DIY Recycled Art Blank Books

I love using Tu b'Shevat as an opportunity to teach children about ways to recycle. We keep a scrap paper bin in our Art Center and over time it collects the boys' old art work, magazines or catalogs, bits of papers from cutting projects, old greeting cards, gift wrap, foil, tissue paper, and more. The boys love our scrap bin! S uses scraps for gluing, cutting, hole-punching, taping, folding and more. Y, who is ever ready to color, write or draw, frequently pulls out a paper to do that with or will take small scraps from our tiny little trash can and ask for help to glue or tape them on a larger one. Throughout the house, we also hang and display the boys' artwork whether it is a directed project, process art or something S brings home from school. Every so often, we need to clear out the display to make room for updates and when we do that, art work gets put in one of a few places: the, um, round file receptacle in the kitchen, a grandparent, the scrap bin or, perhaps for very some very special items, a folder on our bookshelf.

As of late, S has been very interested in illustrating books. On a recent trip, he filled each page of a tiny notebook I gave him with illustrations that portrayed a story he was able to dictate to me. He was so proud to "write a whole book!" I love supporting my little writer and nothing feels more valuable than preserving your story in the format of a book. I'm not sure the notebook industry (or my wallet) can keep up with his current pace and while I certainly don't feel that his artwork and writing are wasteful uses of notebooks, I do want to encourage a mentality of sustainability here. As we learn about the many gifts we receive from trees, I decided to gift my boys each with their very own recycled art blank books using papers from our scrap bin and some oil and watercolor paintings they did over Chanukah that were still hanging on our family museum wall. These will be the perfect take-along for our trip up north to visit my family. The boys can color, write, draw and doodle or even tape in pictures and small mementos.

To make your own recycled art blank books, just select a piece of art you like for the cover. I chose something done on thicker watercolor paper as it is a bit sturdier. It can be standard size or any size! For the rest of the pages, you can use blank paper, lined paper, graph paper, colored paper and/or more recycled art. Even if there is already a bit of writing or drawing or some stickers on a few pages, it's fun to be surprised as the pages turn!

Any combination of papers will do and, personally, I think the diversity of it all makes it more fun. You'll want to cut your pages to the same size if they are not already in that form. From there, once everything is folding down the center and lined up like a book, I used a blunt needle to poke two holes in the margin, about an inch or two from the bottom on either side. Using embroidery floss, yarn, string or thread in your color of choice, run a cord through the two holes and tie a double knot or bow to secure it. Now the boys can write and illustrate as many books as they please--scrap paper and recycled artwork are resources that are in abundance in this household! These would also make a lovely gift for friends or family.

We may not be saving too many trees here with two busy artists and authors--but we are certainly using and appreciating their wares to the fullest this Tu B'Shevat.

Happy Playing!