Not only are these incredibly fun to decorate they have so many uses: daily journal, photo record, travel record, quote and poem keeper, prayer journal, recipe journal, scratch pad, weight loss/exercise journal, gratitude journal, etc. And if you are feeling really inspired you could even make a matching bookmark. Just add a pen and a journal jar and you have a wonderful gift.
I ended up giving my most of my creations away as gifts and everyone loved them! My husband was even jealous because I did not make one for him. My two small children wanted them too. I think everyone just liked the idea that they had a book decorated just for them, to suit their styles and tastes and it was made with love, by me.
Whether you are a rubber stamper or a scrapbooker, you can easily decorate one of these notebooks and you will have your family and friends knocking on your door asking for more. And the best thing is that these are very inexpensive gifts, but they are made with lots of love.
Here are some instructions so you can get started on some books of your own.
1. Start with a plain composition notebook (large or small). You can find these at your local office supply store; some dollar stores and discount department stores.
2. Gather lots of coordinating decorations - cardstock, patterned or specialty paper, lumpy embellishments, ribbon, rubber stamps, ink, embossing powder, etc. NOTES - For the "base" you will need 2 pieces of 8 ½ by 11 paper for a large book or 1 for a small. Dark or heavy paper is best to cover the pattern on the cover.
3. Decide on your adhesive. I used 3M Spray Adhesive and it worked wonderfully, but it was a little messy and you need to work in a ventilated area. You can also use any double-sided adhesive - double sided tape works great. You can also use a glue stick but it takes a bit to dry and might make the paper a little wrinkled.
4. Gather your tools - a craft knife, a rotary cutter or a swivel knife, and a self healing or glass mat
5. So now that you have gathered all of your materials start thinking about how you would like to design the page. You will want to add any eyelets, brads or other embellishments to the background paper before you attach it, as you probably will have a hard time getting them through the cover itself.
6. If you want to add a ribbon bookmark make sure to have it in place (which is under the paper that you place on top of the cover) before you attach the paper to the cover.
7. Apply your adhesive and line your paper right up to the edge of the black spine. Press firmly. Turn the book over and trim the excess paper using your cutting tool and your mat. Do this to the front and back of the book. You can even cover the insides as well, but you will need more than 2 sheets of paper.
8. After your paper is adhered you can also cover the black spine, if you would like. You can use wide ribbon, paper or anything that will stick! Just add some adhesive and cover.
9. Now you can decorate until your heart's desire. Use your imagination. Turn that black and white notebook into a work of ART!!
Now for some examples - this first notebook was created by Dawn. She shows us how to create a notebook using scrapbooking supplies. She used accents from Carolee's Creations. And she chose to cover the spine; she used patterned paper. Doesn't it just look so cute!?
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Sharon decorated this work of art!
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Isn't it beautiful? She used rubber stamping techniques in this one and added lots of lumpy embellishments. Just gorgeous!!
The rest of the notebooks are my creations. I used lots of different techniques and supplies and had so much fun. I sure hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I do. If you have any questions about the specifics of any of them, just go to the Scrapbooking.com Bulletin Board and ask in our "Article and layout comments" section.
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I hope I have inspired you to create some of these notebooks. They can be such beautiful works of art!! We would love to see your work! Just email a photo or scan to us at BNagle@shopa-z.com.
