DIY notebooks from recycled materials

Tired of those little scraps of notepaper clogging up your countertop and table? Here’s how to bind them into attractive notepads in minutes. Make them for yourself and give them as gifts. If making them for yourself, why not recycle printer and other paper that has already been used on one side.

You can make a great cover from an old vinyl handbag (find one at the op-shop for next to nothing). But you can use any material you like – you could try using  postcards, greeting cards, vintage book covers, maps (especially good for a travel diary!), decorative packaging, or old family photos. If you’re worried the material is a little too flimsy, you could always use cardboard as a backing.

You’ll need

• A ‘cover’ material
• A craft knife
• A piece of stiff card (use the back of a cereal packet)
• A 2-hole paper punch
• A Popsicle stick
• A bright rubber band (approximately 8cm long)

What do do

1. Cut a piece of vinyl from the old handbag. This will be the cover of your notebook. The piece of vinyl can be any rectangular size as long as what is to be the bound edge is at least 13cm long.
2. Cut the paper into at least 50 pieces (these will be the pages of the notebook). The pieces should all be of the same dimensions as your cover. Cut the stiff card to the same dimensions as your cover and pages (this card will be the back cover of your notebook).
3. Centre the hole punch on what will be the bound edge of the front cover, and punch 2 holes.
4. Repeat this procedure with the back cover and the pages (you will need to punch the pages in batches of about 10).
5. Sandwich the cover, pages and back cover together so the holes line up.
6. Thread one end of the rubber band through the first set of holes in the back cover, then through the pages, and then through the front cover (it can help to use a crochet hook to pull the rubber band through the holes).
7. Push the Popsicle stick through the loop of the rubber band and pull to tighten.
8. Now, working from the back to the front of the notebook, stretch the loose end of the rubber band through the second set of holes. Push the other end of the Popsicle stick through the loop. Adjust so the Popsicle stick fits snugly against the vinyl cover. Your notebook is ready to use.