Make Your Own Bespoke Mixed-Paper Book
I'm obsessed with paper (duh). There are at least a thousand sheets of patterned paper lying around my house and in my studio just waiting to be put into a project. So why is it that I'm always a sucker for those bespoke premade paper notebooks in all the high-end gift shops? I know I can make them myself. I have the supplies and the know how. They are just so damned pretty and touchable.
Then again, so is the cascades of paper sitting on my shelves. And those sheets are pretty damned touchable themselves. This year, for the March edition of 30 Days of Lists, I decided I was going to put together my own mixed paper book.
Mixed paper books are very easy projects to put together from start to finish. You can absolutely do this project no matter what your paper-crafting skills are. Even if you're new to putting together your own DIY books, you'll likely have the supplies to get started. If not, you can pick up everything easily at a craft shop or on Amazon.
To pull papers for this project I went through my box of 4x6 papers and pulled out any papers that seemed to match my mood. I wanted things that felt spring-like, leaving behind this winter weather that I am so ready to get rid of. I also opted for papers that looked good as a background and didn't have any big focal points that I would be covering up if I wanted to list on them.
Below is a flip-through video of how my book turned out. I used patterned papers from my stash, including several favorites that I'm excited to list on. Each of these label stickers is from Kelly Purkey. I'm obsessed with these and I use them on almost every project. I cut some of the longer rectangular label stickers in half so they would look better on these smaller pages. I'm really happy with the way this project turned out. It'll be a great listing book.
https://vimeo.com/319205155
You can easily replicate this DIY mixed paper album. Here's what you need if you'd like to create a book similar to the one I created above.
Supplies Needed:
Covers (I used acrylic covers from Jamaica Makes, you can also use chipboard or heavier paper)
Patterned Papers (cut to the size of your covers)
Hole punch
Binder Rings
Labels
Pen
Construction:
Gather your patterned papers. Make sure that you've got at least as many patterned papers as you want pages.
Trim your patterned papers to the same size as your covers.
Arrange the patterned papers the way you want them inside the book. For me, this meant not putting solid colors next to each other, or bunching up all the pinks.
Punch the holes in your patterned paper to match up the holes in your covers. If your covers do not have holes, punch holes in your covers, then follow step 3.
Put the papers between the covers and slide the binder rings on.
Put a label sticker on each page and number each label.
I'll be adding a list to each of these pages and slowly filling it up with March's 30 Days of Lists prompts. I will be sharing each day on Instagram so if you're interested in keeping up, that's the best place to follow along. If you'd like to sign up for the 30 Days of Lists Challenge, you can do so here.
This is a simple project that you can use can use your favorite patterned papers, or your scrap patterned papers in. You can make as many of these mixed paper books as you'd like. It's a really easy way to use up your stash of patterned papers or just get into the new hobby of DIY book making.
If you have any questions about this project (or any other) you can leave me a comment below or email me at rukristin@rukristin.com