Easy DIY Gifts - Pretty Notepad Sets To Make In Minutes
I'm always trying to think of easy DIY gifts. I don't think I'm alone in saying that I LOVE stationery. To me, getting a beautiful notepad is one of the most thoughtful gifts I could receive. I even have a small collection of notepads that I love so much I just can't bear to use.
Recently, I bought a really pretty set of notepads all tied up with string. When I got them home, I realised that I could easily make something similar myself. They make such lovely gifts and they are so easy to make. So the next time I was at the fabulous office of Imagine DIY, I decided to give it a try. The results were so fabulous that even though it's not strictly wedding, I decided to do a blog post showing you how you can make something similar yourself.
I decided to make a set of 3 notepads. Once I'd cut everything up, I made all 3 in just a few minutes, including tying the string. It made me realise that these would be great gifts to upscale. You could make so many in just a small space of time. They could be made smaller or larger and you could be really resourceful in your choice of materials. For example, you could use thick wrapping paper, cool magazine covers or even wallpaper. You could even print your own covers if you wanted to get really creative. You could make your easy DIY gifts for pennies. So here's how we did it (If you don't like reading, there's an easy to follow video at the end):
I decided to make each of my notepads roughly C6 size. So to recreate this exact size, For Each Notepad You Will Need:
1/2 sheet of A4 Patterned Paper (1 sheet will make 2 notepads).
Tip - You could use any pretty paper for this idea, you just need to cut it down to size. So wrapping paper, wallpaper or even a cool magazine cover will work well
4 sheets of A4 paper
Tip - You can use any paper for this but the nicer the paper, the more luxurious your book will look. Matt or Recycled paper works better than pearlised.
Appx. 1 meter of string
Also: PaperTrimmer, Scissors and a Long Arm Stapler (you can purchase these from Amazon or somewhere similar) I think it looks really nice to make 3 together in coordinating papers. It adds to the sense of luxury. So before you start, choose your papers well.
STEP 1 Cut your patterned paper and your plain paper to the same size. For the size shown, you will need to cut it down to 14.5cm high x 21cm wide. 4 sheets of plain A4 paper will make a 16 page book (with 32 sides)
STEP 2 Take your plain paper, make sure it is all lined up at the edges and then fold in half. Press down firmly along the crease. You may need to do this a few times to get a good crease.
STEP 3 Take your patterned paper and fold it in half, making sure that all the edges are lined up.
STEP 4 Place your plain paper inside your patterned cover.
STEP 5 Open it up so that it's sitting almost flat. Make sure that all the edges are lined up.
STEP 6 Use a long arm stapler to staple along the seam of the crease. I recommend stapling appx. 2.5cm from the top and bottom ends of your book. However, if you are making a larger book, you might want to consider also adding one to the middle.
STEP 7 Once you have made all 3 books, take a length of string and use it to wrap your books like a present, tying a bow at the front.
So now your easy DIY gifts are all finished. Now all you need to do is find someone fabulous to give it to! And Here's the Video for all of you would prefer to see how it's done...........
Have Fun..........we'd love to know if you give this idea a go!
