How to close your bulging journal

Every man [and woman!] should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.
Henry Ward Beecher

You know, how after a while your journal pages starts to build up and your journal becomes this bulky thing that looks like it will explode any minute?

Even if you bind your own journal, or follow my tutorial on how to alter a book by taking out a lot of pages before you start using it, this might happen. It’s just way too much fun to add in chipboard letters, thick cardstock tags, postcards, collage fodder and layers of washi tape, paint and ephemera. Oh and to stick things in with paper clips, brads or ribbon! Mmm!

So eventually it builds up. And it is a beautiful thing.

Some people love it when the book can’t be closed anymore. When it looks like three journals glued together with no beginning or end. But for me, I hate that. I don’t mind the bulky overstuffed look, but I do want my book to feel and look like an actual book even when it’s full! That is why I like this way of keeping my Art Journal closed. And it’s a very simple idea.

Get out your drill, or do as I usually do, visit someone with a wood shop and ask to borrow their drill. A pink drill is on my wish list, let me know if you know where to get one!

Use a small sized drill bit and make two small holes at the edge of your journal cover. Then turn the journal over and do the same thing on the back cover.

From the inside of the cover you thread a ribbon through the first hole, and then back through the other hole so that the two ends are on the inside. There you can simply tie them together so that they don’t fall out when you open the journal. Do the same thing on the back cover.

Now you have a way of closing your journal with a simple bow or knot. Ta-daa!

Let me know if you try this with your journal, or what other methods you use to keep a bulging journal closed! I hear sitting on them gets kind of hard in the long run…

I’m pretty pleased with the updated tutorial page. I’ve changed things up a bit, and I like that it gives you a quick overview of the tutorials I’ve created over the years – and the big variety of topics I blog about. Check it out and let me know what you think.
** Tutorials Index here.

** Also thinking of adding more articles/blog posts to the Life Ideas that I’ve covered so far, in 2014. What do you want me to write about? I just created the category/page and will add more as I go along.