I don’t know about you, but I love journals and notebooks. I love writing thoughts, ideas, to-do lists, packing lists, grocery lists, and everything else down in a journal of some sort. I also love to do little sketches and sometimes even watercolor paintings in notebooks. I collect notebooks like some people collect coins. Some notebooks are too special to use on any mundane project, so I just save them up until I have something super interesting to write down (whatever that might be).

Needless to say, the idea of making my own notebooks and journals is super exciting! Not only will I be able to customize shape, design, paper type, and the number of pages, but I’ll also save a ton of money on buying notebooks. That’s money that can go towards my new shoes fund!

I’ve seen other tutorials on how to make and bind your own notebooks, but I was deterred after seeing all the stitching required. I am confident in many skills required for crafting, but, alas – my sewing skills are not up to par. Luckily for me, I stumbled upon this tutorial for not just one, but two different methods for making my own journals that didn’t require any stitching!

The first method is called the side saddle method. It uses staples, but you don’t need a long-arm stapler. Let’s face it – who has a long-arm stapler anyway? The second method (and my personal favorite) is called the perfect binding method. This one looks so professional and clean, and yet it really couldn’t be easier!