Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Cute, Simple and CHEAP!

Take advantage of the back to school sales! Crayons, markers, pens, pencils it's all on sale! And I forgot to mention "composition" notebooks! I love these little note books, they are so easy to cover with paper and make them one of a kind. For example this project cost me about a dollar to make. Now I already had the pink ribbon, and sewing machine....but the things I did buy were cheap! The note book was on sale for .50 cents, box of 10 pencils 2.44 and the paper was .35 cents. I made these before but came across one that had a pencil holder, and thought "I have to make one!" So here we go.....

These are the most basic supplies, you could make a toned down version using just these. I later added a button (because I messed up) and a paper clip..


These are the measurements I used, don't feel like you need to stick to them. Part of the fun is making it your own!

First thing you wanna do is cut a 12x12 sheet of printed paper in half. So it will give you 2 12x6's, you'll need both one for the front and back.

The paper you'll be using on the left side cut at 12x4...this leaves you with enough to rap around the front and back (I've found that the note books very in size, so when it comes time you'll need to trace and cut it down even more).

Your little accent piece should be cut down to 3 3/4 x 5 1/2....

Now the fun part, sew your paper together. Thats right sew on your paper! I used the zigzag stitch.I only sewed the front part, I did not sew the back.

Once you have that part done, go ahead and lay your note book down and trace where you need to cut it down. It's hard to see in the picture what I'm showing, so I'll explain... After I traced and saw where I'd be cutting, I was afraid my ribbon was going to come undone. I just put a piece of tape down, at the top and bottom....And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays forever....

Now glue your accent paper down where you want it. And get ready to start stitching your ribbon. My original plan was to have enough ribbon to go all the way around and tie in a bow.....but I messed up..oops....I thought I had left enough at the front but I didn't.... I'll show later what I did to fix it. And Make sure your loop is big enough to fit your pen or pencil. I did three....


Cover the whole front with glue and I mean all of it! just to be sure. (please make sure you note book is right side up....) I'd suggest a glue stick, not a really wet glue, that way your paper doesn't bubble up. And then take your other piece of 12x6 and cut it down to size and glue down as well. I don't know where I got that blue thing but it sure is handy! Then cut off any excess paper, or sand it off. (best method ever!)

Pull your ribbon around the back and tack it down in some places using a double stick tape. Since mine wasn't long enough, I just cut it short and tucked it under my purple square. I attached a button using twine, and then rapped the ribbon from the back around the button to close it.

I added a paper clip at the top, just because I had it and it matched...so TADA! all done....

Hope you enjoy!

2 comments:

Jen Western said...

That's so cute! Thanks for showing how you did it. I would have never thought of putting the ribbon on to hold the pens, I want to go make one now for myself...and one for my teacher sister too :) PS. thanks for putting my button on your blog, I was so happy when I saw it!

Desiree said...

That is so fantastic, I love the ribbon pencil holder. Next craft night you have to teach me how to sew on paper, seriously I've tried but never quite figured it out. Me and sewing machines do not get along :).