Notepads

Personalized notepads make great gifts, but can be expensive to have made by a professional printer,so why not make your own? We can supply you with the padding adhesive to make the notepads and even a clamp to hold the pages together while the glue dries. (We can also show you how to make your own pad clamp - it's not very difficult. All you need is a hand saw and a power drill and a few supplies you can pick up at any lumber yard or home improvement center. See our PROJECTS page for instructions or our PRODUCTS page to purchase one.)

MATERIALS NEEDED

Inkjet paper

Paper cutter or scissors

Notepad clamp or two heavy books (see Products>Notepad Clamp)

Notepad adhesive

Artist's paintbrush (to apply adhesive)

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Using your graphics software decide on the design for your notepad. You may want to start out with a simple design in one corner to begin with. For the notepad pictured,we simply divided the page into four equal sections and copied the picture of the kitten to the same spot on each section. (Remember to allow for those "unprintable" inkjet margins...print a test page first.)

2) Print out a few pages, remembering that each sheet will provide you with four pages for your notepad - 10 printed pages equals a 40 sheet notepad.

3) Cut each page with a paper cutter or a scissor being careful to make each section as even as possible.

4) Cut out a piece of cardboard backing or a heavy piece of cardstock the same size as your notepad. This will be the back of your pad.

5) With the pages and cardboard together,tap them on a table top to even out the tops of the pages and place them in the pad clamp or between two heavy books with a little of the top sticking out to apply the glue.

6) With a thin artist's paint brush, apply the padding adhesive to the top of the notepad. Let it dry for an hour before applying a second coat.

7) Once the second coat has dried, remove the pad from between the books or release it from the pad clamp and VOILA! Your very own personalized note pad! You can enhance them further by attaching adhesive magnetic sheets or strips to the back of the notepad so it can be attached to your refrigerator or a file cabinet or anything else metallic. We even supply adhesive magnetic material to be used for business cards that would be perfect for this project! (See PRODUCTS page.)

You can make the notepads smaller or larger depending on your needs. If you are using a pad clamp you are limited only by the size of the clamp. Ours will accommodate pads as wide as 8 inches.

Notepads Instructions

For a print friendly version, click on this link.