Customize Spiral Notebooks
Create personalized and practical gifts for friends, teachers or family members by embellishing inexpensive spiral notebooks. Utilize basic craft supplies and simple crafting techniques to customize the cover, design handy dividers and adorn the spiral with decorative and functional elements. The notebooks can be used as journals, sketch books, daily planners or as places to write "to do" checklists, grocery lists and phone messages.
Instructions
1. Measure the front cover of the spiral-bound notebook with a ruler and jot the length and width down on scrap paper with a pencil.
2. Cut a piece of patterned paper or colorful cardstock with scissors, a paper trimmer or a craft knife so it's one inch shorter and narrower than the cover measurements. Center and attach the paper to the front cover of the notebook with a glue stick or double-stick tape.
3. Add a label to the cover of the book to indicate its contents. Use scissors, a paper trimmer or a craft knife to cut a 2-by-4-inch piece of cardstock that coordinates with the paper you used as the background for the cover.
4. Add a title with markers, alphabet rubber stamps or letter stickers. Position the label two inches down from the top of the notebook and centered left to right, and then affix it with double-stick tape or a glue stick.
5. Embellish the border or bottom portion of the cover with accents such as themed stickers, rubber-stamped images or self-adhesive foam shapes. You can also create a decorative border around the label with dimensional embellishments such as buttons, rhinestones, sequins or paper flowers affixed with adhesive dots.
6. Keep a pencil or pen handy by tying one end of a 10-inch long piece of ribbon or string around the top of the spiral. Tie the other end around a pen or mechanical pencil with a "clip" designed to hold the pen in a pocket. Slip the ribbon end under the clip and double knot it.
7. Decorate the spiral of the notebook, if desired, by cutting 4-inch-long pieces of colorful ribbon. Slip one end of a ribbon through a loop in the spiral coil and knot it tightly. Repeat the process until you've adorned the length of the coil with ribbon ties.
