You have probably guessed that I simply love to read, and do crafts. Well, this is Reading is Fun Week, as well as Get Caught Reading Week. This gives us a chance to not only read some books, and maybe do some crafts associated with them, but we could also make our own books.

If your children are young, but they would like to create a book, making a simple one is easy. There are several things that I can think of that you could do. One is to just staple some papers together and let your child draw their own story. Add a construction paper front and back for the cover and title page and a book has been created. Another idea, and one that can change with time would be to have a loose leaf notebook and some page protectors. By using the page protectors, you could add or change the pages as needed. If you have a notebook with a front pocket, you could put your front cover illustration there. Even taking a spiral bound notebook and using fabric or pictures to cover the front would be a simple way to give your child their own book to write. My youngest has written several stories this way. For her, it’s more like journaling and she has come up with some amazing tales!

There are many cute ideas out there to make scrapbooks, that can also be used to make story books. After all, isn’t a scrapbook just your story with pictures added? If you are already into scrapbooking, then I’m sure you’ve used some very creative ideas to make a book. If you are looking an idea, I’ve added a link at the end of this article for a scrapbook that my Brownie Girl Scouts made last year. The girls had a wonderful time making them and they truly were a great keepsake item.

My oldest daughter earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by holding different types of art classes at our local library. One of the classes she held was for making altered books. This is simply another way to journal or scrap book and uses a book in the process. It was so popular that she had to hold some additional classes because the students wanted to come back. An altered book is just that-you take a book and change what is inside by gluing pages together, or removing pages or simply changing what is on a page. One way to decorate the pages can be found on a page that is listed at the end of the article from Sculpey Clay. It’s amazing what can be done with some imagination.

Please be sure to stop by the forum and let us know how your book making adventure is progressing. It’s always fun to share ideas and hear things from other readers.