Do you depend on your diary to keep on top of appointments, dates and deadlines? I do, in fact I would be lost without it! I love to jazz up my diary and inject a little bit of personality into this otherwise rather plain and functional little book. With this simple project you can pimp your diary in less than an hour!

What you will need:

• A plain diary (not spiral bound)
• Some fun fabric
• Double sided tape
• Heavy paper or card

Here is my plain old diary before the makeover:

Step 1. 

Open your diary out so it lays flat on your piece of fabric. Measure and cut a rectangle from the fabric that measures about 1.5cm larger than your diary on all sides.

Step 2.

Cut a piece of double sided tape to fit the height of your diary cover from top to bottom, and adhere it to the inside edge of the front cover. Remove the adhesive backing strip. Bring the fabric over the edge and stick it down onto the tape. Repeat this process on the back cover (see photos following step 3).

IMPORTANT: Before you stick the fabric to the back cover make sure your diary is partially closed so the fabric stretches over the spine, otherwise your diary will not close properly once the fabric has been adhered.

Step 3.

Cut two pieces of double sided tape to fit the width of your diary cover (left to right) and adhere to the inside top edge and inside bottom edge of the front cover. Remove the adhesive backing strips. Bring the fabric over the edge and stick it down onto the tape. Repeat this process on the back cover.

Step 4.

You will notice the fabric pulls at the top and bottom where the spine is. To neaten this up, take some sharp scissors and cut two slits in the fabric, either side of where the spine is (see photos below). This will create a little flap that you can then tuck in behind the pages (use a pencil to stuff it in there!). Do this on the top and bottom edges.

Your diary should now look like this:

Step 5.

Now to make it look super neat, cut two pieces of heavy paper to fit the inside of each cover. I’ve chosen a bright aqua paper to contrast with the vivid warm colours of my fabric.

Adhere double sided tape around all edges, making sure to cover the corners, and add a few strips in the centre for good measure! Remove the adhesive backing strips and carefully place on the inside of each cover, hiding all the fabric edges beneath. Run your thumbnail along all edges to make sure they are stuck firmly.

Voila! Keeping track of appointments and deadlines will be so much more fun with your new decked-out diary!