Lately I’m totally into making my own mini books, journals, notebooks, and planners. I love book binding and adding custom dividers, pockets, flaps, etc. So fun! Recently I taught a national virtual class hosted by Michaels featuring some of my favorite tools for book binding and decorating. In this class we made our own journals and it was awesome! Check out some photos and details below, and then scroll all the way down to watch the full class recording.
The covers for this DIY journal are 6×9 inches and are made with chipboard covered in patterned paper. The inside pages are half of a letter size sheet of paper, which is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. The journal is bound with planner discs, which means it’s easy to add or remove pages, dividers, inserts and covers if I want. I love the flexibility!
I used the Disc Power Punch to punch all the holes in the covers, pages, and inserts. It’s a powerful must-have punch if you like to work with disc bound books.
I filled the inside with lined paper that I pulled from an old used notebook and trimmed to fit the journal. I also added slanted pockets, envelope pockets, tab dividers, and a bookmark.
I included plenty of interactive elements and space to add photos, receipts, brochures, ephemera, or whatever else I feel like including.
To make all the pockets, dividers, and envelopes I used The Works All In One Tool. It can cut, score, make tabs, tags, envelopes, banners, and so much more. It’s a great investment for any crafter!
I labeled the tab dividers with the Foil Quill Freestyle Pen, so the writing is gold foil to match the gold foil accents in the paper collection I used.
If you’d like to watch the free national virtual class so you can learn how to make this, click play below!
