I LOVE homemade gifts. First of all, they usually cost less than something you buy from the store and second of all, there is time, thought and love put into them. With Christmas around the corner, I wanted to share a quick, easy and super cheap homemade gift that I have given on several occasions...jazzed up journals.
I believe that I have shared before that I journal to my kids. Each one has their own journal that I write little notes in as they grow. Sometimes, it's a long letter about how much I love them, other times it is just a snippet of what they have been up to, or something funny they did. I so look forward to giving them these journals when they are grown. How much fun will it be for them to read what was going on from a time that they cannot remember and how I was relating to them. These journals are super special to me and it's a way to document life. I also think about the fact that if the good Lord ever decided that it was time to take me home, my kids would have a little piece of me and my thoughts left behind in these journals.
I used to stand on the journal aisle at the bookstore for 30 minutes trying to decide what journal to get for each of my kids. I can't lie, I am a sucker for soft leather bound journals with leather ties and thick line free paper. Something about those just feels timeless and that there is a secret inside (so maybe I'm weird). Those journals however, always run about $25-$30. When you live on a budget, that seems INSANE for some paper. So, I decided to start personalizing my own journals. With a little time and a couple bucks, you can make a cute gift or a personal journal. Here's how:
You will need: a composition book (so the paper stays bound), your choice of fabric (enough to cover the journal inside and out, a glue gun, and any embellishments you may want on it.
Now just wrap that journal up in fabric and glue it (cutting to size). Make sure that you don't make your fabric too thick when you fold it over, or your journal will not close. Then add your flair with your glue gun to the front. You could also wrap a pen in matching fabric. Here is how the latest one that I made for my sweet friend Blair (Happy 30th) turned out.
Happy Journaling!!!
I used pleated trim to make the flower on the front. Just roll around and glue as you go.
Make sure to cover the inside too! but remember if it is too thick, it won't close very well. You can always add a band and button around the outside if needed. The great thing about composition books, is they last forever and it's really hard to get the pages to fall out.
1 comments:
such a great idea!
Post a Comment