Custom Chipboard Binder

I was thinking about how everyday items can be repurposed and I had some old binders laying around. This one is a mini-binder (8.75 h x 7.25 w)
First, I cut the binder apart.
Then I said, heck, let's strip this puppy down. Oh look, it's chipboard!

It was a little harder to get the vinyl off from around the metal binding. I just cut around with my Xacto.

Next I gathered some crafting materials: Fabric paper, gaffer tape, scissors and a popsicle stick (not pictured).

Next, I set aside the vinyl and lay out the "naked" chipboard pieces.

Then I got a strip of the gaffer tape and laid it against the binder piece (fabric paper or duct tape would work as well) . The strip should just be about an inch longer than your binder and centered, so a half inch hangs off of each side.

Next, I smoothed the tape down with a popsicle stick.
After that, bring the middle piece over and lay it under the tape. When you place it, make sure there is a small gap between the pieces, so it will open and close properly (it needs to flex). Fold the extra tape over the ends like this.
Then do the same thing with the piece that will be the cover of the binder.

To finish, I laid another piece of tape in the middle to cover up the bare place so it looked like one big panel.

Afterwards, I flipped it over and covered the back side of the spine with gaffer tape, using a popsicle stick to smooth everything that was hard to reach.

Here is the finished binder:
Just waiting to be embellished with paint and other embellishments.

Or it could be left plain...Let's see what you can come up with!

Please email me with any questions and thanks for looking!

Originally posted on 07.04.07 (my first online tutorial!)