Handmade Creative Journals

I love playing with new ideas and discovering better ways to make things. Last year, when I started this course, I wanted to find a place for my 750 (annual) students to explore a few minutes of daily creative writing and visual responses to warm ups.  With a tiny budget to work with, I cut single subject lined notebooks into thirds for kids to use.  While this worked, and was economically efficient, I wanted to find a better way.  I admit when it comes to art materials, I am a hoarder. I'm afraid of letting go of some little doo dad that I just may find a use for someday. I have loads of all kinds and types of paper in my storage closets donated from printing companies and bleached out crumbly construction paper circa 1975.  Knowing I had paper to spare, I thought I could try my hand at stitching handmade journals with my students and put these materials to use. For a small amount of cool patterned duct tape (cheaper stuff would work, I'm sure, but I just love the patterns) and the scrap supplies that most of us already have in abundance, students are able to make a fresh 40 page handmade book each marking period.

Step by step process, 50 minute class periods, approx 30 students per class:

Materials: Small amount of Acrylic Paint, Paper Mache Paste, Newsprint, Loads of Cheap Paper cut to 6" x 9" or smaller (you could cut down copy paper for this size book as well), Two 6"x9" cardboard rectangles, about 6 rolls of duct tape per 150 students, masking tape, yarn, yarn needles, 40 binder clips (to be reused over the course of two days), dremel drill

Step One, Day One: Making the cover sheets and experimenting with color 

• Paste painting on a sheet of 18 x 24 thin newsprint. 
• The students make their own cardboard tools to play in the paste with.  
• The paste paint is a mix of approx one cup of paper mache (art paste) and a tablespoon of acrylic paint.  I give each table 3 -4 colors to play with and popsicle sticks in the container so they don't contaminate the original color. A little goes a long way and it leave a nice glossy sheen that is resistant to smearing.

Because I have so many students and not much of a drying rack, I spread dollar store plastic tablecloths around the room on the floor to set their paintings out to dry on. The plastic sheets resist the paper mache paste so the paintings peel right off in the morning.

Step Two, Day Two: Pasting the cover paintings on the cardboard and making paper stacks

• Students are given two 6" x 9" rectangles of cardboard (I spend a day after school in advance jamming out to 90's girl power radio and just work that paper cutter til it's toasty). It saves the in-class stress for me to pre-cut the cardboard for so many students, but if you want them to cut their own, more power to you!
• They cut one approx 1" strip off of the long end on only one of the boards.  They save this cardboard strip in their art folder until the next day. (The strip is used to help make the front cover bend open later.)
• Students cut their paste painting in half and determine which half will make up the front of their book and which will cover their back.
• The smaller of the two boards will become their front cover.  Students precut the paper to make a book seam around the cover board (I say it's like wrapping a present).
• Then, we use big paintbrushes and clear paper mache paste to completely cover the backside of the paste paper. The paper wraps around the edges of the cardboard covers and makes a nice book edge.
• Students wrap both their front and back boards this way.
• Students are then given a 6 x 9 sheet of copy paper or other scrap paper to cover the interior side of the cardboard that is still showing.  Some students use empty envelopes in this space as well (I happen to have a lot of those too. ) They will later write their name and hour on this paper when it's dry.
• The covers are set out to dry on the plastic tablecloths again overnight.
• Remaining class time is spent collecting/assembling 40 different pieces of paper for their books.  I also encourage students to bring paper from home in or other things they might like in their book. The students decorate the edges of their paper and even customize some pages to fold out or to have different shapes.  You could spend two days on this step if you wanted to.

Step 3, Days 3 - 4 Assembly, if your class is small, you can probably do this in one day, but since there are thirty of them and one of me, it takes two days.  Early finishers can work on decorating their pages.

• When students come in the room, I ask them to gather both cover boards, their 1" cardboard strip and 40 page paper stack.
• At the front of the room, I have 3 - 4 different patterned duct tape choices (I pull out more as they get used up, too many choices makes it tough to manage) and a 12" measuring piece of regular masking tape taped onto the table so they know how long to cut their duct tape.  
• The students reattach their cut off cardboard strip to their shorter cover board ONLY by wrapping their duct tape strip around it front to back. (I could have the students make their back covers bend too, but that would mean I'd have to buy more duct tape.)
• Then, when all of the pages are gathered and the front and back covers are in place, be sure they are all pushed to the edge of the cover where the duct tape is.
• Use a large binder clip in the center of your book stack to hold it all in place.
• Use a dremel drill to drill 5 - 6 holes through the whole stack. Leave the binder clip on so the holes stay aligned. I let my students try this if they want to.  I drill the stack over the edge of a counter so I don't have to worry about drilling into the counter.
• Once the stack has been drilled AND the binder clip is still left on, students are directed to the counter where another longer piece of masking tape measures off how long they need a piece of multicolored yarn to be for them to stitch their binding together
• Students can experiment with sewing their bindings in all sorts of patterns. The important thing is that they are sewn through around the spine several times.  The books are used daily in my room and need to be able to withstand middle school student abuse for 9 weeks!
• Once the yarn has been tied off to itself, the students can return the needles and the binder clips and their book is complete! (now, please write your name and hour in the front cover!)