Cheap Easy DIY Notebook

Intro: Cheap Easy DIY Notebook

I had a lot of fun making these cheap DIY notebooks. They were used as part of my groomsmen gifts at my wedding. Don't worry, I gave the guys other stuff too! Follow along with my instructable and I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do!

STEP 1: Gather Your Supplies

Dude, you're going to need some supplies for this thing. Here's a list of them:

• Push Pin
• Cutting Board
• Child Scissors
• Exacto Knife
• Ruler
• Threaded Needle
• Pencil
• Tape
• Glue
• Corner Cutter
• Ball of Twine
• Cardstock
• Paper Filler
• Tape
• Map
• Old Picture Book
• National Geographic
• More Old Comics

STEP 2: Measure and Cut

Grab about 15 sheets of paper. This will make a 30 page notebook. Now, measure halfway along the paper when it's in hamburger orientation (not hotdog!) and then cut along this mark. Repeat this for the card stock.

STEP 3: Line Up and Fold

Line up the sheets of paper with the cardstock and then fold them in half. This will be your first peak at the notebook.

STEP 4: Punch a Hole and Thread That Needle

Punch a hole along the crease of the fold you just made. I punched mine about a fourth of the way in on each side. Now take your threaded needle and pull the string through the hole. Loop it around to the other side and then pull just one of the strings through so that both ends of the string are on the inside of the notebook. Alternatively here, you could just staple the darn thing.

STEP 5: Tie and Cut the String on the Inside

Take the two ends of the string on the inside of the notebook and tie them together twice. Here you can see me tying them away from the fold. I put my thumb down to hold it and do the same tie again to form a knot. Take some little baby scissors and cut the string short on the inside of the notebook. Normal scissors will work here too, but it might not be as fun.

STEP 6: Pick Out Comic Book Page and Cut to Size

Now comes the fun part. Pick out a comic you like and cut it out of the book. Next cut it to the same size as the notebook.

STEP 7: Glue to Front Cover

Take your glue stick and apply a bunch of glue to the front cover of the notebook. Line up the comic book page where you want it and then push it down. Next smooth it out so there are no bubbles. You can just use your hand for this, or you can use a plastic putty tool. Last, put a book on it to dry.

STEP 8: Cut of Excess and Corners

Once it's dried, cut off the excess card stock. Then take your corner cutter and round off the edges. You could also leave these corners as-is. It's entirely up to you! Last put a book on it to flatten it out. I sometimes leave it overnight.

STEP 9: Done!

Take the book off and tada you have a easy cheap DIY notebook. Make a bunch of them and experiment with different covers. Then make a YouTube video about it. Feel free to check out my video over there. Thanks for reading my instructable!

The idea for these notebooks came from the imakestuff channel on YouTube. Their video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6A1VB99eRo .

Comments

[Simran Sharma]

Nice

[cheapreviews]

Thanks Simran!

[Battleant121]

Very clever!

[cheapreviews]

Thanks! Love your picture btw. Really funny :)

[jeanluc83]

You beat me to it!

I was looking at pocket notebooks and decided that $10 for three notebooks was too much. After a quick search for stitch binding and a little bit if scrounging I had a notebook. I remembered the Book It contest and thought it would make a good Instructable but you got there first. Rather have an almost identical instructable I'll let yours stand alone.

Here's mine. I used an old cereal box for the cover and a five hole stitch binding. It turned out good and I'll likely make more in the future.

Nice job on the instructable and good luck in the contest.

[YourMagesty]

Me, again! I clicked on the youtube button, here, and when I got to youtube, I subscribed there.

My only comment here, besides GREAT...is I wonder how many folks dropped their coffee cups when you cut up a comic book for the covers...lol

[cheapreviews]

Haha. Hopefully not too many. Then someone would have to make a how to get coffee out of carpet instructable : ) Thanks for subscribing. No worries if you change your mind. I put a bunch of random stuff up over there. Hope you enjoy your weekend YourMagesty.

[mheymad]

for the cheap diy notebook for step 7,how long did you long did you let it dry for?

[cheapreviews]

Hey mheymad, I usually let them dry awhile. Sorry I didn't time it, but I would say more than 30 mins. You want to make sure the glue and paper is dry so that when you round the corners, the paper isn't wet and tears. Hope this helps and happy making!

[YourMagesty]

LOL...... We are well pleased!

[YourMagesty]

Very nice, quick and easy...thanks. I wish I could subscribe to 'your' site here, but I don't see a place. : /

[cheapreviews]

Thank you YourMagesty! Royalty reading my instructables, that's great :). I believe Instructables has a follow button. Not very good at instructables lingo yet because I'm new here, but I made the video for YouTube and you'll see a subscribe over there. Have a great Friday!

[seamster]

These little notebooks like great. You can't beat cheap and easy!

Thanks for sharing your first instructable; I hope you'll share many more :)

[cheapreviews]

Thanks seamster! I have a couple more tutorials I did for YouTube, but I still have to make them into instructables :). Love your content! Really want to try and make the fork ring to give to my wife.

[seamster]

Hey, thanks! I hope you make one!

High five for living in Seattle. All the best people come from Seattle, or at least that's what I say ;)

(I grew up in West Seattle back when it was quaint and quiet!)

[cheapreviews]

West Seattle's a cool place for sure. High five back!

[Hugmeman]

I didn't even think to saddle stich them! I stapled mine back when I did this

[cheapreviews]

I got the idea after from a local paper store that had some similar ones for sale. Not that much more work and holds the paper nicely. Thanks for commenting! :)