Thursday, August 12, 2010

Back 2 School Cereal Box Notebooks

The Paper Pony bring you this fun Back 2 School idea!!!!
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Need some new notebooks for school or just want to stock up on some while they are dirt cheap? Make them cuter while also reusing stuff that would normally be trash! Just take some food boxes, a notebook, a ruler, a mini-hole punch, jewelry pliers and a paper cutter or scissors.

Cut your box down to size using a page out of it as a template.

Carefully remove the coiled wire from the notebook. You will probably have to un-bend and then re-bend the ends, but it is super-easy.
Then mark the holes on the back of your cut box and punch them out with a mini hole punch- not a little punch that makes regular-sized holes, but a regular-sized punch that makes mini holes.
Hold the notebook together being especially careful to line up the holes, and replace the wire coil. Remember to bend the wire back at the end to lock it in place.
To give it a finished look, use a corner punch on the bottom two corners.
Then make MORE!!! And use the cute images on the sides and backs of your boxes to make book marks.
To make your bookmark fancier, you can punch a hole and thread it with ribbon at the top (wow, that kind of made me sound like an old lady, eh?... FANCY!!!)
By the way, I totally recommend this book. It is a twist on the Rapunzel story and it is in a graphic novel type format. My daughter got it from her best friend in Utah, who sent it to her in the mail, which makes it super-extra special.
It works with a full-size notebook as well. Note: You may have to go into the side panel a little bit, but it doesn't matter in the end.
I made mine into a two-subject notebook by placing the old cover in the middle of the paper ream.
Again, punch the holes, line up the whole stack and replace the wire coil on the side.
Ta-da! Way cuter than the generic, plain cover it came with.
I can't exactly call this a recycling project as the paper is all new, but it is the re-purposing PART of something you would have thrown away. Anyway, it's all good. Plus, I think they turn out way-cute and they only take minutes- even the big one with all that punching. These would make a fun end-of-summer craft to do with your kids to get them back in the mood for school!

Visit The Paper Pony for more inspirational ideas today!

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10 comments:

  1. Cute, but really, don't we have better things to do with our time....like spending time with our kids. A plain old notebook works just fine.

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  2. i thought it was cute! a good idea & a fun project! besides maybe it will keep my girls from asking for the 3.00 notebooks. thanks for reminding me what a little creativity can do. ps try using pizza box lids & gameboard lids for more selections!

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  3. Hi Anonymous! You are quite right that spending time with our children is the most important thing. This little project, although frivolous and unnecessary, functionally speaking, turned out to be quite a fun shared experience. My daughter loved choosing the boxes to use as well as the hole punching and wire stuff. She often serves as photographer for some of our projects on the blog as well. Have a happy day and enjoy your kids.

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  4. This is a really cute (and cheap) idea! Thank you for sharing!

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  5. THIS IS GREAT FOR SHARING TIME WITH YOUR KIDS, IT'S JUST DIFERENTS POINTS OF VIEW.

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  6. oddly enough - I think my teenager will actually love this - he's bound to pick some weird boxes, but that's just his style - thanks for the idea!

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  7. Some ppl are so mean spirited! I think it's project like these that kids will look back on and say "remember when mom took all that time to make us those cool notebooks? mom's so special." I do this often with my mom. Besides most bloggin crafty mommies sacrifice sllep for there craft to enjoy the day with their wee ones. Talk about ultimate sacrifice!!!!
    BTW...I love it for ME!! Imagine it with nice make-up box or the such (seeing Benefits retro dolls on a notebook...*sigh!)

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  8. Love this idea!! My girls and I will have a GREAT time together making these!

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  9. those did turn out fantastic! and you should check out all shannon hales books! they are great!

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  10. Very cool idea for repurposing all that carboard. And thanks for the book recommendation - I need a gift for an upcoming birthday! :)

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Thanks for leaving a comment. I always like to know what you think of the projects I highlight!

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