Heartartz: Journal tutorial ~ #1 Make your own Journal

To Journal or not to Journal? That seems to be the question of the day.
Followed next by, "How do I journal?"
Then, "What do I journal?"
Stop the questions and...."JUST DO IT" (another non-"original idea")

I have always half-heatedly started a journal....but mine were a diary, which I soon abandoned for fear I would perish and "someone would read my personal thoughts". Well not this time.
I committed to a Yahoo group journal swap. While technically we are not actually swapping our journals. Members may choose to swap pages with a partner or not. All members must post pictures of their page from the theme of the month.

Over this past year I have discovered that journaling can be whatever you want it.
A journal can take many forms but it is primarily a vehicle to express your feelings at that moment.
A diary format does not do it for me, so I am going to do art journal pages instead. While I could easily make a journal book, I decided it would be quicker to find a pre-made book. I found a photo album. It is bound together with ribbon and more pages can be added.
Best of all I found it at Target in the $1 bargain bin!!!
The cover is pretty but not me, so I proceeded to do an Ultimate Makeover on my new journal!

Well here goes... here it is my first tutorial...
(My artzy crafty artist friends who know how to do this can skip this lesson and my friends who think they are not artists..take notes.)

Journal Assignment #1 ~ Alter or make your journal!
First, take photo album apart or make your own.
Cut mat board to the desired size. My journal is 7 5/8 x 6 1/4. Score in from edge at 1" and fold. Punch two holes centered (1 1/2" from edge and 3 1/4" apart).

Gesso the front and back covers (in and out) or cover with paper.

For the pages. You can use what they provided or cut more pages.
The pages in my journal are 8 1/4" x 5 5/8". An 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper cut in half will give you 2 (8 1/2 x 5 1/2), which fit nicely between the covers..
I decided to replace the pages with watercolor paper. Using an original page as a template, I cut a desired # of pages to 8 1/4" x 5 5/8".

Fold in 3/4" from the edge, glue down, then fold in 1" again. Fold the 1" fold back flat.
Punch 2 holes thu the 3/4" folded edge, using original page as template.
Now repeat for additional pages, note you can always add more later.

To bind your Journal, choose a pretty ribbon, cording yarn or any kind of tie your heart desires. 20" works for 8-12 pages but if you want more pages you will need longer ribbon.
The beauty of this type of Journal is that each day, it is up to you if you want to work in a bound journal, a single loose page or simply work on another sheet and glue it in the Journal.

Voila! You have the backbones for your Journal!