Personalized composition books

In my previous post, I mentioned decorating composition books as gifts. I thought I had already shared these, but I realized I made them last year before I started blogging. So let me share some of my composition book creations with you.

First of all, you can add a ribbon to tie it shut, like this one:

Or you can add a ribbon for a bookmark like this one:

Or you can "gussy it up" as much as you want, like this one (the horse is clip art):

This is one I made for my son to take along to week-long church events like revivals, when he tends to get antsy:
You can also use silk flowers with the stems cut off like this one:
Or you can make a sermon notekeeper like this one that I made for my mother, which incorporates a few charms and a ribbon bookmark:

Want to try it for yourself? Here's how:

1. Get some Mod Podge (I use school glue thinned with water), a sponge applicator brush, two 8.5x11" sheets of decorative paper and a composition book.

2. Cover the front cover with Mod Podge - I only covered to the black spine if I wanted to do the spine in a different color.

3. Line up the straight edge of the paper with the black spine and press firmly to "set" it.

4. Give it a minute or two to rest and then use scissors or an Xacto knife to cut around the outside curve of the book (do this from the back of the cover).

5. Repeat for the back cover.

6. Measure the dimensions you need for the spine cover (if you decide to cover it - black looks good with some things), cut and paste just like you did the covers. I started at the front and molded the paper around the book using the tabletop as my hard surface. I also placed some clips at the top, bottom and the middle to make sure it wouldn't come away from the edge while it was drying. (I had no problems, but I'd recommend it just in case.)

7. Embellish away!

If you give it a try, I'd love to see your creations!