One thing that I knew I wanted to have at my wedding was a Polaroid Guest Book. One home interior stylist I follow on Instagram posted velvet guest books on her story. (Her or someone she knows sells them.) I do not remember what the price of them were, but they were expensive and I decided to try to find one on Etsy. The one that I found was $108 and I thought to myself that I could probably make it for a lot cheaper. So I ordered the supplies off of Amazon/Michael's/Joann!
I first bought the book, fabric, and fabric glue. If I could do this DIY over again, I would find a book that did not have a spiral. It makes the book look a little awkward when completed, and makes the DIY'ing a little harder. I did not do a good job of documenting the process of gluing the velvet fabric onto the book. Things to know:
*Don't cut the fabric to fit the size of the book yet!
*It's okay if there are bubbles in the fabric, you can smooth those out!
Steps:
Spray the whole INSIDE of the front cover of the book with the adhesive glue. Make sure not to get it on the other parts of the book or your surface. It does not come off!
Place the fabric in the middle of the book where you just sprayed the glue. Work your way out to the sides. This will help with fabric bubbling. If your fabric does have bubbles, just slightly pull the fabric and smooth it with your hand.
Flip the book around and do the same thing to the front cover.
You will now have long edges around the top and bottom of the book. I cut the extra fabric leaving 1 inch on the top and bottom. You will need to fold and glue this extra piece of fabric towards the inside of the book. This makes it have a smooth surface on the outside of the book.
Repeat Step 2 for the back of the Book. You will not glue the spirals if you do get a book with spirals on it. Pull the fabric tight when gluing.
Repeat Step 2 For The back inside cover. Then repeat Step 4 for the edges.
On the inside covers, I took these decorative edges of the fabric and glued them to the inside to hide the jagged line from where I cut off the extra fabric.
I then waited a while to finish the book since it was such a long process of gluing the velvet fabric onto the book. Every couple of weeks, I would buy double-sided tape and place them in the book for guests a the wedding to stick their Polaroid on to. I looked for ribbon or beaded ribbon to use as a book closure like my Etsy inspiration picture. While looking through my closet one day, I saw a belt from Altar'd State that gave me the idea to find a cheap wedding gown belt that I could trim to make a book closure. I then found one on amazon and ordered it. I also ordered a magnetic snap to place on the front of the book and hot glued those things all together. I researched what pens work best on craft paper and ordered these so guest could write their names or sweet notes. (They are linked below.) Now all that is needed is a Polaroid camera and film, and a "Guest Book" note on the first page!
*Tan Kraft Hardcover Book: ($18.99)
*Green Velvet: ($6.60) Looks blue in pictures.
*Fabric Glue: ($3.78 w/ 50% Coupon)
*Two Sided Tape: ($4.99~$2.17 w/ coupon)
Michael's Brand: Recollections 1/2" Double Sided Tape
*Beaded Book Closure: ($10.80)
*Magnetic Snap: ($4.23 {used coupon})
*3 Different kinds of Pens: ($16.48 ~all from Amazon)