How to Make a Notebook
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Learn how to make a notebook out of a blank notecard or recycled cardboard that you'll have lying around your house. This project is so quick to assemble and a great last minute homemade gift idea!
I *love* these little notebooks! They are so quick, easy and cheap to assemble, and a great way to use up pretty scraps of paper in your craft stash!
They're also incredibly useful to have in your handbag, diaper bag, car etc - you never know when you need a piece of paper to jot down ideas. Hope you fun making them!
How to Make a Notebook: Materials
For this project you will need:
- blank notecard (or recycle cardboard from your kitchen - think cereal box etc!)
- blank or lined paper for notecard pages (I'm using cheap printer paper that we found wasn't very good quality for printing)
- Needle and embroidery floss/thick cotton thread
- Awl/Paper piercing tool (or hammer/heavy object and needle)
- Cutting board, ruler and knife or guillotine
- scrap paper for binding
- Glue stick
- ink and stamps, or other embellishments (optional)
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How to Make a Notebook: Assembly
It's up to you what size you want to make your mini notebooks, they really are flexible!
I bought these blank cards on sale and then got them home and realized they weren't actually a very attractive brown and I probably would never use them (oops! I am quite terrible when it comes to discounted stock!). Then I came across the idea for mini notebooks and realized it was the perfect way to use them up!
My blank notecards were 8 x 6 inches (approximately 21 x 15 cm), and the computer paper double the size.
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Trim down your note paper so it is the same size as your notecard/recycled card-stock cover. I've used 10 sheets of paper in my notebooks as I wanted quite a slim notebook for my handbag.
Fold the note paper in half, and then using a ruler and knife just trim down the outer edge so that you get a crisp edge to your notepaper.
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Put your notepaper inside your notecard cover. Now measure out where you'd like your binding holes to be. I just wanted to do a really simple binding with only two holes, and measured them out one inch above and below the center-point.
If you want, go wild with holes and do a more elaborate binding. There are no rules!
To pierce the paper you don't need fancy book-binding or scrapbooking tools (but do go ahead and use them if you have them!). Anyone can pierce paper with a sharp needle and a heavy object/small hammer. Just make sure you do it on a protected surface so you don't end up with holes in your worktop!
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Once you've made the initial piercings, push your needle through the hole and wiggle it around a little bit to widen the holes.
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To bind your notebook, thread some embroidery floss or thick cotton thread onto a needle. Working from the outside-in, thread your floss through one hole and back out the other, and secure the ends together at the spine with a double knot. Trim down the ends.
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Cut a piece of scrap paper to measure the same height as your cover and a couple of inches wide (up to you depending upon how wide you'd like your spine cover to be).
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Use paper glue to cover the back of your decorative paper with glue.
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Secure it in place to cover the spine and binding.
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While the glue is still wet, make sure you fold your notecard in half and allow it to dry in this folded position.
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You could leave your notecard at this stage, or have fun embellishing it anyway you like. Here I've stamped "notes" in black ink. (And yes, the "s" is upside-down - oops!).
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And here are some finished notebooks. They are so quick to make and look so sweet. And finally I've used up those brown cards!
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