Refillable Notepads Cases

I've been enjoying playing with paper and these have become some of the squirrels that I've been chasing in the last few months. Here are three notepad cases that I've completed so far. BTW, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!🦃

Refillable Notepad Case

This project is great to make as a gift. I often pick up cute notepads on sale because I've always writing up lists. Of course, I'm notorious for forgetting or loosing those lists, but that's besides the point! 😁

These are the three refillable notepad cases that I've made so far. I've cut up the pieces required to make two more. I've learned a lot about making these and each one is better than the last!

First refillable notepad case

Second refillable notepad case

Third refillable notepad case

I'll tell you a bit about the process but without too many details. This project is available on YouTube, see Related links. 

• The case is made to hold a notepad and it's refillable, as long as the notepads are roughly the same size.
• The case consists of a top, a back, a hinge that attaches the top to the back, as well as a sleeve in which to slide the notepad. 
• The top and back are made of book board or very heavy cardboard. These are covered with a paper or light cardboard on the outside (cover paper), and a lighter paper on the inside (end sheet).
• Book board is very sturdy and will not warp when covered with glue.
• A hinge, made of book cloth, paper fabric or Kraft-Teck, is attached between the top and bottom book boards. Everything is glued together with PVA glue. Quilting clips are very handy to keep these together while the glue dries. 

Top hinge piece is attached between
the two pieces of book board

Another smaller hinge liner, made of the same material, is then glued to cover the hinge. You can see this in the image below.

Here is the inside of my first finished notepad case. 

Inside of notepad case

Without the notepad in the case, you can see the sleeve that is used to slide the notepad into the case. The sleeve is glued between the book board and the end sheet.

The sleeve to insert the notepad

For this first case, I used the same cover paper for both the front and the back of the notepad case. 

Back of the case 

For my second case, the front and back covers are different.

Back of second case 

Front of second refillable notepad case

This is the notepad that I use in my studio. I picked up a couple of these notepads in Stratford ON this summer. 

To do, or not to do....notepad

Here is the last one that I've done so far. I'm very happy with it since I've learned so much and this one reflects that.

Best case yet, after applying all that I've learned

Open refillable notepad case

Making Paper Fabric

The hinge and sleeve are made with paper fabric. This is done by adding thin paper from a book or sheet music, etc. and/or tissue paper and napkins to a background fabric. You essentially add glue or Mod Podge between all of the layers. Here are two paper fabric pieces that I have made. You can also add a thin layer or dabs of paint once the paper is dry.

My two attempts have been rather a colourful mess of all of these papers. You can, of course, limit yourself to just a few papers. I love using napkins and tissue paper. The pages of a book or music sheets adds depth to the paper. I'm going to try making some that are less busy (wish me luck!)😊

First time making paper fabric

Latest batch of paper fabric - much thinner and easier to use for the hinge

This is the hourglass journal that I made with a paper fabric cover. This fabric paper is heavier because I used Kona solid fabric for the background and then added several layers of papers and glue. It's perfect for a limp book cover but too thick for the hinge of the refillable notepad case. I know this for a fact because that's what I used for my first notepad case. The second and third notepad cases were much easier to do with thinner paper fabric.

Paper fabric limp book binding

What I learned

• This is a fairly simple project to make but I found that it took me a couple of tries to get it to look really good.
• The hardest part, for me, is to glue the paper on without wrinkles. My third case was my best in that regard. As long as you get one of the end sheets glued without wrinkles, you can always make that one the back of the top cover. The other end sheet is covered by the notepad, so it's not as critical.
• An artist friend has suggested another method for gluing down paper to cardboard/book board by applying a mat medium to both paper and book board, letting it dry and then ironing them together. I will try this out and let you know how it works!
• The hinge can be fiddly but Ali Manning, of Vintage Page Designs explains it very well in her video. 
• For my first notepad case, I used some home-made paper fabric but it was very thick, and difficult to bend and glue. I made a second batch of thinner paper fabric which was much better to use.
• If you're interested in making your own refillable notepad cases, check out Ali Manning's YouTube video below.
• I was a member of the Handmade book club with Ali at Vintage Paper Designs for a year. Ali's videos and instructions are top notch - I can't recommend them enough. A few times a year they hold 5-day challenges which are not expensive and well worth it. Of course once you've done one, you may get hooked. Usually after the challenges, they open up their membership. 
• Since my retirement, I have to choose where to spend my money. Since I now have a great foundation in making hand-made books and journals, I'll be staying with the Stitch Club with TextileArtist.org.
• I'm sure that I'll be making more books since I've downloaded a lot of video instructions and I don't want to loose those skills. Stay tuned!

Related links

• Refillable Notepad Cases on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfz4p49iXsc&t=640s
• Vintage Paper Designs

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some of them out? Slow Sunday Stitching, Beauties Pageant, Off The Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Put your foot down, Sew & Tell Monday, Design Wall Monday,