Houses tip-ins and a new way for adding them to a book

I recently hosted a Houses tip-in swap. There were 13 players, myself included. I made enough tip-ins for everyone and to compensate for being such a pig, I made two for each person. I had a total of 15 tip-ins (Judy sent me a different one for a hostess gift) and one lovely House shaped card sent me by Halle at Christmas. That made 16, for a total of 8 pages.

This book, although not finished was inspired by a technique I found here: http://www.art_e_zine.co.uk/swhite.html

Please note that I have not shown any tip-ins other than my own, since I have not asked permission from the players to do so.
I seldom take "before" photos, but this time I did. Here is the book I began with.
As you can see, it was an old discarded textbook

I began by gutting the book: Supplies for gutting the book: a sharp knife and the book.

To begin, open the book. Note how the first page is attached to the front cover.

I cut between the inside book cover and the first page.
Here is a closeup of the cut.

The front side is now completely cut. I turned the book over and repeated for the back.
When finished, I had a book cover and the pages in the book, which I'll use in another project.

Supplies for altering the cover: Gesso, foam brush, electric sander (alternative is a sanding block).
The sanded book will no longer have a shine or luster. Note how I used a sanding block directly under the "introductory readings." The mouse (electric sander) didn't remove the sticker, so I did, then hand sanded where it had been. The advantage to using an electric sander is that it gives a much smoother finish (and doesn't hurt your hands).
When sanded, I wiped off the book with a lint free rag.

I then applied one coat of gesso to the outside of the book.

While the book cover was drying, I used scraps of CS to make the connecting papers. These are the papers I attached the tip-ins to. You can see there are different sizes, both in width and length. I ended up cutting the length off some. Since many of the tip-ins were different heights, I tried to match up similar heights of pages. The front row started as white CS, to which I added silver and burnt umber glazes.

This page is ready to be assembled. I started by gluing 1/2" of tip-in to the CS that I cut to size. When dry, I used a Crop-a-dile (not pictured for some reason) to cut holes at the top and bottom of each page, then used it to add the eyelets. When necessary, I used my "anywhere" hole punch/eyelet setter for the holes and eyelets the Crop-a-dile wouldn't reach. I used only the Crop-a-dile on the right side (in the picture), but the two middle snap holes were made using the hole punch and a hammer.

I bent the CS so it will fit over the rest of the stack which you can see in the top of the photo. This is actually the back of page 1 (left) in the book and the front of the last page(right).
I simply flipped the page over. Now the back is on the left and the front is on the right. As for which side I glued under the CS, it depended on the tip-in and which side had the least art to lose.

This is the last tip-in in the book (mine) after the stack (below) was assembled.

This is what the tip-ins look like after they were mounted on connecting CS and placed in a stack based on their size. My tip-in is first.

The inside middle showing the different sizes of the pages that make up the signatures. Although I don't have photos, I made three holes in the eight centers. I was going to make two signatures, but settled on one. I should have gone with my first impulse, because eight pieces of CS and the book spine were too thick for a single eyelet. I ended up adding extra eyelets to the first four pages, which were not attached to the spine. This turned into a nightmare when I tried to bind the book. Also, since I only used three holes, I ended up with one strand of the fiber on the inside rather than the outside, so I had to loop the fiber around itself and push it thru the center hole, which I started from.

Although the book isn't bound too well, it is holding up OK and seems relatively stable. I originally tried to use two fibers, but couldn't get them thru the middle hole a second time, much less a third time.
A closeup of the inside middle.
This is the inside back cover. I was gifted with a postcard and a house shaped tag from two of the players. I wanted something with the house theme to hold them, but couldn't think of a way to make a pocket from a house. Somehow it hit me about the little old lady who lived in a shoe. I went on the internet and found a shoe image. The shoe was primarily white, so I reversed the color in Photoshop, making it primarily black. Then I printed it on purple paper. The title reads "They lived in a shoe." It is all mounted on some yummy textured pink paper I've had for awhile.
This shows the back side of the last tip-in (which is mine) and the inside back cover. You can see how the back of the eyelet faces the back of the tip-in.
My friend Dana came over and inspected what I did. She was also in the swap and curious as to how I mounted my tip-ins.

Before I added the signature, I painted the outside of the book turquoise pearl, then drew a picture of a house on the outside front. I then used the peeling paint technique from Claudine Hellmuth's "Discovery Workshop." When the first coat was dry, I applied vaseline in certain areas of the house, then applied purple paint. When dry, I wiped off the excess top layer of paint and the vaseline using a baby wipe. I left the middle free of the second paint, because I want to find an old door handle plate, to which I plan to add an old door handle I have.
This photo, taken from the top of the book, shows all the tip-ins after they were assembled in the book.

The book was a nightmare to make, but it was only my first one. I think it's a very good idea for keeping a small swap together. The book is large enough for these pages, but not so large the few tip-ins would get lost in the fray of a large book. The next one I make will have more signatures and I'll use heavy waxed linen thread rather than the bulky fiber.

This photo shows the spine and the front of the book. I plan to add beads to the fringe.