Tutorial on How to Cheaply Make Your Own Drawing Journal
- 1). Stack 50 pieces of loose-leaf drawing paper, or whatever kind of paper you prefer, into ten neat piles of five pieces. You can use more pieces of paper to make up your drawing journal, just start by stacking them in small piles. Clip binder clips on the top and bottom of each stack to keep the edges perfectly aligned.
- 2). Turn one stack so that the longer sides are horizontal in front of you. Measure a 1-inch margin along the left short side and mark it lightly with a pencil. Use a ruler to measure and mark three spots within the margin that are evenly spaced from each other and the same distance from the edge of the paper. Do the same for each stack of paper. The placement of the three marks needs to be the same on each stack.
- 3). Punch a hole through the three marks with a hole punch or an awl. If you use an awl, push the pointed end through the paper and rotate it to make the hole a little larger than 1/8 inch across. Do this with each stack and work carefully to make sure the papers don't shift as you punch the holes.
- 4). Measure and cut two pieces of thick card stock or thin cardboard to the same size as the sheets of paper. Punch holes in the left margins the same way you did with the stacks of paper. Place one piece of card stock in front of you with the holes on the left and neatly place each stack of papers on top, with the holes aligned. Put the other piece of card stock on top and line up the edges.
- 5). Cut a piece of 2-mm string to 1 foot long. Feed the end of the string up through the hole in the middle of the margin on the stack of card stock and paper, and keep 2 inches of the end from coming up through the hole by grabbing it with your fingers. Go back down through the bottom hole and up through the hole at the top of the stack. Feed the string down through the middle hole and out through the bottom where you started. Use the awl or the tip of a pencil to help you push the string though the hole. Tie the ends of the string in a double overhand knot to complete the binding of your drawing journal.