"The Buddha Book”

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2016

I love journals and handmade books, and I add several new ones to my collection each year! My favorites are handmade books with "content". You may remember the “Knots Prayer” book from my Jan. 1 blog project which was filled with quotes.  This "ribbon bound" journal is one of the easiest books to create and making multiples is a breeze.  Match the quotes to the paper theme. They make marvelous gifts! I often create books a certain size because I have odd size papers etc. I had a stack of long skinny scraps of handmade paper, mat board scraps and some wallpaper pieces that were perfect for the covers. I will list the measurements for my book, but please do not be stuck with this size - make your book whatever size you want. Even though my book is "landscape" oriented, it can also be made "portrait" oriented. Remember if you don’t have handmade paper to use for your book you will need to make as many pages as you want.

Supplies:

• Matboard: back cover 4 x 9", front cover 4 x 1" and 4 x 8 ½”
• Pages: 3 ¾ x 8 ¾" handmade paper
• Scrap of tan heavy weight handmade paper for the temple
• Wallpaper for covers: two pieces 6 x 10 1/2"
• Solid color paper for inside the covers: two pieces 3 ¾ x 8 ¾”
• Spellbinders^TM Grand Calabur cutting and embossing machine
• Die: Joy Crafts Orientals 6002/0229
• Tonic® paper trimmer & scissors
• Ruler, sanding block
• Japanese screw punch & 1/8” bit
• Beacon ZipDry^TM adhesive, old cc to use for spreading the ZipDry™ adhesive
• Double sided foam tape or dots
• Approx. 24” of ½ sheer gold ribbon to match the wall paper for binding
• Clearsnap™  light brown Chalk ink pad, Stylus™ handle & tips
• Fine point pen to write the Buddha quotes

Instructions:

1. Die cut the Buddhist temple from the scrap of tan handmade paper.
2. Lightly sand the die cut to bring out some details.
3. Use the Stylus™ and light brown ink to shade around the edges. 

To create the journal:

1. Cut the 2 pieces of wallpaper 1 ½” larger than the mat board.    
2. Spread a thin coat of ZipDry™ adhesive onto the back side of the wallpaper.
3. Center the mat board piece for the back cover onto the wallpaper.
4. Miter the corners, leaving a tiny bit more than the thickness of the mat board.
5. Apply additional adhesive to the flaps if needed.
6. Secure the flaps to the other side of the mat board.
7. Apply the adhesive to the back side of the wallpaper.
8. Place the two front cover pieces of matboard onto the wallpaper, leaving ½” between the two pieces.
9. Miter the corners and wrap the flaps to the back side.
10. Apply a thin coat of adhesive to the matching papers and place in the back sides of the covers.
11. Measure ¾” from the top and bottom hinge part of journal and two places in between.
12. Use the Japanese Screw Punch to create holes.
13. Place the pages inside of the covers, mark and create holes in all of the pages. (Remember the pages are a bit smaller than the covers.)
14. Bind the journal using the ribbon to weave in and out of the holes, starting and ending at the top.
15. Tie a bow.
16. Attach the die cut with double side foam tape or dots.

      17. Fill the book with quotes

Note: You can find a lot of videos on the internet showing how to create many different ribbon bindings.