Many, many months ago, I went thrifting with a good friend who absolutely fell in love with the cover of this vintage Betty Crocker cook book. Unfortunately, it was in very poor condition, and when she peeled back the tape holding it together, some of the cover came off, too. I wasn’t specifically sure how to rebind it, but I knew I would eventually learn. So she requested I hold onto it until I learned how to make it into a blank book to put her own favorite recipes in. 
And finally, (I really mean finally, I think we found this book in January? maybe even earlier. . .) during my busy summer, I had the chance to learn coptic binding (also called a chain-stitch). As soon as I felt comfortable with this binding (and got back home) I started work on giving this book a new life:
I carefully finished removing the tape from the spine. Then I scraped off all the goo left behind and used a ruler + matte knife to clean up the rough edges where the spiral had come undone.
I used my trusty colored pencils to fill-in the missing sections of the cover. I was a little nervous at first, but really pleased with how simple it was and how well it turned out:
I am in love with the pink teapot on the back cover, so precious! When I finished filling-in all the tape spots, I gave each cover a coat of Mod Podge to protect from peeling/smearing & for easier cleaning. 
I thought I wanted to recover the inside of the covers, but I decided to keep the original paper and the note that came with it:
I created new signatures to go inside. Each one starts with decorative paper and includes blank sheets like requested. The extra strip of yellow card stock will help the book expand more easily if papers are glued into it later:
And here is the finished product: 
This book lies flat when open; it’s the perfect form for a lot of writing or sketching:
This was such a fun way to make something unusable into a new item with purpose. For just a dollar or two, I gave my friend something unique that she can use for many years to come. Not only that, but it was definitely great practice for me. I am also excited to keep the vintage inside pages; they will make great collage material in the future. Waste not, want not!
