Handmade Sketch Books

Happy New Year!  I'm trying to get my self organized for the new year.  Figure I should be ready sometime late December. . .

I've been follow The Sketchbook Challenge blog.  My sketch books look messy and not very pretty.  I'm really inspired by some of the sketchbooks on this blog.  And inspired to make my own!

I've never done this before, so I went really cheap with these.  I bought some cheap card stock from Walmart.  I did a bit of Dogpile and You Tube searching and found a bit of info on making books.

I opted for what is called "Japanese Stab Binding".

The covers are Quaker oatmeal boxes (the square kind from Costco) cut up  into book size and covered with card stock.  The papers inside are also card stock.

I did some abstract painting for the covers.  Hubby got out the drill press and helped me drill holes for the stitching.  I stitched them with hemp cord and added a few polymer clay beads.

I made two small ones and one large one.  And they are not at all perfect! A little crooked here and there, and I messed up covering some of the corners.  And we need a better way to set up and clamp the books on the drill press.  The holes got a little chewed - you can really tell in the second picture.

But, I want to make more! I like the idea of customizing them to be anything I want!

I ordered some watercolor paper to make some nicer ones. And some cool pens and things for sketching!

Now, I need to fill them up!