How to "Funk"tify a Composition Book

I love making lists and sketching ideas in notebooks.  Lately, I've been doing a budget/checkbook register in a notebook instead of a traditional checkbook register (don't tell my banker friends).  I bought a 2-pack of composition books and they were just a little too blah for me.  So, I decided to cover them with pretty paper and make it a little more functional or should I say "funk"tional.  I guess  it's really both.  If you want to get funky with a composition book, it's your lucky day.  Here's your tutorial:

*buy a composition book or two or twelve (should be bound like a book, not a notebook)

*find paper that you like to cover the book(s) with - I used four coordinating papers (one for the outside, two for the inside covers and one for the binding)

*cut 1 piece of paper large enough to cover the outside cover and two pieces for the inside front and back covers

*I used my neat little corner-rounder tool to round the corners of each sheet, but you can also trim it with your scissors when the paper is glued down to the book

*glue down (add the glue to every square inch of the paper) the outside cover first (use a glue stick, thinned Elmer's glue, or my favorite, Martha Stewart Crafts Decoupage Glue and Sealer with Brush Applicator )

*add contrasting paper (a one to two inch strip on the binding area and lay the book flat with a weight of some sort (I use big cookbooks) until the glue is dry. 

*open the book up and glue (same procedure as before) contrasting/coordinating papers to the front and back of the inside covers - close the book up and repeat the heavy cookbook trick.  I also added a large white envelope to the inside cover for receipts.

*after the glue has set up, I added clear packing tape to the binding for reinforcement.

The completed "funk"tional and functional composition book:

I am linking this post up to Just Something I Whipped Up Monday at The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter Monday at Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Check Me Out Saturdays at A Vision to Remember,  Made By You Monday at Skip To My Lou, Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design, and Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple.