2021 Handmade Journal Cover

Hey everyone! DT Angela here, back with a fun handmade journal cover. Over the last few months, I became interested in letting and also improving my handwriting. I wanted a journal I can practice in, but that would also be pretty. This month Gold and Silver Cardstock are our featured products.

I started with my selections of cardstock, some pattern paper, and a composition notebook. I used the following:

Curious Metallic Cardstock in Gold Leaf, Basis Cardstock in Aqua, Teal, Black, and Magenta.

I cut a piece of the Black Basis cardstock at 9 3/4″ x 6 1/2″ and the Gold at 5 1/2 ” x 9″. I then cut a strip of the teal cardstock at 9 3/4″ x 1/2″. This will be the base of the cover.

This next step is personal preference, but since my composition notebook has rounded covers, I got out my corner rounder and rounded the corners with the 1/2″ side.

Next, I adhered the gold cardstock to the black and then used ScoreTape to adhere them to the notebook. I used this adhesive because the notebook’s cover is poly, and I wanted it to stay put.

Next, I added my strip. This covers the seam and adds more color to coordinate with the pattern paper I am using.

Then, I cut a piece of black cardstock at 5 1/4″ x 5 3/4″ and Aqua at 5″ x 5 1/2″.

Once I adhered them together, I added them to my layout on the cover. I love how the Aqua pops against the black.

Now I want to add in the magenta and the pattern. I cut a piece of black cardstock at 4 1/4″ x 5 1/4″. My magenta was 4″ x 5″. Next, I added my pattern paper. I love the colorful nature of this pattern paper from La-La Land Crafts- Summer Vibes. I cut it at 5 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ and the black to mat with 5 3/4″ x 3 3/4″.

Normally, I would ink all of my edges, but I really liked how the clean, crisp edges looked, so I opted for those this time. I added the rest of my layers to the layout.

Next, I die-cut a couple of Chevrons from a Die from La-La Land Crafts and added them towards the bottom of the layout. These match the paper so beautifully.

Lastly, I cut 2 of the Twenty21 die (also from La-La Land Crafts) and adhered them together.

To finish the layout, I moved 2021 up a bit and adhered to the layout. A few enamel dots were added, and we have a fun cover.

I hope that you enjoyed this handmade journal cover project and would love to hear what you would journal about. Until next time! Angela