Hello Teens! This is Nikki taking over today’s blog post to show you how to do another DIY craft at home and this one is super easy to do! Since we know you are pretty much all back to school, I thought it would be fun to do a school related craft! I will be teaching you how to personalize your school notebooks to show off your favorite fandom. Let’s take a look at the supplies you need first before we go into the steps.
List of supplies:
School notebook
Acrylic paints of your choice and paintbrushes
Pencil or pen to draw out design OR
Print out photo(s) of favorite fandom characters
Mod Podge (to paste photos, and it dries clear)
Paper plates to hold your paints and Mod Podge
Newspaper or tablecloth to not make a mess
Example of supplies you may need.
Step 1: Deciding on a theme or character
Decide on a fandom character or characters you want to paint or print out pictures of. Since I cannot draw, I just printed out a picture of Senku from Dr. Stone since my notebook will be my science notebook. The paper is just regular printer paper. I chose to print out a character that tied in to my subject, but you can print out any you want! For my paints, I decided I wanted an ombre green background to go with Senku’s green hair. If you are going to only use paints instead of printouts, then you should use a pencil or pen to draw your character on the front of your notebook first. This will help you when it comes to painting so you don’t have to free hand it. If you are not sure what to do, feel free to do Internet search of DIY fandom notebooks or DIY Anime notebooks for inspiration. There are a lot photos and videos to get ideas!
Step 2: It’s Painting time!
It is time to paint your notebook. Make sure you put down some newspaper, a tablecloth or scratch paper so you do not dirty your table. If you are using a photo, paint your entire notebook whatever color or colors you want first, before gluing on your print-outs. You may have to use more than one coat to cover your notebook fully. For my notebook, I had to do about three coats. Make sure to let it dry in between coats. I like using a big paintbrush or a sponge brush to help cover the entire notebook and I try to use downward paint strokes to make the paint look smooth, like in the example pictures below.
After just one coat of paint.
After several coats of paint.
Step 3: Gluing your photo and adding extra embellishments
Once your entire notebook is dry, it is time to adhere the pictures you printed out! Put a
little bit of mod podge glue on your plate and use a paintbrush or sponge LIGHTLY on the back your photo. You do not want to drench your photo in mod podge because it will get too wet and it can start to fall apart. Place it on the front of your notebook and smooth it out as best as you can. I like to
work from inside to out. Also, if you have it available, printing out your pictures on sticker paper will make it so you won't have to use Mod Podge at all.
Mod Podge your paper carefully, don't over-wet it.
If any corners start to pucker upwards, you can use your finger and dab a little podge on the back. If you want to, you can Mod Podge the front of the photo to have extra security, just be sure to do it lightly. Mod podge dries fairly quickly, so you do need to work fast. If you want to add extra decorations like alphabet stickers like I did to spell out what subject your notebook is (see my example below. My alphabet stickers were too big so I could not spell out Science fully, oops lol). Make sure you measure how big your alphabet stickers should be to be able to fit properly! or paint what subject it is. You can even use washi tape and other stickers to personalize it. If you are finding your washi tape is not sticking to the cover, you can use a little bit of mod podge too to adhere the washi tape to your notebook.
Oops! Forgot to measure my letters!
Once your notebook is done you can show it off to your friends. Send us a picture to show you joined in on this craft at teen@yumalibrary.org! We would love to
see your creations!
Fun fact: Did you know creating art can actually help our mental health by letting you de-stress? Research has shown that doing something creative helps distract and ease our minds, which helps relax our bodies. It is why people love to do art or just sit and color in coloring books. So make sure to take some self-care time and do something creative if you are feeling stressed. Check out my other craft posts: The
Paperchild Chibi Challenge and
Kawaii Journaling if you want more fun activities to do at
home.
I Hope you enjoyed this post and look forward to the next DIY craft idea!
