Back to School Notepad Folder

Hello!

I was recently inspired by a notepad folder a demonstrator friend of mine was carrying, and decided to go home and make one myself. These are so cute, easy, and make great gifts! Beautiful and useful all at once.

What you need:

-1 sheet Designer Series Paper, plus coordinating card stock for embellishing

-1 sheet 12 x 12 cardstock or a plain 2 pocket folder

-1 5 x 7 notepad, available from office supply stores

-"Sticky Strip" adhesive

-"SNAIL" adhesive for embellishments

-Stamps and Ink as desired for embellishing

Tools:

-Paper Cutter

-"Simply Scored" Scoring Tool

-"Paper Snips" Scissors

-Paper Punches for embellishing- I used the "Stampin' Up!" "Scallop Trim Border Punch" to embellish my notepad, as well as many others from "Stampin' Up!" for my accents.

Directions:

1a. Place your 12 x 12 piece of cardstock on the Simply Scored board and score at 6 inches. This is the centerline of your folder.

2a. Flip the cardstock and rotate it 90 degrees on the Simply Scored Board. Score at 3 3/4 " from the left side. This will become the pocket of the folder.

3a. Fold along the score lines so that the "bump" side of the score is to the inside of the fold. Fold the 3 3/4" score up first, then fold in half along the centerline.

1b. If you are using a store bought pocket folder, use your Paper Cutter to trim each side 6” from the center line, and trim the top to be 8 ¼” high. My friend's folder was made from a store bought folder, however the color on the “pre-fab”
folders has a tendency to wear off of the score lines leaving the edges a little shabby. Using solid color card stock keeps that from happening and will be an exact match for your Designer Series Paper.

Either way, we now have an open ended
folder with a folded up pocket flap at the bottom.

4. Seal up the sides. Cut the pocket flap ½” in from the edge of both sides and trim off the strip at the bottom. I prefer to use my paper cutter to
get the edge straight and then use scissors to clip off the scrap.

5. Now place your folder back on the "Simply Scored" board and score the cover of the folder ½ inch in from each side. Fold to the pocket side and crease with a Bone Folder. Notice on the left hand picture I trimmed the the top and bottom of the folded strip at a slight angle to keep them from peeking over the cover. It is also helpful to taper the pocket flap starting at 1/8 of an inch in from the edge angling down to the corner of the bottom fold.

6. Wrap the side strip over the pocket and secure using Sticky Strip adhesive. Securing while the folder is partially closed keeps the pocket from bunching up in the center.

7. Using scissors, nip the wrap around strip right along the pocket flap about ½ to ¾ of the way to the edge to give a little room for the notepad to scoot to the edge. Now, your pocket folder is complete!

Here's how to add a bit of flair to the notepad and cover it's humdrum label.

1. Cut a 3” x 5” piece of Designer Series Paper to coordinate with your cover embellishment.

2. Trim one long edge with the "Scallop Trim Border Punch".

3. Score the paper 7/8 of an inch from the solid side of the scallop, score again at 1 1/8 inches in from the solid side of the scallop.

4. Attach to the notepad so that the solid side of the punched edge lines up with the binding of the notepad. Secure with "Sticky Strip".

5. Fold the paper over the top of the notepad matching the score lines to the corners of the binding and attach the Designer Series Paper with "Sticky Strip" to the back of the notepad. Voila! Beautifully customized.

I've embellished my pocket folders with some of our new Designer Series Papers from the "Paisley Petals", "Well Worn", and "Pocket Full of Posies" collections. I've also used several punches and stamp sets from our current Idea Book and Catalog.

The “Well Worn” folder I simply cut one piece of 5 ¼ x 8 inch paper and folded over the top and tore and inked the edges with "Early Espresso" ink for a distressed look. "Sticky Strip" on the bottom and sides of the paper form a pocket on the front.

It is so easy to make these little folders you'll certainly get hooked on making them!