Quick and Easy Handmade Notebook

I love notebooks. I always have at least one in my purse, my car, and and even my suitcase. In other words, I'm never without a notebook.  Ideas are constantly popping into my head and I have to be able to get my thoughts on paper before they disappear forever!  

Here's a fun notebook I made recently. 

It literally took five minutes.  Supplies: piece of chipboard, white copy paper, piece of patterned paper, Crop-a-dile, stick, rubber band, and letter stickers.  

Cut the papers to the same size (mine are 4x6).  Punch two holes at the top of all the papers.  

 

Line up the papers and thread the rubber band through one of the holes.  Insert the stick.

 

Insert the free end of the rubber band through the other hole, going from back to front. Catch the end of the rubber band with the stick. 

 

Here's what the back looks like.

 

I added letter stickers of my intials to the front.  (Yes, I know my last name starts with d and not J.)  Done!

Not only was this notebook quick and easy, but it costs me nothing.  The patterned paper was a scrap.  The white papers inside were the bottoms of things I printed that didn't cover the whole page.  I found the stick.  The rubber band came on our newspaper.  The chipboard came in the envelope from the USPS when I ordered stamps.  Trash to treasure!