Scrappy answers:

Paper

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper.html

Notebook

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-100-page-Notebook/

there's tons of ideas on instructables.com

Good luck, this sounds like it'd make a cute gift idea

Scrappy answers:

Essentially cardboard and leather. You can buy leather at a fabric store or ebay. Just buy nice paper and string it together.

Or google "how to make a leather bound book" I am sure there is tons of stuff on the internet. Look at craft sites, not witchie-poo sites, you'll get further faster.

Scrappy answers:

Keep them in a controlled environment, and always. ALWAYSS wear archives gloves*can be purchased over the internet* heat and cold can severely hurt old books.

Scrappy answers:

Before you can determine a price, you need to get an exact price breakdown on your material costs. Decide on what you will make the cover out of and make one so that you can get a cost on each item used. What kind of paper will you use in these hand bound journals? Will you have different types of paper for made to order journals? If so, you should buy small quantities of each type of paper, put your template on it (the lines and any fancy scroll work) and leave an area of about 2" by 2" for a personalized monogram or illustration blank. Then do up samples of the illustration work that is available for your potential customers. Place all this paperwork in an attractive binder to have to show people. But, you do need to make up a few sample books for people to look at to get an idea of what they will get for a specified price. For your cover, will you use fabric mounted on illustration board or will it be a soft paper cover? How will the cover design look? Will there be variations on what type of cover is available? Remember that the front and back cover should match or at least be color coordinated. What will you use for binding the pages together? Once you have all this planned out and samples made you can calculate your cost and mark up. Don't forget to charge for your time! Time is money. You should do a tour through any stores in your area that sell custom made journals to look at the quality and price and then look at your own and compare. You might also want to look at your local library for books that show how to make custom books to get some ideas. You might find some shortcuts that will cut back on your time to make these books which will translate into a better price and more profit. You've got a great idea and you just need to tweak the little details a bit more before you're ready to sell. Do some research online and get some prototypes made up to show. It's a labor intensive project, but a satisfying one that you might get some more ideas from of other products that you could add to your line. Aim for an affordable price that your friends will be willing to pay, but be willing to make a few more expensive ones that they might want to buy as gifts for their parents or that their parents might want to buy as gifts. Everyone is a potential customer! Realistically, aim for a price range of $5.95 up to $8.95. Keep in mind that as you purchase larger quantities of paper, you will pay less. Try to stick to paper that you are going to be able to get all the time, like cream colored paper for the inside pages. If you find you are making consistent sales, pick up extra paper when it's on sale. If you have any questions, e-mail me and I'll try to answer them for you. Good luck and don't let small problems get in the way.