teach it to me tuesday-mini composition book cove

OK, so, I'm well aware that the name Tutorial Tuesday is not an uncommon play on words used in the blogosphere, but I thought it would be fun to have HB's own Tutorial Tuesday, but instead call it "Teach it to me Tuesday". Pretty clever, huh? OK! Who am I kidding? I'm pretty sure this fun name has already been used as well, but a girl can dream that she came up with it all on her own, can't she?

I like to accomplish a few, fun projects every now and then (when I squeeze in the time) and thought that I might as well show my faithful readers just HOW I did them. I won't be doing this every Tuesday, because seriously, I have 2 young kids, 1 very patient husband, and too many projects to count right now, but I'll try to do it at least once a month. Plus, I just don't think I'm really all that crafty outside of making cards and scrapbooking...only every now and then do I get the "bug" to try something out of the box. So, for this week - enjoy your FIRST EVER (and hopefully not last) Teach it to me Tuesday by HB. (But please don't expect too much, I'm just going to give it a try and see how it goes.)

For those of you who may not know, I am on the leadership team for our local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group for this coming year. I will be responsible for planning and facilitating monthly creative activities (among wearing other hats, but let's save that for another time). For our first meeting in September, we will be covering and decorating mini composition books for moms to be able to stick in their purses or have handy by the phone or for whatever their heart desires. Since I was making a sample to share with this group of ladies, I thought I would go ahead and share it with you, too.

Supplies Needed:
Mini composition book
12x12 patterned paper
Modge Podge or any liquid adhesive
Foam paintbrush
Paper cutter & scissors
Double sided sticky tape (thin)
Ribbon
Embellishments

Step 1: Cut your patterned paper into 2 - 6x12 halves.
(You will only need one of the halves of paper.)

Step 2: Center the notebook onto the paper and overlap one side to fit on the inside of the notebook. You will also do this on the back, but please note that it will not cover completely on the inside, but that's OK, it's the back!

Step 3: Fold up the sides to mark where the notebook will be.
Repeat this on the bottom part, as well.

Step 4: Make a slit where the middle of the notebook is (top and bottom).

Step 5: Remove the notebook as your marker and using the folds from Step 3, make a slit on each top and bottom fold
(4 more slits, plus the 2 you already made in Step 4.)

Step 6: Place the notebook back onto the paper and glue down 2 folds as you see in the picture. You will also do this on the back part of the notebook.
**Note: Do not glue down the inside flap quite yet.

Step 7: Cut your ribbon as shown in the picture, leaving extra on each side.

Step 8: After deciding where the ribbon will be placed, cut a piece of double sided thin sticky tape and place on the notebook, overlapping to the underside.

Step 9 (not pictured): Place the ribbon on the tape and overlap underneath.


Step 10: Now, take the inside flap and glue down to the inside. This will cover the extra ribbon pieces that overlapped. Also do this on the back of the notebook.

Step 11: Add your embellishments to your heart's desire. I chose to keep it simple because I like it simple and cute without too much going on. (I was also playing around with the idea of adding my initial in the bottom right hand corner using chipboard letters.)

Hope you enjoyed this quick little project. By the way, these would make great little gifts and the decorating possibilities are endless!! There is so much patterned paper out there to choose from and you could get extra crafty with stamps, stickers, and more embellishments. Have fun and if you end up doing this project. I would love to see a picture, so leave a comment if you'd like.