These little journals bring back happy memories and always inspire me to write in them! My stepdad used to make a mini softcover notebook for my sister and me to use for note-taking each Christmas or birthday. He’s extremely creative and inspires me to make things, draw, and read. Not only are these notebooks easy to make, but they are also so much fun as well. The supplies come at a low price point, and you can choose any color of cardstock and journal paper to customize them to suit individual needs.
You can order the loose sheets of paper on Amazon or you can pick them up at a local office supply store. If a kiddo wants to make this crafty project, they must have parental supervision due to the use of a hammer and nails to create holes, and a tapestry needle to bind the journal. These are the best notebooks and can be used for anything from making grocery lists and to-do lists, to making your own planner or writing a daily log of your life like a bullet journal. I hope they will inspire you to create something wonderful today!
Tips:
Thick paper is better for making these journals, as it needs to be able to stand up to the hand sewing without ripping like thin paper would. Regular printer paper would probably be too thin for this project.
The best paper that I found for a soft cover is good quality cardstock.
For the inner pages, the best option for thicker paper at an affordable price is this kind.
You may find that you would prefer lined paper over blank paper. Feel free to customize this project! You could make journals of different shapes with different purposes, and even though this tutorial makes a smaller size journal, you can definitely make larger ones.
To make a planner easily, use cute planner stickers!
Tools needed:
1 Sheet Patterned 4×6 Cardstock
5 Sheets of 4×6 Deckled Edge eco friendly paper
Corner Cutter (For round corners)
Hammer and nail
Tapestry Needle
Thimble
Twine
2 Binder Clips
Steps:
1. Start by placing the cardstock on top of the stack of deckled edge pages. Fold this in half and press down on the folded edge. Open it back up. Take 2 binder clips and clip everything together, one clip on each side. Place the journal on a workbench, open face down.
2. Take a pencil and mark where you want the holes to be on the folded edge. They should be about a half inch apart and six holes should fit on the binding.
3. Use the hammer and nail to put holes through the journal’s binding. Be careful during this step! The important thing is to take your time with it.
4. Once the holes are in place, it is time to thread the tapestry needle. once it is threaded, leave a short tail on one side and don’t tie a knot, leave it loose. Thread the needle through the holes. It would be a good choice to use a thimble so you don’t hurt your finger.
5. Sew the journal together until you reach the end, and then sew back down through all the holes you have already sewn through. This should make it so that there is a solid line of thread down both sides.
6. Cut the thread evenly to the length of the tail already there. tie the two tails together in a knot.
7. Remove binder clips and fold journal. Leave newly sewn journal folded under a heavy book for a day or two so that it can stay shut. And voila! You have a freshly handmade journal to inspire you to write beautiful things.
Have fun getting creative with these mini DIY journals!
Various ideas for use:
Watercolor Journal – A great thing about using high quality paper is that you can make a watercolor painting on it on it without it bleeding through
Take field notes outdoors – notice wildlife and flora
Keep track of personal projects – These are my favorite notebooks for to-do lists
Junk journal – Random thoughts can be organized this way, keep it in your purse or car
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Blessings,
Anna C.
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