I recently obtained several books from my elementary school library because the school is closing down. All of the books had the old school library cards in the back of the book. I knew I needed to do something with them. The size of the card is perfect for a notepad so I did a little search on Etsy to see what the serious crafters were selling. I found a really nice one with metal binding. As much as I would totally buy a metal binding machine I don't think my husband would approve. So I opted for a simple hemp binding instead.
Link to the Etsy seller: recyclemoe Upcycled library card notepad
My final product. I know, I know not exactly well put together but I am okay with putting up a project that isn't perfect for display on this kind of platform, for now. I tend to learn as I go. I also feel that not every project is going to come out perfect the first time but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it out. Most likely you are going to make it better than I will.
Supplies:
- Used library note card
- Graph paper
- Paper cutter
- Pencil
- Hemp (garden twine)
- Scissor
- Ruler (optional)
I won't go into too much detail on this because I do feel this is a bit of an intuitive project to a certain degree, if you are someone who makes things on the regular. So, instead I will give a few pointers and pitfalls I ran into.
I chose to use graph paper. I thought this would be a helpful way to cut the paper evenly. Using the already existing lines as my guidelines. This did help. I used my library card as my size guide and marked the graph paper in pencil accordingly. There were two time consuming parts; one was cutting the paper on the paper cutter. I used small chunks of paper (maybe 7 or 8 pages per cut) so the paper cutter would cut evenly. If you use too many sheets of paper it tends to cut at an angle because its just too thick for the blade to get through it straight.
The other time consuming part was putting the holes in the paper. This was tough because I had to do it by hand with a hole punch. To be consistent with each hole punch so the holes match up was tricky. I used my cover as my guide but I should have made a stencil or dummy cover because during one of my hole punches I slipped and punched an extra hole making it uneven and sloppy. I could have changed the cover but I loved the 'Green Eggs and Ham' card and felt it would be a waste not to use it.
Quick 'how to' video on book binding. I definitely need some practice with this. I did not make the video but used youtube to show me the way.
I hope this helped and I hope you like my project.
Other ideas for making notepads, journals, and books.
http://meetmeatmikes.com/2009/09/25-ways-to-make-book-by-hand/
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