I love notebooks, and as a papercrafter I love decorating them too. Whether it’s for a simple list, or to record something more permanent, notebooks are a big part of my life. Big or small, ruled or plain, you can never have enough. My late son Russell obviously took after me as when we went through his things we found lots of notebooks. He was an avid reader and loved to write his own stories, even going so far as to take courses in creative writing. His genre was science fiction, and I wonder where my You, Me and the Sea titled notebook would have taken his imagination.

BLUE & WHITE = THE SEA

I don’t know what it is about blue and white but it’s a colour combination I love. It’s a real classic and often makes me think of the sea. They’re the main colours in the Come Sail Away suite from Stampin’ Up! and I’m just a little obsessed.

For today’s covered notebook project I started with a boring 5″ x 7″ ruled notebook purchased at Dollarama. It has a stapled spine which makes it really easy to cover.

First I cut a 1″ x 4″ strip of the navy/white stripe paper from the Come Sail Away 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I wrapped it around a mechanical pencil and used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to glue the ends of the strip together. Then with the pencil close to the notebook, I used more liquid glue to attach the ends of the strip to the outside of the back cover.

With that done I wrapped some of the same DSP around the notebook using more liquid glue to fix it to the cover. Oh my goodness what a transformation, that DSP makes it look like the notebook is covered with fabric.

YOU ME & THE SEA

Next came the anchor image from the Sailing Home Stamp Set. First I used Soft Suede ink to stamp it twice onto Very Vanilla Card. Next I cut out the anchors using a coordinating die from the Smooth Sailing Dies. I wanted to add some ‘movement’ to my design so I then glued the anchors together, back to back. Finally I tied a long piece of Night of Navy/Sahara Sand Baker’s Twine to the top of the assembled anchor.

After that came the You Me & The Sea sentiment. I found this 3″ x 4″ card in the Come Sail Away Memories & More Card Pack. All I needed to do was use liquid glue to mount it onto some Whisper White Card. Then I fixed it to the notebook, tucking the loose end of the baker’s twine behind the top left corner.

To complete the project I used Mini Glue Dots to secure the baker’s twine on the front in a loop. Then I used another glue dot to secure the twine about 1″ above the anchor so it could swing freely. Job done.

As much as I love this You Me & The Sea notebook, it’s not one I will use. Instead I delivered it to the Wallace and Area Museum for them to sell in their gift shop. So will it be ‘just a notebook’ or will it be used for something more permanent, I guess I’ll never know.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Sailing Home Stamp Set and coordinating Smooth Sailing Dies using the bundle item number. This saved me 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included both options below so you can explore these in more detail if you wish.