I am a watercolor enthusiast and an amateur bookbinder. I have bound numerous sketchbooks from Arches and Winsor Newton watercolor papers. I buy the large sheets and make one book from each sheet. Since the boards/covers and spine are all from odds and ends around the studio, each book costs me about $10. I sew and/or glue the binding since I hate the plastic or spiral bindings. There are many videos here on UA-cam about how to do this. I find that it is really worth the effort and cost effective.
You can make two covers with split pins, like a photo album and just add pages as you go..you just punch holes and add your artwork..much simpler than a binding machine..costs a few dollars for the pins and use recycled cardboard or old book covers for sketchbook covers
I make my own watercolor sketchbooks. The cheapest way is to take one imperial sheet, and to cut it into an accordion book. It takes just a moment, is suuuper beginner friendly, and you only pay for the one sheet of paper. And it's whatever size/kind of paper you want! (For anyone curious- M.D. Campbell had a great how-to video) 😄 This has been my go-to lately, not because of cost, but mostly because it's minimal effort. Heheh
Great information. I bought a small book binding kit from Amazon and my husband sews all my custom journals. I save a fortune on watercolour paper 😊 and have lovely covered personal journals in various sizes 😃
I always have a few homemade Arches sketchbooks around, but I tear them down by hand so there is absolutely no wasted paper, and I sew them together using a simple pamphlet stitch. A basic bookbinding kit cost me $9 on Amazon and has enough thread to last for years. I don’t use a thick cover sheet; I just paint the cover before I sew it together. I use these for all my experiments. I still buy professionally made sketchbooks too, but I love my homemade ones too. I’m not afraid to try things or just mess around, yet I’m still using my favorite paper!
I think making homemade sketchbooks or journals is more about customizing to your taste. At least fo professional watercolor. Maybe if you just want a regular sketchbook with mixed media paper it does save you money. But you have to invest time as well and not only money. But some people make them because they enjoy it so thats a win win
If you stich (my preference, aesthetically and practically) or glue the hand-made versions, it costs a lot less. Even with the binder and _metal_ combs (plastic is a disaster for this job, especially if you do plein air!), the binder will last for years, make lots of sketchbooks and is useful for other binding job, so it's only the initial cost. In the end, we can make sketchbooks to suit out needs, with our preferred paper and yes in the end, it costs less, and gives the creative pleasure of making them. 😊
If you already have ridiculously lots of paper (guilty) but want a journal, making one is less expensive than putting out more money and buying one. You can't beat "free" (use what you have). We have an old comb binding machine, and I tried making a book like you did with some watercolor. It's nice be able to corral some of my drawings into a concise format. However, the one thing I don't like about the plastic combs is I can't fold my book over because it has a tendency to come apart. Thus other forms of ring binding might work better, such as wire or spiral binding. I think stitching is the best way. But the comb binding machine is fun because I've found all kinds of things to bind...loose recipes, magazines, etc.
Make it your own! You can use any kind of paper-toned pastel pages, Bristol, yupo, anything-you can even use watercolor ground on something unusual. The advantage of this is that you are not just limited to watercolor, but you can use gouache, pastels, colored pencils, regular pencils, charcoal. Mix it up! No one said you had to stick with one medium.
Good info! Thank you. I make mine from Arches 10x14 pad, cut in half to make a 10x7 journal, and I use the chipboard from the back of the pad for the covers. Instead of a binding machine, I bind mine with PVA glue. I haven't used up all the glue and for just over $7 I have made 7 journals with about 3/4 of the bottle left over. It's super easy to do. I figured if I really wanted to decorate them I could mod podge some pretty paper over the covers, or, lay watercolor ground down and paint on it. Price per sheet is $1.02, not including the glue. For the small amount of time it takes me to make a journal I'll take that savings. Plus I get to have the exact paper and type of journal I want. It lies flat and I can do a double page spread if I chose to do so.
❤You do excellent reviews and I appreciate how articulate you are. I was primarily a print maker and bookbinder for years and have just returned to water coloring as a daily practice (after about 10 years). I started water coloring in grade school and it was my primarily medium for over 30 plus years so I am relearning, and learning new, techniques. I acquired 33 large watercolor sheets at a yard sale for $30. It is buff colored but fine for practice. I have made and filled several journal size sketchbooks with 48 pages, using both sides. My paper cost was $3/book. Now I’d like to use better paper, white, that will lay flat and you have reminded me that I have a smaller version of your machine and some very large coils ( left over from when I used to teach a teen camp)! Thank you
I wanted Arches 140lb or higher and couldn't get it in a pre-made journal, which led me to making my own. Even after Arches came out with something, I was still fine with my sewn (I use a coptic stitch) journals instead. But I already had bookbinding experience, so it didn't bother me at all to do it. I saw a Cinch attachment by We R' Makers that binds books the way you did in this video. That didn't seem to handle the thickness of watercolor paper well either, but I imagine that its probably great for drawing paper like Bristol Smooth. I love all of it. I think its great that we have so many options to choose from now.
I used to work in a printroom so it brought back some fun memories seeing the plastic combs! I bound thousands of documents that way! You’ll probably find with the combs that if you regularly fold the pages back on themselves, you might get some pages falling out of the back (or front, depending which way you put the comb on). I like to make my own sketchbooks, but I do a more traditional hard bound, stitched book. I love trying different sizes each time I make a new book. I also like sketching across the two pages in a stitch-bound book.
I actually hand bind my watercolor blocks with a bookbinding technique,you need to spend very little and, if you know what material to use, the result can be really good and much cheaper than premade watercolor journal!
I saw a boutique store with all kinds of journals made of book covers! They were so cute and I thought about making them myself, but the hard covers wouldn't work in a regular binding machine. Wondering if an office store has a sturdier binder. My kids bought me one and they are super cute and they also keep some of the original pages in them which is fun and nostalgic.
I got a Cinch binding machine that makes wire bindings for Christmas. I actually bought it to make sketchbooks with my 140, 300, and 400 lb, watercolor paper. I have cut down pages for one 7" x 7.5" book, but haven't actually had a chance to use the binder yet! However, from the videos I've seen, it should have no problem punching and putting it together.
I sew my own journals and use 9x12" pad sheets folded in half. My journals are, when done, 6x9 and it gives me about 48 side surfaces to paint, and I cover them with old tutorial sheets wrapped around the cardboard that comes on the back of the arches pad and make the front and back covers. It is lovely to travel with my favorite paper journal.
@a.humphries8678 when I start and finish with the first and last sheets. Sea Lemon has great step by step videos on YT about binding. Take a look at them, and they will clarify and show you how.
I purchased a comb binding machine over 30 years ago and we made family calendars for many years! They made great Christmas presents for the entire family! I have used it to make my own 100% cotton watercolor journals from small plein air to larger workbooks. I find I can use the cardboard backs from watercolor pads for a backing surface and any sheets work for front covers even plastic sheet covers! You can buy a lot of different sizes combs for bigger books! A handmade book is the best present and a great way to make just the size and number of pages you want! So if you do it enough, you save time and money!
Great video and thanks for sharing your findings. I conisdered getting qa bindoing machine in the past but decided against it. but I did watch a couple of tutotials on how to make your own watercolour journals by stitching them. the coptic stitch journal looks really need and was so satisfying to make. They deffinitely take patience and time to make and I can understand why Etsy sellers sell them for such a high price. Another thing Ive done since I like to paint smallish letter size or smaller i will cut up the sheets and use a three hole punch and put them in 3 ring binders like we use in schools to store my differeent projects and creations
Thank you for this video! I recently bought a thermal binding machine and the first thing I made was a watercolor journal using paper from the Bee company, it was really easy because the paper is already cut and I used card stock that I had a in my stash for the cover. It’s fun to make your own, but I will probably also buy journals. Since you have younger kids, another reason to have the binding machine is to save their work into books. I plan to do that with my grandsons artwork.
I just started making my own watercolor journals. I cover two pieces of chipboard with material. Then I got some three ring clips from Amazon. It makes a loose leaf sketchbook. Very easy to make them whatever size you want.
In order to keep from punching holes in the watercolor paper, you can also get plastic sleeves that have the holes punched on the side to put in your rings. I paid a bunch of cards on 5 x 7 pieces of paper and then when I want a card, all I have to do is go to my Sketchbookand take one out
Hi Emily. For me, I really love to do bookbinding using Coptic stitch or french link?(I forgot the name hahaha) and I can make it thick or thin however I want it. So for me it's totally worth it to make the journal rather than buy pre made one because I seem to get excited to draw on it as soon as I complete making it and the bought journals never have been completed. So, for me it's not about price but about how I love the process of completing making the journal. It's a slow, steady process and it helps me calm my mind and soul.
Hello, thank you for the video and your time, after many experiments to create my art diaries and make beads here and there... well, folders with hooks or with loose rings that are sold in different diameters and books that They are sold in second-hand stores, garage sales, many books, the pages are thick enough, good quality and anything we apply gesso or chalk paint, both can be done at home and they look great or they can be bought as you want, well I don't drill I put adhesive tape on the leaves where I have to pierce the leaf and pierce the tape. In previous times I used the typical clear tape. Now I use washi tape and leave a margin and I'm ready to create and have fun.
I just bought some loose binding rings to do this. They are a simple o ring that open and close.I have 10 packs of watercolor paper (I’ve found them to be the most economical- sometimes cheap joes has a 20% off coupon). I plan to use a hand held hold punch and basically do what you did with the cover. I like the idea of being able to remove each sheet easily if I plan to paint with a lot of water or it being sellable if just trim the punched part off. I have half a roll of arches left from college. Unless you plan to paint huge (which is why I bought it) I don’t recommend. It is so difficult to remove the curl on the paper when it’s torn down small. You can do it, but it is a tremendous hassle. Another tip- learn to tear paper. It’s really easy and better than scissors in my opinion. The edge comes somewhat deckled too. I recommend cotton gloves when folding the paper back and forth- to protect from hand oils. I think it is worth it to make your own- plus you can add a variety of your favorite paper, choose your size, and allow the pages to be removable- reposition-able.
This was a great lesson in homemade items are not always the most economical! I wanted to share with your subscribers that I get the black hard cover Cason 7" x 10"watercolor journals when on sale or coupons (Joanns or Michaels). I have captured many travel moments in them as well. I have enjoyed showing them to friends but I was concerned about people handling them and wanted to protect them. I got a pkg of comic book covers and presto! perfect size! just trim a bit off the top of the plastic cover and slide onto the page!!
Some like making watercolor sketchbooks for the fun of it, it’s satisfying. However, I have a cautionary tale for you. I purchased some large arches sheets at Hobby Lobby that were way marked down (red tag sale). I had them for a few months in controlled environment before deciding to cut them down for watercolor sheets in 5x7s and 8x8s. The 5x7s I made into watercolor block books. Down the road I started using them. And wouldn’t you know it, all that wasted time and the sizing was bad. Soaked up my paints like a sponge and I couldn’t make any of my paints move. Now I’ll just use them for gouache. But oh well, now I know. Check a sheet you’ve cut to make sure your sizing hasn’t gone foul before going to the trouble to make the paper into a book.
@@EmilyOlsonArt Lol believe me, the first time I tried watercolor on it, I was so mad I nearly threw it out. Then I thought, wait, I can use gouache on it. Phew, wastefulness diverted. 😎
Very helpful video. Even though I can get very nerdy with my watercolor painting hobby, such as swatching and mixing colors and…swatching new paints, etc., I’m happy to buy lovely, hard cover books because they are ready when inspiration finally strikes! Thank you for this video.
To get over my fear of wasting Arches or my other expensive paper, I decided to make my own smaller handmade with Coptic stitch since I could just cut out of a normal pad at whatever size could give me the most pages for practice. I had to teach myself to stitch but it wasn’t that bad and I even manage to make them extra fancy with velvet bookmarks and gemstones. 🎉
I make my own WC sketchbooks. You limit your options by choosing small coils. Using larger combs or wire coils you can get the sheets per book up to 24-30 range, same capacity as a purchased sketchbook. I have a wire binding machine and can go to over an inch, which is too big for me. I also sew and glue perfect bound books. The bottom line for me is, am I feeling crafty and consider the time spent hobby fun time? If I don’t feel in the crafty mood and it’s actually work, figuring my time at $15 per hour makes buying books look a lot better.
Thanks for this video! It was super interesting! I am such a fan of the Arches journal not only because I LOVE the paper, but I prefer the spiral and soft cover to the hard covers. I can see myself trying to make my own journal just for the fun of it though. I also think it would be super fun to make the drawing journals like you did for your kids!
I sew some of my own. I can do multiple signitures, but I prefer to do just one. I get about 4 full sheets, fold them in half, sew them together, and have a 16 page journal. Pretty nifty.
Very interesting & informative! I think 🤔 after watching this great video, I am going to stick with buying my own watercolor journals & sketchbooks for now. I have got 4 favorite sizes (A4, A5, & A6 Landscapes sizes & the Large 8 inches x 8 inches Square) that I just love 💕 regardless of the brand for 140 lb. 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper. Thanks for sharing this video!
And I've used BoaHong 100% 140lb paper, which I find comparable to other top brands. I have used a lot of Arches, Fabriano Artistico, Hahnemühle, Winsor Newton, Bee Paper, Bockingford, Canson, Strathmore, Shizen, and TwinRocker handmade watercolor paper. BoaHong is nice and a great price.
I find that it's cheaper for me in Canada to make my own. And I prefer journals that completely fold under taking half the space on my small table. I use a mini cinch binding machine and Arches full sheets.
I appreciate you doing the cost comparisons, Emily. But I'm still new to the world of watercolor, and I don't yet understand why one would use a watercolor journal. What am I missing? Is it a storage/archiving thing? Are you keeping your work sorted by theme of painting? By paint manufacturer? I have noticed you use different journals in the tutorials in your wonderful online classes. And I hope your finger heals up quickly and pain free 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you so much for making this! It was fun, informative, and saved me some time. I am super new to watercolor. I had bought some chipboard to make my own before I saw this! Is it possible to take these same sheets and make them into a block by gluing the edges? Hmmmmm. You got me thinking! Thanks!!!! You are a lovely artist and very inspiring. Thanks for making my day!!!
Hi, Michelle. _Is it possible to take these same sheets and make them into a block by gluing the edges?"_ The answer is, yes, you can! You'll just need PVA (school) glue, four large bulldog clips (and some card to protect your watercolour paper from dents from the bulldog clips) to hold the block together while it dries. Remember to leave a gap where you can slip in your tool for taking off the pages. Also, it's best to do two layers of glue, leaving overnight to dry. This will also work for sketchbooks, but keep the pages to 12, as with more, it's possible the pages will come apart when you get halfway. The most cost-effective and durable option is to fold your papers in half and stitch them with Coptic stitching, making sure that you only use two sheets per signature (Look it up if you're not sure how to do this!). It is very easy to do, and I know, because I, someone who is useless at sewing apart from replacing buttons, can make these books successfully! 😄 You can 'finish' the book by cutting some card (cereal box card will work!) with an overlap of about 1" (2,5cms) front and back, to go across the spine. It makes a lot of difference to the look and the travel-abilty of the book, as it protects the otherwise exposed stitching, fold and long cut edge of the cover. You can also add corner protectors of the same card to help prevent dog-eared corners. It really is worth that little extra effort cos it looks really smart as well as adding protection! Hope this is useful? 😊
I go to goodwill shops and buy a hard cover book in the size I want to make a watercolor sketchbook. Then I cut all the pages out, leaving about 3/8" on the inside. I use washi tape to tape my cut-to-size watercolor paper on one side, trim a few of the book pages down to about 1/8" (to make up for the thicker watercolor paper), then tape a 3/8" book page on the back side of my watercolor page. It works great, just be sure to use good quality washi tape so it doesn't come loose when you apply water. You can decorate the covers or leave them original. They're fun to make, they protect your watercolor paper, and they're economical.
You can save money on them IF you buy the paper on big sale • use other methods of binding giving lots of options on number of pages - disc binding, accordion folding, or full traditional binding are not hard, and you are free to customize
That is very good information, Emily. Thank you! Do you know where I could find the Saunders Waterford Fatpad? I haven’t been able to find them in USA.
There is a wire option, and it has the additional benefit of folding right back, unlike the plastic version, which also has the down-side of wear and tear around the holes. 😊
@@EmilyOlsonArt Watercolour paper's a totally different thing, though, Emily. The cotton can fray around the 'holes' with present day plastic comb binding. Having said that, the plastic binders I used on my holiday diary books back in the 80's and 90's began disintegrating about ten years ago, and are now badly in need of replacing (hence my comment somewhere here about searching for the right metal binders for my equally elderly comb bind machine.
I was REALLY surprised to hear you say you don’t use full sheets of watercolour paper because you don’t like stretching it. I ONLY use sheets of watercolour paper but tear them to 1/4 sheet size (if you tear them instead of cutting them they keep a nice edge). Coming from Australia where a sheet of 140gm Arches watercolour paper costs around $27 if you don’t buy it in bulk and hearing you say $11 for a sheet of Arches is a bit pricey is hard to hear… The Arches watercolour pads are extremely expensive AND the paper is NOT THE SAME as the Arches full sheets of paper - the pads are made on a different mould than the sheets AND the sizing can go off in the pads… Thus we buy full sheets of watercolour paper here in Australia and tear them to ¼ or ½ sheets. I don’t stretch my watercolour paper as I paint on an angle so therefore I don’t get anywhere near as much paper buckling as you would if you painted flat. I make my own sketchbooks with a disc bound hole punch and have a combination of cartridge paper AND 140g watercolour paper in them. My pages are about A4 size and I can fit about 60 pages in it if I wanted to. If I’m doing thumbnails and value studies or trying to work out my composition I always use the cartridge paper and when I’ve figured out my composition I then pull out a page of watercolour paper from the back of my sketchbook and attach it next to my composition study - I can move my cartridge paper and watercolour paper around in my sketchbook anyway I want and am not limited by the binding in normal sketchbooks - this is total freedom, in my sketchbook I also have plastic ‘page’s which I use to keep my pages clean when I fold my sketchbook in half when sketching in a cafe and leaning on tables… When my sketchbook is ‘full’ I simply remove my used pages and put them into disc-bound journal that can hold about 200 sheets of paper and that way I have a ready made archive of my past work. I imported my disc-bound punch from America, it was over $300AUD but worth every cent because I only use Arches or Saunders Waterford paper and compared to how EXPENSIVE art supplies are in Australia the price is relative….and I get EXACTLY what I’ve always wanted in a sketchbook - I actually call it my workbook.
@@jude6752 Hi Jude, I live in Brisbane but at the moment I’m overseas - and sketching happily in my workbook, I don’t have a link to my workbook anywhere but I just found this UA-cam link about a disc-bound sketchbook here - ua-cam.com/video/6OwmoZ0mqrU/v-deo.htmlsi=kVgfd1yy-uTUs2gh - it’s now possible to buy 2 - 3 hole disc-bound hole punchers which weren’t available when I was looking for one and so I had to buy the much dearer full size one that not only allows you to punch a whole page but also allows greater thicknesses. Cheers and Good Luck! Magdalena
I prefer to sow my books. Coptic stitching. No its not as fast as a binding machine... but if you want to make a big massive book you could. Your also overpaying for sheets. :) Here in Canada I can buy Fabriano 300gsm Artistico cold press sheets for what works out to $4.30 Canadian ($3.20 USD). I like to do a simple fold over and tear... make folios out of 15x11 quarter sheets. So 7.5x11 pages when sown. No wasted paper. 2 or 3 Sheets gives me a nice size book. For covers I like to take the backs of pads... make some starch paste and cover them with cloth. I have some terrible hot press pulp paper I bought ages ago that I have been using to neatly cover the inside of the covers. Waxed thread is cheap... and I bought a curved needle at some point and have been using it a long while now. If I do 3 sheets I have 24 pages 7.5x11... as long as I have backs and cloth to recycle and a some corn starch in the cupboard I am paying around 53 cents Canadian a page. ( 40 cents USD). A few times a year I make a day of it... sow myself a couple books. Make a couple to give as gifts. Just got to remember to not throw out any of the backings from any paper pads. My wife likes strathmore acrylic paper... and thankfully keeps me in good supply of sketch book backings. lol
Another option is to use an old book for the cover and then fold you pages and secure them with elastic. That way you can take them out to paint on them. 😊
I am a watercolor enthusiast and an amateur bookbinder. I have bound numerous sketchbooks from Arches and Winsor Newton watercolor papers. I buy the large sheets and make one book from each sheet. Since the boards/covers and spine are all from odds and ends around the studio, each book costs me about $10. I sew and/or glue the binding since I hate the plastic or spiral bindings. There are many videos here on UA-cam about how to do this. I find that it is really worth the effort and cost effective.
You can make two covers with split pins, like a photo album and just add pages as you go..you just punch holes and add your artwork..much simpler than a binding machine..costs a few dollars for the pins and use recycled cardboard or old book covers for sketchbook covers
I make my own watercolor sketchbooks. The cheapest way is to take one imperial sheet, and to cut it into an accordion book. It takes just a moment, is suuuper beginner friendly, and you only pay for the one sheet of paper. And it's whatever size/kind of paper you want!
(For anyone curious- M.D. Campbell had a great how-to video) 😄
This has been my go-to lately, not because of cost, but mostly because it's minimal effort. Heheh
I'm ALL about minimal effort, too! 😄
Great information. I bought a small book binding kit from Amazon and my husband sews all my custom journals. I save a fortune on watercolour paper 😊 and have lovely covered personal journals in various sizes 😃
That’s so sweet of him! 😀
Thank you for sorting out my dilemma. I will definitely not be bothering to make sketchbooks😊
I always have a few homemade Arches sketchbooks around, but I tear them down by hand so there is absolutely no wasted paper, and I sew them together using a simple pamphlet stitch. A basic bookbinding kit cost me $9 on Amazon and has enough thread to last for years. I don’t use a thick cover sheet; I just paint the cover before I sew it together. I use these for all my experiments. I still buy professionally made sketchbooks too, but I love my homemade ones too. I’m not afraid to try things or just mess around, yet I’m still using my favorite paper!
I think making homemade sketchbooks or journals is more about customizing to your taste. At least fo professional watercolor. Maybe if you just want a regular sketchbook with mixed media paper it does save you money. But you have to invest time as well and not only money. But some people make them because they enjoy it so thats a win win
If you stich (my preference, aesthetically and practically) or glue the hand-made versions, it costs a lot less. Even with the binder and _metal_ combs (plastic is a disaster for this job, especially if you do plein air!), the binder will last for years, make lots of sketchbooks and is useful for other binding job, so it's only the initial cost. In the end, we can make sketchbooks to suit out needs, with our preferred paper and yes in the end, it costs less, and gives the creative pleasure of making them. 😊
Yes, totally! More about customization than cost savings. :-)
If you already have ridiculously lots of paper (guilty) but want a journal, making one is less expensive than putting out more money and buying one. You can't beat "free" (use what you have). We have an old comb binding machine, and I tried making a book like you did with some watercolor. It's nice be able to corral some of my drawings into a concise format. However, the one thing I don't like about the plastic combs is I can't fold my book over because it has a tendency to come apart. Thus other forms of ring binding might work better, such as wire or spiral binding. I think stitching is the best way. But the comb binding machine is fun because I've found all kinds of things to bind...loose recipes, magazines, etc.
Make it your own! You can use any kind of paper-toned pastel pages, Bristol, yupo, anything-you can even use watercolor ground on something unusual. The advantage of this is that you are not just limited to watercolor, but you can use gouache, pastels, colored pencils, regular pencils, charcoal. Mix it up! No one said you had to stick with one medium.
Good info! Thank you. I make mine from Arches 10x14 pad, cut in half to make a 10x7 journal, and I use the chipboard from the back of the pad for the covers. Instead of a binding machine, I bind mine with PVA glue. I haven't used up all the glue and for just over $7 I have made 7 journals with about 3/4 of the bottle left over. It's super easy to do. I figured if I really wanted to decorate them I could mod podge some pretty paper over the covers, or, lay watercolor ground down and paint on it. Price per sheet is $1.02, not including the glue. For the small amount of time it takes me to make a journal I'll take that savings. Plus I get to have the exact paper and type of journal I want. It lies flat and I can do a double page spread if I chose to do so.
I do the same ~
Yes, me, too. I make my 6 x 4 (10 x 15cms) blocks that way. 😊Though as I do plein air, I find Coptic stitch is better for larger (A5 / A4) sketchbook.
Great comment! Thanks for sharing!
@@MrsBarnabas makes sense! I don't do plein air, but I do travel journals. That's when I'll bite the bullet and buy a journal.
Do you stitch any of the pages or just glue them?
❤You do excellent reviews and I appreciate how articulate you are. I was primarily a print maker and bookbinder for years and have just returned to water coloring as a daily practice (after about 10 years). I started water coloring in grade school and it was my primarily medium for over 30 plus years so I am relearning, and learning new, techniques. I acquired 33 large watercolor sheets at a yard sale for $30. It is buff colored but fine for practice. I have made and filled several journal size sketchbooks with 48 pages, using both sides. My paper cost was $3/book. Now I’d like to use better paper, white, that will lay flat and you have reminded me that I have a smaller version of your machine and some very large coils ( left over from when I used to teach a teen camp)! Thank you
I wanted Arches 140lb or higher and couldn't get it in a pre-made journal, which led me to making my own. Even after Arches came out with something, I was still fine with my sewn (I use a coptic stitch) journals instead. But I already had bookbinding experience, so it didn't bother me at all to do it.
I saw a Cinch attachment by We R' Makers that binds books the way you did in this video. That didn't seem to handle the thickness of watercolor paper well either, but I imagine that its probably great for drawing paper like Bristol Smooth.
I love all of it. I think its great that we have so many options to choose from now.
Yes, SO many options! Thanks for sharing your experience!
I used to work in a printroom so it brought back some fun memories seeing the plastic combs! I bound thousands of documents that way! You’ll probably find with the combs that if you regularly fold the pages back on themselves, you might get some pages falling out of the back (or front, depending which way you put the comb on). I like to make my own sketchbooks, but I do a more traditional hard bound, stitched book. I love trying different sizes each time I make a new book. I also like sketching across the two pages in a stitch-bound book.
I actually hand bind my watercolor blocks with a bookbinding technique,you need to spend very little and, if you know what material to use, the result can be really good and much cheaper than premade watercolor journal!
I just bought a book binding kit with this very idea in mind! I am going to use a vintage Little Golden Book as my cover!
I saw a boutique store with all kinds of journals made of book covers! They were so cute and I thought about making them myself, but the hard covers wouldn't work in a regular binding machine. Wondering if an office store has a sturdier binder. My kids bought me one and they are super cute and they also keep some of the original pages in them which is fun and nostalgic.
That's a great idea!
I got a Cinch binding machine that makes wire bindings for Christmas. I actually bought it to make sketchbooks with my 140, 300, and 400 lb, watercolor paper. I have cut down pages for one 7" x 7.5" book, but haven't actually had a chance to use the binder yet! However, from the videos I've seen, it should have no problem punching and putting it together.
I love shopping for my pre-made journals!!! I also use a leather cover for my arches self-cut journal sheets for daily exercise.
I sew my own journals and use 9x12" pad sheets folded in half. My journals are, when done, 6x9 and it gives me about 48 side surfaces to paint, and I cover them with old tutorial sheets wrapped around the cardboard that comes on the back of the arches pad and make the front and back covers. It is lovely to travel with my favorite paper journal.
How do you attach the covers?
@a.humphries8678 when I start and finish with the first and last sheets. Sea Lemon has great step by step videos on YT about binding. Take a look at them, and they will clarify and show you how.
@@pinkrhinoart thanks, I'll go take a look.
I purchased a comb binding machine over 30 years ago and we made family calendars for many years! They made great Christmas presents for the entire family! I have used it to make my own 100% cotton watercolor journals from small plein air to larger workbooks. I find I can use the cardboard backs from watercolor pads for a backing surface and any sheets work for front covers even plastic sheet covers! You can buy a lot of different sizes combs for bigger books! A handmade book is the best present and a great way to make just the size and number of pages you want! So if you do it enough, you save time and money!
Hadn't thought of family calendars! Fun idea!
If you have the paper lying around it is great. Just glueing the pages together and fun.
Yes!!
Thank you! That is so helpful. Staples will cut and bind sketchbooks at a moderate cost.
Great video and thanks for sharing your findings. I conisdered getting qa bindoing machine in the past but decided against it. but I did watch a couple of tutotials on how to make your own watercolour journals by stitching them. the coptic stitch journal looks really need and was so satisfying to make. They deffinitely take patience and time to make and I can understand why Etsy sellers sell them for such a high price. Another thing Ive done since I like to paint smallish letter size or smaller i will cut up the sheets and use a three hole punch and put them in 3 ring binders like we use in schools to store my differeent projects and creations
I love the look of stitched journals, too!
Thank you for this video! I recently bought a thermal binding machine and the first thing I made was a watercolor journal using paper from the Bee company, it was really easy because the paper is already cut and I used card stock that I had a in my stash for the cover. It’s fun to make your own, but I will probably also buy journals. Since you have younger kids, another reason to have the binding machine is to save their work into books. I plan to do that with my grandsons artwork.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I just started making my own watercolor journals. I cover two pieces of chipboard with material. Then I got some three ring clips from Amazon. It makes a loose leaf sketchbook. Very easy to make them whatever size you want.
Wonderful!
In order to keep from punching holes in the watercolor paper, you can also get plastic sleeves that have the holes punched on the side to put in your rings. I paid a bunch of cards on 5 x 7 pieces of paper and then when I want a card, all I have to do is go to my Sketchbookand take one out
Hi Emily. For me, I really love to do bookbinding using Coptic stitch or french link?(I forgot the name hahaha) and I can make it thick or thin however I want it. So for me it's totally worth it to make the journal rather than buy pre made one because I seem to get excited to draw on it as soon as I complete making it and the bought journals never have been completed. So, for me it's not about price but about how I love the process of completing making the journal. It's a slow, steady process and it helps me calm my mind and soul.
Love it! Joy in the process. 😀
Thank you, Emily! ❤ 🎉 ❤ I also appreciate the comments... so many great ideas! Also, thanks for the Amazon links... that's when I buy! 😊
Yes, so many helpful folks here!
Hello, thank you for the video and your time, after many experiments to create my art diaries and make beads here and there... well, folders with hooks or with loose rings that are sold in different diameters and books that They are sold in second-hand stores, garage sales, many books, the pages are thick enough, good quality and anything we apply gesso or chalk paint, both can be done at home and they look great or they can be bought as you want, well I don't drill I put adhesive tape on the leaves where I have to pierce the leaf and pierce the tape. In previous times I used the typical clear tape. Now I use washi tape and leave a margin and I'm ready to create and have fun.
I just bought some loose binding rings to do this. They are a simple o ring that open and close.I have 10 packs of watercolor paper (I’ve found them to be the most economical- sometimes cheap joes has a 20% off coupon). I plan to use a hand held hold punch and basically do what you did with the cover. I like the idea of being able to remove each sheet easily if I plan to paint with a lot of water or it being sellable if just trim the punched part off.
I have half a roll of arches left from college. Unless you plan to paint huge (which is why I bought it) I don’t recommend. It is so difficult to remove the curl on the paper when it’s torn down small. You can do it, but it is a tremendous hassle. Another tip- learn to tear paper. It’s really easy and better than scissors in my opinion. The edge comes somewhat deckled too. I recommend cotton gloves when folding the paper back and forth- to protect from hand oils.
I think it is worth it to make your own- plus you can add a variety of your favorite paper, choose your size, and allow the pages to be removable- reposition-able.
Great info! Thanks for sharing your experience!
How did it go? I can't find any hole punches that punch through Wc paper....
Thanks for doing
the research! I plan to make a small journal for an upcoming trip. But now I won’t feel guilty about buying sketchbooks
Good info thank you!!
I make my own watercolor blocks , with glue:) They turn out to be great. easy to do and much cheaper!
This was a great lesson in homemade items are not always the most economical! I wanted to share with your subscribers that I get the black hard cover Cason 7" x 10"watercolor journals when on sale or coupons (Joanns or Michaels). I have captured many travel moments in them as well. I have enjoyed showing them to friends but I was concerned about people handling them and wanted to protect them. I got a pkg of comic book covers and presto! perfect size! just trim a bit off the top of the plastic cover and slide onto the page!!
Some like making watercolor sketchbooks for the fun of it, it’s satisfying. However, I have a cautionary tale for you. I purchased some large arches sheets at Hobby Lobby that were way marked down (red tag sale). I had them for a few months in controlled environment before deciding to cut them down for watercolor sheets in 5x7s and 8x8s. The 5x7s I made into watercolor block books. Down the road I started using them. And wouldn’t you know it, all that wasted time and the sizing was bad. Soaked up my paints like a sponge and I couldn’t make any of my paints move. Now I’ll just use them for gouache. But oh well, now I know. Check a sheet you’ve cut to make sure your sizing hasn’t gone foul before going to the trouble to make the paper into a book.
Yep, USE that paper! :)
@@EmilyOlsonArt Lol believe me, the first time I tried watercolor on it, I was so mad I nearly threw it out. Then I thought, wait, I can use gouache on it. Phew, wastefulness diverted. 😎
Very helpful video. Even though I can get very nerdy with my watercolor painting hobby, such as swatching and mixing colors and…swatching new paints, etc., I’m happy to buy lovely, hard cover books because they are ready when inspiration finally strikes! Thank you for this video.
My pleasure!
I use disc binding. This way, you can take the paper out and put it back in and use different styles of paper in one journal.
To get over my fear of wasting Arches or my other expensive paper, I decided to make my own smaller handmade with Coptic stitch since I could just cut out of a normal pad at whatever size could give me the most pages for practice. I had to teach myself to stitch but it wasn’t that bad and I even manage to make them extra fancy with velvet bookmarks and gemstones. 🎉
They must be lovely journals!
Great video and answers a lot of questions I had about making my own. Thank you
I make my own WC sketchbooks. You limit your options by choosing small coils. Using larger combs or wire coils you can get the sheets per book up to 24-30 range, same capacity as a purchased sketchbook. I have a wire binding machine and can go to over an inch, which is too big for me. I also sew and glue perfect bound books. The bottom line for me is, am I feeling crafty and consider the time spent hobby fun time? If I don’t feel in the crafty mood and it’s actually work, figuring my time at $15 per hour makes buying books look
a lot better.
Yes, I need bigger coils for sure!
This is great! Thank you for all information, what fun
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank u, u have inspired me to make a journal 4 my colour swatches with paper that i dont like using for paintings. Reducing waste. Thank you
So glad!
Loved this video. I already have a binding machine and had been thinking about making a journal. Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks for this video! It was super interesting! I am such a fan of the Arches journal not only because I LOVE the paper, but I prefer the spiral and soft cover to the hard covers. I can see myself trying to make my own journal just for the fun of it though. I also think it would be super fun to make the drawing journals like you did for your kids!
Yes, it’s worth trying!
What a wonderful idea!!! Thank You! I'd love to make sketchbooks for my Son now!
Have fun!
I sew some of my own. I can do multiple signitures, but I prefer to do just one. I get about 4 full sheets, fold them in half, sew them together, and have a 16 page journal. Pretty nifty.
That's a great skill!
Thank you for your time and sharing your findings 🙂
My pleasure!
this is brilliant ☺☺☺
Thanks for the research!
I use a office hole punch and connect the sheets with 2 or 3 rings. I can customize the cover however I want. That's all
Love it!
I haven't found any hole punches that will punch through my Wc paper.
Wow that looks good
Very interesting & informative! I think 🤔 after watching this great video, I am going to stick with buying my own watercolor journals & sketchbooks for now. I have got 4 favorite sizes (A4, A5, & A6 Landscapes sizes & the Large 8 inches x 8 inches Square) that I just love 💕 regardless of the brand for 140 lb. 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper. Thanks for sharing this video!
Glad it was helpful!
I just joined your online watercolor mastery class! I can’t wait to get started! ❤
Wonderful! Hope you love it! 🙌
Very interesting 🤔. Lots of great info. 👍 Thanks
My pleasure!
This is great information. Thanks!
My pleasure!
BaoHong does 100% cotton 140lb 15 x 400 inch rolls for $45USD including delivery.
And I've used BoaHong 100% 140lb paper, which I find comparable to other top brands. I have used a lot of Arches, Fabriano Artistico, Hahnemühle, Winsor Newton, Bee Paper, Bockingford, Canson, Strathmore, Shizen, and TwinRocker handmade watercolor paper. BoaHong is nice and a great price.
Where?
If you do this with a pad of paper that's glued at the top, you can save the backing to act as covers.
Definitely!
I find that it's cheaper for me in Canada to make my own. And I prefer journals that completely fold under taking half the space on my small table. I use a mini cinch binding machine and Arches full sheets.
Thanks for sharing this, especially for our Canadian viewers! 😀
I appreciate you doing the cost comparisons, Emily. But I'm still new to the world of watercolor, and I don't yet understand why one would use a watercolor journal. What am I missing? Is it a storage/archiving thing? Are you keeping your work sorted by theme of painting? By paint manufacturer? I have noticed you use different journals in the tutorials in your wonderful online classes. And I hope your finger heals up quickly and pain free 🙂 Thank you!
I use them mainly for travel, painting studies and experiments, and plein air.
Thank you so much for making this! It was fun, informative, and saved me some time. I am super new to watercolor. I had bought some chipboard to make my own before I saw this! Is it possible to take these same sheets and make them into a block by gluing the edges? Hmmmmm. You got me thinking! Thanks!!!! You are a lovely artist and very inspiring. Thanks for making my day!!!
Hi, Michelle. _Is it possible to take these same sheets and make them into a block by gluing the edges?"_
The answer is, yes, you can! You'll just need PVA (school) glue, four large bulldog clips (and some card to protect your watercolour paper from dents from the bulldog clips) to hold the block together while it dries. Remember to leave a gap where you can slip in your tool for taking off the pages. Also, it's best to do two layers of glue, leaving overnight to dry.
This will also work for sketchbooks, but keep the pages to 12, as with more, it's possible the pages will come apart when you get halfway.
The most cost-effective and durable option is to fold your papers in half and stitch them with Coptic stitching, making sure that you only use two sheets per signature (Look it up if you're not sure how to do this!). It is very easy to do, and I know, because I, someone who is useless at sewing apart from replacing buttons, can make these books successfully! 😄
You can 'finish' the book by cutting some card (cereal box card will work!) with an overlap of about 1" (2,5cms) front and back, to go across the spine. It makes a lot of difference to the look and the travel-abilty of the book, as it protects the otherwise exposed stitching, fold and long cut edge of the cover. You can also add corner protectors of the same card to help prevent dog-eared corners. It really is worth that little extra effort cos it looks really smart as well as adding protection!
Hope this is useful? 😊
Great info!
You can purchase larger spirals and put many more sheets into your journal!
Totally!
I use Happy Planner Discs. Disc bound is SO EASY ! Otherwise I buy. 👍❤️🖌🥁
I prefer a hard bound journal, they look neater and I am less inclined to tear pages out.
I go to goodwill shops and buy a hard cover book in the size I want to make a watercolor sketchbook. Then I cut all the pages out, leaving about 3/8" on the inside. I use washi tape to tape my cut-to-size watercolor paper on one side, trim a few of the book pages down to about 1/8" (to make up for the thicker watercolor paper), then tape a 3/8" book page on the back side of my watercolor page. It works great, just be sure to use good quality washi tape so it doesn't come loose when you apply water. You can decorate the covers or leave them original. They're fun to make, they protect your watercolor paper, and they're economical.
Those sound beautiful!
You can save money on them IF you buy the paper on big sale • use other methods of binding giving lots of options on number of pages - disc binding, accordion folding, or full traditional binding are not hard, and you are free to customize
So many great options if you enjoy making them yourself! 😀
@@EmilyOlsonArt one thing I like to do is insert a piece of plain paper between WC sheets to sketch on or just protect the paintings
That is very good information, Emily. Thank you! Do you know where I could find the Saunders Waterford Fatpad? I haven’t been able to find them in USA.
Jackson's UK sell them, and they have a depot in the USA, so probably available that way?
@@MrsBarnabas
Thank you so much!
@@martyb1006 Glad I could help. Have you checked yet if you can get them that way? (For keeping my info up to date if future questions come up! 😄) 😊
Jackson’s Art Supply! :-)
@@MrsBarnabas
Yes! I found them there. They have different sizes as well as rough and hot pressed!
I’m curious about the plastic and how it would hold up with going in and out of a bag or backpack. I wish there was a wire option.
There is a wire option, and it has the additional benefit of folding right back, unlike the plastic version, which also has the down-side of wear and tear around the holes. 😊
I have piano books that were bound years ago with these same plastic coils and they’ve held up great!
@@EmilyOlsonArt thank you Emily, that's good to know!
@@EmilyOlsonArt Watercolour paper's a totally different thing, though, Emily. The cotton can fray around the 'holes' with present day plastic comb binding.
Having said that, the plastic binders I used on my holiday diary books back in the 80's and 90's began disintegrating about ten years ago, and are now badly in need of replacing (hence my comment somewhere here about searching for the right metal binders for my equally elderly comb bind machine.
I was REALLY surprised to hear you say you don’t use full sheets of watercolour paper because you don’t like stretching it. I ONLY use sheets of watercolour paper but tear them to 1/4 sheet size (if you tear them instead of cutting them they keep a nice edge). Coming from Australia where a sheet of 140gm Arches watercolour paper costs around $27 if you don’t buy it in bulk and hearing you say $11 for a sheet of Arches is a bit pricey is hard to hear… The Arches watercolour pads are extremely expensive AND the paper is NOT THE SAME as the Arches full sheets of paper - the pads are made on a different mould than the sheets AND the sizing can go off in the pads… Thus we buy full sheets of watercolour paper here in Australia and tear them to ¼ or ½ sheets. I don’t stretch my watercolour paper as I paint on an angle so therefore I don’t get anywhere near as much paper buckling as you would if you painted flat.
I make my own sketchbooks with a disc bound hole punch and have a combination of cartridge paper AND 140g watercolour paper in them. My pages are about A4 size and I can fit about 60 pages in it if I wanted to. If I’m doing thumbnails and value studies or trying to work out my composition I always use the cartridge paper and when I’ve figured out my composition I then pull out a page of watercolour paper from the back of my sketchbook and attach it next to my composition study - I can move my cartridge paper and watercolour paper around in my sketchbook anyway I want and am not limited by the binding in normal sketchbooks - this is total freedom, in my sketchbook I also have plastic ‘page’s which I use to keep my pages clean when I fold my sketchbook in half when sketching in a cafe and leaning on tables… When my sketchbook is ‘full’ I simply remove my used pages and put them into disc-bound journal that can hold about 200 sheets of paper and that way I have a ready made archive of my past work. I imported my disc-bound punch from America, it was over $300AUD but worth every cent because I only use Arches or Saunders Waterford paper and compared to how EXPENSIVE art supplies are in Australia the price is relative….and I get EXACTLY what I’ve always wanted in a sketchbook - I actually call it my workbook.
Very cool to hear about your process! Thank you! We Americans are definitely spoiled when it comes to art supply options!
I am in AUS too, and would love to see your book - do you have a link to somewhere I can see it? :)
@@jude6752 Hi Jude, I live in Brisbane but at the moment I’m overseas - and sketching happily in my workbook, I don’t have a link to my workbook anywhere but I just found this UA-cam link about a disc-bound sketchbook here - ua-cam.com/video/6OwmoZ0mqrU/v-deo.htmlsi=kVgfd1yy-uTUs2gh - it’s now possible to buy 2 - 3 hole disc-bound hole punchers which weren’t available when I was looking for one and so I had to buy the much dearer full size one that not only allows you to punch a whole page but also allows greater thicknesses. Cheers and Good Luck! Magdalena
@frenchgrama Oh, thank you so much Magdalena :)
How about bookbinding (sewing method) instead of using the machine? Would that be more cost effective?
I’m guessing yes! Some of the comments here are super helpful!
I prefer to sow my books. Coptic stitching. No its not as fast as a binding machine... but if you want to make a big massive book you could. Your also overpaying for sheets. :) Here in Canada I can buy Fabriano 300gsm Artistico cold press sheets for what works out to $4.30 Canadian ($3.20 USD). I like to do a simple fold over and tear... make folios out of 15x11 quarter sheets. So 7.5x11 pages when sown. No wasted paper. 2 or 3 Sheets gives me a nice size book. For covers I like to take the backs of pads... make some starch paste and cover them with cloth. I have some terrible hot press pulp paper I bought ages ago that I have been using to neatly cover the inside of the covers. Waxed thread is cheap... and I bought a curved needle at some point and have been using it a long while now. If I do 3 sheets I have 24 pages 7.5x11... as long as I have backs and cloth to recycle and a some corn starch in the cupboard I am paying around 53 cents Canadian a page. ( 40 cents USD).
A few times a year I make a day of it... sow myself a couple books. Make a couple to give as gifts. Just got to remember to not throw out any of the backings from any paper pads. My wife likes strathmore acrylic paper... and thankfully keeps me in good supply of sketch book backings. lol
But how much time does it take to make a book while I would rather be painting 😊
Another option is to use an old book for the cover and then fold you pages and secure them with elastic. That way you can take them out to paint on them. 😊
Love this idea! New to me! Thank you!
its usually never cheaper to make your own sketchbooks, its handy to know how to do it, but a person doesnt make one to save money😝