Handmade Art Journals

When I first heard of making your own journal my first thought was, why would anyone do that when there are soooo many to choose from at the art store? Well, I’m now a convert. The luxury of being able to choose your own paper is so fantastic! Maybe I’ve just had one too many spray inks soak through the paper and ruin a piece of my artwork on the other side, but I love that I can buy my favourite paper, cut the paper as required and have a custom journal to work in.

Here are some of my handmade art journals (still working on the art inside!):

Then I took it a step further and made a bound book using a vintage book cover – not nearly as difficult as I thought it’d be, thanks to a handy little discovery known as gaffer tape.

Here’s how I did it… (Click on the first pic for a gallery to appear.)

Pick your paper. For this journal I used 12×12 scrapbook paper.

Organize into two signatures (2 nests of paper). One signature is pictured here.

Gently remove book pages from cover and reinforce spine with gaffer tape. (Inside cover.)

Bundle one signature together. Use an awl to poke 3 holes.

Sew the papers together and repeat for the 2nd signature using a tapestry needle and book binding thread or dental floss.

Poke holes in spine that line up with holes in signatures.

I added a tag before I tied off the string.

Here’s what it looks like on the outside with one signature sewn in.

Embellish away! Here’s the inside front cover.

Used a vintage dictionary page. (Those are extra ‘pockets’ on the right to add in as needed.)

On the left is a Trader Joe’s chocolate bar wrapper I thought was cute.

I plan on uploading a video tutorial soon. It may be a little easier to see this in action! I’d LOVE to see a handmade journal you’ve created!

8 thoughts on “Handmade Art Journals”

What a cool thing to do! Thanks for sharing and yes, I think a video would help make the process be clearer.

Thanks! Glad you agree about the video. There are a lot of steps and if it were me I’d rather see it than read about it! Now I just have to make another journal… 😉

Hi Christine, I love it, thanks for explaining all the process. I should give it a try, maybe a small one for starting.

Christina Lorraine Young (a.k.a. seena) says:

September 25, 2014 at 8:51 pm

You are so welcome! I’d love to see your journal, Elizabeth. Nothing wrong with starting small!

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Love it Christina. It is definitely you in the art work and journal. I will try to get organized and show you what I can accomplish with your direction! You are such an artistic gal. 😊😍

Christina Lorraine Young (a.k.a. seena) says:

September 25, 2014 at 8:52 pm

Aw, shucks Robin! Thank you for your kind words. Can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to, creatively speaking!

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