How to Make a Journal
Journal by @mereljournals
Create a Unique Bound Book
Journals are a great way to:
- Record a specific event, such as a wedding or a trip
- Write down ideas, dreams, and memories
- Write down daily thoughts and events
- Write down favorite quotes or jokes
- Turn an idea into an illustrated story
- Practice drawing skills
- Write lists
- Collect favorite stickers
- Make collages
- Write about a baby’s first year
- Commemorate a birthday or other special event
- Draw designs on graph paper
Journal by lili scratchy on flickr
Sewing machines and needles aren’t just for fabric. Making a personalized and hand-crafted journal is a great paper craft project that also incorporates sewing. Once you get the hang of sewing paper, you'll be able to create journals of mixed papers and sizes.
Your journal can be made with plain paper, graph paper, watercolor paper, rag paper, copy paper, ruled paper, recycled paper, junk paper, brochures, advertisements, and paper from newspapers and magazines. Make a book out of the same type of paper, or mix up types and shapes of paper.
Would you like to print out some free art images to use in your journal? See the end of this post for helpful links.
Journal by a fabric dyer from @srithreads
Below are videos showing different techniques for making simple journals, zines, or small books – perfect for a beginner.
Making your own journal from scratch gives you the opportunity to make something a specific size or shape, and to make the cover out of your choice of card stock. It also allows you to include pockets.
The videos below show step-by-step instructions for binding and assembling a journal, by hand and by machine.
- The first video shows you how to bind a journal.
- The second video shows you how to assemble a journal using needle and thread.
- The third video shows you how to make various journals using a sewing machine.
Sewing a Journal by Hand
In the first two videos, crafter Johanna Clough uses a needle and thread to stitch together different-sized pieces of paper. She stitches together a series of 'signatures,' or groups of sheets, folded in the middle.
This is a great project for using up scraps of paper. Having different-sized pieces of paper gives her journal an added layer of surprise. And, pockets within the journal gives you a place to store ephemera.
Do you have a stack of your child's drawings that need to be organized? A hand made journal is a wonderful way to create a keepsake of drawings of various sizes, making a little book that can last for years.
Having fun with new and traditional crafts, art, design, DIY, and freebies.
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Sewing a Journal with a Sewing Machine
Dana from Made Everyday has a fun tutorial on sewing paper journals. She uses a standard sewing machine and regular sewing thread. She shows you how to make a simple journal with a card stock cover, how to add pockets to a journal, how to sew with a decorative plastic sheet, how to make rounded corners, and how to add leather ties and elastic.
Note: Before you dive into sewing paper with a machine, you might want to test different stitch lengths to see which is the best for the paper you plan to use.
Journal-Making Supplies
Need supplies to make your own journals? Below is a list of arts and crafts items that are great additions to a maker's nook or studio. [Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.]
Free Art Images
There are many ways to get free images to print out and use in arts and crafts projects. For creating a journal, you could use a favorite painting or print image for your journal cover, special pockets, or inside pages. Use them as section separators, or add text and images on top of them.
Click on the links below to discover what you can print out and use:
- Museum Collection Images - In the past few years, many museums, libraries, and corporate collections have uploaded their photo libraries online and made them available to the public. Some have even made their images open to public domain use, with free downloads. Click through for 15+ resources.
- Vintage Graphics Image Bank - Searching for free images online can be time-consuming and daunting. The Graphics Fairy site has an image bank of over 5000 images, and is easily searchable by vintage graphics type and theme. Available for free on The Graphics Fairy are vintage stock images, antique graphics, illustrations, and printables that are in the public domain. You can search by themes such as children, advertising, wedding, flowers, postcards, travel, garden, animal, retro, maps, botanicals, natural history, and many more. Hover your mouse over "Categories" in the top menu and you'll see a list of 78 different categories you can dive into.
- Vintage Maps - If you love using vintage maps in projects, you’re in luck. The Lionel Pincus & Princess Firyal Map Division of the New York Public Library includes more than 20,000 cartographic works, and they’ve been made available as free high resolution downloads. You can view the maps through the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections page. To download the maps you’ll need to create an account, then click a map title and download it through the Map Warper.
- Free Papercraft Printables for Kids - This blog post includes 6 amazing sites which offer free paper printables.
Want more inspiration and choices for your journal? Find some wonderful arts and crafts supplies and ideas at the Blick Art Store and Joann Fabrics. Or click on the images below to purchase on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you). For more about affiliates, please read our disclosure.
