Making A Side Bound Notebook with Handmade Recycled Paper

I think I mentioned in my post last week, Making Handmade Paper from Recycled Paper, that I was going to use the paper I’d made to make a book. I’ve made a couple of side bound books before, that I mentioned in my Creative Bookbinding: My Trialsand Errors post, so I thought this would be straightforward. (Admittedly, this ended up not being the case, but I did ultimately succeed, which is what counts!)

In my first attempt, I wanted to paint the fabric cover in gesso and acrylic ink, like in my Using Gesso on Fabric post, but it ended up compromising the hand of the fabric too much. Instead, I used the Dye-Na-Flow and Salt method I wrote about here, which created just as good an effect, which I was really happy with. I also found some matching cord from a mixed bag of threads, which went perfectly with the cover.

If I’m being completely honest, this book is not perfect. I don’t know if you can tell from the photos, but the front and back don’t line up quite right, because I’ve put the holes for the binding in the wrong place, and I’ve managed to get glue on the inside of the cover, so I’m actually going to have to remake this book to get it perfect. So frustrating! But I suppose this is what happens when you rush to finish things late at night! Although this book, specifically, didn’t turn out perfectly, I definitely feel like I’m on the right track and will hopefully be able to make a couple to share with Etsy at some point in the near future.

Also, just to add, I’m doing #the100dayproject again this year. My hashtag is #100daysofworkingonmyart, so if you’d like to see how that is progressing, follow me on Instagram!