#raconteurs commonplace book

[lemonysnicket]

adventures in bookbinding: making the negret colophon playing card book!

it's diy girl summer and i am Bored. time to attempt a completely new craft with zero research except for like. 3 youtube videos!

so, to start off, i suppose i will ramble a wee bit about my plans/goals/reasoning. truth be told, i just really really like my blorbo who book binds and i think it would be very fun to become Just like him for real. therefore we will be embarking on a journey!! to become my blorbo and also find something crafty to do today. quick psa that this is not a real tutorial because i have absolutely zero experience, but more of a general guide and/or craft with me! let's do this in sectionssss!!

1 - the plan!!

so for my first bookbinding project we are going to do something small, starting out by being silly and taking a page (lol) out of negret colophon's book (lol....) when he makes a tiny book and uses two playing cards as the covers. this will give me a little tiny trial run so i can learn the basic skills and use easily available materials around my house!! afterwards i think i'll sketch out a more ambitious journal idea - i have lots of fabric lying around that would work perfectly to cover a cardboard cover. wow, that's wordy! so! without further ado let's begin :) negret's little bookbinding project is described in the first chapter of raconteurs in this little excerpt here.

seems simple enough!! also the absolute perfect beginner project. it is tiny and the materials consist of Literally Anything. let's get groovy!!

2. materials!!

here's what we're working with:

playing cards! i found a deck lying around in a random drawer somewhere and chances are you have one laying around too. i chose the ace of spades and diamonds, because the text specifies a pair of aces but i couldn't find a matching pair, lol. i was also very tempted to choose one of the king cards as an homage to maisie's story later on (and because the king cards are absolutely gorgeous and detailed) but we're sticking to canon right now. we'll use the other cards for a future project.

needles!! a lot of the tutorials i see use very big or thick needles but i don't have those and this is also a very small project, not a huge journal, so any can work.

thread!! use whatever color you would like! at this point i was very indecisive because i have a lot of options and they're all quite pretty colors, but i settled on red later.

an assortment of papers!! use literally whatever you have lying around. for me, i managed to dig up the one scrap of newspaper in my house, since that's specifically listed, but most of my pages were from a book i sacrificed for an old art project, magazines and flyers, a lot of which were college mail because we're at that point in my life, lol. this is a recycling sort of project. choose anything! the more variety the better :)

i didn't display these in the photo, but if you have an awl, use an awl! i do not have one so i improvised, which i'll elaborate upon later. also, scissors! to cut the pages to scale. a ruler also came in handy :)

alright, now that we have all our tools in order, it's time to get into it :)

3. creating the pages!!

our first step is to measure our playing cards! you might not have to do this step because i'm fairly certain most cards are uniform in size/make, but check just in case, lol.

my cards measured to be 2.5" wide and 3.5" tall. i am no mathematician but using my singular brain cell i deduced that the papers should be twice the width of our cover, since those will fold to be the same size. so, using my Expert calculations, i made a little template cut from an index card measuring 3.5" x 5".

now we get to cutting!! using your various materials, cut out a bunch of papers to the size of your template. i just cut around it because i could not be bothered enough to waste time tracing, lol. i didn't go in with a plan, but i cut 16 papers to this size, which ended up being perfect. here are all my pages !! look at all the colors and textures!! the fun thing about the project being so small is that you can specifically cut the pages as the most interesting photos or sections, or you can even do it at angles too. as long as it ends up the right size, anything is fair game

now, we're going to make the papers into signatures! i just learned this word today lol. essentially, we will be grouping our papers and then folding those in half to become little mini books/pages. since i had 16 papers, i made 4 signatures with 4 pages each.

at this point i was tempted to go cut up more and make a fifth signature, but i decided against it since i didn't want the book to become too thick, and 4 sets with 4 papers each ended up being just about right. one of the tutorials i watched suggested that you group your signatures with paperclips or bobby pins, and at the time i waved off the suggestion but i totally agree now. i didn't have any clips to work with and i managed fine without them, but it definitely would have been easier if i had. so if you have them, use them! it'll make your life better lol. at this point you can stack your signatures together and itll look like a book!

oh yeah now we're cooking!!

4. preparing for binding!!

it was at this point in the process where i ventured out from knowing what i was doing to completely balling, but everything turned out okay and i'll walk you through it! our next step is to create the holes with which we will sew our signatures together. we're going to mark those off. once again i have zero clue how to do math but i managed to use my giant incredible smooth brain one more time to mark my template with a few equidistant points with which we can mark our signatures.

in case it's not clear, i kind of just counted the lines and then had to look up how much that was, but you can also just eyeball it if you're good enough. side note, i added two more holes after this, with one just below the very top and one just below the very bottom.

pardon my very unsightly nails, lol - here's how i used my template to mark the very center of each of my signature. you'll want to mark the point on the center line where you folded it while keeping the pages of each signature together. HOPEFULLY WITH A PAPERCLIP. and without further ado it's time for the stabbing!

now...here's where i got a little bit sacrilegious. you'll recall that earlier i mentioned how i don't have an awl in my possession yet? well, i managed to improvise a solution...

yes that is a sewing pin. IN MY DEFENSE it's all i had, and functionally it's basically the same as an awl! just on a much smaller scale. it worked out though - i imagine that if i'd been using thicker paper it would have posed a bit of a problem but for this project specifically, it was fine. do not kill me book binders. now it's time to get serious...

5. the binding

everyone stay calm! stay calm! it will be okay. i was lowkey intimidated by this part as this was Truly out of my depth of expertise, but i promise it's not that complicated. you're going to get your needle and thread now - i settled upon this gorgeous red color because it contrasted nicely with the playing cards, and there really wasn't much red in the papers i chose.

gorgeous!! tbh i always knew i'd go with the red because i've always envisioned the book with red thread anyways. like come on look at my very first drawing of negret WITH it. literally the exact same materials. i simply had to.

okay. now to the binding part. i don't have any real photos or insights or instructions for this whole stage because 1. i was deep in focus mode and 2. entirely relied on a tutorial for this part. here's the tutorial i used - massive shoutout to this lovely lady ! my spine didn't turn out nearly as neat as hers because i did not properly follow directions for the first bunch of knots (and i had to kind of improvise with the cover) but here's how it turned out!

not too bad for my first book, lol. try not to stress out about it being perfect because this book is not supposed to be perfect! the imperfections give it character. worst case scenario, if you really mess up, your eclectic book is just a little more eclectic than intended. and that's never a crime :)

now the one problem i had to figure out on my own was how to attach the covers, since most tutorials explain how to attach actual big separate covers and not - essentially paper. i ended up just... attaching them as if they were another page or signature to the front and back. my holes on the covers were a few millimeters away from the edge, though, since there's no crease or fold to align them with. what i did was essentially do the first knots/stitching on the signature like the tutorial said, but for each hole i sewed through in the first/last signature, i also made an additional loop through the adjacent hole on the cover. you can kind of see how i passed my needle through like instructed and then took a little extra detour to stitch the card as well. in some places i ended up making new holes in the signature too that were closer to where the cards' holes lined up?? try not to do that but it worked and it looks fine so really whatever makes it attach and hold is perfect.

6. bask in your glory!!!

aaaand that's it!! you did it!! this was a ton of fun to work on and i absolutely loved making this little adventure into a new craft with something so near and dear to my heart. if you make one please be sure to tag me!! i would love love LOVE to see :) here's an additional picture of my little monster (+ next to the legend himself. art credit to me lol. look the books are twinning!!)

#the raconteurs commonplace book #raconteurs commonplace book #green glass house #nagspeake #roaming world #uhhhh #bookbinding #book binding #genuinely i dont know if those are separate words or not. either way LDJKGLHSDJG #crafts #crafting #arts and crafts #yippee this was actually so much fun #to quote alex of vfdiscord fame “the self blorbofication of quill” #it's too late i'm in too deep i'm literally him now #quill crafts

[eyeballsoup7310]

I really don’t like the way the water looks in any of these so don’t be surprised if I post another variation eventually but you get the point right

(Lyrics from “like a child hiding behind your tombstone” by slothrust)

#my art #the raconteurs commonplace book #trcpb #Petronella trcpb #greenglass house #Kate Milford

[the-beee-charmer]

Greenglass House traditional/digital painting (my art)

Instagram: aesth_attic_art

#greenglass house #kate milford #milo and meddy #my favourite book in the world #drawing #Art #procreate #digital art #book fan art #Nagspeake #this book!!!!!! #the thief knot #the Raconteur’s commonplace book #thebeeecharmer art

[kanerallels]

*shovelling white cheddar popcorn into my mouth at the speed of light* OH???

#only partially a joke i am eating popcorn #it's delicious #this is reminding me of kate milford a lot actually #specifically the raconteur's commonplace book #small spaces #reading and liveblogging with hazel

[sapient-locations-bracket]

Madame Grisaille

She/her

The Raconteur's Commonplace Book by Kate Milford (& the Nagspeake world in general)

She is the personification of the network of living iron (old iron) that lives under the city. She takes the form of an old woman in the book. MORE PEOPLE NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!

Sounds awesome, I'll put it on my list!

#submissions #Raconteur's Commonplace Book

[dellalockett]

literally me frothing at the mouth whenever anyone speaks about Kate Milford books, I LVOE THEM SO MUCH BUT I KNOW NO ONE WHO READS THEM. Green glass house series, the raconteurs commonplace book, Boneshaker, broken lands I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. pls if anyone is a milford enjoyer interact with me

#kate milford #greenglass house #boneshaker #blue crown #shitpost

[accidental-spice]

I LOVED the Georgie lockscreen! I have so many questions. How do you make those? Are there more? Have you read The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book?

Awwww, thank you!!! I'm so glad to hear it!!

I make them on the PicCollage app!! My little sister introduced me to it, it's SUPER fun!!

I have SO many more, though only two other Greenglass House-related ones, which I shall post under the cut! My other ones are related to... wow, a LOT of different things. Suits, Agents of SHIELD, Star Wars Rebels, The Rookie... the list goes on

And I have!! I liked it, but not as much as I liked Greenglas House and Ghosts of Greenglass House. That's just a personal taste thing, though. Have you read it?

Thanks for the ask!!

Greenglass House, and Ghosts of Greenglass House!!

#ask response #PicCollages #my moodboards #my lockscreens #greenglass house

[siena-sevenwits]

I just read the first part of The Raconteur's Commonplace Book by Kate Milford, and while I can't speak for the rest of the book, I am utterly in love with this opening chapter.

#I don't know anything about Greenglass House - but I don't mind this being my introduction. #recovering reader #Coreander's Old Books

[kitsnicket]

Snicket fans if you’re ever looking for a new book to read might I suggest The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book by Kate Milford

[odonism]

📖, 📝 aaand 🌡! Sorry you're not feeling great, hope you feel better soon <3

thanks olaya! positive social interaction is already helping ♥️

📖 favorite book

might as well introduce two more fighters! jeff vandermeer’s annihilation and kate milford’s the raconteur’s commonplace book

📝 favorite quote

this is a good question… here’s one I posted from the girl who raced fairyland all the way home, which I still think about often:

“One of the awful secrets of seventeen is that it still has seven hiding inside it. Sometimes seven comes tumbling out, even when seventeen wants to be Grown-Up and proud. This is also one of the awful secrets of seventy.”

🌡️ favorite season

autumn, of course! but it never lasts long enough… summer is a close second and she’s always plenty long.

#asks #kingdomkome

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Raconteur's Commonplace Book | Author: Kate Milford | Publisher: Clarion Books (2021)

#books #The Raconteur's Commonplace Book #Kate Milford

[lemonysnicket]

whats ur favorite raconteurs story + why 👀 👀

HELLO THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY WITH A RACONTEURS ASK!!! this is so hard because it's nearly impossible to choose a favorite; i love the entire book front to back and adore eveerryyy single page. but!! some do really stick out to me. i guess i'll just rant about my few favorites. i think i need to separate them, though, because they destroy me in different wayyyys. i could talk about all of them for a million years. here are some of my faves in no particular order

the first twin's tale/the whalebone spring!! out of all of the more standard short stories in this book, this one sticks out to me. the first time i read it, i was so unnerved by the ending. something about the whole story had such an indescribable horror to it. i think about it a lot honestly - deacon and morvengarde always make me explode a little bit, and it's honestly such a brilliant and rich piece of world building that permanently sticks out to me in every single nagspeake book as just...so cool, and so scary, and so intriguing. and despite it appearing in nearly all of the stories in this book, for some reason the whalebone spring just encapsulates the feelings so perfectly. the way the story is told is also so chilling - props to reever for that one. love him. i think a really interesting part of the way raconteurs is told is that each story, despite being kate milford's lovely vivid writing each and every time, still captures the voice of the character telling it, and you can always learn so much about them just from how they speak and how they tell their story. that's one of the things i adore so much about raconteur's, is how much of the characters are left up to interpretation through this subtle characterization. there's only a little bit of explicit backstories or lore for each of the characters; excluding the likes of petra, massetter, etc, a majority of the less plot heavy characters are left as mysteries for the most part, and you simply infer the type of person they are through how they tell their story, the story they choose to tell, and the million tiny moments that characterize them throughout the book. it's brilliant. so yeah the whalebone spring is just...very very chilling and very cool . a million out of ten

the orphan's tale/the summons of the bone HAS to be up here. petra is just...the character of all time. she makes me weep. many of the characters do, but there's something about petra specifically that's so personal and nuanced and powerful and it evokes soooo much emotion. the summons of the bone is, if i recall correctly, the first story that sort of breaks the pattern from second hand tales and passed down stories to straight up backstory dumping and it's incredible. it's such a heartbreaking tale, and you just want to sob realizing how hurt and betrayed she was as a child. the amount of grief that story holds... unbelievable. not to mention that the concept of orphan magic is so.... chef's kiss. i love it. the grief and the whimsy and the beauty of it all.... honestly i don't think words can describe how the part where she floats down the river with the bone makes me feel. like. i'm going to explode it's so good. i think there's also something about the motif of water. something about how the rain and the river are so intertwined with all of these messy emotions always gets me. and it's so prominent! petra's grief and loss is tied to the floods, sullivan's guilt and pain are tied to the water (side note: sullivan always makes me want to explode he makes me feel so many emotions. i'm not listing his story here because it's less his story that makes me feel things than the interlude right after it - that one changed my brain chemistry forever - so i won't go into detail about it right now, but i think it's important that everyone knows how much sullivan makes me sob), captain frost, too , has his water related pain. and the floods in summons of the bone feel like the culmination of it, a rush of all of the anguish. and this connects to the ending and how impactful that is, when the floods start to fall. i just have. so many emotions. petra is just such an incredible character - i love her understated and underestimated intelligence, her silent observation, her power and her sadness and her knowing nature. what a lovely lady.

the headcutter's tale. i know it's just the ending and not technically a *story* story but...the ending really messed me up in the best way. i don't think i've ever been left so RAW after finishing a book. i felt like i had all of my emotions just drained completely and was left with this sheer love and sadness and gah!! it was insane. i've ranted about this in the vfdiscord for ages and ages but i always go back to it, so. i think the strongest and most impactful part of raconteurs is the estranged found family of it all. they're all strangers, for the most part - acquaintances with messy ties who barely know each other. but at the same time, they know each other more than anyone else in the entire world. and there's something so intimate and personal about the understanding between all these characters and the tentative bonds they have, along with the tensions. i think the most incredible part of this is the way all of them interact and care for maisie. each and every one of them shares affection and care for her in some way; all of them find a way to make things just a little better for her, to protect her from everything and to watch out for her. you can see this with mrs. haypotten's protective nature, gregory's carved animals, sorcha playing with the fire, negret's dancing with her... all of them, despite being near strangers, go out of their way to show this little girl kindness. and with jessamy!! it's the ending!! it's her story and it's so indicative of this same thing, this same love that all of them have. it's just such a lovely and emotional way to end the book, and it's so fitting, too. the book is, above all, about stories. and i think, at the same time, it's about how the stories act as a way to connect people, to uplift them and to share their emotions and to build these bridges during the worst of times. and the choice to end the book in such a way just... leaves the most fitting and perfect uplifting and bittersweet and hopeful note. ugh. i love it.

i just realized how insanely long this post is. oops!! i think i will stop there for now, because it's so long but also because i don't have my copy with me to check details or look at any of the other stories right now. but!! this was very very fun to answer and i always have a million raconteurs emotions in my head so. thank you for the ask !!! <3

#the raconteurs commonplace book #raconteurs commonplace book #greenglass house #nagspeake #kate milford #trcpb #asks #ty for the ask #this was very fun #i might drop more art later or like. a bunch of my playlists #im in the raconteurs mood again ty anon

[eyeballsoup7310]

Trigemine is such a funny character when you think about it. He’s a genius when it comes to math. He hates math. He’s a time traveler. He somehow broke his time traveling device. He’s quasi-immortal but he’s afraid of a child with fireworks. He’s godawful at his job. No one can remember his name. He regularly makes kids do his job instead of him. His childhood crush literally died because he liked her. He basically has pattern recognition autism™ and is in a constant state of overstimulation but he thwarts it by hunting down people with magic powers. He was brought along to a dance battle with the devil. He was never heard from after said dance battle with the devil. He truly is just nagspeake’s biggest loser

#just talking #the raconteurs commonplace book #Kate Milford #greenglass house #I should start tagging trig huh #foulk trigemine

[the-beee-charmer]

Maisie from the Raconteur’s Commonplace Book

I love Maisie!

(Art by me, Instagram: aesth_attic_art)

#kate milford #raconteur’s commonplace book #y’all go read this book #book fanart #greenglass house #Nagspeake #thebeeecharmer art

[pussreboots]

#00CCFF #road narrative spectrum #raconteur's commonplace book #kate milford #2021 #Nagspeak

[sapient-locations-bracket]

Proto-bracket Poll 5:

Descriptions:

The House (MyHouse.WAD): no description

Luis (he/him, dofus tv show): this guys a house! the brief oversimplified synopsis is that he used to do scary haunted house type stuff before getting basically adopted by a pair of adventurers, who later ended up getting Adventurer Divorced and he's now stuck running a shop with the one of them that he didn't like

Madame Grisaille (she/her, The Raconteur's Commonplace): She is the personification of the network of living iron (old iron) that lives under the city. She takes the form of an old woman in the book.

#polls #sapient locations bracket