Tutorial - Matchbook Notebook Promos

There’s a great thread going on in the Etsy forums about promotional items other than business cards.  It inspired me to try making some super cute matchbook style notepads.

You will need:
Cardstock
Plain paper (for the insides)
Paper trimmer or scissors
Stapler (high-quality, you need to go through a lot of sheets)

I started by making a 2.5” x 5.5” file in Photoshop.

Then I added my image.  You will have to put your image (or text) at the top & upside down. If you wanted to add text to appear on the back of the notepad, you’d put it where I indicated in the image.  The lines are where you will fold – I didn’t print these, they are just there for the purpose of this tutorial.

I then created a new letter-sized file and arranged 6 of these images on it.  Next, print it out on cardstock and cut apart.  If you don’t have Photoshop, that’s fine.  Just cut out 2.5” x 5.5” strips of cardstock and you can decorate them with stamps, stickers, etc…

Next you’ll need to cut up the paper for the interior.  Cut plain paper into 2.25” squares.

How much you cut up depends on how many books you’ll be making.  Each book will hold between 10-15 sheets, depending on how good your stapler is.

Take one strip and place it on a hard surface, image side down.  Fold up along the centre fold line (use a bone folder to get a crisp fold).

 

Next fold up along the bottom fold line.

Add your sheets of paper to the inside.

Fold the bottom part over the sheets of paper and staple.

Put your back into it, or you’ll end up with a messed-up staple like this, and you’ll have to remove it and do it again.

I really wanted to use these cute purple staples I had leftover from my scrapbooking days, but they just weren’t meant to go through more than 5 sheets of paper.  So I switched to utilitarian silver Swinglines.

Some of them I had to trim a bit off the front flap to get it to fit smoothly underneath the stapled flap. 

Not a single one of my matchbooks ended up being the exact same size.  That’s just how I roll.

Finally, I customized the back with a “Thank You” sticker and a stamp of my URL.

Now you’re done!  Cute little promos to give away at shows, or to stick in with a customer’s order.  This is also a fun craft for kids in the 8-12 year old range, especially little girls.  I loved stuff like this when I was a kid – you’d never find me in the toy aisle, I was checking out the stationary and office supplies.