Some time ago I’d purchased a stencil for making the most adorable mini envelopes–I figured I could just glue one of those envelopes to the interior back cover of the journal and be done with it.

However, there were a couple problems with the idea: 1) the envelope would have to be glued with the seam facing out so the flap could closed, which meant any cute designs on the front would be concealed; and 2) even the largest size was still too mini for my journal.

What to do? What to do? Simple: Create my own template. And after a bit of calculator magic, I had an envelope that could be pasted on without ruining the design with unseemly seams and large enough to accommodate most pieces of scrap.

It was basic, but it worked. A couple more journals later, I decided I wasn’t content with the 3 hole binding method–not for such large journals–and expanded it to a 7 hole method using the 3 hole principles.

But it still wasn’t quite good enough. Something was still missing. The journal could still be improved. So I decided I’d like to create a 7 hole bound journal with pocket using only a single sheet of paper. With a little more calculator magic, a straight edge ruler, and a sharp pencil, SUCCESS!

Now I really must stop making these journals and actually start writing in them. (Or, at very least, decorating them.)

The first book I attempted to make was one that didn’t require any stitching. (Frankly, the various Japanese stab binding methods looked tricky.) It was the Sketch, Jot, Journal which looked so adorable in the picture…

…and making it was a borderline disaster.  The hiccups were many and varied. I mean, who has a 46 1/4” length of scrap paper just lying around? No problem, glue a bunch of sheets together, which is all well and good until one of the glue seams ends up smack dab in the center of one of the pages, thus destroying the allure of the book.

As if that wasn’t enough, when I began flipping through my finished book, I was a little sad—the entire backside of that long piece of paper would go unused (read: wasted). I hadn’t thought about that when I decided to make the book.

But I was not to be deterred. Next, I tried a stitched book, so the front and back of each sheet could be used. Surprisingly, the second attempt was far more successful even though I thought the stab-binding techniques would be more difficult than good ol’ fashioned glue. It probably helped that I used one of the easier binding techniques requiring only three holes—a modification of the Recycle Bin Memo Pad. (Basically, I just made another Sketch, Jot, Journal book using the Recycle Bin Memo Pad instructions.)

One thing I can say about this new endeavor is that it’s rather eye-opening. After these two attempts, I realize there is nothing to fear from bookbinding. Depending on what you’re hoping to do, it’s actually rather simple. I now look at handmade journals much differently (and with more reverence), and I also feel confident enough to make my own in a pinch should the day every come when I’ve used up all of my journals (highly unlikely).

For now, I’ll simply use all that extra paper I have lying around (and I do have lots of extra paper) and create a variety of handmade books in which to write original short stories or novellas. I might even give some of the handmade journals away. (As if I really needed yet another creative outlet.)