This handmade notebook project is great for upcycling your paper stash. And, they make very nice little gifts on a budget. The covers can be cut from old cereal boxes. The pages in mine are cut from old ledger books, legal pads and school type lined paper that I no longer need. The notebook is assembled with beading thread.
The notebook is fairly fast to assemble. Each handmade notebook can be personalized to the recipient’s interests. I made a variety of themes. My next one will have a book reading theme. How about a food theme to log your favorite eating places. Or to track an ongoing grocery list. Magazine cutouts will work well if you do not already have die cuts to use for decorating the cover.
This is what I call my artsy theme. The paper is from a decorative paper project that I was experimenting with recycling old church bulletins. I like the way that there is a slight image of the original printing still showing, though not enough to actually see what the bulletin was.
I refer to the image on the front of this notebook as my happy woman stamp. It makes me smile to use it.
It’s easy to get carried away making multiples of these. There’s nothing like a little handmade notebook to add a bit of fun to our usual routines. If we need to take notes anyway, why not take them in style.
The notebooks make a nice surprise tucked in along with other gifts in a gift bag. They are a good size for stocking stuffers or make a set of notebooks to gift with a nice pen.
I chose to not add 3 dimensional objects to the covers because they might snag on items in a purse or be more difficult to slide into a pocket.
Have fun making a few of these, perhaps drop a comment to let me know what themes you chose to make.