I’m very much looking forward to doing some books this Summer. I haven’t had a chance to do any this semester, for several reasons: for one thing, I’ve been busting my hump in school and doing practicum (classroom observation,) and for another thing, our new house has had no crafting area until this past weekend, when I bought a six-foot folding banquet table at Target and Karisa set up part of the basement for our respective hobbies. When I got home with my surprise, she showed me hers, and we realized that we had both been on the same wavelength, which is always a nice thing.
I’ve had these ideas rolling around in my case for a while about some new projects. I’m going to try out some Ethiopian coptic chain-stitch journals, which should solve the issue I have with my books not wanting to lie flat. I also have a few design tweaks to try on stab journals for getting them to lie flat, including a double-hinge design, and a multi-hinge design inspired by roll-up blinds that may allow the user to roll the cover back around the spine – but I have yet to deal with how I might design a text block around the concept.
I got some leather from a seller on eBay back in December, and my hands have been itching to do some leather covers. I just ordered some Czech glass beads that look like leaves for specific ideas I have, and I’m looking forward to using those. I’m looking forward to actually determining the grain direction of paper so I can make sure it runs in the correct direction when I make a signature (page section.)
I’m also looking forward to my personal NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) The month is actually November, but I’ll be in school again and I won’t have time to write until my fingers fall off. So I think I’m going to do June or July. Those are good months.
What are you looking forward to doing this Summer? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Rob's Surf Report 
First off: I’m going to need a way to get your RSS feed somewhere that I check every day so that I know when you update!!!
Second: I would love to read (not MAKE books as awesome as you’re doing) but am actually taking a summer course, but only from the beginning of May until the end of June, which brings me to my third point…
Third: You should totally NaNoWriMo in July when I’m off, too, because I cannot do it in November, either.
I think the feed address is just https://robssurfreport.wordpress.com/feed; at least, that’s the feed I use for the Android app. Usually I’ll put the feeds I’m watching in the Rockmelt sidebar and then I can’t get away from them (thanks, Lifehacker, for your 30 posts a day!)
Ech, I hate summer courses because the rush you and pile on the homework. I had to deal with that this semester because they split the semester between two of my classes, and I had a full semester class on top of that, and my advisor keeps sending my classmates and me these emails about summer classes and I just think, ‘no way, Jose.’ There’s an online anthropology class next semester, though, and I’m seriously considering taking it just for kicks.
July is a good month. If we were doing it at the same time, what does that mean? I’m completely unfamiliar with the concept of NaNoWriMo except for the whole quantity vs. quality aspect.
I got it to work. Turns out I can add your blog but just putting the URL address of it in my Blogger Blogs I’m Following and voila — so now I always know when you update since I visit it every day. The problem wasn’t getting the RSS feed but having it somewhere I check every day. I tried using Google Reader in the past but that doesn’t work for me. This will.
And it’s Florida law that all students attending a public university must take at least 9 summer credits throughout the entire 4 years they attend. So, I’m knocking out 3 credits this summer for that.
And I think the only other part of NaNoWriMo is camaraderie? I tried doing it in November but couldn’t because there was school to think about O_O
BY just* not “but just”
Also if your anthropology course is anything like Community, it’s gonna be great!
I hear you; when I heard NaNoWriMo was in November, I thought it was the craziest thing I had ever heard. It might make more sense once I stop going to school. What a weird idea that was!
So . . . do you get financial aid for summer classes then?
I do, in fact. I hope that they will come through even though I’m only taking 3 credits
They couldn’t have delayed it enough to tell me. It’s not so bad, but they waited until, basically, the DAY summer enrollment began.