapped around the entire cover. I remember seeing some journal cover a while back that had a large Celtic tree that was centered along the spine. I thought that I could do the same thing.

 The cross-hatching in the background would require a fine-bladed wood burning tool to keep it from looking too 'mushed' I would think.

To wrap around a journal of dyed pages of mixed colors (green and brown) I thought about making an Autumn-themed book and I wanted to include my new 'spine-animal' design.

I would probably use a tie-closure for this design.

Design: Serpent-Cup

Over and over again I am trying to add symbols for book-cover designs. I think the above design was made years ago and I've still not put it on a book.

The symbolic elements are:

Snakes entertwined: Snake = Rebirth, Regrowth. Knotted = Bound, connected, etc.

Cup = Female. Life. (Holy Grail-ish), Plenty, etc.

Sun/Moon = Balance between male and female.

Design: Fish Yang

A friend of mine once asked if I could make a yin-yang symbol out of fishes. Don't ask - it's complicated.

I think this design would be great as presswork into a leather journal using additional dye to bring out the darker portions.

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Update: 5/13/13
This design was put on a ledger-sized, all-leather book cover. (Click Here)

Design: Moon Wheel

This is a design that I've done over and over again as a possible cover for a book. I think that I would either press the design into the leather and then color it with dye to bring out the lines and different phases of the moon.

The only problem with the design is that it really needs something at its center. I could always put in a tripple-moon or a pentacle or something depending on what the client wants.

Newsboard

Newsboard is a form of compressed cardboard often made from recycled newsprint (thus the name). it is commonly used in matting pictures, mounting or backing artwork, etc.

I use it for the covers of my books as it's affordable and easy to work with since it comes in 1/4th inch thickness.

However - my main supplier has "chosen" not to carry it any longer so I'm on the hunt for a new source. Unfortunately I have several projects that require a lot of it (double folds take 3 boards alone).

More when I find a better source.
-Tom