If you feel stuck, come up with a specific theme for your collage, such as music or film. That might make it easier to find related images.
If it’s a personal journal, you can try doing a self-portrait. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Even a stick figure will do. Draw whatever you think represents your unique personality. If you’re working on designs for school notebooks, find symbols that represent each subject, such as a globe for geography or a paintbrush for art.
Finish up with a paint varnish or seal (available online or at your local craft store) so your masterpiece will last.
If you have sticker paper and access to a printer, you can also make your own stickers using a design you created digitally or found on the internet. [4] X Research source
If you’re not great at free-handing shapes, use stencils (available in the scrapbook section of your local craft store) to keep things neat. Contrasting colors and patterns can really pop and make your cover unique. When you’re done, paint over your creation with Mod Podge gloss to seal everything in place.
For example, you could do “ribbons” in contrasting colors to cover the entire front of your notebook. If you have a composition notebook with a vinyl or fabric binding, you can cover that in washi tape as well. It’s an easy way to customize the binding that won’t get ruined as you repeatedly open and close your notebook. Unlike other types of tape, washi tape is easily removable and doesn’t leave any residue behind, so if you make a mistake, you can easily take it off and start over. [7] X Research source
Cut your horizontal ribbons a little long so you can fold them over and glue the ends to the inside of the cover.
If your notebook has a plastic cover, self-adhesive vinyl works great. For cardboard covers, you can also use iron-on or heat-transfer vinyl. If you don’t have a Cricut machine, you can still use self-adhesive vinyl to cover the entire front and back of your notebook. Then, you can draw or paint on the vinyl however you want to completely personalize the look.
“Season” your chalkboard paint by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over the entire cover, then wipe it off with a dry paper towel or piece of cloth. That’ll ensure you can erase designs completely. Use regular chalk or special chalkboard markers to draw on your chalkboard notebook. Erase them whenever you want to draw something new.
To change colors, lace your thread under a few extra stitches and knot it off. Cut off any extra thread to keep your design neat.
Hold the loop size as you glue the ends of the elastic together with a glue gun. Once the glue is dry, slide your pen or pencil inside the loop, then hot glue the loop to the back inside cover of your notebook. [13] X Research source You can also hot glue an elastic band to the front of your notebook with multiple openings that will hold different pens or markers. This comes in handy if you’re personalizing a bullet journal or art notebook and use several pens regularly.
