DIY Harry Potter Notepads

Create these fun pocket-sized Harry Potter notepads! Designed to fit a 3″ x 5″ notepad, these free printables feature all four Hogwarts houses. A great DIY Harry Potter project!

Hello Crafty Friends! Today’s Harry Potter-themed craft is a great DIY that makes a wonderful gift for any Harry Potter fan! The best part – it’s a free printable!! I love making mini notepads and wanted to put a Harry Potter spin on them featuring the Hogwarts houses. There are free printables for Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I even included two for Ravenclaw with both color schemes associated with the House – blue and bronze (books) and blue and silver (movies).

The printables are designed to fit around 3″ x 5″ notepads. They are a great way to show off your house pride! Below is the tutorial and you’ll find the link to the free printables at the end of this post!

Check out my Harry Potter DIY Crafts Page for cards, wreaths, party games, treat boxes and more!

DIY Harry Potter Notepads

Supplies Needed for DIY Harry Potter Notepads

• Free printables – Grab the free files by filling out the purple form at the end of this post.
• Chipboard or Tag Board
• 3″ x 5″ notepads
• Glue stick
• Paper trimmer and/or Scissors
• Black Sharpie
• Craft Knife and Self-Healing Mat
• Scoring Board
• White card stock – I printed on 110lb bright white paper

Step by Step Tutorial

Step One: Print freebies and cut out all of the pieces.

Download and print the files for the house notepad you want to make. Remember to print the file at 100% so it will fit the 3″x 5″ notepad. Print on a white cardstock. I use 110lb paper but use whatever works well with your printer. Cut out all three pieces from the free printable. There is an argyle notepad cover, a notepad liner, and a notepad header with the house name on it.

Next, carefully cut out three pieces from tag board using a craft knife and self-healing mat. You’ll need two pieces that measure 3.25″ x 5.25″ and one that measures .25″ x 5.25″.

Below are the three pieces of chipboard, three printable pieces and the notepad you will need for assembly. 

Step Two: Cover the outside of the notepad.

Prepare the argyle notepad cover with score lines. Score the tabs on all four sides as well as the notepad spine. To mark the spine, find the center of the notepad and score 3/16″ out from it on either side OR plan to score at 3 5/16″ and 3 11/16″ from the left edge of the paper.

Fold along the score lines.

Glue the tag board pieces to the back of the argyle notepad cover. Start with the spine, centering it in the space you just scored for the spine.

Next, glue the two large tag board pieces to the argyle notepad cover. Leave a small space in between the covers and the spine so the notepad can close. Before the glue dries, practice closing the notepad a few times so you know it will close. If you do not leave a little gap, the notepad cover will tear when you close the notepad.

Wrap the sides of the notepad cover around the tag board. Start with the short sides using the glue stick. Trim the corners of the top sides of the notepad corner at an angle.

Before gluing the top and bottom flaps, miter the corners by clipping off a small triangle from each corner. Make sure you aren’t clipping the triangle too close to the corner. I left a little gap.

Glue the flaps down and you will have nicely mitered corners!

Step Three: Add the notepad liner.

Add the notepad liner. Before gluing, center the liner on the notepad and mark the score lines. I was able to do this using my scoring tool and gently pressing into the liner along the gaps in the tag board.

Once you do this, apply glue to the back of the liner. Then adhere in place. Let the notepad sit for a few minutes. Gently go over the score lines with the stylus and close the notepad. If the liner comes up when you close the notepad, press it back down and wait a little longer. The score lines will help the notepad close without the liner bubbling up.

Step Four: Insert the 3″ x 5″ notepad.

Add the 3″ x 5″ notepad. The notepads I found were red at the top, so before covering them with the header I created, I colored the sides of the red paper with a black Sharpie.

Score the header at 7/8″ and 1 1/8″. Fold along the score lines and glue to the top of the notepad.

Next, glue the notepad to the right side of the notepad cover. Before the glue dries, open and close the notepad so you know the notepad is positioned in the right spot!

Finally, let the notepad sit under a few heavy books overnight and it’s finished!

The notepads are so fun and so useful! They are perfect for keeping at your desk, in your purse or in the car. I love the little quotes on the left and the worn, old-timey look of the printables.

I’ll be back next week with more Harry Potter-themed crafts! This week was also the beginning of the Happy Harry Potter Series over at Rae Gun Ramblings. For two weeks, bloggers from all over the blogosphere share their Harry Potter crafts in this fun series.

Get the Free Harry Potter Notepad Files!

Fill out the purple form below with your first name and email address! The free file will be sent straight to your inbox! If you have already filled out the form below, don’t worry – you won’t be added to my list twice! This freebie is for personal use only. I hope you enjoy crafting something special. Please let me know if you have any questions :)