A passion for paper...

by Natalie Anderson.

Photo from
www.freedigitalimages.net

Every writer I know has a stationery addiction. Actually, many people I know who aren't 'writers' as such, have a stationery addiction. And there are all those gorgeous shops there to meet those addictions - with a range for all budgets - from those 5 cent notebooks, to the $50 dollar or more notebooks that are hand-bound. And of course, some shops exist purely to get us hooked early (my kids all adore Smiggle). There's nothing better than the start of the school year and all the stationery ships with their massive sales. I always buy far too many notebooks and not enough highlighters.

Anyway, it's the school holidays at the moment and yesterday the kids and I went to a place called 'creative junk' - you pay a few dollars, get given a bag and then go round this giant warehouse filled with recycled/reusable stuff - cardboard, bottles, fabric, foam - just so much stuff that you can reuse to create something new - with a touch of glue and some imagination. Two of the kids did picture frames, one made a diorama from an old suitcase and then there was the eldest who couldn't decide what to do...

Now, this was out of my comfort zone because I am not a crafty kind of person. I can't knit, can't sew, can't even iron... yes, I'm the only mother who superglued her fingers together and her rings on when making an asteroid costume for the school operetta the other week. I am a total fail on the crafts front!

So, desperate for help, the eldest and I talked to one of the people who worked there and she showed us a gorgeous handmade notebook - WELL, talk about excitement! You didn't even need superglue - just an ordinary gluestick that even I can handle!!!

Photo from
www.freedigitalimages.net

I had forgotten, that several moons ago when I was about eleven (okay, so it's MANY moons ago) I went to a young authors conference (I had the passion early) and a guy there showed us how to bind our own books - using any old cardboard and any old paper and some string. You can then cover the book with whatever you want - a few yards of pretty ribbon, old fabric scraps, glitter - whatever is to hand.

So we had a blissful afternoon making pretty notebooks with recycled card and textured paper. I think it's the one craft thing I can actually manage! We're working on tweaking the design, making smaller ones, concertina ones... I tell you, I think the notebook buying days might be over!!! And then there's the fun of filling them with cute poems or stories or messages - oh yes, that's the best bit... happy days!!!!

Since our initial attempts I looked up several how-tos on the internet - from the simple 'just a bit of glue' numbers like ours, to the full on 'bind separate folios with impossible patterns on the spine' notebooks - something for everyone then!

So, do you love notebooks? Ever tried making one yourself? If you want to know how to make the world's easiest, let me know!!!