I’m attending 2 conferences this week and I needed some last minute notebooks for my note taking so my stellar intern, Trisha Zemp , came up with this genius notebook idea from a brown paper bag that will take you 5 minutes. You probably already have everything you need to do it.

Materials:

Step 1: Take 5 pieces of white office paper.

Step 2: Rip it in half with a ruler.

Step 3: Fold those in half.

Step 4: Cut out a piece of brown paper bag to fit the exact shape of the folded paper.

Step 5: Fit the office paper in the brown bag.

Step 6: Measure 5 holes evenly across the middle crease of the paper.

Step 7: Poke it with an awl or safety pin.

Step 8: Thread a needle and start binding by entering from the inside to outside of the middle hole. Leave about 2″ extra in the inside cover. There’s a larger picture below to show you more details of the pattern of the threading.

Step 9: I hope these drawings make sense below. The dotted lines mean the thread goes on the outside of the book and the solid lines show from the inside. The numbers indicate the sequence.

Step 10: When you get back to one, cut it off leaving about 2″ and then tie the first thread to the end thread.

To add some flourish, add some drawings or watercolor. I decided to add small lines of colors with watercolors.

concept and photography by Trisha Zemp

styling and crafting by Brittany Jepsen