Tutorial - How to Make a Notebook

When I make sewing patterns, I end up with a lot of scraps of paper in odd shapes. To use up the scraps, I decided to make these little notebooks. These notebooks are so easy and versatile. You can make them any size and use any kind of paper. These are great little, recycled gifts you can whip up in no time.

Supplies:

Scrap paper (If your paper is very wrinkled you can iron it with a dry iron.)
Decorative paper for cover (such as origami paper)
Cardstock
Ruler (I prefer a quilting ruler for this project.)
Stapler
Cutting mat
X-acto knife
Glue stick Step 1:
Choose a width for your book. I suggest 3 to 5 inches.
Place your quilting ruler down on a long straight edge of paper covering the chosen width of the book. Hold down the ruler and rip the excess paper away.
You could also cut the paper with an x-acto knife but ripping is a lot more fun. I prefer the quilting ruler because it holds the paper down better than a regular skinny ruler.
Continue ripping until you have a stack of long strips.

Step 2:
Choose a length for the book and rip the long strips into smaller pieces using the same technique as step one. Stack the strips.
Shown below are a 5 by 6.5 inch book and a 2.5 by 4 inch book.

Step 3:

Make the spine and back of the notebook. Cut a piece of cardstock the same width of your book and about 2 inches longer. Draw a line .5 inch from the edge of the cardstock. Score the line with a bone folder. Place the cardstock on top of the stack of paper, right side down.

To make a cover out of decorative paper, layer a piece of decorative paper between the cardstock and the stack of paper.

Staple the cardstock to the paper placing the staples inside the line you drew.

Step 4:
Fold the cardstock along the scored line.Score and fold the cardstock again along the spine of the notebook. The cardstock is now wrapped around the edge of the notebook, hiding the staples and making a back cover. If desired, paste the last page of the book to the cardstock using the glue.

Step 5:
Trim the excess cardstock from the end of the notebook.Step 6:
Paste decorative paper to the front of the notebook. You can really have fun here with different arrangements of decorative paper. Plus it's another way to use up scraps!