Because you asked for it… The DIY Journal.

This was surprisingly a bit harder than I thought it was going to be. Not significantly but enough for me to mention it. Don’t be discouraged; the process was a fun one!

Things You Will Need:

Ruler

Scissors

White glue

Cardboard

Paper of your choice

Thread and thick needle

Fabric and/or scrapbook paper

Clips (office clips work just as well)

Step 1:

We need to assemble our paper blocks. So, once you’ve decided how big you want your journal/sketchbook to be start measuring your paper. Get about 10 pieces of paper together and fold them in half. Continue to do this with as many groups of paper as you would like your journal to have.

Step 2:

Using your thread and needle, sew together each group (separately) about 1/4 of the way down on each end.

Step 3:

Once you have a text block that looks something like the above, begin to glue them. You will want to apply the glue along the edge that you have sewn. Once you have completed the glueing process use two clips to hold the paper in place and set it aside to dry.

Step 4:

Lay out your fabric, or scrapbook paper. I did iron my fabric after I took this picture. Cut the fabric to be about an inch and a half larger than your paper is when opened up.

Step 5:

Measure your cardboard. The pieces that are going to serve as the front and back of your journal should be just slightly larger than your paper. The strip going down the center should be exactly the width of the spine of your paper but should be the height of the front and back cover (the other two cardboard pieces). For this step you can also lay out your cover like the above. You want to make sure there is some between the covers and the spine but not much. You want to be able to open and close the book when you are finished.

Step 6:

Glue each cardboard piece in place on the fabric.

Step 7:

Once your pieces are in place, glue a small portion of the bottom of each part. Fold the fabric up. Repeat for the top and sides. Once you have completed the edges glue the spine of the paper to the spine of the cover. Let this dry propped against something for a bit.

Step 8:

Once your text block has dried, measure a piece of scrapbook paper to fit the area between the front cover and the first piece of paper in your text block. make sure you will be able to close and open your journal with the paper in place. Go ahead and glue it in place when you are confident. Repeat for the back cover.

You should have something that looks like this.

Happy sketching, journaling!

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