Mauro Toledo

Blue Leather Small Sketchbook - I used blue leather for the cover of this book, lining the inside of it with handmade red paper with a silkscreened red Tibetan cloud design. The signatures were made of of various types of paper stock cut to size. I used red hemp thread to bind it to the cover. I also added a faux headband to round out the piece. Final book size was approximately 3.5" x 5.5"

B/W Oil Cloth Small Book - I took Oil Cloth and backed it with cover stock and lined it with handmade chinese gold printed paper. The signatures were made up of several different colored paper stocks including tracing paper. I bound it using high quality red Irish linen binding thread. The final book size was approximately 3.5" x 5.5"

Corrugated Cardboard Flap Book - Tearing off one side of the paper on a piece of cardboard, I revealed the corrugation underneath & cut out the corrugation to paste a photograph on the cover. I lined the book with a photocopied, letterpressed piece of art. The signature is made of several different colored papers including different colors of lined paper and security printed envelopes. The book is held closed with a red colored ribbon and bound with matching red hemp binding thread. Final size, 4.75" x 5.75"

Coltrane CD Cover Book - I salvaged the cover to this John Coltrane CD cover to create the cover for this book. I had to cut the paper to fit this size cover using several different colored paper stocks. I used black tape to create the spine and to keep the covers together. I hand bound the signatures to the cover with a high quality blue Irish linen thread matching the color of the photography on the cover of the book. The final book size was approximately 4.75" x 5.75"

Green Oil Cloth Small Book - I created this cover by using a piece of this green oil cloth fabric, gluing it to a cover stock for stability and lined it with handmade red paper with a silkscreened Tibetan cloud design. I put together the signatures using salvaged envelopes with postage on them, graph paper and other colored papers. I bound the book using a high quality black Irish linen thread. The final book size was approximately 3.5" x 5.5"

Contact Sheet Red Small Book - I created this cover using wrapping book board with handmade red paper and a strip of an actual contact sheet I created years ago in a photography class. I lined the cover with brown decorative paper. I created the signatures with graph paper and various colored paper stocks. I used the same red paper to wrap the ends of the signatures to give a similar effect to the spine. I bound the book together using a natural light brown colored hemp thread. The final book size, approximately 3.5" x 5.5"

Soft Blue Leather Book with Red Wrapped Long Stitch Binding - I used blue leather backed with card stock and lined with handmade silkscreened Japanese wave paper. I wrapped each signature with pages from the Japanese newspaper Rafu Shimpo. The white pages are high quality bond paper. I also added faux headbands to give the book a more sophisticated look. I binded the signatures to the book using red colored hemp thread using a wrapped long stitch bind. The size of the book is 4.5" W x 5.75" H with 128 white pages or 256 white surfaces to write or draw on.

Soft Blue Leather Book with Red Binding - I used blue leather backed with card stock and lined with an Asian motif paper. I also added faux headbands to give the book a more sophisticated look. I binded the signatures to the book using red colored hemp thread using a long stitch bind. The size of the book is 4.5" W x 5.75" H with 128 yellow pages or 256 surfaces to write or draw on.

B/W Oil Cloth with Red Binding - This book features a beautiful handbound long stitch bind and a unique oil cloth pattern that's lined with a red hand printed gold coin paper. Each signature is wrapped with a goldenrod bond paper. The book also features faux headbands made from security printed envelopes and white thread. The book measures 4.40" W x 5.75" H. The book has 112 white pages and 16 goldenrod pages. The book's small size allows it to fit in a large jacket pocket or a purse for quick note, for journaling or sketching.

Green Oil Cloth with Black Binding - This book features a very beautiful handbound long stitch bind and a unique green damask oil cloth pattern that's lined with a red hand printed paper with a Tibetan cloud pattern. Each signature is wrapped with a piece of a handmade paper that is printed with Indian gods and goddesses. The white sheets consist of a high quality Hammermill bright white bond paper. The book also features faux headbands & measures 4.40" W x 5.75" H. The book has 128 white page and 16 handmade pages.

Large Red Japanese Wave Paper Book - I used large 60 lb. sheets of paper for this book. I used a handmade silkscreened thick piece of Japanese paper for the chipboard cover. I then lined the interior of the book with another piece of handmade silscreened paper of the Japanese Lucky Cat or Manekineko. I added faux headbands and then used a wrapped long stitch binding to bind the signatures to the cover of the book. The book has 128 pages or 256 surfaces to write/draw on. The final book size is 7.25" W x 9.25".

Soft Blue Leather Book with Orange Binding - I used blue leather backed with card stock and lined with handmade Japanese paper. With chipboard for the spine and signatures made of high quality Hammermill white bond paper and wrapped with orange heavy card stock. Faux headbands give the book a sophisticated look. I bound the signatures to the book with orange hemp thread using a long stitch bind. The size of the book is 4.5" W x 5.75" H with 128 white pages or 256 white surfaces to write or draw on.

Corrugated Cardboard Blue Sticker Book - Using a piece of cardboard as a cover, the cardboard from the box of a laptop. I lined the cover with a hand pulled silkscreened sticker. The inside of the book is the outside of the box of the laptop with photography of the closed laptop. The signatures are wrapped with a colored patterned paper on one side. The white paper is a white bond paper. I binded the signatures to the cover using a red colored hemp thread and a unique bind. The book measures 4.5" W x 5.75" H".

Corrugated Cardboard White Sticker Book - Using a piece of cardboard as a cover, the cardboard from the box of a laptop. I lined the cover with a hand pulled silkscreened sticker. The inside of the book is the outside of the box of the laptop with photography of the closed laptop. The signatures are wrapped with a colored patterned paper on one side. The white paper is a white bond paper. I binded the signatures to the cover using a red colored hemp thread and a unique bind. The book measures 4.5" W x 5.75" H".

Arrogant Bastard Beer Mat Book - This book was a result of an obsession with beer mats. I used black tape to create the cover and then used the long stitch bind to attach the signatures to the cover. The signature is made up of pink, hot pink, light blue, blue lined, yellow lined, plain white, recycled brown bag and tracing papers. The stitch pattern on the spine was completely original. It was a great book for beer lover and small enough to carry along with you anywhere. Small enough to stash in a pocket or purse.

Great White Beer Mat Book - This book was a result of an obsession with beer mats. I used black tape to create the cover and then used the long stitch bind to attach the signatures to the cover. The signature is made up of pink, hot pink, light blue, blue lined, yellow lined, plain white, recycled brown bag and tracing papers. The stitch pattern on the spine was completely original. It was a great book for beer lover and small enough to carry along with you anywhere. Small enough to stash in a pocket or purse.

Red Asian Paper Book - This book is a hard cover, covered with an Asian paper stock. The cover is lined with a Japanese character design paper. The signatures are made of recycled brown paper bags, used envelopes, graph, tracing, yellow lined, blue, yellow and red, and white lined paper. This book has 188 pages/surfaces to write/draw/whatever on. the text block is stitched onto the hard cover using a long stitch bind using black Irish linen thread. The book measures 6" wide x 4" tall and is 1 1/4" wide at the spine.

Small Brown Leather Book - I used a piece of leather and backed it with a map I got from my subscription to National Geographic. The paper is lined and each signature is wrapped with a sheet of brown paper. The book is 3 5/8" wide and tall and the spine is 1" wide. There are 84 sheets of lined paper (not counting the brown paper) with 168 surfaces to write/draw/whatever. It's perfect for the light traveler and fits easily into most pockets and bags.

Transplants CD Book - I salvaged the items I used to make this cover from Transplants recycled paper CD cover. I bound the signatures to the cover using a long stitch bind and colored hemp binding thread in a design I created for the spine. The signatures consist of blue, red, yellow and white graph paper and lined paper and finished with sheets of tracing paper. The book measures 5 5/8" wide and just under 5" tall and is an inch wide at the spine. This book had 128 pages with 256 surfaces to write/draw/whatever on.

Asian Lantern Red Paper Book - This book is made using a red Asian paper covering book board. The inside of the cover was lined with a page from local Asian market circular, Marukai. The signatures are made up of light blue, yellow, pink, hot pink and white bond paper. Also, I added recycled envelopes and brown bags, graph paper and yellow college ruled lined paper. I used a turquoise hemp thread to bind the signatures to the cover. Against the red cover it looks greenish.

Buena Vista Social Club CD Book - I recently ditched all my CD jewel cases and this also left me with some of these paper CD cases that I could reuse as cover for books. I connected the cover and back cover of the CD with black tape and lined the cover with decorative paper with musical notes. The signatures are made up of red, yellow, white, pink and blue bond paper and with graph paper and recycled brown paper bags as well. The book has 128 pages or 256 surfaces to write or draw on. The book measures 5.5" W x 4.75" H.

Parliament Cigarette Book - I made this book using a discarded cigarette box. I mounted the box on decorative paper which added some weight to the box. I then bound the books to the box using red hemp thread. The pages were made using white graph paper, white bond, hot pink and yellow paper, blue and yellow lined paper and recycled security printed envelopes. The book measures 3 1/4" tall x 2 1/4" wide. There are 112 pages to write/draw/take notes/whatever.

Fat Tire Beer Mat Book - This book is made using two beer mats, white tape and a piece of book board to make up the cover. I used a variety of papers to make up the text block including recycled paper from brown paper bags, pages that are printed on one side with text and other white paper recycled from schematic drawings. The book measures 5 1/8"w x 3 1/2"h. It measures 1 1/8" at the spine. There are about 144 pages with approximately 288 surfaces to write/draw/whatever on.

Seneca Cigarette Book - I made this book using a discarded cigarette box. I mounted the box on decorative paper which added some weight to the box. I then bound the books to the box using olive green hemp thread. The pages were made using white graph paper, white bond, hot pink and yellow paper, blue and yellow lined paper and recycled security printed envelopes. The book measures 4" tall x 2 1/4" wide. There are 112 pages to write/draw/take notes/whatever.

Saddle Stitched Recycled Books - I created these books from a pile of paper that I rescued from the recycling bin. Measuring 5.5"H x 8.5"W, these pages are printed with mixed information on one side but on the other side is clean, blank white sheets. The covers are made from pieces of artwork, nylon bags, security printed envelopes and backed by heavier card stock. They are saddle stitched together.

Goffel Beer Mat Book - I used beer mats, white tape and book board to create the cover and spine and colored hemp thread for the binding. The pages are made up of white graph paper, tracing paper, yellow and blue lined paper, hot pink and white bond paper and envelopes with security printing on one side. The book measures 3 3/8" x 3 3/8". The pages are 3 1/4" x 3 1/4". The spine is an inch wide.

DEDU Blue Book - I used blue paper and letterpressed artwork to cover the book boards. I then pasted pieces of orange woven fabric onto the boards and ran the binding thread over the fabric, binding the signatures to the boards via the fabric. I used white bond paper for the signatures and decorated the cover with a piece of letterpressed paper with the letters DEDU. The final size of this book was approximately 4.5" wide by 6" tall.

Leather Mexican Lottery Book - I made this book using a piece of white leather. I decorated the book cover, inside cover and inside back cover with Mexican lottery cards and green card stock with a linen-type pattern. The text block is made up of white graph paper, pink, yellow, hot pink and light blue bond paper, salvaged paper bags, yellow lined paper and salvaged envelopes with security printing on one side. It was hand bound with a basic codex stitch and measures 6" long by 4 1/8" tall and 1 1/4" wide at the spine.

Fight Club CD Book - I made this book using the salvaged CD cover from the soundtrack of the movie Fight Club. I used a long stitch bind to bind the signatures to the cover using a design I created on the spine. The signatures are made of using yellow, pink, blue, red and white lined office paper, graph paper and pieces of a thick brown paper bag. The book is approximately 5 1/2" x 5" and the spine is about an inch thick. It has 192 surfaces to write/draw/whatever on.

Tosca CD Book - This book was another CD cover salvage book. This was one of the first ones I did in this fashion. I took the covers and taped them together with black tape and a piece of book board that would later serve as the spine. I used natural hemp binding thread to bind the signatures to the cover. The signatures were made up of lined paper. It made for a cool journal. The final size of this book was 5 1/2" wide by 5" tall. It was about 3/4" wide at the spine.

Piazzola CD Book - I tried a new binding on this one. It's still a long stitch bind but a different pattern than I had done before. The stations where the thread comes through the spine fell into one another and the thread ended up not being as clean and neat as I wanted but still, it gave me a cool effect that was unexpected. This book had lots of different paper stocks hand cut together so each spread is unique. The final size of this book was 5 1/2" wide and 5" tall. It was over an inch at the spine.

Coltrane CD Book - I salvaged the items I used to make this cover from the jazz landmark A Love Supreme CD by John Coltrane. I bound the signatures to the cover using a long stitch bind and colored hemp binding thread in a design I created for the spine. The signatures consist of blue, red, yellow and white graph paper and lined paper and finished with sheets of tracing paper. The book measures 5 5/8" wide and just under 5" tall and is an inch wide at the spine. This book has 128 pages with 256 surfaces.

Mexican Lottery Book - I used a Mexican Lottery card for the cover, red cross hatched paper for the inside cover. I stitched the signatures using a long stitch bind with high quality thread. I used recycled envelopes with security printing on one side, recycled brown paper bags, red, yellow, pink and hot pink bond paper, white graph paper and yellow lined ruled paper to make up the signatures. This book has 128 pages with 256 surfaces. The book measures just under 6" wide, 4" tall and is 1 1/2" wide at the spine.

Transparent Cover Mexican Wrestler Book - I used a transparent printed cover stock for the cover. I used a piece of book board for the spine and I used orange binding thread to bind the signatures to the cover. I used several different colored papers for the signature block and salvaged security printed envelopes as well as a salvaged map to make up the pages. I also created unique headbands. This book has 128 pages in this book giving you 256 surfaces. The book measures 4 1/2" wide x 5 3/4" tall and it's about an inch at the spine.