Make Your Own Notepads!

Everywhere you look, most everyone has notepads everywhere, from the desk to the refrigerator, we have little notepads for jotting down our thoughts or things we need to do. Since it's such a hot item, that people everywhere are purchasing, why not make your own! It will save money and you can personalize your notepad however you want! The holiday's are coming and custom notepads make great gifts for just about anyone!

Below I've listed the simple steps to making your own notepads and I have also added a few extra tips and tricks for personalizing and beautifying them!

Step One ~ Gather necessary items

20 Sheets of Paper (8.5" x 11" white paper)

Elmer's Liquid Glue

Water

3 Bull Dog Clips

1 Dixie Cup

1 Small Paint Brush

Step Two ~ Cut the Paper

That's right! Cut the twenty sheets of paper in half. Now you have forty sheets for your notepad!

Step Three ~ Stack the Paper

Stack all forty sheets of the paper neatly. Make sure all of the edges are even, then secure one bulldog clip to each side, near the top, but make sure not to put it on the top.

Step Four ~ Glue

Squeeze some glue (about the size of a quarter) into the Dixie cup, then add a couple drops of water. Stir with the paint brush until it's mixed well. Now, hold your notebook in the center, so the top edge is flat and start painting the glue on. You want to put a thick layer on, once it dries it will bound your notepad paper together. Add the third bull dog clip to the center of the top and move the clips from each side to the top as well. Let it dry in a standing position for about two hours then remove the clips.

Your notepad is done! Now, let's move on to decoration!

Rubber stamping ~ Decorate each sheet with a flourish or flower if your notepad is a gift for a female and for a male, use stamps depicting wildlife or sports. Personalize the pad by monogramming the top center of every page!

Printing ~ After you've completed step two, design a graphic or word phrase on your computer and print directly onto each sheet of paper! Then move onto step three!

Ribbon ~ Make several notepads and tie them together with ribbon or fancy string to give as gifts!

Embossing ~ Again, after you have completed step two, get out your stencils and start embossing each page, monogram them or add an image.

There are so many things you can do to beautify your notepads! I've only listed a few, but I'm sure you've thought of more! Have a great time trying out the ideas!