This is my first attempt at making a journal. I took a composition book that I bought at a local store and covered the front, back and inside covers with scrapbook paper. I adorned it with punches, ribbon, and stickers. I'm moderately happy with the way it turned out but I decided not to sell it since it was my first attempt and I want to work out the kinks.
I learned a few things. First, I want to work with a hard cover book. I believe there are composition books with hard covers. Or at least, thicker covers. This one is flimsy like those cheapy notebooks you buy in school to take notes in. Because of how thin it is, the cover got bent on the way home from the store. I don't really know how this happened, but I figure that if a trip home from the store can bend it, it's not going to be sturdy enough for someone to carry around with them. I don't know what people do with their journals but I used to carry mine in my backpack. This would not hold up in my backpack, too flimsy.
Another thing I learned is that you can't do two rows of double stick tape right next to each other. I messed up so I did this. I didn't get my first piece of tape close enough to the edge so I just put another one down with it. That was a mistake. It created a little ridge once I put the paper on top of it. I covered it with the circle punches and the piece of paper that says journal on it. But if it had not been for that mistake, I think those decorations would be a bit lower on the book.
Also, on the inside of the book, I put some stripes at the top of the inside back cover and I think that they would have looked a million times better on the bottom of the page. And I'm also questioning my choice of putting the little stickers on them.
But overall, I am happy with what I made. I think it's a hip, fun book that I could see a teen or even someone in their early twenties using. It looks a million time better than the ugly black cover of the original composition book. I think these will make great gifts. I intend on making them for friends and relatives birthdays from now on. They are inexpensive to make and they look nice. I have some more ideas on different kinds of books to make too.
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