matchbook notepad

i've been seeing a lot of these on craft sites, so i decided to try one myself. very simple, i made it while procrastinating from my studies... the materials were scraps left over from the father's day card project.



when gluing the paper together to make the cover, i made sure to dry it between two large stacks of books, so that the paper would remain flat. however, i was impatient, and started working with the paper before it completely dried, resulting in a warped cover.

scrap paper notebook

i decided to try making an open-spine notebook, using coptic stitch. since this was just an exercise and i wasn't planning on using the book, i used the cheapest, most accessible materials i could find. for the pages inside, i took some discarded printed paper from the recycling bin. for the cover, i cut the cardboard from a box of coke cans. all the signatures are stitched together using ordinary white sewing thread.

i followed the coptic stich tutorial here:
http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/grantprojects/books/Coptic%20Book.htm

front:


spine:


i'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. the book doesn't close entirely flat, but that's because i used some flimsy cardboard as cover, which is not heavy enough.

this was easy to make. i think i should start collecting nice paper to make notebooks with.

father's day card

for father's day, i made a card, also accordian-style. again, all supplies came from the dollarama.

front:


back:


inside:

mother's day card

i made my mom a card, accordion-book-style. all supplies (papers, paint, plastic flowers) came from the dollar store. hurray for dollarama!

front and back covers:


inside: i wrote "mom: happy mother's day", with one character on each page.


yeah, my handwriting is laughable...

reconstructed: biology books

a while ago, there was a box of free books sitting in the hallway at school, so i took a couple.

one of them was a 1960's book, a little larger than 5.5" x 8.5". i ripped out the textblock and replaced it with blank white pages. i used some of the original pages as endpapers. the spine and corners showed some wear, so i repaired them with duct tape. unfortunately, i ran out of tape, which is why i left the back cover corners intact.

front:


inside pages:


this first reconstructed book has the problem of not opening completely flat. i only realized it after gluing everything together, so it'll have to stay that way.

with the other book, i made sure the endpapers were well creased near the spine. the problem was corrected. this second book is smaller in size, so i had to trim the pages. it came with a dustjacket, so the cover remained in rather good condition. again, i used a couple of the original pages as endpapers.

front:


inside pages:


spine:


i really enjoyed this project. i will definitely make some more blank journal out of old books. the key would be to find some with interesting/amazing covers.

softcover journals

my second attempt at coptic stitch. initially, i had planned to used this as a school notebook. but i think i'll be using it as a personal journal instead.

the cover and spine are made with thick paper. it's very plain.


i also made one with a snowflake, as a christmas gift for a friend.

construction paper journal

this is my first attempt at making a journal.

here are the front and back cover, made from some construction paper i had lying around.


i didn't know better: i used elmer's white glue, and the paper got all wrinkled. also, i should have trimmed the black construction paper i used for the spine; i didn't and it's too thick and it shows through the cover... oh well, at least, i learned something.

for the inside pages, i used ordinary computer paper, on which i printed some lines.


i followed this tutorial to attach the cover:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=10347.0
and this tutorial to stich the signatures:
http://www.daydreamingonpaper.com/0204.html

anyway, this was fun! for my next project, i am planning to make a notebook for school or something.

peach-colored clutch

a while ago, i found a link with a pattern and tutorial for this clutch. i finally made it recently.

it's entirely handsewn since i didn't have access to a sewing machine that day. it was a quick project, done in one evening, while watching tv. all materials were scraps that i found in mom's sewing closet.

outside:


showing lining:

grey bookbag

this is my first completed project, so i made it as simple as possible. i use it to carry extra textbooks that are too heavy for my backpack.

here it is:


close-up of the flower: