I buy a desk calendar every year. Mine typically runs from July-June (rather than January-December) which means every summer I'm starting a new calendar and wondering what to do with the old one. The one I bought for 2019-2020 featured these adorable llamas:
Most of my calendars have been fairly plain, but this one was so cute I wanted to keep it. I thought I'd share how I repurposed it into three notebooks and maybe inspire you to do the same!
First Steps
I carefully pulled the covers and pages from the wire binding. It was a little tedious, but I wanted the plastic covers and wire binding completely intact. (If you aren't going to reuse the binding or already-punched holes in the covers, you could just cut the covers off with sharp scissors.)
At this point, I could've just replaced the calendar pages with blank pages and reattached the covers and binding. However, even though I really liked the llama print, this desk calendar always felt too large for me. I knew I'd get more use out of it if I cut it down into a more manageable size.
If you have a pattern like this one, you'll have to plan where to make your cuts. I wanted to make sure, for example, that on the smaller notebooks that I had a llama face and not just the middle of the body on the cover. If your calendar has a solid color or repeating pattern, you won't need to do as much planning. My calendar also had the date stamped across the front. I made the decision to work around it in my cuts, but you could cover it with a label or work around it in another creative way.
I decided I could make 3 notebooks of assorted sizes from the materials. If you wanted to stretch this material further, you could use the llama design only for the front cover and use something sturdy like chipboard for the back covers. I used sharp scissors to cut the covers down into the required sizes.
Interior Pages
For the pages inside, I realized that all those scraps of paper from my Etsy shop could be put to use. Many of these pages were from gift messages that customers wanted included in their packages. Etsy has designed these to print on a full 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheet. However, when I include a gift message I always cut it down to about 2 or 3 inches so that I can tuck it inside a tiny blank card. This looks better, but it means I have 3/4 of sheet of blank paper left every time. I've been using these leftovers as scrap paper to jot down take-out orders, perform basic calculations (27.50/11=?), and notes to myself ("Don't forget to return library books!").
I used a simple paper cutter to cut the pages a few at a time for the first two notebooks. Scissors would also work, as would a fancy paper cutting machine.
First Notebook
The first notebook is the smallest, measuring 3 x 3 1/4 inches. (It's not quite a perfect square.)
I taped the sides of the covers together with blue painter's tape that's easy to remove. I wanted to make sure that the edges all remained flush and that the covers were oriented the right way so I didn't accidentally punch holes in the wrong sides. (Been there, done that on other projects!)
For this binding, I used a big Crop-a-Dile hole punch to punch two holes in the cover. (You can find this tool in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store.) This tool worked, but it was a little tough to get through both layers of plastic. I used scissors to trim one hole that didn't punch cleanly. I used a regular hole punch to punch the holes for the papers inside.
I used two small binder or book rings which are rings that you can easily open and close. (You can usually find these in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store.) This makes this notebook especially attractive for notes that I might not want to keep forever (birthday gift ideas, grocery lists). I can refill this notebook at any time with new paper and remove the pages I don't want.
Second Notebook
This one measures 5 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches, a rectangular shape. It does have the original calendar's bar code information at the back. I debated whether to cut this off or not but decided I'd rather keep it and have the longer notebook. It doesn't bother me too much (it's on the back, after all), but you could cover it with a sticker or cut out the entire square to have a little peekaboo window.
For this one, I used four 15mm jump rings to attach the covers and papers. (Jump rings are found in the jewelry making section of your local craft store.) I used the holes in the original cover as a guide, but skipped every other hole. This notebook is more permanently bound as taking off the jump rings would require tools (pliers) and not everyone will have those. Since I'm mainly a jewelry maker, it would be easy for me to open those jump rings if I wanted to remove or add pages. (Of course, opening and closing the jump rings repeatedly may eventually cause those rings to break, so you'll want to take that into consideration.)
Third Notebook
This is the largest notebook, 8 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches.
By this time, I was a little tired of cutting paper for the middle pages. Plus, my scrap paper was too small for this notebook so I'd have to buy paper to fit. And frankly, that seemed to defeat the purpose of making an upcycled notebook like this in the first place. Then I realized that I could use this notebook to carry an old pad of paper that I already owned.
This 5 x 8 inch pad of paper was a bit ugly with the "Sam's Club" logo there at the top. (It's probably why I think I've had it for at least ten years. It just doesn't look fun to write on!) I first tried adding the yellow/green washi tape over that logo to cover it, but the washi tape was too transparent on its own. So I cut out part of a blank shipping label to cover the logo and then put the washi tape over top. I really like the way it looks! Plus, it felt satisfying to use that little bit of shipping label as my printer went a bit crazy earlier this year, spitting out labels for no apparent reason. I wasn't able to refeed all of the blank labels back into the printer, but I couldn't bear to throw them out. I knew they'd come in handy eventually!
For this notebook, I reused the original wire binding, cutting it down to the appropriate size. (Of course I've saved the small leftover piece of coiled wire so it can be reused for a later project.) I added a piece of turquoise elastic around the middle of the back cover to hold the pad of paper. To make it even more secure, I could punch slits in the back cover to insert the bottom corners of the pad. (I'd probably do this if I were going to carry the notebook with me, but since I'll just be using it at home, I didn't bother.)
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how these three notebooks turned out. I'm already looking at the calendar I'm finishing this month to see how it might be reborn!