Diy journals
There is something magical about the written word. reading it. writing it. handwritten or typed, there is magic there.
"For books are people, people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book." -EB White
When we write we leave behind a little bit of who we were at that moment. Its how we remember and how those who will come after will remember.
I believe it so important to write, not to be smarter or to get published (those are great bonuses of course) but to write to remember and to forget. Journaling is such a therapeutic experience. Having a degree in therapy I can guarantee you I have NEVER written a therapy plan that did not, in some way, include journaling. Putting words on paper is such a self empowering moment. When you write it down it makes it real, whether it's a goal, a confession, a problem. It is acknowledgement. Sometimes it is things we want to write down and throw away, because it validates that it is real by writing it and it is symbolic to throw it out. To trash those thoughts or experiences, to say "this happened and I am moving on" is a powerful thing.
Journaling that is written to be kept is such a powerful reminder. It reminds us who we were and who we are now. Its allows others to see inside us in a vulnerable way we cannot to share with spoken words. Sometimes we just need to get our thoughts out of our head. Sometimes we need a written, clear reminder of what we want to keep us on track. Sometimes we want to leave a memento for the future to know what it was like here, to tell them it will all be ok or to show them that their grandma was really cool a long time ago.
Whatever your reason for writing, the medium on which you write is equally important. Beauty, discretion, perfect lines, free space. All of these things are important requirements and all are distinct to the writer. That is why I love handmade journals. You get to choose your paper type, your cover, your size. And its handmade, that just makes it all the sweeter. Ive used this method a ton of times and have made all kinds of different journals: faux moleskins, smashbooks, and these pretty ones!
As the first project in my 1 Paper pack, 10 Projects series, I decided to make these journals for my college girls small group as we are doing a study focused on daily time with the Lord and are encouraging journaling to remember your thoughts!
First thing I did was make these journal intro pages, You can download mine by clicking here: journal covers. They are super simple and can be made to say anything! I opened a word doc, typed my message, picked my font, changed the orientation to landscape and created 2 columns on the page and moved the text to the 2nd column. I print them and played around with spacing until I was happy. Remember the words have to go in the second column, on the right so that when you fold the paper its on the correct side!
Then I selected my papers (from the Recollections: The Sweetest Thing paper pack) and cut them down from 12x12 to about 9x12 so there was some room around the edges of the graph paper. I played with graph paper and a heavier white scrapbook paper as the paper for these. I didnt really like the look of the graph paper, but prefered it because of the lines.
Then I chose how much paper I wanted, I went with 5 pages folded in half, used front and back, that gives you 20 pages. Which isnt a ton, but for our purpose it is perfect.
Next, you fold the paper in half, place your writing paper in between your cover and sew! I used my sewing machine on a straight stitch. It took about 1 minute to sew each book. The only tricky part is holding it still so the paper doesnt get all wonky. You could use a binder clip if your papers wont cooperate. I used a light-colored thread so you cant see it, but a bright color could be a great accent!
The last step is to put a line of washi tape down the spine. This is important for the integrity of your journal, as with thin papers they tend to rip easier and will eventually pull apart with lots of use if you dont secure the bind. Oh and it makes it super adorable...duh.
These turned out incredibly beautiful and useful and super easy. These aren't the most sturdy, so if you are rough with your journals, I would use a thicker cardstock type of paper. I rounded the corners to make them look finished, but that is a preference. I made 14 journals, virtually for free since I already had all the supplies. But if you paid $10 for your paper pack, and made 14 journals, there is no way to say you just saved a ton! Journals can be really expensive! And you've only used 14 pages out of 180.... So keep tuning in and Ill show you what to do with those other 164 pages of paper...
***This project is part of a series called 1 Paper Pack, 10 Projects where I have challenged myself to create 10 different projects from 1 pack of scrapbook paper to give you ideas of how to use a scrapbook paper pad for projects other than scrapbooking and how to use as much of the pad as possible!