Making My Own Sketchbooks 

If you put an open phone book underneath with the ditch lined up with the ditch in your folded papers, you can poke the awl through without having to jeopardize your fingers.

Can you paint with watercolor and gouache on this surface? Any mediums? Neocolors, pastels, colored pencils, ink? I hope its not a dumb question - I'm pretty new to this! I so love watching all of your videos. You are so talented and personable. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Sandi, I do almost the same thing to prime my sketch book paper. I have a jar I fill with mat medium and water to the right consistency. Then I add a bit of paint from Delta Cream coat...an acrylic decorative paint. No globs! Also, when I was in college, we were required to keep a sketchbook. That seemed limiting to me, so I kept every scrap of paper I drew on and presented in a portfolio as my sketchbook. The professor liked it so much, he kept it as an example!

I like to apply a strip of wide masking tape on the spine of my homemade sketchbooks. It’s a nice way to secure and cover the exposed strings or staples. Extra bonus points if it’s a pretty pop of color! 😊

Love this! I think one cool thing about these sketchbooks that you have made is they don't have a TON of pages. Sometimes it feels like it takes forever to fill a store bought sketchbook. I think that is what appeals to me most about these. Also the perfectly imperfectness of them......that's exactly what makes them special!

Will you be reproducing that painting in the first homemade sketchbook. The one with the tree, roots, and rocks?? I would love to add this particular piece to my collection...even a print of it? It spoke to my soul!

Hi all n Sandi 🙌. Antique white = Titanium white and yellow iron oxide. Just read this on Sandi’s “link” so thought would share as we look at Sandi’s mix 😊

You need to get yourself a little battery operated beverage mini mixer/frother (little cheap kind that you use to mix coffee drinks)it works great to emulsify creamy stuff (paint!) goes fast without aerating-saves your brushes, too!

Regarding mixing your paint/water/medium... I'm a professional hairstylist and I have this problem mixing hair color, as is it a similar consistency to acrylic paint. I found the mini silicon wisks work wonders in a rounded bowl. Mix the paint with the medium and a tiny splash of water initially. It comes together really quickly into a smooth and creamy texture. Add more water if necessary. I always enjoy your videos, have been following you for a few years now. It's fun to see your art evolve, I learn so much from your process and am thoroughly inspired!

Thanks for sharing this technique, Sandi! It inspired me to use a bunch of large watercolor paper I have had around for years. Now I am having more fun with it! I think I am going to intersperse regular watercolor paper and coated watercolor paper next time so I can play with inks, too! You are so inspiring because you have fun making art and I used to take my art way too seriously! Older and wiser now - fun is the answer!! 💚SK

Maru Godas is the queen of sketchbooks and sketchbook making! I recommend her Domestika course :)

Another great video, thanks Sandi… your enthusiasm always makes me smile, especially when combined with words like “slickiness”, “juiceified” and “chunkin’”! Love it!!

Great video - thanks for sharing how to make these. I love the idea of being less precious and I tend to do that with new sketchbooks. Curious on how many pages/spreads you have in these books ?

Sandi your art has gone to the next level . I think it matters how flat we can get our spreads when we open a fresh page too. Can’t wait for the Christmas video.

There is my Sandi again, making Friday much more fun and colorful !! Thanks again Sandi !!!!

I've been making my own sketchbooks for awhile, I love it so much! I do mine as a single signature like yours but without a cover. And then I made a "drawing board" cover following Following the White Rabbit's tutorial: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6hioY1LtrCY.html&ab_channel=FollowingtheWhiteRabbit Works great and gived me a solid surface for when I'm out and about! Then when I have several signatures finished I can stitch them all together!

So great to see this Sandi! I also just started making my own sketchbooks, and I agree it is a total game changer. Thank you for sharing your process! I work in watercolor with collage, and I was getting frustrated with thinner paper sketchbooks because the paper furred, wrinkled and buckled. Plus sketchbooks with watercolor or thicker paper typically only have 22 pages (and they are expensive), which I blow through in no time. Because I use 300gsm watercolor paper in the ones I am making I’m using Coptic binding, which also gives a nice flat spread. Mine have 80 pages, which is perfect for me. Like you I’m not super fussy with measuring of getting it super neat. I like to feel free to play and experiment in my sketchbooks and if they feel too precious it gets in the way of that.

This is such a fantastic idea! Your sketchbook looks great and is a cool size ❤

Very nice. I made a sketchbook using primed card stock and then sewed a fabric cover. The paper worked well with mix media. It’s a fat little thing now that barely closes with all the wonderful explorations I created in it.

I have made similar sketchbooks before but never with a coating like you use and I am fascinated! Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing your process Sandi.

I love the way you work! I don't like to measure things either 😆👏 it's the best way! Always keeps things fun and different X 😘

What could be better than FriYay with Sandi 🎉. I love the idea of personalizing your own sketchbooks not to mention the savings$$$. I think I’ll give it a go and see what I get . In the meantime , Happy Thanksgiving to you and Grady . Hugs from NC. 🥰

Thanks a bunch Sandi! I love making sketchbooks and it is so fun to watch others realize how flexible they can be!!! I found that the inexpensive awls I found on Amazon are much sharper and easier to use than your pokey tool. Having the paper folded and almost closed when I poke through keeps the folds lined up, going out through all of the fold creases! I got mine in a bookbinding kit. I also love my Teflon, non-stick folding tool. It does not leave a mark on papers. Other types often make the papers shiny. I do mostly watercolors, but have loved playing on the many kinds of paper I've collected! I found Who knew that even my 'drawing' paper, also very thin, is a lot of fun with watercolors. It may not even need the coating for acrylics. Printing paper is usually not sized and the heavier versions are soaked before using. Because of that the need for something that will make it a bit slick and no bleeding through to the back, it might be necessary for some kind of sealing even for watercolors. I bought a sheet of Arches printing paper years ago and the clerk was very doubtful that I would want it because he kept saying it was for making prints. I told him that it was exactly what I wanted! LOL! I think that YT has opened so many eyes about what can be done that I might not get that reaction today. I still have most of it and am planning to use it with my gel plate. :D Thank you so much!!! Kathleen

I think you should just sell the art you do in your sketchbooks. It's just my opinion, but i think what you do in them is generally more inspired than the 'separate' or large works, not to mention they seem to be what interests you the most. I like how the sketchbooks make their own 'art series' and give a cohesive presentation to viewers...which is why i love when you show your sketchbooks after they are done. Also, you do a lot of 2 page spreads in the sketchbooks, so you could find a way to make the books so a 2 page spread is on 1 paper...ie, when you take them out you don't have stuff on the back side of the sheets. I often take a finished piece on paper and glue it to a cradled panel, voila, then it's a 'real' art piece, and no one knew it was from one of my sketchbooks.

I was so inspired by you Sandi I stopped the video and made my own sketchbook with things I had around the house!

Question Sandi - Do you think I could use use ultra Matt Gel instead mixed with water and paint? I have that on hand already 🤔

Tip for poking holes for the binding. Get a cheap cardboard cat scratching pad. It'll support the surface nicely and provide almost no resistance for the awl. I've been making watercolor sketchbook for a while now, it's so much cheaper to buy the 100% cotton paper then bind it yourself. I do love that painting you showed. It's so pretty!

Thank you Sandi for another inspiring video! To make the holes at the fold: instead of using the cover of your old book as a support, open the book to the center page, insert the fold of your sketchbook at the fold of the book (don't open your sketchbook all the way) and you should be able to get well-centered holes. (I use a telephone book to do this). Johanne

I just found you on socials so you may have already answered this but why this mixture instead of gesso?

I am a bit late in watching this video but I love it! I made sketchbooks in the past and was too precious about them. And they were so heavy! I want to try to make one more accessible. Just so I am sure to understand well, the paper has already been coated with the mix water/medium/paint before you assemble it for the first sketchbook you are showing us. At 25 mins when you show us the paper drying after you caoted them, this is the paper for extra sketchbook? Thanks! 🙂

How exciting Sandi! Thanks for sharing. I have done my own sketchbooks but rather tiny pocket ones. Love the idea of coating the paper.

Such a wonderful and informative video! Sandi you inspire me with every video I see! I really want to give that mat medium mixture a try on the inexpensive paper from Blick that you tested in a later video. I appreciate you so much , Sandi!!

hi sandi. i absolutely cannot find that strathmore printmaking paper, esp in that size, anywhere. your links dont seem to work here in australia, not sure why. can you name any suppliers that have this paper?

Thanks a lot for sharing your "coating recipe"! I will definitely try it. I love making my own sketchbooks too, I usually mix various papers in them.

That was great, Sandi! Thank you for such a generous, relaxed, informative, and fun video. I'm wondering if you have any problem with waterbased materials or even pencils, pens, etc. being resisted by the acrylic sizing you've made. I would have thought something like gouache or watercolor or watercolor markers might bead up, and/or that something like a pencil would not work smoothly or might have a duller effect because it couldn't mark with full saturation. That doesn't look to be the case here, but I'm just curious if it's caused any issues. Maybe because it's so thin that doesn't happen??? Thanks, again. Happy Thanksgiving! xo

i didn't get it if you cover all your sketch pages with that mixture..

Sometimes i add a bit of wall fixing powder ( i think its called Paris plaster in home depo shops), and it gives it a bit of tooth. I have been working inside altered books and handmade sketchbooks for many years, now i enjoy shoppings for sketchbooks. Some Old books have a thick fine paper, so prepping it with home made base coat gives a very nice surface to play with.

I love how you prepped the paper. One of my bugaboos is paint leaking through to the other side, and it seems the matte medium recipe would prevent that. Fun sketchbooks Sandi, and very budget friendly! Might make good gifts for an artist for Christmas too😃

I loved your new sketches. I love the detail the painting you first showed us. I love binding books like this. I have binding tool from memory keepers that helps decide the spacing and keep my binding straight. x

I’ve been learning coptic stitch binding (it takes patience) but now I’d like to try the saddle stitch,, I think I would be more productive 😄

Sandi, last night I watched an artist making prints on a geli plate with a liquid acrylic paint I had not heard of. They are called Ara Paints. They are SO buttery and lush looking. They do have them on Amazon, but are a bit pricey. I was thinking about just getting white to start off with and using it for mixing. Just wondered if you were familiar with them?

Whenever I'm making a sketchbook, I use a piece of cardboard or styrofoam behind the pages. Doesn't stop the awl, so you don't accidentally stab yourself! Great video!

Thank you so much for sharing everything you've learned, and all the work you've done to learn it! Perfect timing, as I wanted to make a coloring book for my dad for Christmas :)

I thought this one wouldn’t really be for me, but now I totally want to try it out! I love a smother surface and sketchbooks are so expensive. Looking forward to trying it out 🤗

I am so excited to do this. I'm going to put in a bit of variety with paper so I can have different textures of paper. Being a newbie it would be good to have different papers at hand to play with. Of course only the middle would be a double page spread. This video was fabulous. I'm binge watching so many. You are my main go to inspiration . many blessings. Ps.i love the joy that you bring.

Thanks for sharing 💕 I love a good book making session!!! I was hoarding my large sheets of watercolour paper and decided to make my own journals out of them using Coptic stitch binding!

You could use chipboard from Blick for the cover and backing of the sketchbook; very inexpensive. What about the Blick loose paper; is that sturdy enough. Again, that would be very reasonably priced. The Blick paper is 80lb. I love your videos so much Sandi! Thank you for sharing.

I love book binding. I make my own journals all the time. Have a great weekend 😁

Fun to watch you "wingin' it." That's what I'd be doing..I'm so bad about reading instructions....but instructions do have their place. 😅 And oh I dream of a big ol' art desk, maybe about as much as I dream of a big bathroom. 😅 Happy Thanksgiving!

Save the brush...stir with plastic fork, spoon😅, Ann, Florida fan

I love this video.... Especially your unique terms, like slickety! And so inspiring! Thank you

Thank you so much for showing us how to make a sketchbook! I made my own and it's just so inviting and catered to my preferences in size, paper type and binding. I had to use floss for the binding string but it works great.

Love making my own books. Sketchbooks, stickerbook, journals. I make my kids small sketchbooks with coloured paper. The stitching makes it so much more durable than staples too. Love your covers Sandi! It's so fun to make them all different. 🥰

Awesome video! I’m so excited I am gonna give this a try.

This video is helpful in so many ways. I move fast and messy and usually end up tossing or painting over about 80 percent of my work 😂 I can relate so much to your self-talk, thank you for sharing..you are so inspiring!

Ooh.. this looks interesting, I might give it a try! Do you know though, if you add up the costs for the paper, the medium, white paint, and the amount of time to make them, are they really that much cheaper than premade sketchbooks? Or is the fact that you can decide on paper/size etc more important to you than costs?

Hello Sandi, I very like your SKETCHBOOKS AND VERY LIKE YOUR HANDMADE SKETCHBOOKS

How many pages did you use in each sketchbook? , and do you use these pages for watercolours?

Or if you just fold when punching, you will get to the crease. 😉❤️

Sandi, thanks for this video. It inspired me to make a sketchbook with what I had on hand. I filled it with handmade water color paper and it's the one I pick up first!

I loved seeing your way of creating sketchbooks,I began making my own sketchbooks last year and love the process,it's almost meditative and you can make them to how you want,I won't ever buy ready made ones again,and somehow making your own sketchbooks makes you more inspired to paint in them and not be to precious with them as you tend to be with a ready made one.Loved this video and hope you continue to make your own sketchbooks.(Matt)

You could put a big lump of plastercine (play dough) underneath to save your hand x

thanks for sharing, I've just was wondering how to do mines and this video is perfect for me ❤

I'm definitely going to give the mixture a go to prep pages, thank you.

I really enjoyed this Sandi . Thank you for sharing❤

I love that wee peek of a self-portrait at the end. Hoping you’ll show it in all its glory some time.

You just make my artist heart sing! Loved seeing you make your sketchbooks. I’ve been experimenting with cardboard too. 😂 I’m obsessed with making cardboard items. Isn’t it such a joy to make what you use on your own? All my preciousness goes away. Such a fantastic way to learn what fits you best. Your landscape on your paper just leaps off the page. It’s fabulous!

I love it! I will give it a try but I was wondering, is it also feasible for watercolor and what type of prepping should I use for the pages. Thank you very much 😊

Again, I love your videos! Thanks for sharing!

Your excitement and creativity is contagious. It's always a greatFriday when there's a new Bit's of An Artists Life! Thanks for sharing, Sandi!

its so nice to see you smiling Sandi. You are very inspiring to many of us wannabe artists.

Put any old eraser on the other side of the paper as you poke your awl through! It will just go into the eraser and not hurt anything. Sandi, if I didn’t want to make that formula, did you ever find any of the paper you showed in an old video “cheap paper” that you got from Blick i think it was…was any of it silky finish? I use a BEE paper to make my own journals and it’s so nice to plop and play in a handmade, not precious journal. I would love one that was slippery as you say, like the moleskine. Oh… and I love just a plain old pamphlet stitch! Easy peasy.

Great tutorial, Sandi. Why shouldn't we have a sketchbook with all the right qualities! I regularly use gloss medium - don't have matte medium. Maybe the matte medium doesn't stick to itself as much? Also, it probably provides the right slickness without the shine?

I wouldn't be surprised if some art journal company requests to partner with you in making/manufacturing your specific type of sketchbooks. I'm really intrigued by the art jounals you have created for your own use, and I love your art and techniques!

Thank you! These look like such fun. I can’t wait to make a couple for myself! How many pages total are they? Look to be about 7 sheets folded in half to give 14?

Love love love all of this!!! Thank you for the tips and encouragement to make our own sketchbooks!!! Wheee!!!

You and several other Artists have inspired me I have been impressed with your love & and devotion to keep making cool Art I just want to thank you. Because it’s about the fun in expressing ones thoughts and creativity to put down in sketching & painting a creation that makes people feel happy, or peaceful . I kept drawing the same things for a few years but I am finding out I can sketch anything I see and I love the freedom I have in My paintings to just do it🥰Anyway your awesome and thank you again for your beautiful disposition 👏😇👏👍🥰

I aso make my own sketchbooks with papers I gessoed myself, using a French link stitch. But I a few months ago I bought a long reach stapler and I must admit my life became a lot easier. 😄

Wonderful! I do want to try that! Thank you for the inspiration!

You just make me smile. Your thoughts process and how you share that is just awesome. I too dislike chunky paints. Much better juicified😊

Oh Sandi, I so needed all this magic today. Thank you so much. You truly lifted my spirits watching all your fun. I think this is one of my all time favorite videos and I have a lot, trust me. You do entertain. God bless you.

This is so great! Thank you for sharing your process

Thanks for showing us how to make a sketchbook Sandi style. Love your word slickity !!!!

Tear the paper with a straight edge against the fold or just a line. I've torn loads of watercolour paper like that in the past. It's much quicker and easier too. Thanks for showing us all this though. It's a great idea to make your own! 😊

Sandi, I want you to pinky promise us that you will use your awl more safely next time. ‘Cause safety first and we luvs ya and those hands are a bit precious!

You're so creative Sandi and this was such a fun video to watch

I love the stuff you share with us. Thank you! 🥰An old towel, folded thick, or a dry sponge, works great to have under the paper for your awl to stab into. 😃

I love the idea and yours are incredible, i love the colors, the spontaneity and the soul of your drawings. I tried to make one for myself by the past, but it was on a little size of paper, and not quality paper. And when i have a big sheet of paper, i hesitate, because i feel sad to have to fold it. I prefer to take benefit of the big format, to draw on it, mostly if it's quality paper. But the idea is so great. Maybe i would try to make one but in a smaller format and without too much sheets.

super inspiring video and i absolutely love the tree painting. how does your acrylic mixture compare to using plain acrylic gesso to prep the pages?

Loved this video! Would it not be easier to tears the paper before you coat it? I am guessing the coating is adding to the viscosity of the paper?

I have already made three of them now and will let you know how I like them. Thanks for sharing this idea.

yr joy is palpable!!! Ty for fab demo.

Wow this video was inspiring! I know paper preferences are very personal. I’m curious what you like about the Strathmore 300 series printmaking paper if you need to add your own sizing to add the slight resistance/slip. Is it the texture or softness?

Absolutely love this video 😊 itching to make my own sketchbooks now

Is this cellulose paper????

This was both inspiring and fun. A possible notion when dealing with the lumps in your recipe.... After smooshing them down a bit with your brush, I'm wondering if a small whisk might be useful at this point.

Fun! I love the satisfaction of making my own journal!!

Loving this Sandi ❤

Got it. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks

Really enjoy the sketchbooks.