I started using ring-bound binders for my art books when I realized that traditional art journal pages were not strong enough to hold the weight of images, ephemera, and decorating that I regularly use in my art. I was at a flea market sale and happened to pick up a vintage cookbook, like the one pictured below. I decided to buy it and give it a try as the foundation for the work, and I loved the results.
Another perk to the ring-bound style is the option to pull out pages to work on separately or to mix and match pages as the art book evolves. I tend to make all of my backgrounds with collage papers first. I have a general idea of the colors I want to work with, but nothing is set in stone yet. After I collage a batch of backgrounds and allow the glue stick glue to dry for a day, I put the dividers on the sewing machine. Once stitched, I might go in with stencils and ink or paint to add some further texture. All of this happens before any real development of the content for the book.
I will address developing materials for the content in another post, but as you can see, the pages easily attach to the rings and compliment each other throughout the book. 
Finally, the cover is usually the last part of the art book to be completed. For one thing, as the work is evolving, it is nice to not have to worry about messing up a beautiful cover as I pop back and forth with the book. As you can see with Birds of a Feather, the cover consists of vintage papers, gel prints, fibers, book spine, and ephemera, which could easily get damaged in the chaos of the craft table.
First, I wipe the old cookbook cover down with a lightly wet cloth to remove any grime. Then I use some light sandpaper on the inside and outside of the cover to give it a little tooth for when I start painting it and gluing materials on it. By waiting to complete the cover until the end of the project, I have a strong idea of how to decorate the cover to represent the entire art book.
