Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Handmade journal part 3

We're almost there. This is the final part of making your handmade journal. Lets get started.
For the cover you are going to need some cardboard, I used plain corrugated cardboard from an old box but any sturdy cardboard will do. I don't know if things like old cereal boxes would be sturdy enough but you could certainly try it. You also need a piece of fabric to cover the board with. If you don't have fabric on hand don't worry. You have to have an old shirt, or pair of jeans or something like that that would otherwise end up in the rag bin or goodwill box.

For the cardboard you will need to cut 2 pieces that are 1/4" wider and 1/2" longer than your inside pages. If you are making the same size as mine then it will be 4 3/4" x 6". You will also need 1 piece for the spine that is the width of your book when it is all stacked together x 6"
The bottom picture above shows the front and back covers and the pages held together. Measure that to get the width of your spine. I know I'm not holding the ruler right but I had the camera on a timer and I was hurrying to set it up to take the picture. The first time I did this I didn't really care for the way the spine ended up feeling so when I did this book I didn't make the spine quite as wide and I think it turned out better. So what I did was to pretty much just go with the width of the pages plus just a fraction more.

Next cut out your fabric so that it is about 1" wider all the way around. My fabric piece was 12" x 8" (I think) sorry I didn't write it down. You are going to want to space your cardboard pieces out so that the space in between is equal to the thickness of the board you are using. I just took a scrap piece of cardboard and used that as a spacer when I laid this out.

Now it's time to glue. I just used cheap dollar store white glue for this part. I also used a foam brush to spread it on so that I had a nice even coverage all over the cardboard.
Just squirt that glue all over and then spread it with the foam brush. Make sure that you are gluing your cardboard to the WRONG side of the fabric

Once all three pieces are glued to your fabric spread some glue on 2 opposite sides and fold the fabric over to adhere it.  Then do the other 2 sides. When  you are gluing down the last two sides you can fold them in a bit to make more of a mitered corner

Now you are going to glue the pages to the cover. This is another part that I just couldn't get a picture of me actually doing it so I hope that the pictures and my explanation make sense.
In the top picture you'll see that I ran a line of glue down the front and back cover. Then I spread it out a bit. DO NOT GLUE ON THE SPINE.
Next take your inside pages and glue those fabric flaps to the front and back cover centering the pages over the spine. 

Above and below a couple different views so you can see how it's positioned. The bottom picture here is the pages being propped up while this dries. I recommend letting this dry completely before moving on.


Last step here. Finally. You need some paper to line the inside of the cover. I recommend using a cardstock weight rather than plain paper. Cut 2 pieces 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" and score down the middle.
 Spread your glue all over the back of the liner and you are going to adhere one side to the cover and the other side to the first sheet of paper. I found the easiest way to do this was to put the crease in to the space between the cover and the spine then line it up with the first page of the book. After that was attached then I glued down the other side. Here I used my bone folder to make sure that both sides of the liner were adhered well and to take care of any bubbles or wrinkles that might occur
This very last picture just shows me holding the liner and the first page of the book. Those are going to be glued together.

And there you have it. Your book is done. You can decorate the front if you want or just leave it like that. Now go fill those pages.

I hope that I explained all of this well enough but if not you can always email me with any questions you have.

29 comments:

jeanlivingsimple said...

Ann, I wish I had your drive to create such neat items!

Rose Clearfield said...

Catching up with yesterday and today...thanks for this detailed tutorial!

Ginny Hartzler said...

You are patient and precise! When you put your mind to anything, it is always beautiful and correct!

booahboo said...

wow! you made your own journal.. which is pretty neat. Thanks for sharing the tutorial with us. I should try and make these for the kids here :) cos these journals are very expensive to buy here.

sorry we have been awayyyyyyyyyyyy... i must have missed a lot abouts you and Duke. Hope you both are doing great.

Pat said...

Very well explained, thank you!
Now I need to get in gear and try it.. :)

Unknown said...

Glue has never been my friend. Sigh.

bichonpawz said...

Excellent tutorial Ann! You should teach a class at Michael's !

Thanks for the tips!!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

The result is beautiful! Well done!

Duni said...

It looks so easy when YOU do it :)
I'm going to add that foam brush to my shopping list too, that's a good tool to have!

Anonymous said...

I shall always be admiring of folks like you who think of, and create things like this...It never ceases to amaze me...

Catherine said...

Gosh ~ such a fun project Ann! You are so crafty and creative!
xo Catherine

DebbieM said...

You make this look easy, but I bet I could mess it up royally!! :)
Where did you go to get the lined pages. I want to give this a try myself. I might just have enough fabric lying around here. :)

MadSnapper said...

you write a great tutorial. and is there any other glue besides cheap dollar store glue? why pay more since it works great. if someone is making this and doesn't have material, how about left over wall paper or drawer liner paper...

Chatty Crone said...

I like how you did the tutorial in three sessions - not so overwhelming. But I do have to tell you - you did a perfect job - it came out gorgeous. sandie

Hootin Anni said...

Wow....I must tellya, I've bookmarked this blog post for future reference. You make it look so simple, but I know without these instructions and great photo tutorial, I'd be all thumbs.

Oh, and as I type this today, your "You might also like" blog links...I see "Search Party"...with Duke sniffing around. cute, cute, cute!!

Helen said...

Super, Ann! I can't wait to make one, two, may be three. I had to go away so I have no choice but to wait.

Bossy Betty said...

So cool! I had never thought of making my own journal before but I love the idea.

Sandee said...

Way cool indeed. You are so talented. I'm impressed.

Have a terrific day. My best to Duke. :)

tahtimbo said...

This is an amazing tutorial!! You take us step by step through each process and make it seem so easy. You should be teaching classes in this!

Tammy said...

You did a great job on this tutorial. You make it look so easy. What a nice gift this would make. I think I just might try it.

BeadedTail said...

I will certainly have to try to make one of these! Thank you for taking the time to do the tutorial Ann!

john bain said...

I knew it would turn out all right.

Marg said...

Ok, now we have all the instructions and now need to get to work. I love craft stuff so really need to try to do this. Just have to get motivated. Thanks for these great instructions. Take care.

Reeni said...

Your book turned out great! Your instructions were very clear. I can't wait to make one - I even got my Mom involved!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wonderful, Ann... It looks PERFECT to me. I will keep these instructions --but doubt that I'll ever attempt to make my own. Maybe one of my granddaughters will be more talented in those areas than I am...

Thanks so much.
Hugs,
Betsy

Reena said...

Great results! So talented you are, lady!

Sharkbytes said...

Makes me want to make some, but I don't know what I'd do with them. I've found over the years that I won't use them to write in because I value the book as a craft more than as a thing to use, and friends don't seem to value them at all.

Marie said...

Great tutorial Ann! You make it look so easy! I may have to try it even though I'm not a crafty person. :)

Debra Dickinson said...

Oh, my! Thank you SO much for posting this. I have MAJOR catching up to do. Woohoo. Can't wait to give this a try! Did I say thank you? :)

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