Make it Mondays - Altered Notebook Anyone?

Who doesn't love a pretty altered notebook or journal?

 

Today, I'm sharing four ideas to alter a store-bought notebook and turn it into a fabulous gift for someone special.    They can easily be sweetened up to suit any theme/occasion, like:

• monogram initial
• for new baby/expectant parents
• to hold addresses 
• to keep track of ALL those birthdays we need to remember ;) 

I love some high-tech gadgetry as much as the next girl, but there is something about old-school paper that always draws me in! 

I lucked up on these CUTE notebooks a couple of years ago at Party City for fairly cheap.  Most of them I customized on-the-spot at craft fairs with a monogram initial.

I started making the baby "Wish Books" after a customer ordered a strawberry-themed one.  The inside has space for guests to write a wish for baby, to record gifts received and guest addresses, making it super easy for the parents to send out thank-you's.  These also make a personalized keepsake for when baby grows older, making them great for baby showers.

 

Patterned notebooks come in handy in a pinch; because you don't have to embellish with paper first, like this phone/address book.  It's just accented with a Cricut die-cut and tons of ribbon to soften up those metal rings. 

 

This birthday calendar has tabbed pages for the months, and space for you to add the names and gift ideas.  And it looks sooo cute on a desktop :)

There are so many other uses for these, like recipe books, reading logs and more...hope you caught some inspiration today...nothing says love like handmade.