Craft: Fabric covered notebooks

I found some notebooks at my local dollar store that cost less than $2 each – and when combined with scraps of fabric and ends of ribbon, they became a thrifty but beautiful personalised gift.

What you need:

• Hardback notebooks

• Fabric

• Scissors

• Spray glue

• Hot-glue gun

• Patterned paper and ribbon to coordinate with fabric

• Skewer or small knife

1. Iron your fabric before you begin, then lay it out on a flat surface with the notebook open on top. Cut around the notebook, allowing an extra 3-4cm of overhang all the way around.

1. Lay out some newspaper or baking paper to cover your surface (spray glue is messy!). Lightly spray the back and spine of the notebook with the glue and press firmly onto the fabric. Smooth out with your hands, then repeat with the front cover. Allow to dry.

1. Make small slightly angled cuts into the fabric at the spine of the book.

1. Hot-glue down one of the edges of the fabric and press firmly to the inside cover of the notebook. Repeat with the other edges, making the corners as neat as you can.

1. Use a skewer or small knife to push the overhanging fabric into the spine.

1. Take your patterned paper and line it up with the inside front page. Mark it by gently creasing it, then cut to width.

2. Attach the paper to the inside cover with hot glue, then crease it along the spine to make a nice sharp fold. Glue the paper to the first page of the notebook, then trim to size. Repeat with the other end of the book.

1. To finish, cut a piece of ribbon to act as a bookmark – it should be about 7-8cm longer than the notebook. Place a dab of hot glue on one end and use your skewer to push it into the spine at the top of the book.

By Alice Arndell

Take a look at this easy DIY to create your own wall art here.

Writer_contributor Alice Arndell