handmade journals

some of you may remember this post where i made some journals!

well i was asked to share how i made them by the lovely era & wanted

to make some for the creative arts DTS in Newcastle !! these instructions

won't be that in depth. mainly cos i never really measure anything..i just

go for it till it feels right. (twss.)

you will need:

- graphing paper

- cardstock

- fabric 

- thread

- paper trimmer

- pinking shears (or regular scissors will do..i just like

  pinking shears cos your fabric wont fray.)

- clear nail polish (only if you opt out of using pinking shears.)

- hot glue gun

- embroidery needles

- using the paper trimmer, cut your paper & cardstock to your desired fit. 

  i basically folded my graphing paper & cut till i thought it looked good.

  then place your graphing paper over your cardstock & measure out about

  7 centimeters around the graphing paper. the cardstock will be your cover.

- next is to fold your cardstock to make your cover. fold it hamburger style, but

  don't fold right in half. leave like five centimeters from the edge. do the same for

  each side. place your graphing paper inside the cover & see if it all fits. if it doesnt,

  just trim it back. 

-  take your cover & selected fabric. measure about half an inch around it & cut it with 

  your pinking shears. if you're using regular scissors, take your clear nail polish & paint

  the edges to keep them from fraying. let dry.

- take three sheets of graphing paper & fold them in half to make little packets. i used about

  five packets in each of these notebooks. you will then take your scissors & punch in three

  of four holes into the middle of each packet. this will make it easier for your needle & thread. 

  with your needle & thread, sew through the middle of each packet.

- next you wanna heat up your glue gun. i would set down some newspaper cos this tends 

  to get a little messy. once your glue is all heated & gooey, start gluing the fabric to your

  cover. let cool, then glue your packets in! 

i'm really terrible at giving directions so sorry if this didn't exactly help you. my hope is that

you will be a little inspired & figure things out on your own. put your own creative twists on

it. in ways to make it easier or just you. my journals aren't perfect but thats what i like about 

them. hope you make something cute & have fun in the process!