What You Need To Know To Make an Attractive Notebook Cover

If you like personalized writing supplies then here is what you need to know to make an attractive notebook cover. I get tired of the primary colored spiral bound notebooks that look JUST like everyone else's. I go through too many to buy only the fancy style. Pretty paper and trim is how I solve any problem, so here is the answer I came up with.

~ Princess Notebook Cover ~

This notebook cover fits a standard size spiral notebook. It slips on and off easily with a little fancy threading thanks to that strip of trim. What is even more thrilling, is you can personalize it any way you desire. I used papers from The Robin's Nest store.
Stop by and see the variety they offer!
Supplies:
8 brads
4 eyelets
4ft of narrow trim
4 oval jump rings,
must fit through eyelets with trim attached
2 lobster claw clasps

5x9 piece of acetate, thick product packaging is ideal.
2 pieces of cardboard:8x11in
1 piece of Rosy Chevron Cardstock for binding:4x11in
2 pieces of Rosy Chevron Cardstock for inside of cover:8x11in
2 pieces of Girl Crown Glittered Cardstock for outside of cover:8x11in
1 piece of Spring Stripe Cardstock for matting:6x9
1 piece of Silver Castles Glitter Cardstock for background:6x9
1 chipboard frame:4in wide
1 Doillie Die-Cut:2.5in wide
1 crown punched from Gold Glitter Chipboard

Glue Chevron cardstock to cardboard.
Let dry while prepping front cover.
Front Cover Cut and Assembly
Step 1) Cut out center of Spring Stripe cardstock matting so that a 1.5in frame remains.
Step 2) Glue matting to Castle cardstock.
Step 3) Cut center of Crown cardstock
so that a 3.5in frame remains.
Step 4) Glue Crown cardstock to matting.
1/4in of Spring Stripe matting should show
between Crown cover and Castle background.

When gluing the layers of cardstock together and to the cardboard use ScraPerfect's Best Glue Ever. It requires very little glue, does not wrinkle the paper, and holds fast.

Corner Supports
Step 1) Cut two circles from the acetate, 4in diameter.
Step 2) Cut 2in centers from circles.
Step 3) Cut circles in half.

Acetate doesn't show up well in photos so I used Sharpie to mark the edges. To remove the unsightly smudges I used ScraPerfect's Best Cleaner Ever.

Step 4) From the outside of the cardboard cover pierce two holes that are 1.5 inches from the corner and .5in from the edge of cover.
Only pierce holes in the 2 corners
furthest from the notebook spiral.
 Step 5) Insert brads to enlarge holes.
Each cover will have four brads.

Step 6) Adhere Crown cardstock to outer cover, leaving a 3x11 in strip of cardstock unattached, for assembling corner supports. This 3in strip will be along the edge furthest from the notebook spiral.
Step 7) Use a paper piercer to mark brad holes from Chevron side of cover through Crown side of cover.
Step 8) Insert brads to enlarge holes.
Step 9) Lay acetate half-circle over pierced corner holes on the Chevron side. Fold edges around cover so they meet in the front between Crown cardstock and cardboard. Crease acetate.
Step 10) Mark holes with sharpie, remove acetate and pierce only the folded ends.
Step 11) Insert brads to enlarge holes.
Step 12) Reposition acetate on corners, line up holes.
Step 13) Add glue to 3x11in strip of cardboard and acetate, carefully circling pierced holes.
 Step 14) Smooth Crown cardstock over cardboard and acetate.
Use toothpicks to pin layers together as
you straighten paper and line up holes.
Step 15) Gently press brads through Crown cardstock and acetate, into cardboard. Fold points over on the chevron side.

Cover to Notebook Attachment
Step 1) Set eyelets on the corners nearest the notebook spiral, .5in from each edge. There will be two eyelets per cover.
Step 2) Stitch one edge of trim around a jump ring.
Attach lobster claw clasp.
Step 3) Thread the raw end of the trim as follows:
Through the top eyelet on the Crown side of the front cover
Over the top edge of the notebook front
Into the top hole of the notebook front
Run the trim down the front of the notebook
Back out the bottom hole of the notebook front
Over the bottom edge of the notebook front
Into the back of the second eyelet
Back to the Crown side of the front cover.
Step 4) Determine appropriate length of trim,
Figure an extra .5in for stitching the raw edge
and another .5in for ease of fastening.
Step 5) Cut trim and stitch a jump ring onto the raw end.
Step 6) Attach ends together using Lobster Claw Clasp.
In order to switch the Cover between notebooks the second jump ring must fit through the eyelet with the trim attached.
Choose your rings and eyelets accordingly.

 The notebook corners may catch on the brads as they are placed in the corner supports. Gently reposition them. They should be fine once the cover is attached to the notebook.The finished project won't show your fancy threading work. It will, however, hold the cover securely to any regular size spiral notebook.

Binding
Step 1)Center the 4x11 piece of Chevron cardstock
against the holes of the notebook.
Step 2)Mark top and bottom hole on long sides of cardstock.
Step 3)Cut .25x1in slit from the long edge
of cardstock towards center.
Step 4)Curve the cardstock over the spiral,
between the notebook and the cover.
Step 5)Wedge the long center tab
between the trim and the notebook.

Cover Embellishment
I used an oval chipboard frame, the reverse
side of a die cut doily, and a punched crown.

Step 1) Spread a VERY thin layer of the Best Glue Ever
onto the frame and let it dry until it is clear.
Step 2) Place a sheet of Holographic Transfer Foil
over the frame, color side up.
Step 3) Rub surface to ensure foil is well stuck
to glue...do not skimp on this step!!!
Step 4) Pull foil off quickly. Repeat for
any large areas that you missed.
Step 5) Paint a thin layer of glossy dimensional medium over the top to seal the foil and cover any remaining bits of sticky.

Step 6) Punch the crown from Gold chipboard,
and carefully center it on the doily.
Step 7) Glue doily and frame to Castle background cardstock.
The Best Glue Ever is so versatile it can
be used for all parts of this project

Supplies:
Paper, Doily, Chipboard:Robin's Nest
Trim:Vintage
Findings:Bead Landing
Eyelets, Brads:Spare Parts
Glue, Cleaner, Foil:ScraPerfect
Crown Punch:Kreaxions

Scrap On!

~charity~

How to Make A Fantastic Card with Luxurious Feathers

This blog post is all about how to make a fantastic card with luxurious feathers and how to make it shine! Painted feathers, layered over black then foil paper, is enhanced by using Kreaxions #906 all around the edge. A simple color scheme and minimal layers give this card a dramatic presence.

~ Let The Magic Begin ~

I have been absolutely loving the painted feather ideas on Pinterest.
At a recent crop I diecut and then painted paper feathers while I chatted away with the ladies. 

I have 6 shades of DecoArt Metallic paint and have been adding bling to my paper projects with delight! The feathers are detailed with Shimmering Silver. The leaves are painted with Zinc.

That glorious black and silver rose is hand made using Robin's Nest Paper's. Each petal is attached with just a smidge of the Best Glue Ever. The wood leaves, die cut feathers, 3-D rose, and layers of cardstock are all attached with Scraperfect's Best Glue Ever. The versatility of this adhesive makes crafting SO easy!!!

The black layer of paper is punched with Kreaxions Punch #906 at the corners using Insert C, and at the borders using Insert A. Find Kreaxions punches at Just Imagine Crafts.
Dimensions:

Silver Card Base:5x7 in
Black Top Layer:5x5.5 in
Black Sentiment Banner:4x3/4 in

Supplies:

Paper:Darice, Craft Smith, Robin's Nest
Feather Die:Lycheebuy (Amazon)

Metallic Acrylic Paint:DecoArt

Wood Leaves:Peachy Cheap
Ink and Stamp:Close To My Heart
Best Glue Ever:Scraperfect

Border, Corner, Label Punch:Kreaxions #906

Scrap On!

~charity~

How to Make a Bling Free Gentleman's Gift Tag

Here's how to make a bling free gentleman's gift tag for those of you with men adverse to glitter. You know the type I'm referring to. At the sight of too much shine their eyes widen, their breathing accelerates, and you can see their hand twitching, desperate to vacuum up the mess before it happens!
~ Gentleman's Gift Tags ~

Even with a ban on glitter, a gift tag doesn't have to be plain. For this trio of tags I used primary colors, punches, and layers of paper. This kept the tags simple without being too basic.

 For the Thanks I cut the Red Plain Linen Cardstock to 5"x 3.25"

The reverse side of the Green Elephant Glitter Cardstock is cut to 4.75"x 3".

The Scroll sticker is from the Regency Sticker Sheet.

I used a die to cut the word "thanks" from the center.

The Lion Tag begins with the same size plaid paper as a base with corners rounded.

The green is the reverse side of the Dinosaur Cardstock cut to 4.75"x 3".

The corners are punched with Kreaxions Punch #305

The oval Lion sticker is from the Regency Sticker Sheet.

 

  For the Royal Tag the plaid paper is the same size base.

The red is the reverse side of  Lips Glittered Cardstock cut to 4.75"x 3".

I cut around the Tag on the Regency Sticker Sheet 

and used the Kreaxions crown punch on the lower corner.

To assemble the tags I used ScraPerfect's Best Glue Ever. 

This glue is super strong so a little bit goes a long way!
After assembling the tag I trimmed the top corners so the layers lined up.

I cut down on the frills by using ric-rac to hang the tag. 

The boys need never know it is from my collection of vintage trims.
That will be our little secret!

Supplies:

Paper, Stickers:Robin's Nest
Glue:ScraPerfect
Punch #305 & #611:Kreaxions

RicRac:Vintage Trim

Scrap On!

~charity~

How to Make a Remarkable Journal with Foiled Paper

Do you need to know how to make a remarkable journal with foiled paper? Journaling encourages self expression and is exceedingly therapeutic. There is no better place to write down one's thoughts after a chaotic day then in a beautiful book.

 ~ Octopus Journal ~

Adding a personal touch to a blank notebook steps up the appeal without decreasing the efficiency. But how do you get the most lovely of papers to lay smoothly on a run-of-the-mill diary?
Well there's a simple solution for that!

That's right, the barest amount of ScraPerfect's Best Glue Ever sticks those papers down with not a wrinkle in sight. To demonstrate this ability of BGE I used two colors of wrapping paper and an embossed foiled paper.

 First I cut three pieces of the green paper for the front, back, and magnetic flap of this lined journal. I cut them large so there would be extra paper to fold over the edges. I also cut two strips of silver wrapping paper for the spines on this journal.

 After sparingly applying BGE to the diary I smoothed the paper over the glue. I left a 1/2 inch gap between the edge of the foiled paper and the spine. I cut the corners of the excess paper diagonally so the flaps would fold nicely to the inside. I applied BGE to the flaps and folded them inward.

 For the inside of the cover I cut silver and peacock patterned wrapping paper. Once again I very sparingly applied BGE to the diary and smoothed the paper over the glue in overlapping layers. I added the paper while the glue was very wet so that I had time for repositioning.

 I cut around the design on the peacock paper and used pinking shears on the edge of the silver paper. I covered each spine with a strip of silver paper then trimmed it close.

 The remaining gap I covered with washi tape. The hinge part of the binding tends to wrinkle and stress the paper so that it wears out easily. Washi tape better handles this constant bending.

 I used a dark green tape over the edge of the binding and a silver tape to cover the edges of the green tape and the foil paper.

 The journal was fully covered at this point and the magnetic strip still worked because I had used thin wrapping paper. However, I still wanted a focal point for the front.

 Because the journal was gifted with a stuffed Octopus I used that as my subject. I stamped and heat embossed an octopus onto vellum. I stamped it twice so that the design could continue onto the flap. I used BGE to attach the vellum then topped the edges with more silver washi tape.

Both the vellum and the thin wrapping paper went
onto the diary without a wrinkle. ScraPerfect
and the Best Glue Ever made this exceptional gift possible.

Supplies:
Wrapping Paper, Journal:Walmart
Embossed Foil Paper:TJMaxx
Octopus Stamp:Stampabilities
Ink:Color Box
Embossing Powder:WOW
Vellum:Close To My Heart
Washi Tape:Love My Tapes
Stuffed Octopus:Walmart

Scrap On!

~charity~

How to Remove Lipstick With the Best Cleaner Ever

The time has come to share my secret of how to remove lipstick with the Best Cleaner Ever. Liquid to matte lipstick is all the rage at my house.  This absolutely AMAZING shade of metallic purple lipstick goes on wet and dries to a velvet finish! But that "won't kiss off" formula doesn't like to wash off fabric either!

When it left its mark on my white napkins, I knew

 it was time to put ScraPerfect's earth-friendly solvent to work.

The purple lipstick had already sat on this white napkin for a full
 24 hours before I got around to attacking it with the
 Best Cleaner Ever.

I spritzed just the center stain, left it for 15 minutes, then rinsed it out.. There was so much improvement that I spritzed all three stains and left it for the rest of the day.

I rinsed out the solvent that night and threw the napkin in the wash the next morning. It came out of the dryer with out a smidgen of purple lipstick left to behold!

Stop by the ScraPerfect store for more solutions and products.

The white napkins are from Cost Plus World Market.
The liquid-to-matte lipstick is Posh by Lime Crime.

Scrap On!

~charity~