Story Booklet Tutorial
July 10th, 2008 by SimoneBobbi-lee of TomandJasmine.wordpress.com starts off this season’s guest contributor cycle with a tutorial on how to make a very personal story booklet:
I made this little story booklet for my sisters 20th birthday which was last week and thought I should make a tutorial at the same time. This little booklet is a great gift idea for the young and old, or it can just be a little book of your illustrations or poetry. Have fun!
First of all you need to do the pages (unless you are making a blank book to draw and write in later then skip this part). I started with an A4 page of watercolour paper and divided it into 15 equal rectangles. Draw your little illustrations in pencil then paint them or colour them with your choice of paints.
Once you have done your little drawings and the paint is dry, outline them in black felt tip marker and write the poem or story in.
Once that’s all done you can cut out the pages neatly with a scalpel and ruler. Don’t cut yourself!
Now comes the fun part. Cut out some strips of paper for the binding. The pieces I used were about 8×4 cms but it really doesn’t matter what size as long as it is smaller than the actual pages. Now fold the strips of paper and glue one side of the fold to one side of a fold on another piece. Keep gluing the folded parts together until you get what looks like a mini book.
Now start gluing the back of the watercoloured pages to the mini book like in the image below. If this doesn’t make sense please let me know-I am terrible at explaining. Keep gluing each page until the book is all glued together. Remember to keep the pages in the right order you wanted and remember that some pages will be back to back.
Now that the booklet is almost done it needs a cover. I cut a piece of cardboard scrap I had lying around. Glue the last two paper strips to the cardboard. The cover is one piece of cardboard not two pieces. Once glued fold it like in the picture. You might need to hold it under some weight (such as another thick book) to help it keep its shape.
Now all you have to do is line the cover with some pretty paper. I chose this gorgeous scrapbook paper that has glittery accents on it. Line both the inside and outside of the cover.
Now you have a cute little story booklet. I tied it with pretty ribbon to give it something extra. You can print a title on the cover, use transfers or stickers or add some beads and ribbon. It’s up to you.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Beaytiful, Lovely work.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
This is utterly charming!
July 11th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Looks like fun !
The result is really cute and it makes for such a personal gift !
July 11th, 2008 at 5:34 am
oh how cute! My 3 year old is obsesed with books…this would tickle her pink!
July 11th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Beautiful!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
what a great idea. your little book is so cute.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Adorable little drawings in your cute book!
July 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
What a wonderful idea – I love it and your watercolour pictures are so lovely.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
it’s gorgeous! abs wonderful… and so creative!
i love the idea, nad if i make it soon for someone special’s birthday , willdfinately let you know.. 
imagine giving this to a childhood sweetheart or a long lost friend..
July 15th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
This is wonderful, thanks so much for sharing! I’m going to do this with my daughter and what a wonderful idea to make as a gift.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Hi Simone!
What a great little book to make.
I’ve been wanting to make something like that for my mothers birthday
about her and I when I was a teenager.
Thanks for the tutorial.
I have an award for you on my blog,please go have a look!
October 21st, 2008 at 1:57 pm
What a fab idea! I think I’ll make one of these for my sister’s bday coming up!
I’m one of the editors over at Blissfully Domestic. We’re currently looking for new contributor’s for our Creative Bliss channel. Would you be interested? I’d love to have you join our team!! Please e-mail me and let me know!
sylvia{at}blissfullydomestic{dot}com
September 27th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Would you be interested? I’d love to have you join our team!! Please e-mail me and let me know!
November 16th, 2010 at 12:06 am
Very good selection of such a beautiful website, thanks for sharing and keep adding more and more websites.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
We’re currently looking for new contributor’s for our Creative Bliss channel. Would you be interested? I’d love to have you join our team!! Please e-mail me and let me know!
April 27th, 2011 at 12:33 am
I feel charmed to read such a good post, I would like to thank the Author for this fabulous information —myefox