Monday, March 25, 2013

Memo Pad Project

A few days ago I held my (almost) annual "Girl's Crafting Weekend".  I clean the studio, turn the house into a B & B and invite family and friends for a long weekend of scrapping, card making and crafting.  Some times we'll have a massage therapist come in, sometimes we'll have a card challenge and sometimes we'll spend time collaborating on a project.  One thing we ALWAYS have (besides lots of food and no sleep!) is little gifts for each other.  I usually make something and this year it was these memo pads.  These are super easy to make, extremely inexpensive and lots of fun to personalize.  Here's how you can make your own:
1.  Buy a pack of Memo Pads.  I got mine at WalMart and you can also pick them up at the Dollar Store (3 for $1).  Since the back of the pads I used were white, I made that side the "front of the pad".  I then used Distress Inks or acrylic paint to make the area inside the coil match the base paper I applied to the cover.  Use a strong adhesive (tape runner, multi-medium, Glossy Accents) to attach the decorative paper to the covers.  Pay extra attention to all the edges.  Butt the paper up to the coils.
2.  Embellish!  On the sample at the top, I used yellow designer paper for the base and embellished with various stamps and Distress Markers.  The lower right circular stamp has a center that looks like a gem.  It's actually Glossy Accents as I didn't want anything that could easily fall off (since it will probably be carried in a purse).  I used the "things to remember" stamp on all the pad's fronts.
3.  Finish the back (or the former front) in the same manner.  I chose paper that would coordinate with the front and look okay with the color of the former cover.  Again I used stamps to decorate.
This one has doilies stamped and embossed with white embossing powder.

This one has the same paper on the back as on the banner.

I used Glossy Accents on the bee's wings to give them dimension.

Be sure and use a strong adhesive for any layers of paper added to the cover.  
I used Glossy Accents.
Entered into the following Challenges:

21 comments:

Grannymama said...

Great idea for birthdays and Christmas or as a thank you gift. All great work.

Carolyn

Monica said...

I like this maybe a nice idea for my book club at Christmas.

Zoe said...

These are fabulous, thank you for joining in Rhedd and Rosie's challenge, good luck Hun, Zoe DT xx

Tina said...

wow these are stunning! Thanks for joining us at the Rhedd & Rosies challenge . Hugs Tina x

Paper Squirrel said...

Pretty little notebooks that are perfect purse size. I love mine!

Sandra Wright. said...

Such great paper pads...I love them all to be honest with you.Such fabulous bird images...

Thank you for joining us over at Rhedd & Rosies

Hugs
Sandie xx

Anonymous said...

These pads are gorgeous, love the colours and stamps.

Thanks for joining us at Rhedd & Rosie Challenge Blog

Moira DT

Craftin Desert Divas said...

Those memo pads are just wonderful. I love your idea. Thanks for joining us at Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge.


Tara

Rachael said...

Thanks for playing along at Drunken Stampers.

Tina Campbell said...

Oh they are so cool! You did a fabulous job on them, My fave is the blue with the doilies (that is my love at the moment) and it looks sharp being embossed (got to remember that)TFS

shelly said...

awesome ! thanks for sharing with us at paper playtime hope to see you again :)

ScrappyHappyMommy said...

This is amazing. Love this project. Thanks for joining us this week at Paper Playtime.
Anita
DT PPT

Donna said...

Great projects, the note pads are awesome! Thanks for playing along with THE BIRDS challenge on Drunken Stampers this week!

Stacey's Creative Corner said...

Great memo books! They all look fabulous! Thanks so much for joining us at Paper Playtime!

Stacey

Chris Dring said...

What an awesome idea! Love these note pads! Thanks for playing along with The Birds challenge at Drunken Stampers!

Anonymous said...

Stunning creations! The stamping on each of the note pads is beautiful. Thanks for sharing with us at Sugar Creek Hollow Altered State Challenge this week.
Amelia (DT Sugar Creek Hollow)

Crea-Sandra said...

Gorgeous notepads, great idea!
Thanks for joining us at Drunken Stampers!
Hugs xx ♥ Sandra ♥

Jen M said...

Gorgeous note pads! Thanks for playing along with us at Drunken Stampers! Jen

SandeeNC said...

Gorgeous! Thanks for playing along with us over at Paper Playtime Use a Bee challenge, waving hi from the hills of North Carolina ♥

Tracey said...

Wow...Fantastic idea! They are all so lovely, I am sure your girlfriends adored them! sss

sparklingblackrose said...

Wow these are awesome, you have some lucky friends! Thank you so much for joining my All Crafts Challenge, hope to see you join in again soon! Elaine-xxx- www.sparklingblackrose-craftmylife.blogspot.com