August Crafternoon: Decorate Your Own Agenda or Notebook

Crafternoons are a partnership between the Durham Tech Student Government Association and the Library.

It’s back-to-school time, and usually we’d host a few Crafternoons so you can get organized and decorate your own planner/agenda or notebook. Since we’re 80% online this semester, we won’t be hosting face-to-face events, but we do have some opportunities for you to still get organized for the new semester with a fresh Durham Tech planner, begin your pandemic diary, or take notes for your new classes in a you-decorated Durham Tech notebook.

notebook decorated with a piece of scrapbook paper with photos of grapefruits and washi tape stripes in the lower corner: polka dot natural color with gold and white polka dot on orange. The binding is duct tape. — Scrapbook paper with washi tape and a duct tape spine

Able to make a quick trip to campus and pick up a blank agenda or notebook to decorate at home? We have a few to-go packets available for students in the Main Campus Library that include the blank agenda or notebook, a few pieces of scrapbook paper, and some stickers.
First come, first served. Check library hours for availability. Limit one packet per student.

Staying home and have a printer? Keep reading for files and instructions on how to print your own agenda and notebook.

Supplies (but you can be flexible with what you have):

8.5 x 14 paper (legal-sized)
Templates:
- For the notebook: notebook pages (print as many double-sided copies as you want)
- For the agenda: first pages (print one double-sided copy); inside agenda pages (print as many double-sided copies as you want; 52 is enough for a whole calendar year)
A printer that can print double-sided (you’ll be printing on short-edge)
A piece of thicker paper, such as poster board
Scissors
A stapler
Glue (sticks are best because the bottle can be a little sloppy)
Decorative things: Magazine pages, scrapbook paper, stickers, glitter glue, washi tape, duct tape, etc.

Instructions:

A note on printing–

Print menu showing double-sided, short edge printing option (in Advanced printing options)

For this project, you will need to print all the pages double-sided flip on short-edge. This will ensure that the pages are the same direction when you flip them after making a book.

You may need to expand your printing menu to find this option.

For the notebook–

notebook pages printed and fanned out on table

Print as many double-sided, flip on short edge copies of the notebook pages as you want.

For the agenda/planner–

Agenda pages, including first page with notebook lines on one side and agenda template on the other

Print one double-sided copy of the first page. It has one side with lines and one side with an agenda week.

Print as many copies of the inside agenda pages as you want. For a whole year, I usually print 52, which comes out to 27 pieces of paper total (1 copy of the first page and 26 of the interior pages, all double-sided). I also have to use a heavy-duty stapler to get through all these pages since I fold them in half and the stapler has to make it through 54 pieces of paper (since you fold it in half) and then a cover, so be aware of that.

After you have your pages printed—

piece of posterboard cut to 15 inches by 9 inches

Cut a cover out of your heavier paper– 9 inches by 15 inches allows for folding and can be trimmed later if needed. (Better to have too large of a cover than one that’s too small.)

A large stapler stapling the middle of the folded interior pages

Fold your interior pages in half and staple 2-3 times– once at the top, one at the bottom and one in the middle. Staple near the line provided on the template.

A stapler and the cover fastened to the booklet with two staples

Put the cover over the stapled interior pages and staple at least 2 times– I like to staple between where the staples holding the interior pages together are.

Fold the cover back to create the spine– it’s easier to open the book again once you decorate if you know where that bend will be.

Decorate! You can create a collage, draw or paint on the cover, use stickers, washi tape, or duct tape, layer scrapbook paper, create an interior pocket, make yourself a braided bookmark, or whatever you want. You can cover your cover (lol) in clear packing tape once you’re all done to keep everything in place.

Want a little inspiration? Check out our gallery!