Pocket Journal Step-by-Step Visual Instructions

Hello and welcome to friends old and new!! I'm doing things a little bit differently today for a special purpose! I was asked to help create journal kits for the youth group of our church for day camp on Saturday.  I am using this platform to facilitate a visual look and step by step instructions on how the journals are assembled! I so wish I could be with each of you for camp, but please know that I am there in spirit and I hope you have a fabulous day despite things being "different than usual"!  Always remember, you are loved NO MATTER WHAT! 

Each of you will be given a kit with everything you will need to compete your journal! I do need to add, however,that this journal is NOT my design, but was created by my friend and SU! demonstrator Melissa Colledge! I have just used her darling journal as an example to create mine, as well as your kits, so let's get started!!!

The first step is to carefully trim around the laminated journal cover leaving about a 1/16 inch border. You can trim a little closer if you feel like you have a steady hand! The lamination is slippery, so you can actually just slide the scissors carefully down each side, but be careful to be steady! Take extra time to trim evenly around the rounded corners. If you look closely at this photo, you can see there are three score lines; one going directly down the center and two on either side of the center line. You will need to fold these sharply. You can use the edge of a credit card or a bone folder if you have one!

Once it is folded, you will have created a spine, which will be where the actual journal notebooks are attached. I will show how to do that in a bit!

This is how it should look on the side. You will notice that there is a hole right in the center of the spine. Locate that on your journal for the next step.

In your kit, you have two different pieces of elastic cord. For this next step, you will need the SHORTER piece. Thread the two ends through the outside of the journal spine leaving a loop that is long enough to secure your journal. You may want to scroll up to the first two photos for a visual of what I mean. You don't want this loop to be too tight or too loose! 

Tie a single or double knot with the two ends on the inside. You want to make sure that the knots are large enough so that it won't pull back through the hole! Go ahead and trim the ends when you feel like it is the correct length!

Each of your kits contain 15 pieces of white copy paper. You will need to put these together in stacks of 5 and then fold them crisply down the center. These will be the pages for your journal.

There are also 3 different pieces of coordinating pattern paper. Go ahead and fold those in half as well! These are the covers to create the notebooks for the journals. Once that is done, place the folded typing paper into each of the three covers.

Using a long arm stapler, staple the center crease of the covers and typing paper to secure them together. Staple one near the top and one near the bottom.

Next, you will want to open the journal cover and place one of the notebooks equidistant from the top and the bottom to give you an idea of where the holes need to be punched. You can see that I have made dots with a Sharpie pen to give you a visual look of where they need to be. Make sure the holes are just slightly below the top and bottom of the notebook.

I have included a hole punch for each of your groups so check with your leader to get the 1/8 inch hole punch. You don't want to use anything larger! Punch the three holes at the bottom and three holes at the top.

You can see how the holes should look in this photo.

This part might look tricky, but it's really simple. You will need to cut the larger piece of elastic in half. Starting with one piece, thread it through the TOP middle hole starting on the inside. Move it directly to the left and back through the top left hole. Stretch it down the left side and out the bottom left hole and back into the center. Knot the two end together tightly. Repeat this step, but move to the right.

These three lines of elastic are to secure your notebooks in place. It also allows you to add a new notebook if one gets filled up! You will need to open up the stapled notebook at the center and slide it under the elastic until it rests in the center (where the staples are).

Repeat this step with each of the three notebooks!

Each of your kits includes a binder clip that you can use to secure any of the three notebooks. It's just a fun touch, as well!

Each of your kits include a charm, a lobster clasp, and a spiral jump ring. You will need to put the lobster clasp onto the jump ring and then add the charm to the jump ring as well. It is just like putting a key on a key ring! You shouldn't need any tools or pliers to get this done.

Wrap the elastic around the journal and then add your charm! 

That's it! You're done! I hope you've enjoyed making these journals and I hope you'll take the time to use it! You also have a pen in your kit so you can get going right away! Thanks for joining me today and thanks for fluttering by!