Autograph Books...help requested!

[jbm02]

For those of you who have made autograph books, do you have any recommendations about what type of paper to use and what to use as a cover? I think that the covers will need to be made of a stiff material so that the characters have something to lean against while signing the pages. I could cut cardboard but am not sure if that will look tacky when I glue the cover to it.
I plan to make quite a few for FEs for kids under 10 on our FE. I am probably just going to staple everything together (depending on what the cover material is - whether a staple will go through it??) after pricing binding at Staples. That's a little too much to do 30 albums!!
Thanks!!

 

[InLoveWithDOTS]

You can see ours here:
http://disneyuniversal.blogspot.com/2009/07/autograph-books-are-ready-to-go.html

I purchased 3.5x5 art sketch pads at Michaels for $3.99 or so. I then printed the design on regular paper, adhered it to the cover and then took the covers to Staples to have them laminated! Cheap & unique!

 

[momma_mouse]

You can see ours here:
http://disneyuniversal.blogspot.com/2009/07/autograph-books-are-ready-to-go.html

I purchased 3.5x5 art sketch pads at Michaels for $3.99 or so. I then printed the design on regular paper, adhered it to the cover and then took the covers to Staples to have them laminated! Cheap & unique!

When you say you took the cover to be laminated, do you mean it is detachable? Or did you just take the printed cover to be laminated then attach it to the whole book later? I'm a little confused.

 

[InLoveWithDOTS]

When you say you took the cover to be laminated, do you mean it is detachable? Or did you just take the printed cover to be laminated then attach it to the whole book later? I'm a little confused.

I dont know what the type of binding is called, but its spiral, but where you can adjust and take off the cover and move the pages around. I removed the cover, attached our printed versions of the covers, laminated, recut the square holes for the binding, then reassembled.... really ssimple, though it prob doesnt sound that way from all these steps, LOL