how can i make a large book?

[weet!]

well i had this great idea(i thought) to make a big book that i can keep all the printed out tutorials and ideas i have from craftster in so i can keep track of them all and make notes on modifying them if need be.

so Ive been reading a lot of tutorials on craftster on how to bind books, but by following those the biggest it could end up being is a half sheet of paper and i really was envisioning something quite larger.

sooo does anyone know how i can go about doing this? is it possible to bind whole sheets instead of half(with the pages still being able to lay down flat)? any suggestions on book binding in general are also appreciated since this will be the first one i make....

thanks 

[rowdygirl]

There are several options. You could get tabloid sized paper, which is 11x17 so your book block would be 8.5x11. Or you could go to a print shop and ask if you can buy some parent sized paper which is giant, somewhere around 25x38. I get my parent paper from my campus's print shop. they have a stack of leftovers, like the last 1/2 of their reams that's just going to get trashed sitting on their shelves waiting to be used. however, i don't know if all colleges have this kind of thing. i think my campus might have it because my graphics teacher is buddy-buddy with the print shop head honcho and the graphics teacher has a book making class, so she might have talked him into selling us paper on the cheap.

hope this helps!!

[MopTopStumptown]

another option includes going to a local newspaper and asking if they sell/give away endrolls.  i just picked one up with literally 100+ feet of blank newspaper to play with.  i'm going to use mine for all sorts of stuff (scratch pads, sewing patterns, wrapping papers, personal recipe collections, etc).  here's a link if you're not sure what an endroll is:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-newsprint.htm

[Starsview]

If you want to bind your book using single sheets and not folios I would reccommend making a post bound book. This kind of book is similar to some scrap books and photo albums that you find in Joann's, Michaels and most any scrapbooking store. You can either buy your cover pre-made from one of those stores or sometimes they have (and I know my local Art Supply (not a craft store) Store has them) kits to make your own book with the screw posts and everything.

I would say this kind of book is your best bet bc you don't have to worry about laying out the tutorials so you flip thru them in your chosen order and you can take the book apart at anytime to replace pages that get messed up, to add new pages or to fix pages or tutorials that may have a mistake or a process the you were able to improve upon. This kind of binding is as binder-like as possible without all the icky rings and fear of catching your finger in them. 

The posts are usually available wherever book binding supplies are sold, but you can order them (as well as any other book binding supplies) at www.hollanders.com. They also have extensions you can buy if and when your book grows so you can keep everything neatly bound and not have random bits of paper sticking out of your sewn book.

Something you'll want to keep in mind when designing your book is that there will need to be a 1"-2" flat space that you will not see when you open your book, so make sure not to let any directions get in this area. Also you may want to include an "envelope" either on its own page or on the back cover to keep any pattern pieces from the tutorials you choose.

I just made my first post bound a few months ago, it was really easy, but looks very classy. You can see it here if you want. Its the black book in the last picture entitle "Missionary Life."

Post pictures when you're done! 

[weet!]

well thanks for the ideas guys!
i actually thought about getting 11x17 paper but when i went to the store they only had like 20lb boxes of it and i didnt need THAT much...
the screw post thing sounds like the best idea to me though! i was not looking forward to stitching through a large amount of signatures. i will defintely post pics when im done, although it might take awhile since im getting back surgery next week 

[fadeawaydream]

I have the same problem... I'm looking to buy 11x17 paper, but I just don't know where to go. Any store/website recommendations?

[weet!]

I have the same problem... I'm looking to buy 11x17 paper, but I just don't know where to go. Any store/website recommendations?

they have 11x17 in all different colors at paperzone but the only problem was you had to get a whole $20 REAM and i certainly wasnt going to use that much paper..

i just went to micheals recently and just decided on getting large white construction paper (i dunno the dimensions but i think its alittle bigger than  11x17)

[fadeawaydream]

I resorted to Office Max's regular ol' 11x17 recycled paper. I don't know what I'll do when I need colors!

[elmpixie]

The best way to do it is to start with larger paper... OR to spiral bind it, but thats definately not as nice.