About BluesNotes

BluesNotes was born in beautiful Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The shop name BluesNotes came from a play on both music notes, and journal notes, both of which I have a love for.

About My Process

To start, I get to rummage through vintage albums at some of my favourite stores, and pick out ones I love. Next, I decide how to crop the covers, and cut them to size. I spray glue the covers next, and back them with cardstock to increase their strength - plus it adds a sleek look. Once dry, I put the book together, depending on what the customer asks for. I have three options for the inside – blank, for those who want to use it as a sketchbook, lined for use as a notebook, and I also have an agenda style for those like me who love to plan!

I have a binding machine, so I use that to punch the holes in the covers and contents, and then with a wire coil, I bind it using the machine.

Et voilà! A brand new BluesNotes notebook made from a vintage album cover!

Of course, the process is the same for all my VHS books, but the covers don’t need cropping, and the inside pages need to be cut to size.

About Me

My husband and best friend Chris is the one who got me into this! He's a graphic designer and is crazy talented - and it really inspires me. He actually created my logo, and designed a lot of stuff for BluesNotes. It’s so great to have an in-house designer! But honestly, the first notebook I created was for him, and together we’ve put a lot of time and effort into BluesNotes, having tons of fun along the way!

I love making crafts between learning, reading, and listening to my favourite music on vinyl. On top of creating my BluesNotes notebooks, I also knit, and am a DIY crafter.

I love my store, and I love my items. I've worked tirelessly to create some great notebooks that I hope you love!