Make a mini saddle-stitched booklet

I have a stack of scratch paper that's been sitting on top of my filing cabinet, annoying me. You know how when you print emails, sometimes there's nothing but one line of text on the second page? It's stuff like that. And yet in my purse, I never seem to have any paper whatsoever, so I scribble people's email addresses on the backs of crumpled receipts. So here's my solution: tiny notebooks.

You will need: Mostly-blank scratch paper, clear contact paper, decorative paper, a ruler, something that cuts paper, a stapler, and a pin.

I decided to make my notebooks 3"x4" when folded. If you want that size, find a piece of decorative paper that's at least 6"x4" or print yourself something on one of the pieces of scratch paper. (I printed some designs I made in Illustrator.) Laminate both sides of the sheet with clear contact paper.

You could also make little cut-paper collages on your notebook cover or laminate your kid's drawings.

Cut your decorative paper and your scratch paper into 6"x4" pieces and fold in half. (I used 8 pieces of scrap paper to make 16-page booklets.)

Fit your folded blank sheets inside the cover. Swing your stapler all the way open if it won't reach to the spine and carefully align it on the fold. Press just enough to make a staple come out and make indentations in the paper, but stop pushing before the staple crumples into a flattened mess. (Unless your stapler is powerful enough to poke all the way through; mine's not.)

Set the staple aside and use a pin or needle to poke all the way through the paper stack in the places where your hole indentations went. Then push your staple through, turn the paper stack over, and use your fingernail, letter opener, or screwdriver to close the staple. Repeat for the second staple.

Close your new booklet and let it sit under a heavy book for awhile to press it shut. Voila.