I love journals and handmade books. …..any shape or size! My favorites are handmade books with “content”. You may remember the Star book from June’s blog…..it was filled with quotes about “freedom”. This “stick bound” journal is one of the easiest books to create and making multiples is a breeze. Match the quotes to the paper theme. They make marvelous gifts! I often create books a certain size because I have odd size papers etc. I had a stack of long skinny scrap paper, mat board scraps and some wallpaper pieces that were perfect for the covers. I will list the measurements for my book but please do not be stuck with this size…..make your book whatever size you want. Even though my book is “landscape” oriented….it can also be made “portrait” oriented.
At the end of this post, I’ve shared a bit of inspiration called “10 Rules for Being Human”. The author is unknown. These thoughts would make great quotes to be added to this handmade journal.
Materials:
- Mat board: back cover 5 x 11 ¼”
- front cover 5 x 1 1/8″ and 5 x 10″
- Pages: 4 ½ x 10 ¾”
- Wallpaper for covers: two pieces 7 x 13″ and scrapes for die cuts
- Solid color paper for inside the covers: two pieces 4 ¾ x 10 ¾”
- Spellbinders Grand Calabur II cutting and embossing machine
- Dies: CherryLyn: B119 Tropical Leaves
- Westcott™ paper trimmer
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Japanese screw punch & 1/8” bit
- Beacon QuickGrip™ and ZipDry™ adhesive
- Old cc to use for spreading the ZipDry™ adhesive
- Double sided foam tape or dots
- Stick for spine
- Heavy thread to match the wall paper for binding
- Computer generated quotes, sayings, poems or? Match the font to the theme.
Instruction:
- Die cut the tropical leaves from the scraps of wallpaper.
- To create the journals:
- Cut the 2 pieces of wallpaper 1 ½” larger than the mat board.
- Spread a thin coat of ZipDry™ adhesive onto the back side of the wallpaper.
- Center the mat board piece for the back cover onto the wallpaper.
- Miter the corners…..leaving a tiny bit more than the thickness of the mat board.
- Apply additional adhesive to the flaps if needed. Secure the flaps to the other side of the mat board.
- Apply the adhesive to the back side of the wallpaper.
- Place the two front cover pieces of mat board onto the wallpaper, leaving 1/8” between the two pieces. Miter the corners and wrap the flaps to the back side.
- Apply a thin coat of adhesive to the matching papers and place in the back side of the covers.
- Measure 1 ½” from the top and bottom hinge part of journal, use the Japanese screw Punch to create holes.
- Place the pages inside of the covers, mark and create holes in all of the pages. (Remember the pages are a bit smaller than the covers.)
- Bind the journal by attaching the sticks with the heavy duty thread.
- Attach the die cuts with double side foam tape or dots.
Note: You can find a lot of videos on the internet showing how to create many different bindings.
“10 Rules for Being Human” (author unknown).
Rule #1: You will be given a body.
Make peace with your body. Accept its’ imperfections and
respect what your body needs to run at its’ optimum performance.
Rule #2: You will be presented with lessons.
As you travel through life, you will encounter lessons unique to you.
Be open to those lessons and chose actions that align with your true path.
Rule # 3: There are no mistakes….only lessons.
View mistakes as opportunities to learn. Be compassionate, learn to forgive,
live your life ethically and keep a sense of humor.
Rule # 4: A lesson is repeated until learned.
Do you find yourself repeating the same patterns in your life?
Learn to recognize the patterns and the lessons that they offer.
Rule # 5: Learning does not end.
If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned. Embrace your job as a perpetual student of life.
Rule # 6: There is no “better” than here.
Live in the present. Dance the fine line between living in the here and now while holding in your heart your fondest dreams and aspirations for the future.
Rule # 7: Others are only mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.
Rule # 8: What you make of your life is up to you.
Every person creates his or her own reality. Imagine yourself at 90 years old looking back on your life. What do you see?
Rule # 9: Your answers lie within you.
All you need to do is look inside and trust yourself.
Rule # 10: You will forget all of this at birth.
Somewhere along your journey from the spiritual world to the physical world, you will forget these rules.