Book Binding (the simple way) with Eileen Hull Designs

Hi everyone and welcome! Thank you all so much for the positive reaction to my new journal cover project yesterday - in case you missed it you'll find it HERE. Lots of you were intrigued by the binding system I'd used so it seemed now would be a good time to share my tutorial for it.

The concept is based around those plastic disks you can see on the edge of the journal - they are part of 'The Happy Planner' from Me & My Big Ideas, and are readily available now in stores on both sides of the Atlantic. It allows you to insert, move or remove pages easily without tearing them. As part of her latest Book Club Collection release with Sizzix, Eileen Hull has developed this Book Binding Movers & Shapers Magnetic Die that will easily cut the required slits into anything you want, enabling you to add your own pages to planners and journals that use the disk system.

Book Binding Tutorial

Here's a tutorial for creating mini books using this system with a few hints and tips for getting a professional finish. I started with pieces of single-sided 12x12 designer paper (DCWV - The Mariposa Stack) and cut out two pieces 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches (16cm x 11cm).

To cut the pages I used Eileen Hull's new Scoreboards XL Die - Book & Pages, Trinket Box and Frame, also part of the new Book Club Collection from Sizzix. As you can tell from the name this is a versatile die with lots of shapes in one place! One of those is a 4 x 3 inch (10cm x 7.5cm) page shape shown below. This was my 'go to' for cutting all the pages and the front/back covers, which were cut from Matboard (Mountboard) for strength.

To make sure the facing pages match perfectly I folded each piece of 6 1/4" x 4 1/4" paper in half and placed it over the die, cutting two matching pages in one pass.

Below you'll see how the pages look when cut. If you find the paper measurements a little snug for you just increase the width and length; as long as it's folded in half the pages will always match perfectly.

I repeated the process several times, gathering together pairs of pages all ready to be glued together. Remember when you are doing this to make sure the matching pages are facing each other; so for example the first page will be stuck to the inside front cover, the second will be glued to the third, the fourth to the fifth and so on. The final page is then glued to the inside of the back cover. As for the outside of the front and back covers, I simply cut another pair and glued them on to match too.

Now it was time to cut the slits for the disks. I placed my Book Binding Die towards one end of the Movers & Shapers Magnetic Base Tray and placed the left edge over the it, balancing the remainder of the page on the side of the tray. It's important to use the Magnetic Tray with Movers & Shapers dies as it holds them firmly in place as you run them through your cutting machine.

You'll see some tape along the edge of my die; I used the The Happy Planner Mini Disks and found they worked better if the slits were a little smaller. To do this simply spread masking tape across the die where required, run it through your Big Shot one time to cut away the slits, and press the tape down between each slit to secure. You then have a perfect guide for lining up your page. Pass the page and die through your cutting machine using the regular cutting pads and you'll be left with the a finished page with the slits cut. I cut the front and back covers in the same way since Movers & Shapers Dies are steel rule dies that can cut thicker materials too.

You'll see below where I cut a few of these pages in the same way. It was then just a case of slipping the disks into the slots before adding the front and back covers. The beauty of this system is that all the pages will now lie flat so you can decorate them in situ and line up your embellishments.

Here are the photos of the first mini book all completed with a selection of the inner pages; the flowers were cut from the same paper pad using Eileen Hull's Thinlits Dies by Sizzix - Stitchy Flowers & Leaf and the word was cut using another of her Thinlits Dies - Floral Arch & Words.

And here's a second version using the same DCWV Paper Stack, this time turned into a mini scrapbook diary; I created the tabs using Eileen Hull's now famous Scoreboards XL Die - Journal, and the mats inside were embossed using her Textured Impressions Embossing Folder - Basket Weave.

As you can see this is an easy project to create and makes a wonderful little gift to give throughout the year. I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions or comments please let me know in the comments box below. For lots more inspiration, ideas and tutorials make sure you head over to Eileen Hull's website where the Inspiration Team are sharing many more fantastic projects.

And remember to get out there and support those craft stores who are now starting to stock Eileen Hull's Book Club Collection; if yours is not make sure to let them know you want them! These are the dies you will find yourself using over and over again (especially if you are creating for friends, family, customers and classes).

Take care of yourselves and get creative! Jenny xxx