Binding your sentimental cards
A simple no-glue binding that turns a drawer full of cherished cards into something you'll actually keep out and look at.
Dear friend,
Do you find it hard to part with the cards people send you? Birthday cards, anniversary cards, the ones with a few lines written inside that you can't quite bring yourself to recycle — I have a whole drawer of them. Keeping them felt like the right thing to do, but a rubber-banded stack isn't really keeping them, is it.
This tutorial came out of wanting something better than a drawer. The method is simpler than it looks: two holes per card, a single length of thread, no glue at all. What I love most about it is that the front of each card stays paired with its message — nothing gets buried at the back, nothing gets lost. You open it and there they all are, in order, exactly as people sent them.
The spine is where it gets quietly lovely. Once the binding is done, you can thread beads onto it, tuck in a length of ribbon, add paper beads rolled from scraps — whatever's on your table. Because this is a keepsake rather than a journal, nothing's in anyone's way. The beads and ribbons are just there to make it feel like the thing it is: something worth holding onto.
If you'd like to make one of your own, here's the whole thing — start to finish.
How to Bind Sentimental Cards - Tutorial
What you'll make
handmade book·spine·as a keepsake·paper beads·envelope
What you'll learn
no glue·beading·binding·bookbinding·hole piercing·knotting
What you'll need
beads·beeswax·greeting cards·string·thread·washi tape
That quiet completeness — no glue, no fuss, just the cards held together exactly as they arrived — is what makes this one worth coming back to. Whenever you're ready to rescue that drawer, the binding will be here waiting for you.
If a friend forwarded you this — you can get the next one too.
Leave your email — I'll do the rest.
Your email is safe with me — and you can leave whenever you like.
Two more ways to be part of this.
Join the Facebook group
The daily conversation, and where the movement lives between videos. Share what you're making, find your people — and the bigger it grows, the further every new idea reaches.
Join the group →The Patreon inner circle
Private videos, weekly challenges, a closer view of the work — for those who've made this a real part of their lives. The place to go once you know this is for you.
See the inner circle →Or, if a video's helped you — leave a tip on Ko-fi ↗. The price of a coffee, no commitment.