Composition Notebooks
I *LOVE* Back to School time! Not because it means that all of my kids won’t be underfoot ALL day long (although that is an added benefit), but rather because I love getting back to routine, structure, and order. One of my favorite things about thi
s time of year is shopping – especially for school supplies!!!! I don’t know what it is about new pencils, rulers, notebooks, and crayons that makes me giddy, but wandering the aisles of Target and soaking in the school supplies simply brings a smile to my face 
A regular item on my list during my school supply shopping trips is composition notebooks … in August I can usually find them priced anywhere from $0.25 – $0.50 so I love to stock up on them. They make a quick and easy gift that people love.
With three of my children going back to school this year I knew I needed to come up with a gift for them to give to their teachers on the first day of school that would be functional, personal, and *simple* for me to create! My stash of composition notebooks was the answer!!
Supplies:
- Composition Notebook
- Xyron (with permanent adhesive cartridge)
- Self-adhesive “bling”
- Buttons
- Ribbon (different than shown in supply photo)
- Corner Rounder (not shown)
- Mini Glue Dots
(not shown)
- Krylon Spray Sealer (not shown)
- Lola Kit by Kelley Mickus Designs
I started by designing my cover, back, and spine in Photoshop. I created a new document 7 inches by 9 3/4 inches for both the cover and back. The spine I created 2 1/2 inches by 9 3/4 inches. I loved Kelley’s Lola kit for this project … the colors are so fun and sophisticated!! I printed my designs on Epson Premium Matte Photo Paper
After cutting all of my pieces out I ran them through my 9″ Xyron to put adhesive on the entire surface. If you don’t have a Xyron you can easily use another type of adhesive – Mod Podge, redline tape, etc. Just make sure that you use a strong adhesive that gives good coverage. Once they were “sticky” I attached the cover and back directly onto the composition notebook. I also wanted to cover the spine so I printed a piece for that, but before attaching it to the notebook I wanted to add one more thing – a bookmark!
I started by attaching a few small pieces of redline tape to the back of the notebook by the spine. This is where I attached the ribbon before covering it with the paper for the spine. After adding the ribbon I took the paper for the spine and covered the ribbon before taking it and wrapping it around the front part of the
notebook. This gives a special detail to the book and
covers the seams from the front and back covers that were added.
Time to add a few details! A little “bling” in the center of the flower as well as on top of my black buttons adds just a little sparkle without adding too much bulk – remember, I wanted this to functional, too 
There you have it … a fun and easy gift that is functional and sure to be loved by the receiver. Pair this with a matching pen, a favorite treat or drink, a gift card, or add it to a basket of school supplies for the teacher. Now run back to Target or where ever you are doing your school supply shopping and stock up on composition notebooks – they’re great to have on hand when you need a quick gift!
Other Articles by karistamps:
- Neighbor Gifts in a "Jiffy" - July 27th, 2009
- Photo Bracelet Winners!! - May 19th, 2009
- Photo Bracelet - May 13th, 2009
- Nugget Tin - April 10th, 2009
