Wow, second post in one day, don't remember that before. However today was a snow day and I got sent home from school with nothing to do, I'm not complaining though, however I would like to know what happened to the start of spring!? Anyhoo....
A while ago my Mum bought some really nice patterned wrapping paper, the problem has been it's too nice to wrap presents in and give to people! So this wrapping paper has been sat in the wrapping paper draw for months until this week where I came up with the thought of making a notepad with it, here it is.
It is reasonably easy to make and you even get to use a power drill.....that's right this tutorial on how to make a nice patterned notepad uses A POWER DRILL. Please don't be put off though! It really is the best way to get through all the layers of paper and card. at first I tried just shoving the needle through but that didn't work, I then tried piercing each piece of paper in turn but that took forever and in the end they didn't line up and the hole wasn't big enough to let the needle through a second time, hopeless! Using a drill with a really small bit (I have been informed that 'a bit' is the proper term for the actual screwy part of a drill) it means the holes will all line up, you can poke the needle through numerous times and, if you're someone like me, it's quicker!
It really can depend on the number of A4 pages you pick as well, if you pick too many the notepad isn't going to stay closed nicely, too few and, well, it's a rubbish notepad! I settled for 7 and it seemed to work well and you get 14 pages to write on (28 if you count both sides).
Patterned notepad tutorial
- an A3 sheet of plain card
- a few sheets of white A4 paper (7 works well)
- scissors
- patterned paper
- glue
- ruler and pencil
- A POWER DRILL! With a small 'bit' attached
- white thread and a needle
- a contrasting piece of coloured paper for the spine
- First of all place a piece of A4 paper on top of the A3 card and draw a boarder onto the card about 0.5 cm away from the paper and cut out. This might seem like a strange thing to do but if you use A4 card the paper sticks out of the edges at the end and doesn't look as good.
- Cut a piece of patterned paper to the same size as the card and carefully glue together to avoid air bubbles.
- Once dry draw a line down the centre of the card using a ruler, score and fold.
- Next get an A4 piece of paper, fold in half and mark 6 cm and 2 cm from the bottom at either end (this is where you're going to drill).
- Fold all the A4 pieces of paper in half, place the marked sheet on the top so you know where to drill and the card on the bottom of the pile.
- Carefully drill 4 holes through the marked areas, through the paper and the card
- Next up thread the needle and sew all the layers together by going through the 2 separate pairs of holes a few times.
- Cut a a strip of paper in a contrasting colour for the spine, it should be 6 cms wide and the same height of the notepad. Glue over the spine to cover the stitches on the outside.
- Voila! A beautiful notepad
variations
A few extra things you could add to your notepad glitter, stick on gems like the photo above or even a ribbon by placing it in the centre of the book where the stitches are and tying the ends together outside.
I've made this notepad before we had the wrapping paper by using coloured card, a heart stamp and paint which worked really well but you have to wait a little longer for the paint to dry.
Thank you very much for reading and I hope the snow hasn't caused you too much disruption today! Also please let me know if you found the tutorial instructions a little confuzzling, I tried to explain it as best as I could but I don't know if I went a little ott (over the top)?
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