Make it Monday - Binding a Book - Photo Heavy

This project was done months in advance because it was created for my mother's birthday. Her birthday falls in December, close to Christmas. We had plans to go out for lunch, but I wanted to make something special for her. Something I took time on. I have the luck to have a mother who truly loves everything homemade or anything given to her. Her humbleness stuns me every time. In recent months, she had told me that she had been studying her religious text. So this Make it Monday project comes from the desire to help her progress.

Yep! I bound a book. Two of them in fact. And I would have to say that they are more along the lines of a booklet. The ones I have made are meant for note taking or other such things. You can obviously create larger books than the ones I completed. All you would need to do is puncture the paper a little at a time to accomplish this. And cut the designer paper larger to cover the added paper.

Materials

Paper cutter

Designer paper or colored paper

4-6 sheets of white copier paper

needle

thread

scissors

Here are the instructions on how to accomplish this project:

1. Take 4-6 sheets of white copier paper and fold them in half. Be sure to press the bent side with a straight edge or a bone folder.

2. Cut the designer paper to 8.5 x 11 to fit over the paper. You can also add 1/4 of an inch on either side to overcompensate. (Excuse my crafter's mess - This was around Christmas time.)

3. Fold the designer paper over the copier paper. Remember to press the seam with a straight edge.

4. Take your threaded needle and puncture the center of the paper from the inside. Leave a longer tail because you will need to tie the ends together.

5. When you bring the needle and thread out, puncture another hole about 2-3 inches away from the center. I went a little further on this one than I did my first one.

6. Take the needle through the paper and back across the center to the opposite side. I didn't measure. I just eyed the space to see what looked right. They are about equal distance from the center. Puncture the paper and pull the needle to the outside of the booklet again.

7. Finally, push the needle through the center hole. Pull tight. Then cut the needle off leaving a long tail to tie.

 8. Tie the two ends together twice and cut a majority of the excess. Fold the booklet.

Congrats! You just made a booklet. Here's the pictures of the two finished booklets I completed. I chose not to embellish them as I knew that my mother would love them, but you can embellish them with ribbon or stamps or whatever you wanted.

These are bookmarks I made to match the booklets.

Booklets and bookmarks together.

Finished and packaged. If you are wondering, I took a 8 x 10 cello bag I purchased from JoAnn's online (with a self adhesive closure), added the booklets and bookmarks, and closed it. I then took a piece of brown cardstock (scrap) and folded it over. I stapled it onto the cello bag. I used a scrap piece of the flower designer paper to cover the staples.

I hope you have found this tutorial informative and choose to do it yourself. It is relatively easy. It was super quick. I was able to accomplish it within ten minutes (minus the bookmark part since I laminated). A bit of that time was trying to thread a needle....because my threader broke. So, you can accomplish this project in less than 10 minutes without a doubt.

Take some time to create some homemade books and bookmarks for someone you care about! The gifts don't have to be expensive, especially when they come from your heart.

Sarah

Cozy in Bed

It is in the quiet of the morning that I usually like to take time for myself - without much distraction.  I can think on what I want to accomplish and plan for the future.  The cats are usually quiet.  The house settled into just creaks.  This morning...at 5:38 a.m., I am curled up in bed under the covers because of the snow.  At the base of the beautiful Smoky Mountains, we tend to get a lot of snow in January.  We can pass Thanksgiving with just a flurry.  We can even pass Christmas without a speck of white.  Yet, the moment the calendar flips to January 1, our winter season truly starts.  For a week we have experienced ice, snow, rain, warm weather, rain, ice, snow, and freezing weather.

Tonight...it is the latter part.  It is still dark out, but here are a few pictures of our beautiful snow.  I have mastered how to take snow pictures.

Without a doubt though, I am still trying to stay warm and thinking of the future.  And realizing that 6 a.m. has come way too early.  Tonight, I apparently have been in curriculum making mode.  No...I do not have any children, but I have a degree in Elementary Education and LOVE making worksheets, lesson plans, and fun units as something fun to do.  People have movies.  I have making worksheets.

*shrugs shoulders* What are you gonna do?

I have been thinking about offering homeschool resources as I make them!  Is there anyone out there that would like that?