MINI JOURNALS
Make a mini-journal to fill with notes-to-self, doodles, or your deepest, darkest secrets. Its wee size makes it perfect for purses, so you can record your brilliant thoughts on the go.
Materials:
- 5
by 4
piece of cardboard or heavy card stock - 6
by 5
piece of fabric - Hot glue gun and glue
- Scissors
- Short stack of paper, such as recycled printer paper, vellum, or watercolor paper
- Pinking shears
- Stapler
- Origami paper or additional fabric (optional)
Step 1
Fold the 5by 4
piece of cardboard or card stock in half (like a card).
Step 2
Affix your fabric to the outside of the cardboard by hot-gluing around the edges of the flattened cardboard and centering your piece of fabric on top. Then fold the cover to make sure you didn’t adhere it too tightly.
Step 3
Once dry, make diagonal cuts in the corners of the fabric that sticks out, so you can fold the excess fabric to the inside.
Step 4
Hot-glue a thin line around the inside edges of the cardboard, then fold the fabric and affix to the inside cover. You may need additional glue where the fabric overlaps.
Step 5
For your journal’s pages, cut a short stack of paper about 4½by 3½
. Cut with pinking shears if you want your pages to have zigzag edges. Fold the stack in half (like a card) and staple twice in the crease to hold the pages together. Be sure not to use too much paper or the cover won’t close.
Step 6
Hot-glue a line down the inside center of the cardboard. Align the edge of your folded-paper pile with the crease; hold till dry. Further secure the pages by gluing the first and last to the cardboard.
Step 7
Make the inside covers pretty by gluing origami paper or additional fabric over them.
Step 8
Excerpted from The DIY Bust Guide to Life
by Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel, published by STC Craft.
