Our November project in the Handmade Book Club was a Vintage Travel Journal. This design deconstructs an old hardcover book and repurposes it into a beautiful container for your vacation or holiday memories.
Here’s the journal I created, inspired by an anniversary trip my husband and I took to Italy:
This project was a bit different because we incorporated a vintage cover. I realize it can be a bit intimidating to deconstruct an age-old book, but I like to consider that you’re bringing it back to life. You can find plenty of vintage books at used book stores, thrift stores, book sales, yard/garage sales, and so on.
Pro Tip
Some things to consider when choosing a used book for any book binding project are:
- Any odors or presence of bugs
- Any damage, including tears and rot
- Size of covers
- Depth of spine
- Interesting covers and end sheets
Club Members’ Vintage Travel Journals
Here are a few examples of what the club members made!
What did the club members say?
ALI!!!!! How did you know I have DOZENS of vintage book covers just waiting for a project like this? We have a local recycling center that has an exchange room where everybody throws their giveaway books into a giant bin and you are free to take whatever you want. I go about once a week and paw thru it — it’s my version of a treasure hunt. I have dozens!!! I cannot wait to do this. Thank you for this great project! – Kimberly L.
Great project! Loved making this one. – Carolyn P.
I made my Vintage Travel Journal into a book containing special memories (mostly pictures) from a workshop that I just attended! I pretty much stuffed it so I had to add the ribbon to close it! It represents to me that we are never too old to learn! I decorated the cover with flecks of multi colored gold leaf, paper gears and vintage watch parts. – Judy B.
Winner, Winner!
Each month in the Handmade Book Club, we do an Inspiration Gallery giveaway. Every club member who shares their finished project within the gallery gets entered into a drawing to win a $50 shopping spree in my online store! November’s winner was Jennifer C. Check out the awesome Vintage Travel Journal she made!
What is the Handmade Book Club?
The Handmade Book Club grew out of my love for teaching and community. Having spent more than 10 years teaching in-person classes, I decided to reach a wider audience in 2019 and founded the online Handmade Book Club.
The Handmade Book Club is a community of bookmakers from around the world. Each month, I teach a new book binding project to the club members. In addition to making books, we love learning about ways to fill our handmade journals. That’s why we have guest artists and speakers join us every month! Club members also have access to a robust selection of past projects within the archives.
Whether you’re an experienced bookmaker or a complete novice, the Handmade Book Club is a community for you. You can try out a free book project here.
We’d love to have you join us! Sign up for the waitlist!
