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Posts Tagged ‘notebook’

100% Recycled

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

recycled notebook

Let me go with you through the process of making that tiny stitched notebook.

It happened before I purchased the huge scrapbook.com order

My husband was away for work and I was bored.

I pulled up my scraps basket, which contains scraps of patterned papers and cardstock as well as old envelopes, pieces of boxes and other junque.

I pulled out my sewing machine and blew away a cloud of dust that covered it [hmm…], threaded it and hooked it up.

I played my favorite iTunes playlist on repeat.

And I started playing.

At first I just sewed [or tried to sew] scraps of papers together along with other stuff and created random stitched collages “to be used later on”. I have no idea when, where or what for, but I kept them all.

Then I pulled out an old watercolor paper I stamped on years ago and started stitching around the stamped and colored images and cut them off.

Then [and here is when that notebook started to emerge] I took an old cardboard cut out and a bunch of padding paper and sewed them together. You can see the sewn spine in the photo collage above, on the middle image.

Then I wanted to conceal the outer stitches [which were far from neat] and adhered a scrap of patterned paper I had left from an old Christmas collection pad.

After doing that I felt that something is missing and decided to adhere one of the stamped and sewn images I made before.

To hold everything together I added 2 layers of glossy Mod Podge.

Here is a glimpse of the notebook “in progress” [taken by my ancient phone cam…]:

stitched notebook

That is all.



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Make A Simple Notebook With Ribbon Binding – Creativity Prompt

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Notebook With Ribbon Binding

This project is also an easy one you can whip up in under 10 minutes. I love those type of projects and I can never have enough notebooks to sketch, doodle and write in. Can you?

I used the ribbon for the binding, as an alternative to the linen thread or embroidery floss I normally use for binding and as an added bonus, the ends of the ribbon also provide a nifty closure for the notebook.

If you are interested in making this sweet and simple notebook, then keep on reading for the supply, video how to and step-by-step instructions. Enjoy!

Tools & Supply

How To

[Watch on YouTube. While you’re there, please comment, rate & subscribe]

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Cut your papers 8″ wide and 5½” tall. Fold in half to 5½” by 4″.
  2. Straighten the edges of the paper stack with a grid ruler, aligned with the edge of the paper and a craft knife.
  3. Cut your cardstock 8½” wide and 5½” tall and wrap around the paper stack to adjust the spine.
  4. Lay the paper stack over the cardstock cover and mark the piercing holes: one at the center and one to each side – 1″ apart.
  5. Pierce the papers and cardstock following the marks you created before.
  6. Thread the ribbon through the needle so both ends would meet and start the binding stitching from the inside out, through one of the outer holes.
  7. Then go in through the opposite hole.
  8. Tie the ends together in a double knot and thread the needle out through the center hole and in again through the same hole.
  9. Thread the needle through the loop the tied ends create and then underneath the first stitch.
  10. Thread the needle out through the center hole again.
  11. Cut the ribbon off the needle and use the ends to close the notebook.
  12. To embellish the notebook I adhered 3 buttons with a dab of Diamond Glaze to the center of the notebook’s cover and adhered three punched out circles of patterned paper to the button. I then secured the patterned paper with another layer of Diamond Glaze.

Share

If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!

I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂

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Creativity Prompt – A Simple Stitched Notebook

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Simple Stitched Notebook

This week I have a cool project – super duper simple and the results are fabulous. For a no bulk notebook that you can carry around freely, without worrying about wear & tear, I have a cool masking technique for you with a color spray and some chipboard letters.

I also have a fantastic tip for threading your embroidery floss through the needle in a split second, you wouldn’t want to miss that… 🙂

Tools & Supply

How To


[Watch on You Tube. Please rate & comment.]

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Cut your papers and cardstock to size & fold in half. Burnish the crease with a bone folder.
  2. Lay the paper stack over the cardstock piece and center it.
  3. Mark the placement of your piercing holes. Find the center and mark at ½” on each side and then go on and mark in 1″ increments.
  4. Pierce all your marked holes, all the way through the papers and the cardstock. Make sure they are aligned together and that the piercer goes through the crease.
  5. Thread your needle with the embroidery floss. TIP – To thread your needle in a split second (no exaggeration here) simply stick a small piece of tape to the end of your floss, fold it over and cut the excess. That will prevent the fraying of the floss and will also provide a slight stiffening effect for a quick and smooth threading.
  6. Start stitching your notebook from the top hole, from the inside – out. Make a simple running stitch, going through each hole – once in and once out. After you go through all the holes, go back through the holes, switching direction, so the stitch will look like a backstitch. When you go through the last hole, tie the ends together in a strong knot.
  7. For a no-bulk embellishment, adhere the chipboard letters with a temporary adhesive. Make sure the adhesive isn’t protruding outside or it will affect the impression of the letters.
  8. Lightly spray from about 10″ above your notebook cover. Spritz the color mist as many times you want until you get the effect you are looking for. [The chipboard letters may be reused in another project, by the way…]
  9. Before removing the letters go over them with a black or white marker, that will create a nice outline and will add visual interest. Just make sure to hold your letters tight, as the temporary adhesive isn’t strong enough and they may move around.

Simple Stitched NotebookSimple Stitched Notebook

Share

If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!

I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂

Make Your Own Planner Workshop
Check out the new “Make Your Own Planner” workshop and you may solve this year’s holiday gift shopping problem. An affordable workshop that keeps on giving…


Make Your Own Planner Workshop
“Capture Your Dream” workshop is relaunching as a self-paced workshop. Isn’t this the perfect time for you to capture your dream and make it happen?

Creativity Prompt – Make A Notebook With A Simple Stapler

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Stapled NotebookBack in the days… when I was a teenager, I remember trying to make shift with the supply I had had. One of the things I remember doing was to open my small stapler and staple with it on a soft, yet firm surface, to overcome not having a staple-gun or a larger and cooler office stapler.

Now it’s the time to use my childhood’s creativity and apply the same trick for making a notebook in less than 5 minutes – no matter what size your stapler is OR what size notebook you want to make. If you are interested in watching how to make it, stay tuned for the video tutorial.

Tools –

Supply –

I embellished my front cover with 3 strips of 1¼” by 5¼” cardstock which I ran through the Cuttlebug machine with 3 different embossing folders (Spots and dots, Swiss dots and Bubbles).

How To Video –

Measurements –

  • Copy paper – 5½” by 8¼” (folded in half, and straightened with a craft knife, while folded).
  • Cardstock – 5½” by 8¾”, scored at 4¼” on each side.


[Go here to watch in high quality]

Enjoy!!!

In this video I tried You-Tube’s audio swap option. I hope it isn’t too annoying… Please tell me what you think about it and leave a comment.

If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!

You can also comment, rate and subscribe to the videos on You-Tube. If you feel like it. Please rate them, so I know how to go about the future videos.

Share the notebook you have made with us. Leave a link at the comment section or upload your photo to the Creativity Prompt Flickr group pool.

Creativity Prompt – Make A No-Stitch Notebook

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Kraft no stitch notebook After yesterday’s introduction to the new title on Creativity Prompt: “On The Catwalk” here comes a video tutorial on how to make the notebook, featured on yesterday’s post, using Papertrey Ink’s products.

This notebook is made without stitching and is super easy to make, yet it has this special “artisan” look that we all love. This is the notebook that everyone will ask: “Where did you get it from?”.

So,… Are you ready?

Tools & Supply –

How to –

Fabulous music is by: Josh Woodward.

Some additional peeks at the notebook –
[Click on the photo for a larger size]

side view
view from above

Enjoy!!!

If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!

I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂