Covered Notebooks

School is about to start, and that means welcoming my fellow school friends, as well as my children's teachers, back to the completely BUSY days of school.  It always amazes me what goes into setting up a classroom/school office before the students arrive! 
Lists have always been helpful to me, to help keep me on track and focused on tasks to complete.  While I have tried keeping my to-do list on my phone, on the computer, in an organizer, and several other more sophisticated systems of organization, what I find works best for me is good ole' paper and pen.  Then I can doodle, cross out, asterisk...whatever I want to do to keep my attention.
The following tutorial shows a simple way to make that plain paper a little bit happier.  I like to keep a stack of these on hand to share with others, usually packaged up with a bit of chocolate and a handmade bookmark (that tutorial is coming soon).

 
 Materials needed:
PVA glue
5" x 8" notebooks
scrap paper
rotary cutter, mat, and ruler

*A note about the glue...I love this glue.  It sets fast, so you have to work quickly, but it works so well.  I use it to make my fabric flowers, as well.

1.  Cut your paper scraps to 5" x 2".

2.  Spread a thin layer of glue on the top front of the notepad.  Set this aside while you complete this step with all the notepads.

3.  Flip these over and spread glue on the backside.  Fold over the paper, press, and hold for a few seconds while the glue sets.

4.  That's it!  The glue dries quickly, so these are ready to go in a matter of minutes.

These are very easy to make, and the recipients will think happy thoughts while they make their to-do lists...at least for a moment!