How to Make Personalized Stationery at Home: DIY Notepads

Start with one page design at the exact size you want your notepad to be. Zaccura draws hers in Clip Studio Paint at 2.75 by 5.38 inches and 350 dpi. Add a border, a title like "Notes", some artwork and writing lines. She spaced her lines about a quarter inch apart, which is comfortable for handwriting. Keep the art to the edges so there is room to write.

Make a new canvas the size of your printer paper. For US letter that is 8.5 by 11 inches. Use the same dpi as your page design. Import your page and copy it until the sheet is full. Leave at least an eighth of an inch margin on every edge so the printer does not cut off your design. At Zaccura's page size, exactly six fit.

Print as many sheets as you want pages. Each sheet gives you six, so five sheets make a thirty page pad. Zaccura made a slim 30 page notepad and also sells thicker 60 page ones. Plain printer paper is fine and tears off easily later. Let inkjet prints dry for a few minutes before you stack them.

Cut the sheets apart along the edges of your design. A paper trimmer makes it quick and keeps every page the same size. Cut the long strips first, then the individual pages. You can stack two or three sheets at a time if your trimmer handles it. Scissors work too, but take your time to keep the edges straight.

Cut a piece of chipboard the same size as your pages. This stiff back lets you write on the pad without a table underneath. You can buy chipboard sheets or recycle the side of a cereal box. Cut a couple of extra small strips too. You will use them to protect the pages from the binder clips.

Stack all your pages on top of the chipboard back. Tap the top edge on the table until every page lines up as evenly as you can get it. That top edge is the one you will glue, so it matters most. Lay a small strip of chipboard along the front at the top. It stops the clips from denting the first page.

Hold the stack steady and clip it together with binder clips on both sides near the top. The clips press the pages tight so the glue cannot run down between them. Check that nothing slipped while you clipped. If the top edge moved, open the clips, tap it square and try again.

Hold the clipped stack with the top edge facing up. Squeeze a small line of white glue along it. You do not need much. Zaccura uses Elmer's Glue-All, which is cheap and easy to find. Bookbinding PVA glue works as well. Too much glue can soak between the pages and stick them together.

Spread the glue along the edge with a small paintbrush. Work it back and forth until the whole top is smooth and evenly covered, with every single page touched by glue. Add one more binder clip across the top if you like, to keep things secure. Then set the notepad aside to dry completely.

Once the glue is fully dry, take off the binder clips and the protective strips. That is it. You have a real tear-off notepad with your own design on every page. Pull a page from the top and it peels away cleanly. Make a few in different designs for your desk, your kitchen or as gifts.