awildekkem

___ Oh, please excuse me while I kill a few more hours on here looking at that forum. :D (I just haven't made it down that far, yet!) I haven't been so lucky to use machines for the binding process, I bet it is so much more efficient! Probably something I'll look more into as I go. I have several experiments for what type of paper I will be using... I have to decide on an ink as well, and the two have to work together nicely. No bleeding, no running, not too thick, not too thin. It's an admittedly self-inflicted tedious process, but all in all it is layered with intent and purpose, and I think all the attention to detail will really show through.

___ I read all of it, although most of that pertains to my note taking, not so much my Grimoire making, except that a lot of those tips might end up in how I write down spells and such! It's a great thread. I spare no expense on any notebook, like ever... Also, I am lucky in that my family often gives me new journals for gift-giving holidays, because it is a sure-fire way to please me. Calligraphy, hand lettering and typography are some of my favorite things in this earth and have been since I learned to write. Writing and writing beautifully are such sacred things to me, and having a beautiful book to record all of my things in has definitely been a priority for me, always. I have several beautiful leather journal covers, and I have learned to bind books so that I can continue refilling the journals I am most attached to. I've also dabbled in paper making, and in my dreams the final draft of my Grimoire will be hand-bound, with hand-made paper. (I have yet to bind a journal with solely handmade paper, but a girl can dream...) Which really all emphasizes the core of my Craft, the Craft I will teach my children. If your hands are capable, they should make it. To me, hand-made, hand-written, hand-grown, etc items are the most powerful of all.

Your methods are very similar to my slew of notebooks, it is a beautiful chaos that probably only I can navigate, and up until now, that is exactly the way I wanted it. Now I feel this calling to make an actual tradition out of the family craft. It's been pretty interesting so far. Making this Grimoire has consumed me, it's basically the Family Trad Craft 101, and I hope my future generations use it as a reference with a little slew of notebooks of their own that tell what worked for them, and how they applied some of my information to their own unique experiences and situations. :D

What are your methods? I tend to have several notebooks in my general surroundings at any given time. These are my running books of actual practice, much like the lab notebooks one keeps to record their experiments as they perform them. Historically I have not been so great of keeping up with or keeping track of these things. These are full of learning, crossing stuff out, redos, recants, and oopsies, and eventually something I deem worthy of the Grimoire. That way, instead of my Grimoire being partially (if not mostly) full of the sigil sketches that I didn't accept, that love brew that backfired (I wanted to attract suitors, NOT STALKERS...), and stuff of the like... Do you all have a similar system? Or does it all just go in a book and you flip through as needed, disregarding all of your perfectly imperfect mistakes? I see nothing wrong with including the rejects, but I am in the process of making an heirloom Grimoire to pass down, I want it to be intuitive in its order. I absolutely cherish my notebooks full of the process it took to get the final product, though. I never get rid of them. This is going to end in having a LOT of written material, but it is what works for me. Now, more about that Grimoire... I tend to make things in pages. I am obsessed with things having order and flow. The Grimoire will be divided into volumes. Possible ideas are specific volumes for (and these are not necessarily the titles, just content): Natural Ingredients (non-toxic)--woods, herbs, flowers, types of charged waters, etc. Natural Ingredients (toxic, psychoactive, entheogenic, mind altering)--alcohols, alkaloid plants, baneful herbs, etc. Other Ingredients--blood, nails (of the finger or pounding variety), hair, animal parts, bugs, metals, wax, etc. Stones--gems, stones, etc. Spells/Rituals--with subsections for purpose or type. Ceromonial Traditions--how my family will celebrate sabbats and things of the like. History--basically a giant sourcebook with added anecdotes for why I use a green candle when I do, and the significance of other such things. The Most Badass Index of All Time--you'll need it what with all the information I hope to amass over this life. I think I have a few more sections, but my notes are in another notebook, and the cat is napping on my foot. If you are comfortable with sharing, I'd love to hear and discuss how you have yours set up, and what your process is for creating one! Thank you! Keep it weird. awildekkem (Also, if this is better suited in another board, I am sorry, I used my best judgement, and this is my first post other than my intro, so I am super new. FORGIVE MEH.) (Damn, I use a lot of parentheses and dashes.)