Book Binding Tutorial

Hello Bo Bunny fans! Sarah here with a quick and easy tutorial on how to make your own bound books.

I have some special pictures of my sweet little Isabel that were taken by the hospital photographer on the day she was born. There's over 20 pictures that I wanted to include in a book so I wanted something that wouldn't take that long, but still look very pretty and special. So I searched the internet and combined a few book binding methods that I found to come up with this tutorial.

This is much easier than it sounds and takes very little time. This was the first time I tried it and it turned out great and was very easy. The book you create will have an actual glue bound spine. This makes it very sturdy, but since the spine doesn't give at all the pages inside will have to be relatively flat. That was perfect for me because I wanted something quick since I had so many photos to include. I have gone through the book many times (as well as my two year old daughter) and it still is holding up great! Like I said, it is very sturdy!

To get started here are the materials you will need:
Gorilla Glue
Strong liquid adhesive (Helmar 450)
Cotton Ball
4 sheets of Bo Bunny Gabrielle double sided 12 x 12 patterned paper
Bo Bunny Wraps (Gabrielle and Olivia)
small scrap of cardstock or patterned paper (any size)
4 binder clips

Step 1: Cut patterned paper into 6 x 6 squares

Step 2: Arrange the sheets in the desired order and allign them so the left edge that will be the spine are alligned. The pages may vary slightly in size and that's ok. It gives the book that special homemade look. Make sure the left side that will be the spine of the book is lined up exactly so the book will open correctly and then binder clip the pages together as shown.

Step 3: Wet a cotton ball so that it is damp, but not soaking yet and run it along the edges of the paper that will be the spine of the book. You want the edge of the paper just damp.

Step 4: Apply a thin line of Gorrila Glue down the damp edges of the papers. The glue will be dark yellow, but will dry white like an actual book. The glue expands to 3-4 times so you only want a very thin line. Use a small scrap of paper to spread the glue down the edges of the paper scrapping off any excess glue. There should only be a thin film of glue.

Step 5: Apply two more binder clips in the middle as shown and allow the glue to dry for 2-3 hours. Check the spine after about 15 minutes to make sure all the pages are sticking together. If they aren't press them together with your fingers and add a little more glue if needed.

Step 6: When dry the left edge of the book should now have a glue bound spine! It doesn't look very pretty though so now you will need to use some fabric from the Bo Bunny wraps to decorate it and reinforce the spine.

Trim one 6 inch piece of the Timepiece black checked wrap and two 6 inch pieces of the brown Olivia wrap.

Apply the liquid adhesive (I used Helmar 450) to the spine of the book and glue the Timepiece wrap centered on the spine. Using the liquid glue glue the wrap to the back and front of the book as shown:

Using the liquid glue adhere the brown Olivia wrap to the front and back cover overlapping the Timepiece wrap. Now your book is finished! I used patterned paper for my front and back cover, but you can use cardstock or even chipboard for a more sturdy cover. If using chipboard bind the inside pages first and then use the fabric to adhere the chipboard pieces to the front and and back.



Here are photos of the decorated front cover and some of the inside pages. I kept the inside relatively flat so the book wouldn't be too bulky.

supplies: Gabrielle- patterned papers, 12 x 12 chipboard, stickers, dimenional stickers, wraps, acrylic stamps, 6 x 6 mini pad, trinkets, noteworthy, jewels; Timepiece: wraps, combo stickers; Olivia- wraps, combo stickers; Other- Bo Bunny double dot ribbon, Bo Bunny petals, twine, glimmer mist, inks, letter stickers, Sizzix dies, Helmar 450 adhesive.

Thanks for coming by the blog today! If you have any questions ask away and I will post the answers in the comments. We would love to see your books made from Bo Bunny papers. Please upload your projects to the Bo Bunny facebook page!