Hey everyone! I’m so thrilled to be part of the team here at A Little Craft in Your Day as a Teen Contributor!
Just a quick background on me: My name is Sophie Bronow, I’m 14 years old, and I have a sewing and interior design blog called www.idesignsbysophie.com. And I can’t forget about my sewing and interior design business at www.designsbysophie.net. Be sure to check them out! Lately I’ve been feeling a need for some more ways to let out my creativity, so I have turned to crafting!
Moving on to today’s tutorial, I’m going to show you how to give your boring old journals a makeover with just a few supplies that you probably have in your house already!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Journal or Notebook (any type works, but I used a flexible composition book since thats what I had at hand)
- Cardstock
- Paper Cutter
- Quotes (printed out)
- Washi Tape or Craft Tape (3 patterns)
- Thin Ribbon
- Stamps
- Ink Pad
Step 1: Use your ruler to measure the journal cover. Make sure to be very precise! I didn’t include the spine, just because I wanted to be able to open the journal without any weird bending of the paper. Once you measure, use the paper cutter to cut the paper to the right size. Keep in mind that the journal you use may have rounded corners like mine. That’s no problem, just use scissors to round the edges and you’re all set. Using the double-sided tape, adhere the paper to the journal cover being careful to line it up perfectly.
Step 2: Take one roll of Washi or craft tape and cut a 4-inch piece. One one end, use scissors to cut a small triangle into the end. Then place it around the top edge, with about 1-inch of the piece folding onto the inside cover.
*Sorry about the band-aids! I had a fight with the toaster oven, and let’s just say that the tiaster oven won!*
Step 3: Repeat the previous step with a second roll of Washi or craft tape and cut only a 3-inch piece, still cutting a small triangle in one end and curling about 1-inch onto the inside cover.
Step 4: Using the third roll of Washi or craft tape, create a “border” next to the binding of the journal. You can go across the entire length or leave some space on each side like I did. No matter what, make sure to line it up perfectly vertical and centered.
Step 5: I have to say, this step is my favorite! Now it’s time to use the ink and stamps. Think of a word, any word, or even your name, that you would like to have on your journal. I chose something simple, “Dream.” Using the ink pad and this great set of reusable rubber stamps, I lined up the letters and printed them onto the paper.
Step 6: Here’s where the ribbon comes in. Take the ribbon and line it up at whatever angle you want around the lower left corner. Cut the edges, making sure to angle them at the correct angle required to make them match up to the edges of the notebook. I repeated this step three times, creating three tiers of ribbon. Of course, you can do any amount that you want!
Step 7: After completing steps 1-6, I realized that there was a big gap in the center of the cover. So, I turned to my go-to inspirational quotes! Since my journal has a clear purple theme, I chose quotes with purple backgrounds, printed them, and cut them out. Using the double-sided tape, I lined them up and adhered them to the surface.
And there you have it! A unique journal personalized exactly to your liking!
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