I’ve gotten questions from readers before about alternatives to some of the pricy leather notebook covers out there. I haven’t spotted that many cheap ones for sale, until recently discovering Davis Leatherworks, which seems to have some nice-looking and inexpensive covers. But if you enjoy creativity and you’re willing to put in a little effort, you can make your own for a reasonable price. Julie at The Gadgeteer has a great tutorial with detailed information on how to do it:
Make it yourself – Midori Traveler’s style leather Moleskine Cahier or Field Notes notebook cover

You’ll start with this:

And end up with this:

The design can be adapted to any size notebook. Some of the low cost depends on making more than one notebook cover, but think how excited all your notebook-loving friends will be when you give them your extra handmade notebooks as holiday gifts!