DIY Notebooks

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If you’re like me and dislike the look of plain solid colored notebooks that you may have, then this DIY will bring some colorful designs to your notebooks.
I created different DIY notebook covers because I had a bunch of plain notebooks I needed for school and disliked all the solid colors it originally had on them.  It didn’t motivate me to want to even look at my notebooks because they didn’t have much color to it.  One thing to know about me is that I love art that has a lot of colors in it.  So instead of wasting money on trying to buy notebooks that already had cute designs on them, I collected the craft supplies that I already had at home, and started to create my own designs. 
  
 

For the first two notebooks, I used the same materials, but in different colors, so I could tell what subjects they were for.  The first one I made was for my anatomy class.  I first took a piece of copy paper from my printer and sketched out my own design.  I tried to make a zig-zag/arrow design and painted it with gold paint.  I took a green sharpie marker and put vertical lines between the design.  I glued it on my notebook and let it dry.  Then, I took a piece of green duct tape, put it on the side near the spiral bound and labeled it “Anatomy” from stickers that I had.  I had a bubble sticker too, decided to put it in the middle, and wrote “Notes” on it to indicate that this notebook was only for my anatomy notes.  The last thing I did was put clear Scotch packaging tape on top of the design so it would have a nice laminated cover look and wouldn’t get ruined.  I repeated the process for the second notebook. Instead of the zig-zags, I made my own polka-dot design using gold paint and a red sharpie. 

   


For the next three notebooks, I used different materials for each one to create a unique design. The first notebook was made with duct tape.  I put a layer of blue duct tape on the cover.  Then, I took purple peace sign duct tape that I had and placed it on top of the blue tape horizontally so you could see both the blue and purple. I had sticker paper on my desk and wrote the subject on it, and placed it in the middle of my notebook.  Finally, I laminated it with clear tape. 

For the second notebook, I used different materials for the design.  I covered the notebook with pink polka-dot scrapbook paper.  Then, I took this flower design that I found and cut out from a birthday card that I had and glued it on top of the scrapbook paper to give it a more unique design.  Lastly, I covered the notebook with clear tape.

For the third notebook, I didn’t use scrapbook paper, but a gift bag!  I cut the gift bag down to the size of the notebook and glued it on top of the notebook.  I took sticker paper, labeled the subject, placed it in the middle, and finished it off with clear packaging tape. 

*Note: If you decide to create a notebook like these examples, make sure that you smooth down the clear packaging tape well to avoid getting air bubbles* 

What you will need:
  • Plain solid colored notebooks
  • Paper, scrapbook paper, paint, cards, duct tape, gift bags, or whatever else you can find to cover your notebook with
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Stickers
  • Clear packaging tape (optional if you want it to look laminated)
  • Sticker paper or plain paper to label your subject
Step 1: Collect plain notebooks that you would want to decorate
Step 2: Plan your design 
Step 3: Glue or tape your design down 
Step 4: Add any other materials you would like to add to your design (ex. stickers)
Step 5: Place clear packaging tape on top of your design (optional, but highly recommended) and enjoy using your “brand new” notebook! 

Hope you have fun creating this DIY and bring it to school to show all your friends!  Keep on being crafty everyone!  See you next time :)  

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