"Colors and Shapes" Journal With Crayon Stick Binding

Use two crayons with the stick binding technique to make an A5 size journal. This is a quick bookbinding project that makes use of crayons both for the binding and decorative shapes on the cover.

• Two crayons for binding
• Paper awl
• Thread (waxed linen is often used for bookbinding, but it's fine to use a thinner crocheting/knitting thread)
• Needle
• Two pieces of 110 lb. kraft cardstock paper (other colors would be great as well!)
• A5 size paper (either precut or cut yourself)
• Paper cutter
• Ruler or tape measurer
• Bone folder (for scoring binding line)
• Pencil
• Construction paper (a few sheets of different colors)
• Crayons
• Glue
• Binder Clip
• Scissors

Either identify the amount of a precut stack of A5 paper that you want for your journal, or cut paper from a used legal pad or notebook into 148 (5.8 in.) mm by 210 (8.3) mm pieces for standard sized A5 journal paper.

Cut the two sheets of brown cardstock paper into 222 mm by 154 mm pieces (this leaves 6 mm edges on the cover beyond the the A5 size paper).

Use a bone folder to score a line 12 mm away from the left size of the top cover of your journal. This line is where the binding will be made.

From the top of line, use a ruler or tape measure to mark with a pencil a small dash or line at 10 mm down. Then mark more dashes at 35, 60, and 86 mm down from the top of the journal.

Next, do the same thing from the bottom of the scored line: mark small dashes or lines at 10 mm, 35 mm, 60 mm, and 85 mm going up from the bottom of the scored line.

Position your stack of paper along the far left edge of your cardstock cover, placing them halfway in between the bottom and top edges of the cardstock. Place the top cover over the paper, and secure the covers and paper with a binder clip.

Carefully use the awl to punch holes into the marked points at 35, 60, and 85 mm from the top and bottom. Do not punch holes into the points marked at 10 mm.

Cut a 36 in. string of lightweight yarn or linen thread. Thread it through a needle. Starting on the back cover, move the threaded needle through the top hole.

On the other (front) side of the journal, position your first crayon over the hole and move the thread over the crayon, sewing it back into the same hole that it came out of. Position the tip of the crayon at the 10 mm mark.

On the back side of the journal, sew the thread into the next hole down, and bring it through to the front side on the left side of the crayon. Cross the thread over the center of the crayon and bring it back through the same hole as you did in the previous step.

Sew the thread through the next hole down, bringing it through and over the left side of the crayon. Bring it back through the same hole to the back of the journal.

Repeat these steps for all of the remaining holes, positioning the second crayon in the opposite direction.

Tie the two end threads together, using a reef knot.

If desired, trim threads to a shorter length. The two pictured journals show one with shorter end threads, and one with longer ones.

Use a few crayons of your choice and color a blank sheet of white paper.

Cut out various shapes of different sizes and glue them onto pieces of construction paper. Then cut the construction paper to make a border.

Glue the shapes to your journal cover in various places.

Start using your new journal with a unique stick binding, or give it away as a fun homemade gift.