Friday, June 09, 2006

Your Own Custom-Made Magazines


I've mentioned these 'scrapbooks' before, but here we are again. For one thing, they save money. Space, also.

What are they? They're custom-made magazines. Fifteen years ago I began these and now I find they are saving me, well, like I said--money and space.

All you need are old-fashioned three-ring binders, some clear plastic sleeves (can be found cheaply at Target when you buy a package of 100 +) and your favorite magazines--any type.

All you do is tear out best-loved/inspiring pages from magazines, slip them into the clear plastic sleeves, (two pages, back to back), then place them in the binders. You can then toss the remainder of the magazine into the recycling bin. 

You're saving space because, hey, most magazines are full of ads and/or articles/photos which probably aren't relevant or helpful.

And you're saving money because--once you have a few binders--you can (if you wish) just buy the occasional magazine, ones which stand-out as extra-desirable and full of pages you can add to your binders. (I no longer subscribe to any magazines.)

Magazine pages can be added to the binders haphazardly or can be grouped by subject (theme) or according to the contents of just one type (title) of magazine. For instance, I have--

One binder for just Home Companion Magazine pages
Two binders with only Victoria magazine
And the rest are assorted from various magazines. 

Perhaps someday I'll have a binder with only gardening photos and tips.  The possibilities? Endless.

In fact, I made a cookbook this way using both magazine recipes and recipes copied off the Internet. If I spatter food on the pages, I just wipe them with a dishrag.

Just thought I'd pass along this idea. Oh! And here's my find for the day--a 'yum cup' which I spied in an antique store. Isn't he cute?




*****

Now, I realize some people LOVE their magazines and would rather drink a thimbleful of poison than tear them up. Obviously, this post is not meant for those folks. ジ

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