Make Something: Fabric-Covered Notebook

 

I have about 50 journals.

There's the velvet-covered book I wrote in for six months then stopped. It's now in a box somewhere, half of the pages empty. Or the cool leather-bound book I got before I went on that one cool vacation I wanted to keep a travel log about. I wrote in it for seven pages, and now it's in a box somewhere.

You get the point.

I suppose I'm just more of a Post-It kind of girl. Rather than write down what's happening in my life, (though this blog counts for something, I suppose,) I'm up to my eyeballs in sticky notes about what I need to get done —like make fabric-covered notebooks! I may not use them as journals, but they're so fun to make (and cute) that I've taken to writing some of my lists in them. (They're good for recipes and such, too, and OMG I just realized I could even give the budget book some personality. Why didn't I think of that before?)

These notebooks are great gifts, and are fun to personalize. Above is a notebook I made for DJ Husband (formally DJ HSBND to his fans,) to keep all his mix notes in.

What you'll need:

Notebook

(I used a $1 hard-backed one from Michael's)

Fabric 

(enough to cover the book, and then some)

Tacky glue

(If it comes with a built-in brush, that's a bonus!)

Craft brush, if needed

Scissors

1.
Cut out your fabric. Leave at least two inches of fabric around the book.

2.
Glue up the binding (leaving a half inch or so on both ends) and place it squarely in the middle of the fabric. Make sure it's smooth.

I glue this part down first to prevent the fabric from getting all shifty and creasy in the next few steps.

3.
Coat the outside of the book (front and back) and cover with fabric. Make sure it's smooth.

You may or may not want to do this step, but I like to, for the same anti-shifty/creasy fabric issue noted above. I've also found that Aleene's Tacky Glue doesn't dry scratchy and stiff, so, why not?

4.
Next, tautly glue down just the inside covers.

 After that, it should look like this:

5.
Now, square your corners. First cut up one side, using the book cover as a gauge.

 

Then cut perpendicularly, removing a square of fabric.

6.
Fold your corners into a triangle. Fold again and glue down on the cover for a nice finished corner.

7.
Cut slits at the binding to make a small strip — not too wide, now, only the width of the binding itself.
 

8.
Then glue down that strip and slide it —with the tip of your scissors — between the binding and the fabric.

9.
Glue down the rest of your fabric, squaring your corners and following the instructions above.

10.
Glue down the first few pages of the book to cover any mess.

Ta da! You're done!

The whole process takes about 30 minutes.

I added a stencil to this one for my honey and he's using it!
Another mission accomplished in my book as far as I'm concerned.

Happy upcoming weekend, and happy crafting!
__________
HH

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