Mini Journal Tutorial

As mentioned before, I try to reuse materials as much as I can. We go through a lot of cereal, popcorn and mac and cheese around here, and all those cardboard boxes really pile up. I decided one day that instead of throwing them all out, I would get a little crafty and make a few mini journals. They make great simple gifts and are super easy to make. And fun to decorate!

These are the supplies I use:

- cardboard/cardstock of desired size

- paper for the pages

- cardstock (regular paper will do) 

- needle and thread (I like embroidery floss best)

- box cutter

- paper cutter

-glue (not pictured!)

Scissors will do fine for cutting up the box and paper, but I suck at cutting a straight line.

First, you'll want to cut up your box. You'll only need one piece for your journal, but I'll save the other piece since I'm sure I'll be making another in the near future. If you like, you can leave it as is, but I like to pull the top layer of the cardboard off so I no longer have the big popcorn label. It may not come off in one clean rip, but that's ok! You'll cover it up later. If the edges are a little rough or uneven, go ahead and trim it up. 

Once you have the desired size for the cover, it's time to cut up your page inserts. For the size of my journal, I cut regular printer paper in half, and then folded it in half. Then I trimmed it to fit nicely inside the cover. You don't want any of the pages hanging out when closed. You can add as many pages as you like. I cut up 12 pieces of paper so mine is just a 24 page journal. 

Next you'll want to mark where you'll be threading the journal together. I marked them an inch apart, but you can mark it however you wish. I used my embroidery needle to poke through the paper, and then through the cover to make it easier to thread together. 

Depending on how thick your journal is, you may need to do a few pages at a time. If you have a paper piercing tool, that would be best, but I don't have one at the moment, so I use my needle.

Now it's time to stitch it together! This is my favorite part, watching it come together. If you don't have any thread, you can also staple it together.

I wait until I have it put together before I start designing the cover, but it can definitely be done beforehand. The fun thing about these is that you can decorate it any way you wish - embroidery, drawing, painting, cover it up with washi tape - get creative! 

I like to cover up the backside of the embroidered cover so I measure and cut a piece of colorful cardstock. Also, if you have any stubborn pieces that wouldn't come off the cardboard when peeling the label off, this is a great way to cover it up!

And there you have it! All done! 

If you have any questions on the tutorial, let me know!