D.I.Y. Back to School Scratch Pads

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When I was a little girl, I used to draw all of the time. I remember always asking my mom for a sketch pad for my doodles. She was an office clerk and would sometimes bring home reams of paper. I would make little books, attempting to saddle stitch them together with staples, stitching them with yarn, three hole punching, etc.

I thought it would be cute to make a nice pad for your little creative person with a back to school theme. Just something for them to either doodle on on their ride to school or maybe a to-do list for their assignments. I know the child in me would still LOVE to get this.


You'll need:
  • Rubber Cement
  • Bulldog or Binder clips
  • One piece of chipboard
  • Paper (I used Neenah Teton trimmed at 5.5" x 8.5")
  • Back to school embellishments
  • Border punch (optional)

You don't HAVE to have a border punch, but if you do, go ahead and strike your stock in the same place and stack. By the way, I selected the size of 5.5" x 8.5" in order to gain some efficiencies with the stock (i.e. 10 pcs. of 8.5" x 11" card stock becomes 20 for your pad since you are trimming evenly/in half).

Make sure the stock is trimmed perfectly and nothing is uneven. Affix bulldog clips to either side to make sure everything remains uniform. Your stock is now ready for the rubber cement application.


Add rubber cement to your stock on the 5.5" dimension. I waited several minutes between coats. You want to make sure that you are liberal, but take your time and be neat. Also, ensure you are coating the edge of the chipboard as well. You can add a strip of paper to cover the rubber cement if you like for a more finished look when done, but as long as I haven't made a mess here, I usually leave it exposed.


Now its time to decorate your pad. So tough too because your instinct will tell you to decorate the cover, but if you want to MAXIMIZE all the sheets, you really should use a belly band and relegate the decor to that piece. This way, whoever you gift the pad to will be able to remove the band and still use the first sheet of paper.

I used glitter stock to create the belly band and added an embellishment. Also tied some raffia around three pencils and affixed to the band with a glue dot. You are all ready to gift these to your children, student or any budding artist you know! You can also forgo the belly band, add a magnet strip to the back and place this on your fridge for personal use.

Enjoy this project and I'll see you next time...
--ct


   
Christy Toney
Design Team Member - Winter/Spring 2014 Term

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