Junk Journals Tutorial 1a: An alternative to bookbinding staplers

It's been a great break during Christmas, hope everyone had a good time because I'm back with an extension of the previous tutorial!

I realized that for many people, the bookbinding stapler may be difficult to find. Today's tutorial may then be helpful, because I'm going to show you how to achieve the same effect with ordinary stationery you can find anywhere. 

Before I found the stapler, I was experimenting with other methods, eg, using tape, but they didn't produce the nice clean result I wanted. Then one day, I was stapling posters to a notice board and it hit me: I could use this to staple pages together as well!

Tutorial 1a: Rough and Dirty Journal - Alternative Stapling Method

You will need:
- A stapler (Find one which can open, eg the type you would use to staple posters to a wall)
- An eraser
- Paper clips or binder clips (Optional, but I find it much easier to do it with clips)

And here I've also used the following for this tutorial:
- Scissors
- Paper
- Cardboard (for the cover)

Step 1: Get the pages of the journal ready. (Here, I've had to cut the pages to size) Then position the pages on top of the cardboard and fold the edges of the cardboard down to size.

Tip: Leave some cardboard around the edges so that your pages will fit nicely inside the journal and will not stick out.

Tip: Use the handle of your scissors to press the cardboard down and create a neat fold.

Step 2: Prepare the pages and cover for stapling. Open the blank pages to the centre and clip the left and right side pages to the cover with the paper clips. Open the stapler as shown.

Place the eraser directly under the centre fold of the journal. If you can't notice it well in the picture, I'm pointing to the part of the centre fold where the eraser is. 

Place the top part of the stapler so that the pages will be stapled exactly (or as best as you can) on the centre fold. Press the stapler.

If you got it right, the result should look like this from the top. Your pages will now be stapled to the eraser.

Step 3: Do the finishing touches. Flip the journal over and remove the eraser. You should see the staples sticking out. Don't prick yourself!

Use the stapler to press down the staples.

Once you are done, your pages will look like this! (Oops, I didn't quite fold the pages correctly...)

Now repeat on the other side and your journal is done!

Here's what it looks like from the outside:

So there you are! A simple hack that anyone can do with some ordinary stationery and your journals will look like professional zines! Try it today!

Junk Journals Tutorial 1 (easy) : The Rough and Dirty Journal

In my past 2 chapters, I covered the why of making Junk Journals and what materials and tools you'd need to get started. Now let's start with an easy tutorial. 

This journal is one of the easiest to get started with, especially if you have the bookbinding stapler I mentioned in Tools and Materials. (If you don't, you can substitute it with other tools. I'll explain later in the post) It will also give you a peek into simple bookbinding. I call it the Rough and Dirty Journal because here we are not so concerned about making it look nice and polished yet so it's going to look a little rough around the edges. However, it's one of the easiest to do if you want to just get started.

Tutorial 1: The Rough and Dirty Journal

You will need:

Tools:
Bookbinding stapler 
(If not, needle and thread or tape)
Adhesive ( I like to use the adhesive tape shown in blue but you can use a glue of your choice )

Materials:
Junk paper (Ensure you have an even number of pages)
1 brochure (For the cover)










Step 1:
Arrange the junk paper together so that the written sides face each other.

Step 2: Use your adhesive to stick both sides together. You should end up with a slightly thicker sheet of paper that is blank on both sides.

Step 3: Arrange your pages together with the brochure on top. Here I have chosen an old programme sheet. Get your stapler ready.

Step 4: Fold everything in half to get a centre fold. Here, you can roughly see what your journal will look like.

Step 5: This is where the beauty of the bookbinding stapler comes in. Open the pages again and flip out the stapler. Then align it where the centre fold is before stapling.

This is a close up of the centrefold. You can see that after that is done, the pages have been stapled very nicely, like a magazine.

Repeat with one more staple on the other side and you are done! Very easy, isn't it?

This journal is still blank, but if you want to see what one looks like after I wrote in it, you can see this previous post on a Rough and Dirty journal that I already did and filled with writing.

Click here to see what it looked like.

Questions! Questions! 

So I know there will be some questions and comments on your mind, let me try to answer as many of them here.

- If you don't have the stapler I used, you can also use a needle and thread and do a basic stitch along the spine to achieve the same look. Also, you can use tape to tape the pages together. 

- If you want a more finished and polished look, you can also trim the edges of the white paper so that they don't stick out of the cover. (But hey, it is a rough and dirty journal after all...)

- For a hardier cover, use a brochure that is made of thicker cardboard or thicker paper. Alternatively, stick the brochure onto another piece of junk paper. 

More questions? Comments?

Leave them in the comment sections below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! (Be nice, be constructive and I will do the same for you)

Did you try it out? 

I would love to see what you did with your own journals too. If you would like to share, email photos of your journal to me. Remember to include your name, country (optional) and email address so that I can credit your work here!  

Refillable Junk Mail Journal

I have a love of paper and journals and I can't deny it. Yet, I'm growing more hesitant to buy journals, no matter how beautiful they are. Firstly, I can't fill them all fast enough. Secondly, there seems to be so much paper floating about that to contribute to that seems wrong somehow. Every week I get sent letters from insurance companies, bank statements that I only need to read once and other mail congratulating me on receiving this wonderful opportunity to...... you get the idea. 

So why not make something that satisfies the need to craft, makes use of all that junk mail and also land you with a nice new journal at the same time? Have I got your attention yet? Hahaha...

This journal is more like a small holder. You can fold A4 letters in half and slide them into the flaps to form the notebook. I have made a version of this journal with sturdy envelope packaging, but this time I started with brochures and pamphlets. I used patterned endpaper for the inside covers that I bought from Daiso, part of my 'stock'. It is easy to make if you can understand my crummy instructions... -_-!!!

Refillable Journal

You will need:
- One large brochure (for the front and back cover)
- At least 2 pieces of card (I used theatre flyers)
- A piece of paper for the inside cover
- Scissors
- Glue
- Stickers to decorate (optional)

Steps
1. 

Place a piece of A4 junk mail on top of the brochure. Fold the long edges of the brochure inwards to fit the junk mail. Leave around 2-3mm allowance so that you can put more junk mail inside. Take note of which side you will use for the front cover, especially if there's a particular picture you want. 

2. 

Fold the junk mail and brochure in half. You will now have a centre fold for the brochure and the junk mail. Now fold the short edges inwards. Again, leave 2-3mm allowance for more paper in the future. 

3. 

Remove the junk mail and paste the pieces of card inside. This is to strengthen the covers. Leave a space in between the cards for the spine. Your cover will then look like the picture on the right. 

3. 

Paste your patterned paper on top of the cards. I used my existing stock of paper but if you want to more eco-friendly, use another brochure. 

4. This part is where you will be making the pocket for the paper. Bear with me, because this could be a bit tricky for me to explain, but basically, you are making a pocket to slide in papers. Use the side where your back cover will be. 

First, fold the short edges over the card. Then make another fold around 5mm away. Unfold the brochure and make 2 cuts where you folded it to the edge of the journal. It should look like the picture above, with one skinny bit and one fat bit to the left. 

Take the fat bit and unfold it. Then make another fold 5mm away. You should see 2 fold lines like what I have.

Fold it down so it looks like a little pocket. Apply glue to the flap, where my finger is pointing. Do the same to the other side.

5. 

Once you have applied glue to both flaps, fold them down. You should now have something like a little folder, and when you close it, it should look like the pictures below. 

6. You are nearly done! Slide in some paper like what I have done and make a victory sign! When you receive more junk mail, just slide it in. 

 Decorate with stickers if you fill the need.

And now, you can learn from my mistakes/observations...

What I learned:

- Leave more paper on the side to make a big pocket, especially if you intend to put more papers in or if you receive a lot of mail.

- You can also keep the papers in place by looping a rubber band or piece of string along the spine. I didn't because I was afraid it would crush it. 

- You can also use letters with text. Apply gesso or white acrylic or paste blank sides on top to reuse them.

- Don't, for the love of administration, use important documents like current bank statements or policy statements or your birth certificate. 

Have fun, people! If you did try this, post the photos of your journals in the comments!

Craft: Notepad holder

I have a secret guilty pleasure: I like notebooks. I especially love those with blank empty pages because they feel full of potential to become full of well-drawn sketches and interesting ideas, whether or not I actually manage to fill them up!

From a love of notebooks, one day, I discovered the art of bookbinding and realized another thing: Instead of buying notebooks and collecting them, I could make them for myself! What a brilliant thing! 

So every now and then, I experiment and try my luck with scrap paper and cheap notepads. Sometimes I have total disasters that I have to throw, sometimes I land up with something that just maybe is usable and sometimes, I have a success!

This one I made is closer to a success. I thought of doing a notepad holder because I have a bunch of A6 notepads which are easier to carry around than my larger journal, and I also thought they would look nicer in a holder that I could re-use every time the paper ran out. I have a bunch of paper and thin card and I had a Typo envelope that I liked the look of, so why not? 

I finished this in one afternoon (with one loooong break in between for lunch and shopping) and I'm quite happy with the result. It looks nice and because I used more cardboard, it's stiff enough to hold the notepad without bending. Also with the elastic band, I can take out the notepad and change it with a new one when the paper runs out.

And so, the instructions!

Crafting a Notepad Holder

You will need: 
Paper for the cover (I used a Typo envelope)
Paper for the inside cover (mine is a striped pattern, from a book I got from Daiso)
Thin cardboard (I used free flyers)
An elastic band (you can buy a packet from Daiso)
Scissors
Glue
Stapler or needle and thread

Instructions:

 

1. Measure the flyers and cut them to fit your notepad. ( I was lucky because the flyers I chose were just half a inch larger than my notepad, so no cutting here for me ) Then stick them together so that they are as hard as a paperback's cover. ( I used two, but if you have good quality cardboard, you could probably just use one.) Since I used two pieces of different sizes, I also cut the four corners off so I could fold the edges down. I felt this would give the edges extra strength.

2. Cut the envelope and choose one side to be the front cover. Then put it down facing downwards and lay the cardboard on top. Fold down the edges and glue them down. The cardboard will add strength to the holder.

3. Take the coloured paper for your inside cover. Measure it so that it fits and paste it down. If the front cover is longer like mine is, fold the edges inward like in the 2nd picture.

4. To attach the notepad, I stretched a piece of elastic across the notepad so that I knew how long a piece I needed. I then cut it off and because I'm a lazy boredslacker, I stapled the elastic to the cover. More hardworking types can use needle and thread to sew it on. 

The finished notepad holder, from the outside and the inside with the notepad inside. For a personal touch, I took some excess paper that I had cut off for the inside cover and pasted it on the outside. 

Looks great in pictures, but mind you, I did not show you:
- The mess of paper and stationery strewn around me on the floor
- My intense concentration when cutting and measuring and praying that I didn't do something wrongly
- Me having to stop every 10 minutes to position the materials nicely so that I could take a shot for the blog
- My irritated grunts when I found out I had stapled the elastic band wrongly and had to take out the staples
- More grunting when I was done and had to clean up the mess
- The holder doesn't close snugly so to close it, I had to loop an elastic band around it

Still, I do think it looks good. Can't wait to fill this with well-drawn pictures and interesting ideas. ( fingers crossed ) 

Getting Crafty: No Sew Pen Holder

It has been a lazy weekend. I fell asleep both on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and now I have a FOMO feeling of missing out on stuff! Well, at least before I napped I managed some craftiness this weekend and I made this pen holder:

It's a no-sew project so I used cardboard, fabric and glue.

 The project is a simple open pouch, quite like the kind you put sunglasses in. First, I had to cut the cardboard to the size and shape I wanted. Then I used the glue to glue it to the fabric. 

I wanted to give it a little bit of leeway so that the pens don't pull apart the bottom, so I folded a small piece of fabric and pasted it to the bottom. This acted as a pocket. Then I put glue on both sides and the bottom and closed the pouch.

This is the final product with the pens inside. Hopefully it motivates me to write more! 

Cost of holder, not including scissors and glue = $2 from Daiso. The cardboard was the piece used in the packaging. Long live Daiso. :p

BTW I didn't think of this myself, but got inspiration from a tutorial at the instructables website. You can go there and search for all kinds of tutorials.