how to make a notebook from paper?

 I've been tinkering with little notebooks here and there for years. And, to be honest, it gives me seemingly endless opportunities to take notes or jot down ideas. But for some reason, I never seem to find the right notebook when I need it, no matter how many notes I take (or buy). In this post, I will be showing you how to make a notebook from paper?

So I made another set of notebooks for home. I'm following the scrapbooking tutorial I wrote in 2016, and adding another way to create scrapbooks, which is IMO just as fast and beautiful.

How to make a notebook from old paper ?

I wanted to make them something very special. If I really like them, I won't lose them this time either!  So I wallpapered them, but not with just any wallpaper. Wallpaper is a dream come true!

Want to put together your own set? You can learn how to make your own wallpapers in 5 minutes here.

The wallpaper is also by Kelly Wrestler, and I also bought some samples for a project I want to do in my studio. But even though I try to limit myself to what I like best and can afford, I still have leftovers waiting to be restored.

However, there are some differences and peculiarities in using wallpaper, which is why I created a new tutorial.

• 1) Cut and fold the paper.

Start by cutting out pieces of paper and folding them in half to get the desired shape—use the folding tool to get the fold exactly as shown in the image. You can use any colored paper, e.g., old paper …., tracing paper, drawing paper, etc.

Note about size: I am happy to make albums in standard or special sizes. The pattern in the tutorial photos is small and square. I cut 10 pieces of paper, each 7 inches  (ca. 18 cm) long and 3.5 inches (ca. 9 cm) wide. By folding them in half, you get a square notebook with 20 pages, measuring 3.5 × 3.5 inches (ca. 9 cm).

The green and black striped notebook in some photos below is 4.5 × 5.5 inches—so the original paper was 9 inches (ca. 23 cm) long and 5.5 inches (ca. 14 cm) high.

• 2. unfold the paper, draw it and cut it out.

• 3. unfold the paper and trace the edges of the wallpaper. Then cut out the resulting shape with scissors.

Fold and glue the pieces together.

Wrap the wallpaper around the outside of the folded paper strips and glue them to the top paper strips so that they are properly aligned.

*This step is not 100% necessary, it's just an extra safeguard. If you think the wallpaper doesn't need to be reinforced further, you can skip this step and save time.

Re-fold the wallpaper and use crease glue if needed.

• 4. step to remove the stapler. 

Then use a remote stapler (available on Amazon) and staple 2-3 staples directly into the folds of the paper and tape.

*If you're not making a small album, a regular stapler is not suitable because it's too short to reach the center fold of the album and keep it straight.

The step-by-step photos show you how to make homemade scrapbooks in 5 minutes.

That's all there is to it! Making one of these DIY albums takes less than 5 minutes. But I have an even faster idea that you can try if 5 minutes is too long for you......

How to recreate an existing notebook.

If you want to save yourself a few steps, you can also rename an existing notebook with a background image and give it a new look.

To do this, simply cut out wallpaper or wrapping paper (as in step 2 of the first tutorial) and glue it onto the existing cover, starting at the top and wrapping the paper around the bottom.

And if you use the self-adhesive wallpaper I left over from some previous projects (the yellow bathroom and our family room), it's even easier.

For wallpapers that already have a sticky surface, all you need is a notepad, wallpaper, and scissors. And off you go!

Instructions

Simply cut a piece of wallpaper 2-3 cm larger and remove the adhesive sheet.

I've done some business cards here, and the result is a seemingly endless number of places for the tape, which leaves plenty of room for cutting.