Back to school season has begun! School has once again started (or still may be beginning for you) and I wanted to share a super simple DIY you can do to spice up your notebook covers. Every year I see the same boring composition notebooks and this year I decided to do something a bit different (especially since I bought Mod Podge!) I hope you enjoy making and decorating and I'd love to see the ideas you come up with!

Supplies

Mod Podge
Foam Brush
Notebooks (Composition or Spiral-Bound although I prefer Compostion for this project)
Magazines, Colored Paper, Stuff you want to cut out and decorate with
Optional: Stickers
Optional: Paint

Step 1: Cut Your Pieces!

Take all those old magazines and scratch paper you haven't found a use for and cut them up into pieces for your covers. For my English notebook I cut up pieces of text but you can create any design you'd like. I used origami paper to make a more abstract one and an old souvenir bag that I liked the design of to make another. You can also use specific pieces of text to spell out something.

Step 2: Layout

Layout all of your pieces in an appealing pattern you'd like to attach them in. It's all right if it goes over the edges, you can trim them later. Personally I like to layer them since I think it looks cooler :)

Step 3: Modge-Podge Time!

Starting with the bottommost piece, put down a layer of Modge Podge before you put down a piece of paper. Glue all your pieces in a similar way. After put down a layer of Modge Podge over all of your pieces, and don't worry if this is your first time using it, it dries clear! Try to get rid of any wrinkles and bubbles early on since that was one of the mistakes I made. It still turned out fine but it would have looked better if I did.

Step 4: Trim

Trim any edges after the glue has dried.

Step 5: Stickers

I added a couple of inspirational quote stickers to my notebooks. Feel free to decorate with stickers and other accessories.

Step 6: Paint

If you'd like to paint parts of your covers, go ahead! Personally, I think it adds a cool look if the background is kind of plain. I used acrylic paints for these.