Midori Style Notebook DIY

I like notebooks. I really like them and often find cute little notebooks that I'd like to buy. But I don't because for the most part I like bigger books for journaling in. The journal that I use right now is a homemade coptic stitched books that is about 5x8. It's great when I feel like I have a lot to write and has extra tabs so that I can add in pictures or other memorabilia. The problem is that it's much to bulky to carry around for regular everyday use.

I've been seeing a lot of stuff on pinterest about bullet journaling and I decided that I might try making a small book to keep track of my work schedule and jot down notes about stuff when I'm away from home. What I finally decided to make was a Midori style notebook that was about the size of my phone. It's small enough I can stick it in a back pocket if I want but most of the time stay in my purse without taking up a lot of extra room.

There are actually a bunch of other posts and videos about making this type of notebook so I'm just going to give a really brief explanation of what I did.

First off, gather some simple tools. I used a piece of vinyl I've had hanging around for a while and some sparkle elastic that matched. You'll also need scissors, a ruler, and something to punch holes in the vinyl (I used an awl.).

 

Start out by deciding what size you want your finished book to be and cut a piece of vinyl that is double the width of the page plus a half inch by a half inch taller than your pages . For example, I wanted to be able to use 3.5 x 5.5 Moleskine notebooks so the vinyl I cut is 8 x 6.

Mark the center both in the width and height. Also make a mark a quarter inch from the top and bottom along the centerline. Punch a hole right in the center and then on either side of the top and bottom marks. I used this post from The Gadgeteer to see how to string the elastic. You can use the awl to help push the elastic through the holes.

Once you are done all you have to do is insert your notebooks. So far I just have a bit of plain paper that I cut to size and folded in half.

It's actually a very quick project that seems like it will hold up well over time. Now I just have to see how well it works out for me to actually use.