Most bookbinding machines are very expensive, but ProvoCraft’s YourStory Photo Machine is a bargain at $34.99. You can use this handy gadget to make:
- Family vacation photo albums
- Grandparent brag books
- Recipe books
- Story books featuring your child’s creative tales
- Blank notebooks for shopping lists, notes, etc.
Operating the YourStory machine is very easy, even if you’re not much of a crafter. In fact, it’s simple enough for older children to use to make their own books.
Just plug it in, push the power button, and wait until it beeps to signify that the heating coil is ready. Insert your book into the machine, then push the timer button. When it beeps one minute later, take the book out and put it in the back rack to cool for a few minutes before decorating the cover as desired. I’ve used stickers, die cuts, rubber stamps, and flat origami models to decorate my books.
I like to make books using a combination of 4×6 photos, 4×6 index cards, and 12 x 12 scrapbook paper folded into fourths and trimmed to make a pocket for saving small memorabilia. You can make 5×7 books with the YourStory, but I prefer the 4×6 size simply because this is what most of my prints are already formatted to be.
The only problem I’ve had with my binding machine so far is that sometimes I don’t get all of the pages pushed down the first time and my book starts to fall apart. To fix this, I just readjust the pages and send it through the heating process once more. After the second round of heat, I’ve never had any trouble with the pages coming loose.
Photo credit: ProvoCraft
