Disney Autograph Book

     My little bro has a school Disney trip planned over spring break this year and he mentioned that his first stop upon arrival at Disney was going to be to purchase an autograph book. He even had a list of characters who he really really wanted the autographs of,  organized by park! Keep in mind that my brother is 17...
     I vaguely remembered learning how to bind books in high school, so I started planning. I surreptitiously got his list of characters from his desk, copied it down, and put it back before he knew it was gone. I then downloaded a free Disney font and some photos of the characters he wanted autographs from and made pages to go inside the book. I also interspersed a few blank pages and left a number of blank pages at the end. I made sure the book was large enough to double as a photo album when he got back. I printed all these pages, cut them down, grouped them together in bundles of about 5 sheets each, and folded them in half. Then I clamped them together to hold them for the next steps.

     I measured out 5 spots equidistant along the edge of the pages and marked them as points I planned to sew through. I wish I had an awl, instead I used a sharp needle and clear thread to sew the pages together. This was hard! And I managed to stab myself a number of times. If you're doing this, get an awl. After I sewed the pages together I coated the spines in glue and set it aside to dry.

     I used an old shoe box lid for the cover. I cut a front and back cover slightly larger than the pages, and a spine about the size of the book bundle. I used masking tape to hold these three pages together. Then I cut scrapbook paper to go on the cover. I cut it slightly large, and applied it while the book was folded closed to make sure it fit properly.

       Then I printed out a label for the front and added it, plus decorations. Since this was for a guy I decided to keep it simple.

      I took the pages and glued the front and back pages down to the inside covers, then covered them with red cardstock to match the front.

    I used a heavy book to weigh it down and let it dry. I imagine there are multiple ways to bind these, I thin spiral binding would be easy and fun. I also think foam Micky heads or something similar would appeal to the younger crew. I think it is fun to know which characters are most important and make them special pages. I know Cinderella, Belle, and Jessica Rabbit would be on my list. Who would be on yours?