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TUTORIALS, DIY, CRAFT IDEAS, AND FUN STUFF

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEA! 

DIY SCRAPBOOK or BOUNDED BOOK TUTORIAL

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I don't know about you, but my mother is not a huge fan of receiving flowers on Mother's Day.  This could be because she has a huge English garden of fresh flowers during Spring, regardless, this year required me to get a bit creative!  Unlike previous years we can't just pop around the shops to find that perfect gift for our boss moms, so why not go handmade? 

 

We might not be in primary school anymore, but I can assure you your mother will still love something homemade from her forever "little" girl. Not only is this scrapbook handmade by you, your mom will also stay busy during quarantine decorating the pages and daydreaming about past memories and the ones to come.  

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Most of these items can be found at home or in an essential store, so it should be easy to pull all the supplies together.  This project took me 30 minutes to complete from beginning to end and I just know my mom will love it more than anything I could have bought at the store.

Step 1 : Gather your decorative supplies. 

  • Old notebook (I used one that I had filled up with unimportant notes)

  • Paper pages (I cut out fancy edge pages from my paper cutter machine, but you can easily fold printer paper in half)​​

  • Fabric for cover & inside cover (I used fabric on hand, other items you could use in place of fabric; printed bed sheets, scarfs, or cloth napkins.

  • Ribbon to bound book

  • Envelope full of scrapbook decorations (I cut out photo corners & fun shapes from my paper cutter machine.  You can cut some out yourself and put in fun stickers & momentos!)

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Step 2 : Gather your tools!

  • Piece of wood to hammer into

  • Hammer (make sure you use one with a nail remover on it's other end)

  • Nail (not a screw)

  • Spray Adhesive (there are tons of different options you can use and I don't notice differences between brands)

  • Scissors

  • Permanent marker or Pen (not pictured)

  • Exact o blade or box cutters (not pictured)

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Now that you have everything gathered, let's start making!

Step 3 : Use your exact o blade to cut the pages out of the bound notebook. Set your book upright and run your blade down the front cover and first page.  It is helpful to choose a notebook that the pages have already worked their way away from spine.  Recycle removed pages or save for other DIY project.

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Step 4 : Cut out your cover fabric, adding one inch to the size of the notebook when it is laid flat.

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Step 5 : Cut out your inner cover fabric, this should be the same size as the notebook when it is laid flat.

Step 6 : Lay your notebook out flat on it's belly.  Grab the fabric adhesive and spray the outside cover of the notebook.  Add your fabric to the cover, starting at the spine.  Slowly lay your fabric down from the inside out, one side at a time.  Use your hands along the way to smooth out the fabric to eliminate bubbles.  Then flip over your book so the belly is up.

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Step 7 : Spray along the top edge of the book and the bottom edge.  Lay the fabric down at the top, again starting at the spine and moving out. Be careful not to lay the fabric down at the ends of the book. Then repeat the same step for the fabric at the bottom of the book. 

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Step 8 : Spray along the side edges of the book.  Before laying the fabric down, fold the corners so they are clean like a gift wrap. 

Step 9 : Spray the inside cover of the book with the spray adhesive.  Fold over the inner fabric along the top edge about 1/4 inch (this is to hide the raw edge of the fabric).  Stick to notebook at the top of the spine.  Lay down fabric in spine, be careful to not let fabric stick to the area outside of the spine.  Once you get to the bottom of the Spine, fold over the fabric 1/4 inch and lay on adhesive.  Slowly lay the fabric down on the sides, one side at a time.  When you get to the edge, fold the edge over 1/4 an inch.  

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Step 10 : Once the adhesive has dried, you can add your pages.  Begin by measuring out where the holes in the spine should go.  You can use a ruler, but I just go off sight!  Ensure that the holes in your paper line up to the holes you plan to make in your spine.  I used 8 pages and grouped them in 2's, so this meant I have 4 groups of pages to attach.  I marked 12 holes for me to make (4 across, 3 down).

Step 11 : Grab your hammer, nail,  and piece of wood to hammer into.  Lay the spine of the book along the wood, belly side face up.  Hammer your nail into the holes you marked and then pull out with the nail removed on the reverse side of the hammer.  

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Step 12 : String your pages in using the ribbon.  Weave the ribbon through the spine of the book and pages.  Tie off after each section of pages once the two ends of the ribbon meet. Use the nail to force the ribbon through the holes if you get stuck.  Repeat for the 4 groups of pages.  Be sure to make sure the ribbon is laying flat on the outside of the book.  and...... FINI!

Your mom is going to love decorating her scrapbook while she is quarantined at home.  Another extra bonus, If you have siblings, you will for sure be the prized child this weekend.  Whether you end up making her something, buying her something, or nothing at all, make sure you cherish your mother for all the gifts she has given you. If she is your mother, then I know she deserves it.

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Cheers!

Lauren

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