Notebook collection grows again

My regular readers will know that I love a pretty notebook. Well I love any notebook really and have a lot of fun decorating them. Yesterday as I was playing in my studio with nothing specific in mind a notebook caught my eye. In fact it was a stack of notebooks, because why buy one when you can buy six, right? All I needed was some paper, some odd bits of card and a sentiment…

"Whatever, whenever... I'm here for you" pretty decorated notebook created using the Well Said Stamp Set and Flowers For Every Season paper from Stampin' Up! #papercraftwithme

PAPER AND CARD

First came the poinsettia covered paper from the Flowers For Every Season 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I wanted to make the most of the one sheet of paper so started by cutting it in half. Then I trimmed down each piece to fit the height of the 4″ x 5-1/2″ notebook.

Before I could glue the pieces to the original notebook cover I wanted to add a useful pencil holder. So I took one of the 1″ x 3″ leftover strips of DSP and wrapped it around a mechanical pencil. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the two ends together. Next I glued the ends of the strip to the outside back cover of the notebook. By putting the pencil close to the edge of the book I was able create a loop that would hold it securely.

With the pencil holder in place I glued one of the DSP pieces onto the back cover up against the open edge. This also sandwiched the ends of the pencil holder making it even more secure. The second piece of DSP then went onto the front cover.

Next, because the patterned paper was only 3″ wide, I needed to add some extra card along the left-hand edge. For this I chose Just Jade Card and cut two strips 1/2″ x 5-1/2″. Then using more liquid glue I fixed them up against the edge of the DSP on the front and back covers.

NOTEBOOK THOUGHTS

While the cover was now much prettier I did want to add an extra decorative touch. For this I chose the long scalloped die from the Peony Dies set. This is one of those really versatile dies that can often get forgotten among the rest, but not today. I cut a long strip of the gold Brushed Metallic Cardstock and then die cut the edge. As a bonus this die also adds an embossed detail to the cut piece making it even prettier. After trimming the strip to 5-1/2″ long I glued it over the join between the card and DSP on the front cover.

That just left a suitable sentiment for me to find. I could have gone with something obviousl like “just a note, but decided to look further. In the end I discovered “Whatever, whenever… I’m here for you” in the Well Said Stamp Set. It was like the notebook was talking to me.

So using Poppy Parade ink I stamped the sentiment onto some Thick Whisper White Card. Then of course I needed to cut it out. After finding the long edge die in among the Peony Dies I wondered what other gems were hidden in my stash. In the end I found a lovely ‘label’ with an interesting stitched shape that was the perfect size. And I found it in the Smooth Sailing Dies (the set with the yacht, anchor and lighthouse).

So after die-cutting the sentiment all I had left to do was fix it to the notebook with liquid glue. With that my project was complete.

You know I’ve just had a conversation with hubby who needs to take quite a lot of vacation time before the end of the year. Our original plans to go away were scuppered by COVID but it’s not all bad. I can make sure he doesn’t get bored with a lovely long list of jobs to do around the house. All I need to do now is make him a notebook so he won’t lose that all important list!

If you love notebooks too, here’s some links to other projects I’ve made:

UPDATED: If you’re interested in the notepad I eventually made for hubby you’ll find it here.