Sea Shell Notebook

 I'm desperately trying to clean out things in the house that we're not using. I've determined not to buy new craft supplies of any kind until I use up most of what I already have. That's leading to a little frustration from time to time, but it's also made me be a little more creative with what is here.

That's where these adorable clam shell notebooks came from. We get stuffed clam shells from the grocery store quite frequently, so I have quite the collection of shells. They're so pretty that I hate to throw them out when I can do something with them.

Inside are card stock pages for writing, drawing or leaving little notes. I'm planning to make several of these for Walk On Art Street in September.

I soaked the shells in water for a few hours to soften them up a little. Then Danny drilled three holes in each shell for me. You can do it by hand with an awl, but it's very time consuming.

Fold an 8.5x11 inch piece of card stock in half lengthwise. Then trace around the outside of a shell to make your template. Cut just inside the line to make it a little bit smaller than the shell.

Mark the holes from the shell onto the template and punch.

Crease each page tightly on the fold so it will lay flat.

Choose a sturdy fiber (I used twine) and start lacing the shells and pages together. Start on the left, cross to the middle of the first pages, then the right side for the next set of pages, then back to the middle, repeating this pattern from one end to the other.

It will look like this.

 Then lace back through the other way, alternating holes. Back through one more time will let you hit all three holes in each set of pages.

Tie off each end with a tight knot.