Many of us who love vintage have a special place in our hearts for vintage books and journals. Today I am showing you how to make a DIY vintage journal that makes a beautiful gift or vintage display item.
The gift giving season is upon us and many of us are thinking about what to give the people we love. Handmade gifts are my favorite to give and I know many of you feel the same. Today I am showing you how to make a DIY vintage journal that makes the perfect gift for the vintage lover in your life.
They also make the perfect addition to your own vintage decor! I use them as risers in my vingnettes, and mix them in to other decorative displays. These gorgeous handmade journals also make beautiful guestbooks or photo albums for vintage themed weddings. However you decide how to use your handmade vintage journals, I hope you love them as much as I do!
DIY Vintage Journal
Many of you know that I love working with old book pages and antique sheet music. Anything that I create with them is as unique as the vintage pages that I use. Because I will likely never find that same pages twice. Or use them in the same exact way.
When you make your own vintage journal, you get the chance to display several examples of vintage books pages. Each one unique and interesting in its own way. And the best part is, we get to bring those pages out in the open where they can be appreciated. Instead of laying hidden away somewhere.
Let’s Talk Muslin Shreds
I use muslin shreds in so many of my crafts. They give texture and add to the beautiful aged look of my projects. I just love them! And they are so easy to make. I sit in front of the T.V. and just snip and tear away until I have a good sized pile of shreds.
Then, when I have a few extra minutes, I stain them with strong tea, let them dry, and they are ready whenever I need them. Want to learn exactly how I make and stain my muslin shreds? Check out my post Making Muslin Shreds!
DIY Vintage Journal Supply List
- Any book (use a neutral color book if you can. If you have one that is a dark color, just paint it along the edges where some of the book color may peak through.)
- Mod Podge
- Paint brush
- Vintage book and/or music pages
- Scissors
- Exacto knife or box cutter is handy to have too
- Hole punch
- Muslin shreds
- Small vintage treasures (metal tags, buttons, skeleton keys, etc)
- Nice paper for your journal pages
DIY Vintage Journal Cover Instructions
- Start by removing the dust jacket from your book, if it has one.
- Grab the vintage pages you will be using. I like to have a small pile of options to work with because covering the book is like a puzzle. And I don’t always start out knowing which pieces are going to go together.
- Play with the pages you have until you have an idea of how you want them to go onto the book. I always tear the edges of my pages. This gets rid of the straight lines as well as the blank area around the words and images.
- Now give the front of your book a coat of Mod Podge. Then start placing your pages where you want them. Don’t be afraid to wrap your pages around the spine and. This continuation helps the pages to blend together more naturally.
- You also want to wrap pages around to the back of the front cover. We want the whole cover covered, (hehe). Including the edges.
- Continue adding Mod Podge and pages until the entire outside of your book is covered. Then give the whole thing a final coat of Mod Podge to seal it all in place.
- For the inside of your covers, add a coat of Mod Podge to the whole thing and then stick the first/last page of your book to it. That will make everything look clean and even. You will still see the pages around the edge but it will look crisp and clean.
Decorating a Vintage Journal Instructions
- Once your book is covered with vintage book pages and music sheets, it is time to work on your journal pages. Grab about 10 pages in the front of your book and punch 2 holes through them.
- Then feed a muslin shred through the hole and tie it in a knot. Trim the ends if you need to. It is easier to start with a longer shred and trim it then it is to tie a short shred.
- Gather the next 10ish pages and punch a couple of holes this time. Tie them both with shreds. Continue on through the book, punching 1-3 holes through 10 page sections and tying them with the muslin shreds.
- When your pages are all tied, it is time to add your vintage treasures. I glued little button piles to the cover of my book. You can also tie small vintage items to the muslin shreds. Cabinet keys, skeleton keys, and vintage metal tags are all perfect for this.
- If you are going to use your vintage book as a photo album or strictly as a decor item, you can stop here. If you want to use your book as a vintage journal, there are just a couple more steps.
Making Vintage Journal Pages
- To turn your book pages into ones that can be written on you just need to add clean paper to each tied section in your book. You can use any paper you want for this but I like to look for paper with a parchment or aged look. Your local craft store probably has some great options.
- Cut your clean paper to the size you need it for your book. I like to let some of the actual book pages peek around the edges of my clean paper if possible.
- Using a paper cutter is ideal so you can cut several sheets at once. But most of us don’t have access to one. A slide cutter used for scrap booking is useful for getting your pages cut to exact dimensions. Or, good old fashioned scissors will work too!
- Once your pages are cut, use the Mod Podge to glue them into place in your book. Let the glue dry and your vintage journal is ready to use!
The Wrap Up
And that’s how you make your own DIY vintage journal! Whether you use if for vintage journaling, mix them in with your vintage decor, or give them as gifts. I hope you get as much joy out of them as I have.
I would love to see how you use your handmade vintage journals in your own home. So if you post any pictures of your them on social media, tag me so I can check them out! As always, I hope you love this project as much as I do. Happy crafting, friends!
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