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Journal This
craft turns an ordinary composition book into an extraordinary journal! Just gather
a few crafting & scrapbooking supplies, and have some fun! Materials:
Composition book
Two sheets of coordinating
scrapbook
paper (12x12-inch)
Two pieces of matching card stock
Scrapbooking corner rounder punch
Glue Stick
Ribbon
Scrapbooking embellishments,
stickers,
buttons, etc...
Directions: 1.
To begin, we will prepare all of the paper by cutting it to the correct sizes.
Pick the scrapbooking paper that will be used for the main section of the cover
(striped paper in the pictures to the right). Cut this sheet of scrapbooking paper
into 2 pieces that measure 6 x 11-inches.
2. Next, take the coordinating
piece of paper that will cover the spine of the book (dark burgundy paper in the
picture). Cut that paper into one piece that measures 5 x 9 5/8 inches.
3.
The card stock will be used to line the inside covers of the journal. Cut the
two cardstock pieces to 7 x 9 ½ inches.
4. Holding the card
stock vertically, use the "corner rounder punch" to round off the top
and bottom corners. (See Photo 1) Repeat with the second piece of card stock.
5.
Now, you are ready to begin assembling your journal. Take your first cover paper
piece (one of the 6x11-inch piece). Lay it down (design side to the table) below
the open cover of the composition book. Fold about ½ inch of the paper
over the long side of the journal cover.
6. Next, fold the top and
bottom pieces of that cover paper over the short edges of the cover.
7.
The edges then need to be folded in on an angle. (See Photo 2.)
8. The
piece of paper should now to encompassing most of the cover of the book. (Do not
worry that the spine is showing. We will cover this with the spine paper.)
9.
Use your glue stick to glue the cover paper onto the journal.
10. Repeat
steps 5 through 9 with the back cover, using your second piece of 6 x 11-inch
paper.
11. Take your spine paper (the 5 x 9 5/8-inch piece) and fold
it loosely in half, making a light fold. Place this paper around the spine of
the book. It will cover up the rest of the composition book that was showing.
Glue down the spine using your glue stick.
12. Now, decide how you'd
like to use the ribbon. It can be used as a tie to close the book, a bookmark,
or both. For a tie, cut 2 pieces of 8-inch ribbon. Glue one horizontally onto
the center of the long edge of the cover. (See Photo 3.) Glue the second horizontally
onto the center of the long edge of the cover. (About an inch of the ribbon should
be glued onto the covers. The rest should hang over the edges of the book.) For
a bookmark, cut a 14- inch piece of ribbon and glue it vertically onto the top
lefthand corner of the back cover. (Again, about an inch of the ribbon should
be glued onto the cover. The rest should hang over the top of the back cover.)
13. Now you can glue the cardstock pieces inside the covers (covering
the rough ends of your ribbon). Make sure that the rounded edges match up the
rounded edges of the composition book covers.
14. The cover the book
can now be embellished with any fun scrapbooking supplies that you have available
- metal label holders like the one I used in the photo, stickers, buttons. This
is where you can be really creative and have a lot of fun! |
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Voila!
This
is what a finished journal will look like. Be sure to personalize yours with your
own favorite colors and patterns! 
Photo
1: Round those corners
Be
sure to round the two corners on the long edge of the paper. It should look like
the picture above. 
Photo
2: A little fold
Just
bend the edge of the paper in on an angle to create the corner. 
Photo
3: Embellishing
Ribbon
can be added anywhere - as a book tie, a bookmark, or an embellishment on the
cover. Be creative, and have fun! |
