Recycled notebook made with plastic bags

A hand bound notebook made with recycled plastic bags

My sister used to have ferrets, so for her birthday, I decided to make a personalised, recycled notebook out of an old Furet du Nord plastic bag, which has a cool picture of a ferret on it.

I actually got the inspiration from this Fabriano notebook (pictured below) that I saw one day in BHV, which came with an elastic band containing a few essential accessories, including a coloured pencil to match the cover of the book itself. So cute! Unfortunately, the price was a little above my means at the time, so I decided to recreate it instead.

Here’s how I made my recycled notebook:

I covered some pieces of card with the plastic bag to make the front and back cover. I ended up using other bags too, including a Celio one, as it had the same colours: red white and black. I stitched around the edges of the card with my sewing machine to finish it, and to keep it stuck together.

I also stitched a long canvas strap to the part of the back cover that folds across the front of the book, leaving loops big enough for the red and black pens and pencils I chose to go with the notebook. I used Stabilo Woody coloured pencils and Stabilo Pen 68 felt pens.

The paper inside is recycled – already printed on one side – A3 paper, that I folded in half with the unprinted side outwards and bound the edges so it can’t unfold, and you can ‘t see the printed side (or just barely). The double leaf means each page has a bit more thickness too, as the printer paper isn’t ideal an ideal weight for sketching otherwise. I also added in a few pages of other nicely patterned paper to add a bit of interest, and to continue the red and white colour theme.

The binding is type of Japanese stab binding. Basically, you poke holes through all the sheets of paper you are using (including the cover), and sew the book together through these holes. I’m sure I will do a tutorial on how to do this soon, as I LOVE making notebooks!

So there you have it. I like this idea of the attached pen/pencil loops, the strap also allows you to tie the notebook shut keeping everything tidy and organised. If you want to recreate this effect on an existing notebook, take a look at the etsy shop Cleverhands, where Emily Oinen sells her own handmade bandoliers, to customise, contain and organise your sketches .This one (photo below) is made from reclaimed bicycle inner tubes!