Make your own notebook

Is the recycling stack precariously high? Make all that paper into something useful again. Cat Davison gives a new lease of life to scrap paper with a simply bound notebook


The great thing about binding your own books - apart from the sheer thrill of making something you were going to throw away into something you were going to buy - is that you can make it as easy or as complicated as you like. You can rustle up a coverless, warts-and-all notepad for shopping lists and daily plans in under 30 minutes, or labour away at a work of art with specially bought paper for a day or more.

What you need

A stack of paper
A ruler
A pencil
A thick sewing needle
Strong string or thread
A thick needle topped with a wedge of cork (or a mini hand-drill)
A small clamp (if you have one)
A cutting mat

What to do

1. Stack all your papers together. It doesn't matter if they are different textures, colours or thicknesses - I find this actually makes the book more interesting - they just need to be cut to one size (of your own choosing).

2. With all the papers aligned against their left-hand edge, place them on your cutting mat. Using a ruler, mark a light line with your pencil down the left-hand edge, about 1-2cm in. Mark increments down this line, between 1-2cm apart. Remember the more widely spaced the increments, the longer your stitches will be, and the quicker your book will take to sew. The shorter, the more labour-intensive, but also the more refined.

3. Align all your pages once more on the cutting mat. If you have a small clamp, use this to fix the pages to something solid, like the corner of a table. If not, press down hard on the top of your stack and start pushing through your increments with a thick needle or drill. Depending on how thick your book is you might be able to do this in one go. If not, separate your pages into sections, mark each one up, push through the holes and then combine.

4. Thread your needle. Although this might go against every sewing sensibility you have, tie a knot around the head of the needle (this prevents the thread from escaping when you push it through the paper).

5. Push your needle from underneath your stack at the bottom hole, leaving a good 12.5cm of string spare when you pull the thread through. Don't tie a knot at the end.

6. Weave your way up the spine of the book, threading each hole. When you reach the top, go back the other way so that each hole has been gone through twice and you have a continuous line of thread up the spine.

7. When you reach the bottom, cut the needle loose and tie the two spare threads together - I like a lavish bow!
And another thing ...

You can add a hardback cover to your book by cutting two pieces of card to the same size as your notebook. Placing both on top, cut them again so that the bind is showing - this normally involves lopping off a centimetre or so from the left-hand edge. Get some tough fabric, cut it to the height of your book and make sure it wraps around the spine and covers a good few centimetres of the card. Using PVA, glue it around the spine, attaching it to the cards so they 'hinge' off the fabric.


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Origami Lily Folding Instructions

The origami lily is a classic and popular origami flower. Did you know that the lily family traditionally represented innocence and purity? Lilies can be found in a variety of hybrids and colors including yellow, pink, white, orange, purple, red and many others.



The origami lily is not too difficult to fold but beginners may find the petal fold slightly challenging. Just take your time and follow each step slowly. If you prefer video, check out our origami lily video instructions.

If you're giving your origami lily to someone as a gift, do use an extra special paper such as these gorgeous Fabric Textured Origami Paper

Or use these Washi Origami Paper with raised patterns and subtle gold flecks.

Start with a 6 inch square piece of origami paper, and fold it into a water balloon base.

Next, take one of the four corners of the base and squash fold it as shown below.




Repeat the squash fold for the other three corners, to give the kite shape shown below.




Now fold the lower edges of the kite into the centerline, then unfold. Fold the top corner down, then unfold.



You will now have crease marks on the piece, that will be used in the next step. Place your finger under the lower point of the kite, and fold upwards as shown. This is a petal fold.



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Make a Naruto Headband

This is an easy, quick and fun way to make a Shinobi headband resembling one from the popular anime Naruto.


1. Search the Internet for [[Be a True Naruto Fan|Naruto]] headbands to get a template, or use the link in the tips section.
2. Find or buy blue cloth (cotton works best). You can also [[Tie Dye Using Rit Powder|dye]] your cloth blue if you cannot find a blue one.
3. Cut a strip of the cloth about 3 inches wide and however long you need to wrap around your head. Leave enough extra to tie off behind your head.[[Stencil an Item Using Spray Paint|Spray paint]] the cardboard on one side only, as the paint won't help the fabric glue stick.
4. Once the paint has dried, use either your pencil, or a darker silver marker to transpose the design of your choice. Using pencil first will allow you to correct your mistakes.
5. When you are satisfied with the plate, apply fabric glue to the back of the plate and the front of your cloth band and press together firmly. Adding a phone book as a weight will improve bonding.
6. When the glue has dried per instructions on the packaging, your headband is complete.
7. Don't forget to add three holes to each side. Alternatively you could use permanent marker so that the fabric does not show through.
8. You can also use an Arizona tea can for the metal part to make it more realistic. you could also get some thumb tacks to make the screws on the side or some rime stones they add depth like a screw and cover them with a silver sharpie so they wont shine and a darker silver for the screw indentation.



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Wrapping a gift basket

With Easter approaching, I thought it would be timely to share how to wrap a gift basket. With this technique your basket will look just as good as the professional ones in the store. Simple directions below.



Supplies:
Basket - I recommend getting one at the thrift store. They're just as good as anything you would buy at the store and usually cost less than a dollar.
Magazine or catalog
Scissors
Tape
Cellophane

Fill your basket 2/3 full with crumpled magazine paper (step 2). Cover all of the crumpled paper with one piece of paper (step3). Cover with shredded paper or Easter grass (step 4).

Arrange the gifts starting at the back with the taller pieces and work your way to the front with the shorter pieces. This makes the gifts look more appealing and helps hold the smaller items in place. If you need support to stand an item up, use decorative cardboard to place in the back of the basket. In the past I've used cardboard from boxes covered in wrapping paper.

Place the basket in the center of the cellophane and pull the cellophane up so it's folded in half. Refer to picture.

Fold the right side behind the basket (refer to picture). Secure with tape. Fold the left side and secure with tape. Sometimes there's excess cellophane that needs to be cut back to make it more workable. Bunch up the top of the cellophane over the basket toward the back and secure with a rubber band. Make sure the cellophane in the front of the basket doesn't bunch up at all. Sometimes it takes a little finessing to get it perfect. Tie a ribbon over the rubber band. Done.

This is what the back of the basket will look like.

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Kids theme parties - Party hats

A kid’s birthday party is not complete without a party hat!

They can come in many shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common… they add to the liveliness and festive feeling of any party.

They can be made from balloons, from newspaper or tissue paper, they can be adorned with feathers, glitter, sequins, colourful buttons, flowers or streamers, the choice is yours. Party hats can be shaped like a cone, a top hat, a simple band with Mickey Mouse or Bunny ears, a pirate hat, a witch hat… as with so many crafts, your imagination is the only drawback when it comes to the kind of hat you will make for your kid’s theme party.

The easiest party hat you can make yourself is the conical party hat. diagram for a cone shaped party hatDraw a triangle on a piece of stiff cardboard or coloured paper – size 12″ x 18″ – use the 12″ as the height and the 18″ as the size to go around the head. Change the straight bottom line to a curve:

Decorate as desired, then glue the edges together and leave to dry. (Use paperclips to hold the hat together while it is drying). Staple both ends of a thin piece of elastic string onto opposite sides of the bottom edge of the hat so it fits under the chin.

A golden rule when planning your kids’ theme parties is to let them be a part of the planning from the beginning, so the older kids will really enjoy making their own party hats.


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