Hybrid Happenings - Make Your Own Mini-Journal

Hybrid Happenings – July 2022​

Welcome to the Hybrid Happenings – the place to exchange inspiration and ideas, tips and tools, and to share hybrid project how-to guides.

In the month of July, we are going to explore…drum roll…homemade books and journals. Say what?

Yes. A big “THANK YOU” to those who participated in the hybrid poll. Traveler’s Notebooks and Mini-Books were the #1 picked items to explore.

So let’s get started!​

Paper Bag Journal – Basic Steps
1. Gather materials and supplies.
2. Cut off the paper bag bottoms.
3. Assemble the bags: Fold bags in half; nesting one inside the other.
4. Bind with stitching.

Step 1: Gather Materials
a. Paper bags: For this project I used three (3) paper bags from the grocer sized 12.5” x 6” (31.75cm x 15.24cm). Without adornments, the final project is approximately 5” x 6” and yields six (6) pockets with ten (10) pages inside.
b. Metal Ruler
c. Cutting Device: rotary cutter, and/or exacto-knife, and/or scissors
d. Paper piercer: I used one from Memory Keepers; and a Crop-A-Dile
e. Embroidery needle
f. Embroidery thread: I use 54” (~137cm) of thread separated into a 3-strand thickness (so it fits through the eye of my needle).
g. Cutting board
h. Pencil



Step 2: Cut off the paper bag bottoms
a. Fold the bottom of the bag over itself.
b. If using a rotary cutter or exacto-knife, place the metal ruler over the folded bottom.
c. Keeping your fingers firmly on the metal ruler, cut through the paper bag. Cut one bag at a time.

- With the rotary cutter, I used a back-and-forth motion while cutting. This ensured I cut through the entire thickness of the bag.

- When using an exacto-knife, I made multiple cuts through the bag, until the entire thickness was cut. I prefer the rotary cutter.

- If using scissors, I recommend using a ruler and pencil to place a light guide over the bag before cutting.

Note: Cutting off the bottom of the bag will result in a mini receptacle that you can use to collect little bits of paper scraps. Or keep the bottom for future use as ephemera.



Step 3: Assemble the bags
a. Fold the bags in half, length wise.
b. Assemble in a nesting fashion, one inside the other.

Step 4: Bind the bags
a. On your nested bags, towards the spine, use a ruler and pencil to place piercing guides, approximately 1cm apart.
b. Holding the bags firmly, pierce through the bags at each guide. Go slow and use caution so you don’t punch through your fingers or hand. I use a wiggling and pushing motion. Once one side is complete, flip over and repeat (to make the hole bigger).

- I attempted to pierce the bags with a paper punch. The blunt edge of the punching device did not go through the multiple layers.

- I used a Crop-A-Dile and the device went through all layers like butter. However, the Crop-A-Dile produces a much bigger hole. While this hole is easier to thread, I like the look of the paper-pierced hole better.



c. With your threaded needle, bind the paper bags.
- Begin by tying off the thread at the top.
- Use your stitch of choice to bind the bags.
- When complete, tie a knot to seal the binding.
- Cut off excess threads.

Note: There are many stitches one can use. On my first book I used a chain stich. On the second book I used a backstitch. On the backstitched book, when one direction was complete, I repeated the backstitch in the opposite direction (for double strength).


OPTIONAL:
Once bound you may use your metal ruler and exacto-knife to produce cleaner edges.



Your Paper Bag Book or Journal is complete! How you decorate the pages and pockets is up to you. Stay tuned for tips and ideas!

 

Here is a project that is even easier than the Paper Bag Journal!

Materials:
- Envelopes
- Stapler
- Pencil
- Ruler

Step 1: Gather your supplies
Step 2. On the top envelop, mark where you intend to staple.
Step 3. Staple
Seriously – that’s it! Now you have an Envelope Journal.

Care to get even more creative? You could place pieces of paper between the envelopes to add additional journaling or art space.



The blank canvas excites me. So many possibilities! Thus, I started decorating my envelope journal.
-First I cut off some of the flaps.
-Then, I put a slit into the front cover. The rear cover flap slides into the slit, closing the journal.
-I added washi tape for a bit of reinforcement...and color.
-Using double sided tape, I added pops of color to the insides of the pockets.



Stay tuned for more tips and ideas!

 

@tanteva You could use a knife. Gently stick and twist.

 

Project update - I was incredibly inspired by this photoless layout from @LoveItScrapIt


And decided to use that Collaboration - Home - as the theme for my envelope journal.

I now have some fussy cut embellishments from the collection. And I made a little drop down home (complete with a door that opens to say "hi!").

I used Becca's little house as a template to make three more with card stock. The base is glued down. The word arts are adhered with dimensional tape. And the houses are held together with washi. Easy-peasy actually!

 

Hi! I totally get staying on target with an ongoing project. I have like 5 half filled journals . And now I keep making these mini-journals. I will say, sometimes I need to take a break from a specific technique. Or, if I'm working with gesso and acrylics and gel medium, I need to let things dry. One of my biggest mistakes in making art is not allowing things to dry properly. So, I have MANY journals and that turns out to be a good thing for me.

And yes! Think outside the paper bag if you decide to make your own journal. I used paper bags and envelopes because I already had these.

 

Hi again! I wanted to provide some inspiration in regards to what you can do with your homemade journals...or some other ideas on making your own.

I have a Pinterest board called Journal Books and Minis. It is located here. And the pictures below all come from that board - various artists.



The top left shows how one can fold paper over, place staples in the spine and viola - you have a book.
On the right, in the middle, is a mini-album with flip up pages (kinda like my flip down house).
The bottom left is just pure eye candy. It's another take on pocket journals.
And the bottom right is a thumb-nail sized journal. Talk about mini!!! Ha! This one is in my future for sure. I want to make this. I also want to make a match-box journal. So many projects...so little time!

By the way - if you have ever made your own journal, please feel free to share it here!

 

Do it!!!!! Scratch that itch. lol!