DIY Notebooks: Embellished Mini Travel Books

Vacation season is upon us once again. Of course, you can travel any time of the year, but there’s something about summer that radiates the idea of exploration and adventure. If you’re anything like me, you love to use road trips and train rides to brainstorm new ideas. This is where DIY notebooks comes in handy. Whether you’re planning goals, projects, or the next trip, a mini notebook with some fun embellishments can save the day. You’ll see that these little notebooks are fun to make and use!

Embellished DIY Notebooks Project Supplies:

Darice Felt Sheets (Cheetah, Charcoal, Black) *
Darice 3 x 4 Inch Paper Notebooks
Darice Suede Lace *
Darice Mini Glue Gun
Darice Scissors
Darice Jewelry Connectors (Silver Rectangles and Gold & Blue Evil Eye) *
Darice Jewelry Pendants (Hematite Vintage Design) *

* The colors and styles for these DIY notebooks were selected based on my personal taste and preference. As always, feel free to go for what suits you! Darice has an extensive collection of felt colors, suede lace, and jewelry embellishments. Pick a combination that best fits your personality.

Step 1. Lay the notebook about 2 1/2 inches away from the edge of the felt. Cut a side “flap” by trimming away the upper and lower corners. Use the top and bottom corners of the notebook as guides.

Step 2. Cut slits above and below the notebook. This step will create top and bottom flaps. Each slit should line up along the crease of the notebook’s binding.

Want to make the felt cover permanent? Hot glue the back of the notebook to the felt, referring to the placement below.

Step 3. Open up the notebook, exposing the inside of the back cover. Fold the three felt flaps inward. Hot glue the felt together.

Step 4. Repeat Steps 1-3 for the front cover. When you repeat Step 2, you’ll be left with long strips of felt along the top and bottom of the binding. Simply snip these away.

Here’s a shot of the notebook’s perimeter. The front half of the felt cover has been removed to show the way the felt has been cut along the notebook’s binding.

Step 5. Cut a strand of suede measuring 30 inches long.

Step 6. Hot glue the binding of the notebook to the middle of the suede strand. There should be about the same amount of suede lace on each side of the notebook.

Step 7. To close up the notebook, wrap around the suede lace and tie a bow. Hot glue an embellishment of your choice to the cover.

If you’d like to remove the loops from the charms or pendants, simply snip them away with the cutter portion of heavy duty pliers. This is totally optional, though!

To create a set of travel notebooks, simply repeat the process. These babies also make awesome notebooks to stash away in your purse or car. The suede lace wrap also allows you to save things like ticket stubs, receipts, and other memorabilia while you travel.

Check out this painted travel memory DIY journal for another great idea for embellishing your mini DIY notebooks!

Thanks to Darice’s massive selection of felt, suede lace, and embellishments, you have an endless variety of possible combinations. Pick the styles that speak to you the most; your notebook, your rules.