Covered Composition Book And Clips Paper Crafting Tutorial
featuring Hometown Summer by Pink Paislee –
Covering marble composition books is one of my favorite crafty projects – I love the full-size books for journals, and I love the little bitty ones for a throw-in-my-purse notebook. (And after back-to-school time, you can stock up on them on clearance!) My second-favorite crafty project is to cover and embellish clothespins. They make great bookmarks, chip clips, paper clips and well . . .clothespins!
Today I'd like to share a covered composition book that I created as a journal for one of my best little girly girls. She is going to turn seven years old soon, and I thought this would be a fun book for her to write and draw in. (I love to make girly projects for my best friend's little girls, because with two boys in my house, there isn't much PINK!)
In addition to your usual tools, for this project you'll need:
-one marble composition book
-clothes pins
–Pink Paislee Hometown Summer patterned paper, Chipboard Pop stickers, Border Stickers, and De-cut Pieces
The trickiest part of this project is to cover the composition book. It's really not difficult, but it helps to know ahead of time that these covers are rarely EXACT. The most reliable way to make your patterned paper fit, is to lay it down on top of the journal, line up one straight edge with the edge of the binding, and then carefully open the journal. Then, trace along the outline on the back of your paper. (If you have some removable tape, you could tack down the paper first, but you'll be okay without it!! I promise!)
Once you've traced your lines, trim them and adhere paper to the cover of your book. I've used liquid adhesive as well as tape adhesive, and both have worked fine. Be sure to adhere ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGES, or your paper will come up as the book becomes well-loved and used.
Next comes the fun part. Embellish your heart out!!!!! I used border stickers along the side to cover the seam between binding and paper. And I layered some die-cuts, and chipboard stickers, tying some twine around one of them. I used a Sharpie and wrote my sweet little pal's name on it. If you're unsure where to start, just start playing around with different embellishments, and see what feels right.
Once you've adhered everything, you're done with part 1! Next, onto some adorable coordinating clothespins. I promise you, these are the easiest, and cutest things!! Package up a few of them for an adorable and totally handy little gift. (It's also a great way to use up some scraps!)
Choose a scrap of paper, and lay the clothespin face down. Trace around it.
Trim and adhere patterned paper to the clothespin. Again, I've used liquid and tape style adhesives, and both worked fine – just make sure you get it all the way to the edges, and spend a minute really smoothing it out and pressing it down. Next, sand the edges, using a sanding block, a nail file, or sandpaper. This helps the edges adhere better, and finishes it off a bit. It will also correct a not-quite-exact fit. (Repeat that process again, if you want to cover both sides of your clothespin.)
I chose a chipboard sticker to adhere to the top of my clip. To remove the stickiness from the section that isn't touching the clip, stick it on your hand repeatedly to wear off some of the "sticky". Then tie a cute little twine bow, and WHAA-LAAH. . .you have created an adorable clip.
This ensemble could be adjusted to any style, or for any person. It's a great gift for a child, a friend or co-worker, a teacher. . . .or for yourself. (Hey, you deserve it!)
Products Used:
