How to Make Motivational DIY Notepads in Less Than 5 Minutes

In this fast paced world we live in, a reminder to slow down or a few words of encouragement can be a breath of fresh air. This is evident when you see the popularity of quotes on line, especially Pinterest. They can be quite up lifting and motivating. Why not bring those favorite quotes to life and be a positive reminder throughout your day.

Between DIY notepads and Canva it is so simple and fast to make your own inspirational notepads and calendars. Not to mention fun and inexpensive. You can choose the quotes that best resonate with you, and not be stuck with what a publisher or designer chooses.  Think how beautiful and inspiring to have your favorite quote combined with a meaningful  photo. Why stop at one design, you can choose as many as you wish. That's the beauty!

 

For those who are not familiar with Canva, it is a FREE drop & drag graphics design interface.  It is online so there is no program to download. There is a modest priced paid version that gives you a few more bells and whistles like additional storage, etc.  

I'll show you just how easy and fun it is to create your own motivational notepad.

Once in Canva.com :

Now choose your photo.  You can use an image from Canva or your own. 

 

Resize the image.

 

Type your quote. Choose the font style, size and color by clicking on each, in the options bar, directly above the notepad. 

A fast way to create the lines: click on TEXT then stretch the text box to the full width of the notepad. Choose either the period, hyphen or underscore and hold down until the last line is completed. This will create a variety of  looks.  Anywhere from a dotted line to a continuous line depending on the font and size you choose. You just need to play around until you achieve your desired look.

Now you are ready to save and print.  To save, select the big "Download" button.  Then from File Type drop down, choose PDF-Standard.  The PDF-Print is a higher quality printing using additional printing time and ink. Since these are for disposable notepads, we feel PDF standard is a more practical and economical choice.

 The file will automatically download into the Downloads folder of your computer. When you click on the file it will open on a new browser tab or on your default PDF reader program. Now click on PRINT (or printer icon).

Since every printer and PDF viewer have different settings and wording, it is impossible to show every example of the print dialog. However there are 3 basic areas you need to change in the print dialog boxes.

To make these changes you may have to click on the following  More Settings , Print using system dialog, Advanced, Preferences or Properties

Click here to see "Printing Directions"

You just have to play around to become familiar with your PDF viewer and printer.  Now let the creative juices flow!