DIY Sketchbook/Planner/Journal Tutorial

Hi friends! I love to make little books! You can use whatever paper you want and make them for any occasion. I made this to be my summer bullet journal (think of it as a to-do list, planner and notebook combined) and I wanted a paper nice enough to do little sketches in too. I wanted it to be small enough to carry with me and a splash proof cover because sometimes I work at the beach! When you live in Maine you need to squeeze every drop of sunshine out of summer!

This book can be made using basic craft supplies. You can use patterned scrapbook paper for the cover but if you want the exact paper I used for the cover you can download it from Graphicstock, they are giving my viewers a 7 day free trial if you are interested. If you don’t have a laminator you can use clear Contact paper or packing tape or use a cereal box as a sturdy cover, it is your journal, make it however you want! I will also show you how to make planner clips and charms from shrink plastic (did you ever make shrinky-dinks as a kid?) Watch the video to see how!

Supplies:

• White Cardstock
• Computer and Printer
• Scoring board 
• Cutting mat 
• Metal Ruler
• Craft Knife
• Laminator
• Laminating pouch
• Shrink Plastic 
• Satin Cord
• Crop a dial hole punch *this has an eyelet setter on it but I prefer the old school kind as I have a hard time getting the leverage to flatten them with the larger crop a dial.
• Eyelet setter  *you need a hammer to use this tool!
• Eyelets
• White drawing paper (cut to 6″x9″)  *use the type of paper YOU want to have in your sketchbook or planner:)
• Alcohol markers 
• Heat tool
• Silicone mat 
• Silicon tools

Remember the above supply list is what I used, dig through your stash and use what you have on hand but if you need something you don’t have you can find it easily with the above affiliate links.

Oh! One more thing, several people asked about making a watercolor journal, you can do it the same way but you are better off using fewer sheets per signature (group of pages) since the pages are so thick but you can use more total signatures in your book. It will also help it lay flay and reduce wast from trimming the “page creep”. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and til next time happy crafting!

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