This week, Hobby Lobby has a LOT of scrapbook items on sale, including paper and stickers!!! I LOVE stickers... can't have enough! Anyway here is a set up of my craft project that took me about 1.5 hours to do 4 notebooks from start to finish. The composition books are on sale at Staples for $0.50. This year I am teaching two classes (morning and afternoon) but I am teaching both Math and Science to 6th graders. I am a huge fan of notebooks and have been doing it for the past 2 years diligently in Science. This year I am going to give Math a shot, but I had an amazing teacher in high school who made me keep a Math notebook for Algebra 2, and you know what??? I still have it!!! In fact, I referenced it a few weeks ago when I was brushing up on parabalas for my 4-8 Generalist test. So glad I had that notebook. Anyway.... the point of this blog is this craft. A month or so ago, a friend of mine, posted some images of these notebooks on her Facebook and I knew I had to make them. The key ingredient to making them is not in the picture above... see below: No mod podge glue... just this tack spray, but it smells and can go everywhere!! I did this project in my house, but I had a fan going the whole time. I sprayed my notebook COVERS... not the paper, inside a box I was going to throw away-- that was the glue stayed in one place... the box. Then I placed my papers the way I wanted them and then cut around the edges using an exacto blade. I also did the back with the same papers, but maybe a different layout. Then the real fun began! STICKERS!!! I purchased all sorts of school stickers the other day at Hobby Lobby and they worked out wonderfully. I also added some ribbon to all four. The ribbon is not a bookmark or anything, just glued to the front cover for added interest. During the first few days of school, I will let the students decorate their notebooks using colored copy paper, magazine cut-outs, stencils, and glue sticks. I think if they take their time creating them, they will feel more connected to their work, and therefore, less likely to lose it. One thing I have not done yet is use a hand held hold punch and punch a hole in the top right corner and attach a large rubber band to it. This way when my notebook starts to expand ( and believe me ... it will) , the rubber band will hold it all together. I'll write a post later about how I organize my information inside, until then...Happy Crafting!!!