Embellished Notebooks

I really need to figure out my camera settings and learn how to take better pictures! Thankfully our next speaker at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) will be covering this topic. Yeah! Hopefully you can get a general idea despite my terrible picture. I was going to take more pics but then my camera battery died. I'll add that to my growing list of things to do today. Here is the first craft we did in our MOPS group this year. It's a bit of a challenge trying to come up with inexpensive crafts that you can do in a short amount of time with 50 or so women. :)

Anyways, you could use this idea to alter any spiral notebook but I really like the steno books with the spiral at the top. (Think of all the not-so-cute notebooks you can find for less than a dollar...oh, the possibilities!) You simply cover the notebook with scrapbook papers- including the spiral. I just made small cuts in the paper next to each spiral in order to completely cover the front and pressed the paper down between each spiral and glued. Because we're limited on time at our meetings, we just used a glue stick but when I make these at home, I use Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the notebooks and to seal it. Then you embellish with stamps, rhinestones, buttons, brads, stickers, etc. and then cut assorted ribbons that match your papers and knot onto each spiral. It's a quick and easy project and it seemed to go over well with the ladies in my MOPS group.

I had taken this picture before I decided to start a craft blog. In the future, I'll take more pics so you can see the progress and steps to completion. :) Now I'm off to see the dentist and get a new camera battery. Have a great weekend!