Make a journal from paper, masking tape, and paint that looks like a leather book. The inside has blank pages so you can use this book to record your poems, diary entries, or drawings.
Materials to Make a Leather-Look Journal
For each journal, you will need:
- A piece of cardstock
- One piece of construction paper
- Four-to-six sheets of photocopy/printer paper
- A roll of masking tape, any width
- White glue or a glue stick
- Black or brown tempera paint
- Paintbrush
- Stapler or corrugated cardboard, push pin, embroidery needle, black or brown embroidery floss
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
Creating the Journal Cover
Take a sheet of cardstock. Cover it with pieces of masking tape torn into different sizes. Keep the pieces small. Overlap some of the pieces of tape and angle some in different directions. If a piece of tape wrinkles, rub the wrinkle as flat as you can with your thumbnail.
Fold some pieces of tape over the edges by at least one inch, giving the ends of the paper some strength. Don’t worry if this looks messy, you’ll glue construction paper on the inside cover later.
When the entire piece of cardstock is covered with tape, brush on brown or black tempera paint. Spread the paint thin so you can see the texture of the tape. Let the paint dry completely before handling. Remember to paint the tape that is on the inside of the cover.
With the ruler and pencil, measure the construction paper so you have one piece of paper 7 ½” x 10”.
Center the construction paper onto the inside cover and glue in place. Let the glue dry.
Assembling the Journal
Fold the tape-covered cardstock in half. Fold four to six pieces of letter size paper in half. Keep in mind that each piece of paper, once folded, becomes four pages in your journal.
You have two options for binding your journal.
- To staple the journal together: Set the paper within the journal cover. If you have a swing-arm stapler, open the stapler. Open your journal so it is flat on a hard surface that won’t be damaged by staples. Place three staples along the fold binding the pages and the cover together.
- To sew the journal together: Set the open journal on the corrugated cardboard. Use a pushpin to poke holes through all the paper and the cover. Make the holes ½” to 1” apart. Thread the embroidery needle with the embroidery floss. Sew up through one hole and down through the next. When you get to the end, stitch back toward the beginning so there are no gaps of thread along the binding. Knot the embroidery floss in place.
Set the journal beneath a stack of heavy books for 30-to-60 minutes so the book doesn’t flap open.
You can try making additional journals using different colored paints. You can also try making patterns with the masking tape. Keep your journal with you so you can jot down your thoughts, doodle, or draw pictures.
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