Make a Sketchbook Out of Scrap Paper! (2 methods)
- Xinru Li
- Feb 25, 2017
- 3 min read
Ever gotten a packet that is 50% blank space? Or overprint something for a class project? Don't you feel horrible for throwing perfectly good paper in the trash? So, combining blank paper scraps and a book binding technique I learned in art class last year, I turned these into pretty sketchbooks and you could too~ (that doesn't sound like an Elmo video at all)
Difficulty Level: easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Materials needed:
method 1: blank paper scraps, old magazine page, needle, string
method 2: blank paper scraps, old magazine pages, glue, string
so how do you make it? (method 1)
This method requires longer scraps of paper, since we'll be folding them in half to make the book (so the paper should be twice the length you want).
First cut and trim the paper to the size you want, then fold it in half. To make the cover, just find a pretty piece of magazine paper and cover it over one of your paper scraps, making a more durable cover.
After matching the edges of all the paper scraps and making a fold, stab a needle at one inch intervals along the fold (note if you have too much paper it would be a lot harder to do this. If your paper is wiggling, use a paperclip to secure the pile.
Once you're done, loop the strings through the holes you made twice so it seems as if you looped the string across the entire middle but you didn't (does that make sense?), then tie and cut off the ends to secure the sketchbook.
Done!
so how do you make it? (method 2)
So if your paper is more square than long rectangle, this would be a better method.
After trimming your paper, find a piece of pretty magazine paper and fold it over your paper pile so it resembles a cover. (does this make sense?) Then take the paper scraps on the top and bottom to use as the respective inside of the cover, note how the two papers are not touching because the magazine is also covering the height of the paper pile on one side (so its like the edge of a book). Fold in the borders to make the cover more cover like.
On the height side, cover with glue, and stick the paper pile inside. Secure it with a paper clip or binder clip as it dries.
optional: take a piece of string or ribbon and tie it along the binded edge of the book to make it look prettier, secure the sides connected to the paper with tape- this could also secure the scrap paper better to the sketchbook cover.
tada~ you're done. I actually really like them since I get to make sketchbooks in the sizes I want and I like mini sketchbooks. Especially since i have lots of reading intensive courses, I print enough paper to fill two 1.5 inch binders per month for my history class alone, and there are often many half blank pages mixed along with, and this could both ease my conscience as well as make sure I never run out of sketchbooks ^.^
A video tutorial of everything I make on this site would now be available on my Facebook page (@tangerinelights) and I recently made a Youtube Channel to document everything I make, so follow that for updates/if you're too lazy to read ^.<
If you have any questions/comments/ or if you made this and would like to show off its awesomeness, put it in the comments below!
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