Past Memories, a Masculine Small Journal

If you love the style of Tim Holtz or are a fan Eileen Hull’s scoreboard dies, this post is for you. If you’ve found yourself wishing you could find a handmade, masculine small journal for yourself or to give as a gift, this post is for you too. Introducing my latest journal creation, the Past Memories Journal.

How I Created It

I started with the Eileen Hull Passport Journal Die. Using my stash of cardboard to recycle, I chose a lightweight piece that came from a package of K-cups, and covered it with paper from my Tim Holtz Dapper paper pad. I used one design on the cover pieces, a second design on the spine piece and a third design for the inside of all three pieces. Because the Tim Holtz paper is relatively heavy, this ended up creating a sturdy material for the journal cover.

After cutting it with the journal die, which is made for heavier weight material, I used Fabri-Tac glue to adhere the front and back covers to the spine. Then using my Walnut Stain Distress Ink I antiqued the edges of the cover, both inside and out. Now it was time to create my mini collage to decorate the cover.

Decorating the Cover

I chose one of Tim’s Found Relatives as the focal point, placing it on top of jute string and a ticket from one of Mr. Holtz’s ephemera packs. I aged it a bit with some Tea Dye Distress Crayon and more Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I chose a couple more pieces of ephemera to layer on top of the photo of the dapper found relative image, stamping in the center of one of them with a stamp from the Field Notes stamp set by Stampers Anonymous. Once I had aged everything with the ink, I glued it down with Fabri-Tac and waited for it to dry.

Once I was sure the glue was dry, I threaded the holes in the spine with 2mm elastic cord following these instructions at Bountiful Heirlooms. Then I covered a mini composition book from the Dollar Tree with the same paper I used for the spine and finding the center of the notebook, slipped it onto the center elastic.

For the closure, I used my Crop-o-Dile to punch matching holes in the front and back covers, inserted a bronze eyelet, again with the trusty Crop -o-dile. I threaded some jute thread through two matching buttons, one for the inside front cover and one for the inside back cover, leaving a length of jute thread suitable for tying on each. I then threaded the length through the eyelet on each cover. Using Fabri-Tac again, I glued each button right behind the eyelet and used a binder clip to hold them in place until the glue set. This allows me to tie the journal closed easily.

Reusable and Flexible, Makes a Great Gift

The two additional sections of elastic cord in the spine will allow for the addition of more notebooks or passport sized inserts. This masculine themed journal would make a great Father’s Day gift or birthday gift. If you’re interested in purchasing this journal, be watching my Etsy shop or email me to purchase before it is listed.