by bluephin

Created on: August 11, 2008   Last Updated: July 29, 2011

Unique notebooks? That's a thought. But how can you have one that you can really say is unique? Simple. For your notebook to be unique, it has to be designed and handmade by (who else?!) YOU! If you love flowers, fill your front cover with flowers. If you are into sports, browse through old magazines and cut out photos of people playing sports and stick them on your front cover. You can even print your name on the spine of your notebook. You can even dictate how thin or how thick your notebook will be.

In school, students would require a couple of notebooks in one school year. For some subjects, students won't be able to use up all the notebook's pages. However, the following school year mom and dad would end up buying a couple of new notebooks for you to use. Kind of wasting some money there, don't you think? Why not gather up all those unused pages and make this Recycled Notebook?

RECYCLED NOTEBOOK

You'll need:

# Unused notebook pages
# Thread, yarn or ribbon
# Needle
# Hole puncher
# Scrapbooking ornaments or any kind of embellishments that you wish to use
# Cardboard or specialty paper
# Glue
# Fabric , felt paper or whatever else you want to cover your notebook with

Here's what you have to do:

1. Gather all unused pages from old notebooks. Cut them into a uniform size.
2. Create holes on the left side. Create as many as you like. The more holes there are the stronger the notebook binding would be. Alternatively, you can also use a big enough nail and a hammer to make the holes. This way, the holes would be a lot smaller and easier to contain.
3. Sew the edges using a thread, yarn or ribbon. If you are using a thread, make sure to use several strands to make it stronger.
4. Spread some glue half to one inch from the left end front and back and on the spine.
5. Get your cardboard and fit it as a cover for the pages. If it is more than the dimensions of the notebook, cut it after the cover has been firmly glued in place.
6. Let the glue dry.
7. Wrap the cover with felt paper, fabric or whatever outside covering you might want to use. Make sure that it is firmly glued.
8. You can now decorate the cover as you wish. If you have attached some scrapbooking ornaments or embellishments on your cover, you might want to use a plastic cover to protect it from being chipped off.
9. If you want the individual pages to also be attractive, you can make drawings on the corners or borders of each page. Your options are endless because the notebook is yours!

Learn more about this author, bluephin.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.