I recently made a new notebook, so I decided to take you on that journey with me and share some of my tips.

Supplies You Will Need

Binding System

There are lots of binding systems out there. You'll want to choose the one you like best and gather supplies for it. I used the 4:1 pitch coil binding system, so all I needed was my hole puncher and a coil. If you aren't at the point that you want to invest in a binding system, you can get coil, comb, and heat shrink binding at stores like Staples and FedEx for a fairly reasonable price.

Choose What Kind of Paper You Want

I use 65lb white dot-grid paper for most of my notebooks. You can also use patterned paper or lined paper. This is where you get to have fun with the flexibility. If you use "heavy" writing materials in your notebook, like watercolors, brush pens, paint markers, markers, etc., you'll want heavier paper to avoid bleed-through and ghosting. You can use blank paper, or you can print a dot-grid pattern on it. There are also templates for lined paper online.

Put it Together

For my coil binding system, I need a pair of pliers to finish it off. You may or may not need this for your system.