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I've made junk journals out of gameboards (I believe they are still in my Etsy and they will join my collection here shortly) and they were a lot of fun to make. I used my Cinch bookbinding machine. You can get a Cinch right on Amazon: https://amzn.to/493N3gI
I also buy multipacks of the wires used for binding https://amzn.to/3ZmQiwo. They do not need to be Cinch brand.
This wire tool is SUPER helpful, also https://amzn.to/4923daz The quality of these pliers is definitely five-star and I use them for many other things besides the cinch.

The hardest part for me is the planning. Measuring, cutting, preparing. I tend to measure wrong and have to cut things again

This is the monster paper cutter I used to make sure everything was to size. I use this for a lot of book/magazine cutting so if you are interested in taking a look https://amzn.to/3V66f82
The initial cuts of the gameboards had to be made with a knife (or large guillotine without the guard restrictions) and I was able to detail the edges nicely with this bad boy.

Getting ready to start assembly! I measure them to get the most I can out of them. I was able to get 6 notepads out of the blue/purple board! With a few smaller pieces to spare (if I wanted to make super-minis)
I think this is the most annoying part...twisted wires! It took a few minutes to get these all to lay flat again to put away! (Looking for storage recommedations!)

I did not get any pics of the hole cutting but it is pretty straightforward and it has a great sliding guide for measuring out where to place holes. Due to the weird nature of these notepads, I eyeballed most of them so they are a bit wonky (totally still useable and they look fine - just small errors that the maker always sees after they've made something!)
Here is the reason its called the Cinch! You cinch those wires down in the back to keep the book bound nice and tightly!
Its a learning curve, but once you get it, you'll be binding books faster than ever!



Head over to my GIFTS section and get one! They'd make perfect birthday or Christmas gifts! All of the measurements and paper details are in the listings!
I can't do specific tutorials very well, but I hope this was helpful in seeing how I made these adorable little notepads! And they'll be super handy to have!
Love to all!
~M