I've always wanted to try making my own journal. Something fancier than folding paper in half and stapling it in the middle (although that is the core of this book), but something a little less complicated than a hard bound book of cold pressed watercolor paper and a custom foil stamp on the cover.
I started by cutting several 8.5 x 11 sheets of printer paper in half, creating twice as many strips of 8.5 x 5.5 paper. I folded these all in half individually then stapled them in the middle.
The fancy part was the cover. I cut some pieces from a cereal box to make the front and back cover. I joined the two sides with clear packing tape, with the gap roughly (no measuring here) equal to the thickness of the folded paper.
I used a transformers gift bag, cutting it slightly bigger than the cover. I glued the gift bag (fancy side out) piece to the cardboard, trimmed the corners and folded over the edges. Finally I glued the first and last pages of the stapled book of paper to the inside of the cover, over the folded over edges.
I did this fairly quickly and sloppily as I had a 4 year old hanging on my shoulder, disassembling exacto knives, and spreading PVA glue on everything.
So, what do you think? He loves it. My goal is to make a point of putting something in the journal each day, but not stressing if we miss a day. It may be text one day or a taped leaf or drawing the next. Maybe I'll post some of the results of our handiwork.
3 comments:
This is Fantastic!! Great job! I hope you can keep the little guy interested!
I think is WONDERFUL!! And what memories you're creating as well as love of words and art!
Looks great! I've got 2 girls, ages 8 and 4, and I'm always encouraging them to draw in their little journals ... they've got several store-bought mini notebooks as well as a book or two that I've made them. My 4yo doesn't quite get it yet, but my 8yo enjoys it. She does it in fits and spurts ... for awhile she won't do anything, but then suddenly she is at it again, drawing stuff around her, doodling, taping in bits of petals, etc., writing, all over a couple of days. Then nothing again. I don't push, but I let them see me doing my own journaling and occasionally I'll mention how this or that would be a great thing to capture in their journal ... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't LOL! But they are way ahead of me when I was their age. Have fun!
Post a Comment