Welcome and come on in! I'm Jess. I love all things scrapbooking and crafty and to share my artistic journey with friends like you. Relax, take a look around, and come back again soon. Thanks for stopping by!
Here’s a quick little project I threw together this weekend that was so super easy! Using one of those standard generic notepads you can pick up for under a $1 at any office supply (or even drug store), simply alter the cover with a favorite patterned paper and a few embellishments to make a unique gift for a friend, a make and take at a crop (or for yourself!).
All you need:
- Notepad with a spiral binding in any size ( I used the pocket version)
- A patterned paper you love
- Mod Podge
- Hole Punch (like the Crop-A-Dile)
- Any embellishments you choose
To make it:
Step 1: Bend the edge of the wire binding to “open” it up. Then simply turn the metal spiral so it twists out of the holes holding the note pad together. Don’t worry it will just as easily go back in.
Step 2: Adhere your paper using Mod Podge to the cover and backing of the notepad. The trick here, is to go back and punch the holes through the existing ones before you completely cover them up. So cover the front of the front, punch holes, cover the back of the front, punch holes. Make sense? That way you can be sure you keep them evenly spaced and where they are supposed to be.
Step 3: Now go ahead and thread the wire binding back through, twisting and feeding the wire through the holes the same way it came out. It’s really super easy.
Step 4: Embellish!
Though you can also put together a note pad or journal like this yourself (especially if you own a Bind-it-All), altering a pre-made store bought version saves you from cutting and punching all those interior pages, and is even a little more cost affordable. Make a ton of these for Easter Baskets!
Or like me, use it for all the important lists you need to keep up with:
Hope you have had a wonderful weekend. We were snowed in believe it or not (or at least we chose to stay indoors and thus refusing to believe we got as much snow as we did), but that made a for a very productive weekend. I’ll have lots of fun things to share this week, new ACB projects with Cloud 9 Designs, a recipe that makes Alan swoon (hee), and some sneak peeks of AC Bailey’s gorgeous April Kit. Whew!
Thanks for stopping by today, and see you soon.
Filed under: Inspiration, Other Artful Endeavors, Step By Step Projects
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What a fun a cute little project! Great idea!
What a great idea! I need to give this a try. I know I have a few laying around the house and goodness knows my mind has a million ideas running through it right now (from crafts to baby) that need to be written down. tfs!
[...] is a quick and super-easy-super-cute idea from our friend Jess at Craft Cafe. (Who ALSO calls herself a “Craftista!) You take a cheap-o dime store spiral bound pocket [...]
Love this! I shared it with my Twitter followers and on my CraftTestDummies.com blog! Thanks for the cute idea!
Hi Jess
Just thought I’d pop by and say hello as you’d made such a nice comment on my blogging article at craftcritique.
Great looking blog you’ve got here. Keep up the good work!
Bob
Came here from 2paws and thank you for posting how you do your notebooks. I have done a couple altered notebooks myself but I’ve steered away from using ones with spirals because I was not sure how I could alter it with the spiral in the way. I’m going to give it a try and I’m going to bookmark your page so when I have more time I can see what other brilliant ideas you have.
Thanks again for sharing! I finally altered one last night (http://2pawsdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/04/altered-notepad.html) and linked to your post. Hope you are having a great Friday!