DIY Autograph Book re: Spiral Binding 65 lb Cardstock

[Mama Bear Me2]

Spiral Binding 65 lb Cardstock for DIY (do it yourself) Autograph Book

Hi ... SORRY. Posting question here. Posted elsewhere but didn't get reply (in Dis Designs section). Hopefully someone can help me. THANKS for your help.

Hi ... Newbie here. Saw examples of the DIY autograph books and everyone's beautiful creations have inspired me to try my hand at making some also!

Can someone please help me? Need your expertise ...

1) Planning on Spiral Binding 65 lb Cardstock into an autograph book.

2) I think the "Maximum" size Spiral Binder size is 30 mm.

3) How many pages of 65 lb Cardstock can I bind if I use the 30 mm Spiral Binder? See NOTE below re: adding photos when we get home. Need to account for the extra thickness caused by photos.

4) NOTE: When book is open, I will use left side for photo & right side for autograph. So ... understand I will need to LEAVE binder space for the extra thickness created by the photos once they are glued in (to be done when we get home after our trip).

5) Therefore, I want to know how many 65 lb cardstock papers I can bind AND still have enough binder room to accommodate photos I add later. Understand that if there are too many pages bound and not enough room is left then the pages will not flip smoothly.

6) Thanks for your help. Apologizing in advance for seeing duplicate of this msg. I'm also going to start a new thread with this question "just in case".

 

[KCoconut]

I am not too familiar with binding so unfortunately I am not a big help there but I do have one suggestion. Go to a kinkos and ask them your binding questions. They have always been very accommodating for me. Also, check out pinterest. I have found many pins with step-by-step instructions on there.

sorry this isn't a ton of help but I hope it helps a little at least.

 

[SMD]

Could you sign the pages unbound, then add the photos before you put the book together?

 

[Pesky]

Here's what I did, recommended by a blog (wish I could find the blog post but oh well). I used cover stock which is slightly lighter than card stock. When trying to cover all the characters, weight became important. I printed 8x8 images (or smaller) on 8.5x11 paper. I had it spiral bound at Staples with a large spiral ring no problemo. I also had a plastic cover and backing plus I made a table of contents and alphabetical tabs so I could quickly locate the character. Then I cut out the signed cards once we were done and have put them in a 8x8 scrapbook with the autograph on one side and pictures on the other. They were heavy to carry around but the kids love looking through their scrapbooks.

 

[mmlover74]

I am following this as I want to make them myself for our girls first trip and have lots of CM wish my girls a very happy 1st birthday

 

[Mama Bear Me2]

Hi Everyone,

OK ... tried posting earlier and don't know what happened. Not sure if post worked or not so here goes again. Sorry if you see a duplicate of my msg.

1) Thanks everyone for their help!

2) Before posting on DIS I already went to Staples (from Canada) and showed them my cardstock etc. After a lengthy discussion, I left Staples with no more info than when I entered the store. The lady tried to help but the dimensions she gave me were "off" and when I mentioned that to her, she just said "Oops". What was off? She advised that the coil binder was "x" wide so my cardstock stack should not exceed "y" wide. I advised that I was confused because the "y" measurement exceeded the "x" measurement she instructed. That's when she said "Oops" and left it at that. That's also when I decided I might get better help on the DIS forum!

3) Binding after cards are signed sounds good but sadly, it's not for us. Don't want to be handling loose cards x 2 young kids! Have heard this technique used successfully and this way, there's no blank pages ... you only bind signed pages. Remember to bring a clipboard for your loose pages ... heard this is what others have used when asking for an autograph.

4) Cutting out pages afterwards sounds like a good idea also. Unfortunately, again, it's not for us. I want to bring a "finished" product (ie. book) with us and I don't want to do anything other than glue photos in later.

5) Here's another thought in case anyone's interested ... have read that people put their loose autograph papers (cut to 4" x 6") inserted into a photo album. You can decorate your album if you want. Alphabetize your pages to make it easier to find. Leave a spot for your photo. Afterwards, you just insert your photo beside the signed autograph paper. Blank pages can also be removed easily and you can also re-arrange easily.

If you don't want to use your photo album to "permanently" display your photo & autographs, the photo album still makes a good way to transport & store your loose autograph pages while in the park. When you get home, just remove your autograph pages for binding or scrapbooking.

6) I want to bind my pages. Therefore, I think I will only bind enough cardstock to use 1/2 of the coil spiral binder's capacity. This way, I will leave 1/2 of the binder's capacity for "expansion" once I glue in my photos. Hoping this works!

Thanks again for your tips!