Easy-bind Gelli Print Journal

This is my second Gelli print journal. If you remember, I really struggled with the binding of the first one, trying to glue the spine together. I was hoping to find a binding method that would work for my gelli prints to make another journal. I wanted to have the same print on opposite pages to make a seamless background. Most binding methods don't work like that. I knew I'd found the perfect method when I watched my friend's +Anikó Dóbiász's video.  Here, each signature consists of just one sheet folded in the middle and the signatures are stuck together back-to-back to create the book. This method is shown at 12:40 in the video.

I stuck my gelli prints on black cardstock measuring 9.5" X 7.5". This gave me enough leeway to position my 8" X 10"prints without the white margins showing. I used 3M spray mount for sticking the papers together. I find this is the best method for gluing large, flat surfaces without the paper wrinkling. Instead of gluing two signatures back-to-back like the video shows, I stuck them together with a third gelli print, first securing the joint with some masking tape. Here's how I did it:.

Two signatures placed side by side secured by some masking tape

Third Gelli print stuck on top of the two signatures to hold them together

I continued adding my signatures this way. My journal only has nine double-pages, so it's quite thin. I finished by sticking a cover to the back and front of my journal cut from thick kraft card (300 gsm) and secured them to the spine with a 2" wide cloth binding tape. I added some white ribbon as decoration and used my crop-a-dile corner chomper to round the corners of both the covers and pages. This is what my undecorated journal/booklet looks like.

Here are some of the inside pages. They lie flat and provide a seamless background to create on. I'm not sure how I'm going to decorate this journal yet, but I'll do another post to show you when it's done.