How To Make Miniature Bound Books- A Course By Evan Lorenzen And Tutorial Review

How to make miniature bound books has always been something that I was quite interested in, I just never really took the time to dive further into this.

Then, by chance, I came across this tutorial on Domestika on how to do this, and you know me: I needed it, haha!

Especially because, wow, I’m honestly quite impressed with this tutorial, there’s no doubt about it.

But of course, I will dive deep into this together with you in this blog post, so let’s go!

If you can’t wait, here is the miniature bookbinding tutorial itself, check it out! And don’t forget my personal discount code of 10% off! : EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

Updated 03/01/24

But first: which materials do you need to create mini-books?

This post contains affiliate links and images from Amazon and Domestika, with no extra charges for you.

To craft miniature books, we could use some special tools, but just using household items can be more than enough as well. Let’s show a list:

• Pencils ( 3H or 4H, so hard pencils, are preferable )
  
• a mechanical pencil could also be useful for more precise work
  
• a pen for the final drawing
  
• Watercolors and markers
  
• A pair of scissors
  
• a paper cutter and a cutting mat
  
• rulers
  
• An X-Acto blade
  
• a small sponge and a little glass of water
  
• a brush to paint on glue
  
• Have a clean surface to work on, as these projects are very small and every little stain will show
  
  

More specific tools for bookbinding, a second list:

• a Bone folder
  
• thread and beeswax OR dental floss
  
• A scratch awl tool. You can also use a safety pin or sewing needle.
  
• You will also need some acid-free bookbinding glue and a separate brush to apply this glue with. This doesn’t need to be an expensive brush at all.
  
• A book press, which you can make yourself DIY. There are several ways to make one and you can see one method below in this YouTube video:
  
  Or, you can just place your mini books under a large pile of big books or a heavy object.
  
  
  

Let’s talk about paper now, a very important part of creating a miniature book!

• cover board: something sturdy and thick enough. If you don’t have access to this kind of paper, you can try to use multiple layers of cardboard glued together.

• you also need thicker paper to use for the cover of your prototype
  
• The paper for your pages needs to be light and not rigid. Again, you can use Stonehenge light craft paper.
  
• bookbinding cloth (this is cloth on one side and paper on the other side)
  
• decorative paper

Check out more details on the materials to use to create a miniature book in this tutorial.

Now that we covered all the materials, it is time to check out the online tutorial details by Domestika.org.

Who Is the teacher of this tutorial on how to make miniature books?

The teacher’s name for this tutorial is Evan Lorenzen, but he also goes by “Art and Such Evan”.

He is a multidisciplinary artist who lives in Denver in Colorado.

All the arts he creates include:

• painting
• woodworking
• printmaking
• tattooing
• miniature illustrations
• miniature works of art
  

Since he started creating miniature art, he had some incredible cooperations with: the miniature Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the cat-art show in La, and so many more interesting and individual collectors.

He started getting interested in miniature books the day he started to draw a tiny sketchbook.

Without the use of any kind of magnifyer (wow!), and just using his own hands and eyes, he creates his own tiny books from beginning to end.

And he knows how to create soft-cover mini books as well as hard-cover miniature books.

If would you like to learn more about Evan Lorenzen and his journey, check out the course!

What will you learn in this tutorial on how to make miniature books?

I will guide you through each step of this course and tell you a little about what is included in each lesson.

The tutorial on how to make miniature books consists of :

• 17 lessons (2h 45m)
• 36 additional resources (11 files)
  

Video 1 and video 2: Introduction

In the first 2 videos, together about 14 minutes long: you will learn all about the teacher, his education and influences, and more.

Video 3: Materials and essential concepts.

To create little miniature books, you won’t need as many materials as for other miniatures, so this video part is only about 7 minutes long, but there is still a list of handy tools and materials 😉

The teacher goes way into detail on every tool, from the ink for the pens to the different inks to use and more.

Video 4 and Video 5:

These 2 short videos, together about 5 minutes long, consist of an explanation of bookbinding terms and conditions and a breakdown of a book layout and show you how the teacher orders his book’s pages, folios, and signatures.

If you can’t wait, here is the tutorial itself, check it out! And don’t forget my personal discount code of 10% off! : EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

Video 6: Let’s brainstorm!

In this video of more than 8 minutes long, you will learn how to brainstorm for the story of your miniature book, and let your fantasy run wild! He will also teach you how to get ideas.

Video 7: Thinking about designing!

In the next video ( 4 min and a half ), you will learn how to consider images and text on the pages and how to look at the design of your mini-book before you start.

Video 8 and 9: Making a tiny sketchbook, part 1 and part 2.

In these 2 parts, together about 36 minutes long, the teacher will start playing with the materials and create a small sketchbook that you can use as a prototype!

Part 2 is to finish this softcover sketchbook, and sew your signatures together into a text block with a waxed thread.

Then, you will make a cover and sew the text block to it.

If you can’t wait, here is the tutorial itself, check it out! And don’t forget my personal discount code of 10% off! : EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

Video 10: Putting Ideas to Paper

In this video, about 13 minutes long, it is time to use your tiny sketchbook to see what it feels like drawing on this small scale.

Evan will show you how to start drawing out text and images so that you can get an idea of how you want your compositions to be.

Video number 11: Illustrating the final pages.

17 minutes long to explain to you how to use the sketchbook I made as a reference, to draw the illustrations of the miniature book. 

In this video, the importance of when and how to illustrate the final pages will be discussed.

Video number 12: Assembling the text block

In this video of about 18 minutes long, you will see how to create signatures from your folios and turn them into a larger block of all your text and images.

Video Number 13 and 14: Making the cover, part 1 and part 2.

It will take you together about 12 minutes to move on and create the cover of the book.

Evan will explain to you that there are specifics to making a hardcover, such as measuring and compiling the materials, and it will be explained in detail.

The next thing to learn is how to cut a piece of decorative paper for the inside of the cover. It’s a technique adapted from larger bookbinding.

If you can’t wait, here is the tutorial itself, check it out! And don’t forget my personal discount code of 10% off! : EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

Video number 15: Attaching the cover.

This video is about 8 minutes long, and will teach you how to attach all the pages to the cover!

Video number 16: representing your work

Now that your miniature book is finished, you will learn how to represent your work in this tutorial of about 3 minutes long.

Video number 17: creating a multicopy edition.

If you are interested in making multiple copies of your mini-book, this video (7 minutes long) will teach you suggestions on how to make this process easier.

Final video number 18: the final project and a little resume.

In the final stage, you can represent your final project to the Domestika community and the teacher will remind you a little bit of the steps to take during the making of a miniature book with a few hints and tricks.

If you can’t wait, here is the tutorial itself, check it out! And don’t forget my personal discount code of 10% off! : EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

How to make miniature books: a tutorial review.

As I have bought and checked out this online tutorial on how to make miniature books myself, I can now give my opinion on it and show you some pros and cons as well. Let’s just get straight to things:

Overall Rank.

The good and the bad :

The Good.

• A very expanded tutorial seeing the topic, which you might think it wouldn’t take that much to talk about
• All the students give this tutorial a score of 100% reviews
• English audio and available in multiple languages with the help of subtitles
• unlimited access and available at your own pace

The Bad.

• Besides mine, there is only one other review, so the 100% positive review could maybe still change, but on the other hand not likely 😉
• Personal opinion: I would like some more information on how to create ‘alternative” miniature books, with different themes like Harry Potter, fairy tale books, etc.
  
  Also, little pop-up books would be wonderful to learn how to do. Maybe Domestika will create another course in the future for more advanced projects, let’s hope so 😉

Final Conclusion.

Overall, I really did enjoy this tutorial on how to make miniature books and I’m sure that you will too 😉

Check out the price and more details of this online tutorial here.

Finally, if you are looking for a much easier way to create a mini dollhouse book, be sure to check one of my own YouTube videos below, and don’t forget to subscribe, thanks!

My Final Conclusion

I hope that you enjoyed this review on creating a cute little mini book, and if you have any more questions or would just like to chat with me, please feel free to leave a comment down below in the comment section or join me on my social media channels or cozy Facebook group.

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

Have a look at the general review on (English) Domestika courses company here.

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