Tutorial: Playing Card Pocket Diary

Make this cute little pocket diary from playing cards and scrap paper. I used paper salvaged from junk mail envelopes, but you can use just about anything paper-wise for the inside. This method also lends itself to a "fat" book. The little book shown here has only 18 pages.


1) Assemble Materials: Two playing cards, single pages cut slightly smaller than cards, white glue, binder clips, heavy thread or floss, small hole punch.
2) Make template with scrap paper and punch 3 holes in pages (it's very important that the holes are exact).
3) Stitch together pages. How-to for Japanese bookbinding stitch here.

4) Score cards* for cover. Before scoring, line up the card covers over the pages to make sure the edges of the "spine" will cover up the stitching. It is important that both cards are scored exactly the same distance from the edge.
5) Glue the edges of covers to the pages and secure with binder clips. Clean up any excess glue that oozes out.

*If you don't have a scoring tool use a ruler and an out-of-ink pen or the tip of a letter opener