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We're on the road this week, so this next craft we're bringing you is easy and requires very few supplies.
The best part is that it's also very useful. After you put together these darling little notebooks, kids can use them to draw, write stories or even keep their summer reading logs going. That's what I call a winning project
Here's what you'll need to make our own:
Mini composition notebook
Scissors or an Xacto knife
OPTIONAL: Contact paper or clear packing tape
I buy my little notebooks at the dollar store (3 for $1) and you really can't beat that!
STEP ONE: First you want to pick your colors. I like to do a mix of solids and patterns, as you can see in the photo above.
STEP TWO: Decide which direction you want your stripes to go. Horizontal is definitely the easiest and is what I'd recommend for your smallest crafters. All you do is lay your notebook out flat and tape from side to side. I like to tape past both edges and then cut off the excess so the tape is the exact shape of the cover.
Next up is the vertical stripe. The only part that is challenging here is dealing with the spine. The tape needs to be tight enough not to fall off, but loose enough to allow the book to open and close. I taped over the spine first, then covered it with a layer of clear packing tape. Then I proceeded to tape top to bottom, working from the spine toward the edge and cutting off all of the excess on each side.
Last but not least is the diagonal stripe. The method is very similar to the vertical stripe. Basically you start with a solid stripe over the spine covered with a piece of clear tape. Then you work your pattern from one corner to the other and cut off any excess when you're done.
STEP THREE: This last step is optional, but I highly recommend if kids will be using these or if you'll be putting this in and out of a bag where the tape may be jostled around a bit. Since these notebooks are so small, I just used clear packing tape to add a clear, durable cover to my notebook. Contact paper would also be easy and durable.
That's it. You're done! There are a million and one uses for these little guys. My 5-year-old spent TWO HOURS writing his own book the day I made these. It was heavenly! My 8-year-old will probably use hers as a daily journal. I'm going to have my 12-year-old use his to write a one-page summary of each book he reads this summer. And my teenager will undoubtedly use hers as a daily to-do list.
If you do this craft, I'd love to see how yours turn out and see what your kids end up doing with them. Happy crafting!
Be sure to check out the other projects in our summer crafting series: