DIY Midori Style Passport Size Travelors Notebook Tutorial

I wanted a plastic or vinyl passport sized Midori Style Traveler's Notebook in a fun color to carry in my purse.  Since I did not want to spend $30 or $40 on one,  I decided it would be fun to make one.  For those who are not familiar with the passport size midori, these are leather covers with elastic that hold one or more notebooks.  These notebooks come in vast selection of papers from water color paper to grid paper.  What one puts in their midori depends on what they intend to use it for.  I want mine to do brain dumps in, so I just needed inexpensive paper notepads.

I decided to pay a quick visit to my local Daiso store to see what products they carried that I might use to make my passport traveler's Notebook.  I was really pleased to find this cute passport cover in a fun green color that I could easily convert into a Midori Style Travelor's Notebook.  This book has a pockets on the inside covers which can hold cards, stickers and etc.  This is the perfect choice for my DIY Midori Style Passport size Travelors Notebook.

Supplies Used for this Project:

• 1 vinyl passport cover  ($1.50)
• 2 passport sized journals ($1.50 for a set of 3)
• 2 charms ($1 at Michaels)
• Assorted beads (from my bead stash)
• 2mm Elastic Cording   ($1.00 per yard)

Tools Used for this Project:

• Steel Leather Hole Punch (size appropriate to the elastic cording)
• Cutting Mat
• Scissors
• E2000 Glue (optional)

Step 1:
Open up the passport and lay flat.  Punch two holes approximately a 1/4" from the top, using the steel hole punch.  Then punch two more holes 1/4" from the bottom of the passport cover. Using the process as step one, punch one hole in the center (middle) of the spine.

Step 2:
Take the elastic and measure it out to 2 1/2  times the length of the notebook.  My book is around

 Thread the elastic through one of the bottom holes and then through the opposite hole.

I like the look of bead on my fauxdori. So once I threaded the elastic, I added a bead and then tied a knot.  Then I pulled the knot through the bead to hide it.  Additionally, I wanted a book mark so I left about 5 inches of elastic at one and then rethreaded that through one of the holes.

Step 3:
Add a few beads and a charm to the elastic book mark to decorate it a bit.

Step 4:

Take the elastic and cut a piece that is a little less than twice the width of the folder.  Add a charm or a bead and tie a knot.

Thread this piece through the center whole, leaving the end with the knot on the inside. Use this piece to hold the cover closed when not in use.

Step 5:

To finish the project, just add the notebooks by opening them through the middle and slipping them through the elastic.

These two fit perfectly.

This was a pretty easy project to do and I ended up making a few extras.  I changed where I put the holes for the elastic on the pink one so that it would look different.  I really like how they came out.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, I purchased everything I used in this project.