This is an Everything Book. I keep it in my purse to jot down everything I want to remember: grocery lists, book recommendations, ideas, quotes, etc. I also use it to play with journaling ideas like writing styles, collages, doodles, and color combinations.
I made it out of an old book and scrap papers. And the best part is, it's refillable. So when I've used all the pages, I just replace them with fresh pages. This is ideal for sparking creativity because it's not so precious that I am afraid to make a mistake.
Here's how you can make one for yourself.
Step One: Gather Your Supplies
Book
The first thing you'll need is an old hard back book. Mine is small (4" x 6.5") because I wanted to keep it in my purse. Estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores and library sales are great places to find old books. I got mine at an estate sale for 25 cents.
Eyelets
You'll also need eyelets. You can spend a lot of money on fancy tools to set eyelets, but you don't have to. Estate sales and yard sales are good places to look for eyelets and the setter tool. I got mine from my grandmother after she stopped sewing.
Elastic or Thick Twine
You'll also need something to hold your bundle of pages into the book. Elastic is the easiest - you don't have to untie it to change out your pages. I used a piece of black leather cording I had.
Misc.
Other things you will need are:
- scrap papers for pages
- a needle and thick thread or embroidery floss to bind your pages
- paper to line the inside cover
- scissors
- glue
- an awl or other sharp poking tool
Step Two: Make Your Cover
Deconstruct the Book
Cut or rip the pages from the cover.
Cover the Inside Cover
Glue a strip of paper over the center where you removed the pages. I used a ripped piece of kraft paper about 2 inches wide and strong glue.
Then, cut a piece of paper to fit the whole inside of the book. Thin, pretty patterned paper would be awesome, but I didn't have any so I used a piece of player piano paper. If your paper is thin, a glue stick will hold it. Thicker paper will need stronger glue.
Attach Eyelets
Poke a hole near the top and bottom of the spine so you can insert your eyelets (with the pretty side facing the outside of the book cover). Use your tool to attach the eyelets.
Add Binding
Thread the elastic or twine through the eyelets and tie. Your book is done and it just needs some pages.
Step Three: Make Your Signature (Book Pages)
Make Signature Pages
Using your gathered scrap paper, rip or cut pages similar to the size of the page you used for the inside cover. Fold all of the pages in half and stack them together. You only need enough pages to fill the inside of the book when they are folded in half. My thin book has 11 sheets - which when folded in half gives 22 pages.
Sew the Signature Together
Align the centers of the folded pages as best you can. Poke holes in the top, bottom and center using your awl. Using a needle and thread, sew in and out of the holes to bind all of the pages into a signature. Remove the needle and tie the thread.
Attach the Signature to the Cover
Slip the signature inside of the elastic in the cover, or, in my case, untie your binding and retie it around your signature.
You can make lots of signatures from any scraps you have, so you'll have a permanent little book to play with.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
Here's a how-to video if you are interested. DIY Everything Book Video
