Here is the tutorial for my DIY Smash Book. I am calling it my “Whatnot Book”. Bear in mind that I’ve never actually seen a Smash book except online, so there’s a good chance mine bears little resemblance to the real thing!
How to make the DIY Smash Book
I used chipboard, which I upcycled from an old calendar, patterned papers, duct tape and my Bind-it-All.
I started with the cover first, cutting three pieces from chipboard: one each for the front and back, and a third for the spine
I’ll be covering up the printed bit later.
Notice how there is a bit of space between the covers and the spine? This is how it will be taped up. I used this black duct tape that I had on hand, but I think bookbinding or gaffer tape would be perfect.
So, tape all three pieces together like so
Then flip over
and tape the other side. And ta da!
The tape over the spaces acts like a “hinge” for the spine and covers.
Now for the body of the book:
Cut a nice stack of patterned paper pages roughly the same size as the covers.I used double sided papers.
The front of the first page and the back of the last page can be blank since we won’t be seeing them once the book is done
Bind the pages together with the Bind-it-All. You can find some tips for binding in this post. Here’s a look at some of my pages
Now to put it all together!
Cover up the inside of the covers with patterned paper (if there’s a design you don’t want to see)
Now insert the bound pages, and stick the blank sides of the first and last pages to the covers
And there she is!
I used a couple stamps to add a title to the cover
Then I remembered that the original books have the glue pen combo thingy. Well, I’m not that good so I came up with this instead on the inside front cover.
I’m really glad I held on to that orange elastic which came with a set of towels!
On the inside back cover I stuck a pocket and filled it with journaling bits and pieces.
I didn’t get a chance to take photos of the pages I’ve used so far, I really wanted to get the tutorial up today. So look for those later on in the month.
For the moment it’s just a mish mash of bits and pieces. I am thinking about using it for my Week in the Life project, since that was part of our summer, but I am not 100% sure yet.
Do you think you would make or use a book like this? If so what for? Let me know what you think in the comments!
