I'm really excited to have my first tutorial posted on the EtsyTrashion Team blog! Learn how to make Matchbook Notebooks!http://www.etsytrashion.blogspot.com/
I love working with paper, especially recycled paper. Sooo, I thought I might tell you a little about how I make my Think Again Notebooks™...
It all starts with the cover.
I'll use any printed card stock material that has an interesting graphic that's headed for recycling. Cereal, cat food and frozen pizza boxes are my fav's. I've found old BINGO! games and playing decks with cards missing that make great notebooks too! Sometimes I find bags of flattened boxes waiting for me on my doorstep. Too fun!
All of the potential covers get cut down on my handy-dandy paper cutter and filed so I'm organized and can find what I need when I need it. I have a giant 2 drawer office filing cabinet that I got from a local freecycler http://www.freecycle.org/ that's filled to the brim with covers just waiting to be made into books!
To make my covers more durable I drymount them to a piece of mat board scrap that I get from a local frame shop or onto chipboard which is a recycled material.
Now comes the paper...
I collect paper from a lot of different places. Most of my notebooks have plain paper. Some of it's collected from daily life... mis-prints, etc. (envelopes too!), and some of it is new 100%pcw recycled paper.
Some folks just have to have the lines!
So, that paper comes from mis-bound school journals.
It all gets cut down, by me, on my handy-dandy paper cutter.
As you can see in the photo sometimes the paper isn't just cut in half...thank you very much!
I'm often left with really odd sized strips of paper.
Like most trashionistas I take my upcycling very seriously!
Sooo, this is where playing cards and my Make A List!™ and Make A Note!™ notebooks come in to play!
If you're interested in making your own upcycled notebooks...
check out my shop for a do-it-yourself starter kit.
You can also have custom upcycled books made to order!
