WFMW: Notebook Tutorial

At Christmas, when I posted my homemade gifts done while participating in the You Can Make This "Thrifty Under $50 Challenge" I recieved a few questions about the notebooks. There are two ways to do them, and I decided it would be fun for a little tutorial on how to create them.

With Valentine's Day just 10 days away - this might be that perfect personalized gift and what Works For Me might just work for you!! Visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW ideas.

Supplies:

~Cereal box (there are so many possibilities here - use your imagination: posters glued to cardboard, old folders, shoe boxes, vhs tape boxes)

~wire-bound notebook (any size will work - I used popcorn boxes to make smaller 3x5 notebooks at Christmas)

~cutting mat, rotary cutter, rotary cutting ruler (these are all items I use with sewing - if you don't have them, a scissors and ruler would work just fine)

~very small hole punch

~needle-nose pliers

~snack (I choose pepsi and chips that day - very important to stay hydrated!!!)

Take the pliers and work to unhook the ends of the wire. After it is unhooked, and before you begin to "un-thread," work to get the wire into the same spiral shape as the rest of the wire - it makes it go so much faster. Now, you'll only need to do that to the end that is going through the notebook - the other end can be bent since it won't be pulled through the notebook.

Begin "un-threading" the wire.

Set your wire and bottom of notebook to the side.

Take apart the cereal box. I like to remove all the edges along the fold first, before I begin cutting it to the cover size.

Using the notebook cover as a guide, center it on your cereal box and cut to size.

Lay the original cover behind the cereal box cover and flip over. Using a pen, mark the holes on the new cover, making sure you are marking the top side of the cover.

Use the small hole punch to ... well, hole punch.

Lay the new cover on top of the notebook and now it is time to re-wire. Not tricky at all, is it now?

When the wire is in place, you'll need to bend the ends of the wire to make them hook back onto the notebook.

Completed notebook! Personalized for your recipient!!!

At Christmas, I also did some by taking them to the local office supply store and having them bind them - this is much more expensive than the above method.

I purchased a pack of blank 5x8 index cards and cut my boxes to size. Using a fruit snacks box, I could utilize both the front and back of the boxes. I found cereal boxes with games on the back are usually too large for the notebooks.

This is just an easy and fun way to create a low cost personalized gift! Again, there are so many possibilities with these covers - even using a child's artwork glued onto cardboard (for stability) is the perfect cover for a notebook for dad to use at work - or Grandma. A great way to get a one-of-a-kind perfect-fit gift for just about anyone!