How to Create Customized Notepads

Cute notebooks!

Personalized or decorative notebooks are cute, practical and fun. They can be tempting to buy when you see them in the store, but they are usually expensive. You can make your own decorated and personalized notebooks for a fraction of the price and decorate them to your exact taste. They're also thoughtful gifts that you can give to someone with his name or a heartfelt message on each page.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Printer
• Microsoft Word
• Printer paper
• Hole punch
• Yarn or ribbon
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Decide what size pages your notebook will have. If you write or doodle a lot, use full sheets of your copy paper (8.5-by-11 inches). Place the paper in your printer's loading tray.

2. Open Microsoft Word on your computer. This is the program you will use to design your notebook page.

3. Type a name or message you'd like to have appear on each page. You can change the font by clicking the word "format" on the top of your screen, and then select "font."

4. Add clip art from your computer by clicking "Insert" at the top of your screen, and then hold your mouse over the word "picture." A menu will drop to the right side; select "clip art."

5. Choose from small pictures, borders and stationery backgrounds. The creativity is up to you and your tastes.

6. Print your finished design by clicking the "Print..." button. Choose the number of copies to print. This will be the number of pages in your notebook. Click "OK," and the pages will print.

7. Remove the paper from the printer, and hold it together in a stack. Using your hole punch, put four holes where you want your pages to be tied together. Make sure to keep them far enough from the edge so that your paper won't rip.

8. Cut four 3-inch sections of your yarn or ribbon. Feed the ribbon through the hole you punched and tie it into a double knot, leaving room in the loop for the pages to turn. Repeat this step for the remaining holes. You can tie the ends of the ribbon into decorative bows or cut off the excess with your scissors.

Tips & Warnings

• Allow the ink to dry before removing your paper from the printer. You can use pinking shears to add interest to the edges of your paper.

• Small children should be monitored during any project.

References

• USAToday.com: "How to make your own stationery in Word," by Robin Raskin