How To Make Mini Saddle Stitched Notebooks Made From Comic Books

Somehow my kids keep ending up with free comic books which they don't read.   I wanted to do something with them other than the recycling bin so I started making mini notebooks that I enclose with my Stray Squirrels Etsy items.

Remove the staples from your comic book.

Tear the double pages into single pages and choose the best looking side to be the front side of the cover.

I made these booklets with 3 sheets of white paper which makes a 6 page booklet.
 

Determine how wide your cover will be and put a tape mark on the stapler so you know how far in to staple. My finished booklets are 3 1/8" x 5". Each page will make two booklets so you need to do 2 sets of staples. I just eyeball it but you can measure if you prefer the spacing to be exact.

The cover now has 4 staples. The paper I happen to be using is tabloid size but regular copy paper works better.

I use a bone folder to press down the staples if they aren't laying nicely. This is an excellent stapler so it isn't an issue, but some of my other staplers don't work as well.

Fold the spine along the staple line using your hands. Use the bone folder to make a crisper fold along the spine.





















Cut the long edge of the booklet. Again, mine is 3 1/8 inches wide. Turn the book so the spine is along the top edge of the cutter and trim one end. Trim the other end so the booklet is 10 inches long. Cut the booklet in half so you have two, 5 inch long pieces.

Buffy hopped up on the table to supervise and became a little jealous when she wasn't in the photos.

Bed Manners Art Journal

I bought the book Bed Manners and Better Bed Manners for the humorous cover, left it on the floor and my dog attacked the spine; I think she needs to work on her manners. It's a good thing I wanted to cut the cover off since she destroyed the spine in seconds. You can see a little of her handiwork in the lower left corner.

3 More Recycled Book Art Journals

Me and My Flying Machine






















Caravan of Fun with the Walrus and the Carpenter on the cover.






















Digging Down To China

Manga Art Journals

Alethea developed journal envy when she ran across these hard cover Oh My Goddess books from Japan. She selected several original pages from the books and we included them along with the drawing paper. It's interesting that the order is reversed and the cover is on the back; they would be perfect for a left handed person.

Alethea designs jewelry and these will be fun for keeping her drawings and records in.

Handmade Art Journal

I complete a sketch book about every 2 months and have recently started making my own. Miss Pickerall On The Moon was a vintage book that my daughter Nissa spotted at Half Price Books. I cut the spine off and bound it with a spiral binder. The paper inside was cut from drawing tablets that were bundled in a back to school selection at Blick.

An old book was upcycled, a neglected tablet found a purpose, and I have a fun new art journal. It's a total win.

YouTube Video By Weekday Sketchers Using My Accordion Book Tutorial

I was pleased to receive an email letting me know that the group Weekday Sketchers had used one of my tutorials How To Make An Accordion Book With Pockets From An Antique Book to make their own books. It's always fun to see what other people make and their sharing the process through a video is even better.

How To Make A Recycled Bound Notebook With Attached Pencil

Winter is eventually coming and I need car notepads that use pencils since ink freezes. Something in my car snacks on pencils since they disappear without a trace.

I've been saving box cardboard for another project but I had several pieces that were on the small side.

The box cardboard I used for these books includes a Twinkie box (we watched Zombieland and Twinkies were needed), Trader Joe's Maple cookies, yellow cake mix and a Kleenex box.

I was inspired for the basic idea by a post on the SC Johnson web site. I cut the cardboard 3.75" x 5.5" and used a bone folder to make a score mark for the spine fold. You don't need a bone folder but it's a handy tool. When creased the cardboard cover measures 3.75" x 2.75".

I cut 2 sheets of paper into 3.5" high strips, you will have 6 strips of paper when done. Fold the all the strips in half to make a nested booklet and give that fold a sharp crease. Measure 2.5" from the fold and cut all the pieces so that you have a folded booklet that measures 2.5" x 3.5". Cut these pieces together or you will have an uneven edge, a paper cutter works very well.

Lay the open pages inside the book cover, you'll notice the cover is slightly larger than the pages since I think that looks better than having the cover flush with the inside paper. Line up the fold lines for the cover and paper pages and carefully turn over the booklet. Put 2 staples on the fold line about a half inch from each end. The staples will crimp inside your book on the center page. Sharpen the crease again with a bone folder or the handle of a scissor.

I went to the Dollar Store and bought a multicolored pack of 100 hair binders. I have a surplus of short, colored pencils; they look pretty but any smaller pencil will do. I made a self tightening loop with the elastic band and looped it over the pencil, the large remaining loop goes around the outside of the book.

How To Make An Accordion Book With Pockets From An Antique Book

I bought a bunch of old books with pretty covers and I'm re-purposing them by making new books out of old ones. Polly was the name of my childhood dog and the 1890's camping scene is very attractive.



















Remove the pages with a razor blade and scissors, leaving the cover intact. I didn't like the look of the cardboard inside the spine so I covered the inside of the book with new end papers. Lay the book cover on a piece of scrapbook paper and trace around the cover with pencil. Cut the paper slightly smaller than the book cover then glue the new end paper inside the cover and over the spine.














Use a brayer to smooth the paper and remove any air bubbles.













I used a large sheet of heavyweight black paper for the inside of the book. If you want to see the end paper make the insert smaller than the original book. These pages are 4.5" x 10" and the page on the end is 5" wide. It's wider so you can make a flap to ensure the pocket will be secure by not allowing items to slide out the side. Cut off the excess edge portion. Make pencil guidelines for creasing and if the paper is thick, use a bone folder to score the lines.















The pages are 7" high so I also made a horizontal guideline for creasing a 3" deep pocket.

To recap, fold the paper accordion or paper fan style to fit inside the book cover. Fold a long horizontal crease to make a pocket like you'd find in back to school folders. Use the bone folder to make sharp creases.





















Flip the paper over and glue down the flap. The flap needs to be on the opposite side for the back of the book.












My book was fairly thick and since the paper wasn't long enough to use only one segment I used two. I left a flap to glue under another page so that the pages hinge together.





















The book is now a long accordion fold with the pocket on one side and the end flap is on the backside.





















Spread glue on end flap and glue it to the inside cover.





















Press the paper firmly and glue the back cover to the inside page. Close the book to verify placement. You don't want the pages too close to the spine or too far away.




































Now the book is ready to fill with memorabilia and you can decorate the pocket for more of an art journal feel.





































This version is filled with 90lb, cream colored drawing paper.