Help! I need a blank book to use as an artist's/collage journal?

Question

Desperately seeking a blank, unlined book with at least 150 leaves, preferably hardcover. Dimensions no larger than 7x9". It needs to lay flat when opened.

Most important consideration - it needs to have a flexible binding that can accommodate inserts and page buckling from painting, without the fore edge of the book splaying open. In other words, when unused, the spine has to be at least twice as thick as the fore edge so the book can be filled with inserts.

Scrapbooks won't work; they never have enough pages. I found some scientific lab notebooks online with expandable bindings, but they're all too large (13" and up).

I know I could bind one myself, but would rather not. I'd also rather not take a regular blank book and remove pages, since most normal books only have 150-200 pages to begin with ( so I'd be left with fewer pages than I want).

Does anyone know if such a product exists?

Answer 1

Hey Gemma,

This is a set of attempts to get you what you are looking for:

Decorate a blank artist’s sketchbook by making borders on the edges of pages and small pictures in their corners, leaving plenty of room for writing later. Don’t plan how you will embellish the blank pages. Just pick up paints or colored pens or pencils and let yourself go. After you finish decorating the journal, flip through the pages and pick one that fits your mood each day rather than making sequential entries from start to finish.