Easy Custom-Decorated Notebook and Journal Covers
Every month has something we recognize. Whether it is Breast Cancer Awareness in October or Black History Month in February, there is at least one thing celebrated.
This month, I recognized Women’s History Month (and International Women’s Day) with a post on journal prompts to celebrate women’s friendships. However, I also learned that March is National Crafting Month. So, I knew I would want to honor that as well before the month was over.
“Arts and crafts” sometimes get a bad rap. They’re seen as either juvenile or something we might have time for when we retire.
But, crafting is gaining in popularity (don’t believe me? Just look up craft videos on YouTube). And, I think the reason why crafting is making a comeback may relate to what a stressful time we’re all living in.
I have been using crafting as a creative outlet, on and off, my entire life. As I wrote about in one of my first posts, fine art and craft projects are activities I do as a form of selfcare.
I love breaking out my watercolors and creating something memorable in one of my art sketchbooks. I also enjoy painting with acrylics and drawing with graphite and oil pastels.
However, I have also enjoyed scrapbooking (did a lot of it before becoming a lawyer) and working with paper crafts in general. There is something satisfying about taking basic crafting supplies, and even things around the house, and turning them into something beautiful.
So, in honor of National Crafting Month, I decided it was time to try something new. The project I have listed here is a great way to have fun with the many journals and notebooks we have purchased. I hope you all give this very easy idea a try.
Table of Contents
Decorating a Journal Cover with a Collage
If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know a few things about me. First, I’m big into planning and planners. And, second, I love journals and journaling.
I wrote an article recently about my journal lineup for 2021. I have a ton of them and I write in several each day.
I started journaling by keeping a gratitude journal and eventually starting journaling as a way to get out my feelings, track my mental health needs, and script out my goals for the future. More recently, I’ve been enjoying creative journaling, which is a form of journaling that also includes adding artwork. Of course, I wrote an article about that as well here.
I love the different notebooks and journals that I’ve purchased for creative journaling. I have several standard sized travelers’ notebooks as well as a few A5 sized notebook.
My favorite A5s are from JM Planning Essentials. I reviewed the notebooks and planners from this company in a prior post and absolutely love the quality of the paper in these little notebooks.
The Mohawk paper is 100 gsm, which means it can stand up to mixed media such as watercolor, acrylic, etc. Since I’ve been dying to try my hand at collaging in one of them, I thought it would be nice to decorate the cover of one to signal what I plan to do with it.
This gave me the idea to transform the cover into a custom-decorated work. And, the results were more than I had hoped for.
If you’d like to create a collage cover for your notebook or journal, try this easy method for creating your own custom covers.
Materials
You may have a lot of these materials lying around from old craft or school projects. They are inexpensive, and I took the liberty of linking a number of the products I found on Amazon.
Note that I am an affiliate with Amazon. If you click on and purchase anything from the Amazon links in this article, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. I am not an affiliate with JM Planning Essentials- I just love these notebooks!
Here is what I used to create the notebook cover for my JM Planning Essentials A5 notebook:
- 1 Notebook with cardstock or thicker covers (I chose this notebook from JM Planning Essentials).
- Paper scraps, paper pieces, or sticky notes for your collage. I used Cavallini Paper Co. sticky notes similar to this: (#AD)
- Decorative paper. This will be for the inside of your cover, so use enough to make 2 sheets just smaller than A5 size. I used map papers from an old Atlas as I love the way the vintage maps looked. You can also use scrapbook paper.
- Sandpaper– any grade will do. Or, pick up a sanding sponge and choose from the different-textured sides. (#AD)
- Strong glue stick. I used this one by UHU: (#AD)
- Mod Podge. This is a glue and decoupage medium. It comes in different finishes. I bought the matte finish (#AD)
- Paint Brush. This should probably be a cheaper paint brush as you’re going to use it to essentially apply glue. I wouldn’t ruin one of the ones I use for watercolor or acrylic. The ones in this set would work well. (#AD)
- Scissors. I think it’s important to have a pair that can be used to make small, precise cuts. This one is my favorite (although be careful with the tip- it’s super sharp!) (#AD)
- Paper Trimmer. You could use scissors for this, but it’s much easier to make long, straight cuts using a trimmer like this one (#AD)
- Ruler. This will help to measure out the inside covers for your paper. I am enjoying this one for craft projects as it has rubber grips on the bottom and one side acts as a guard to protect your hand when you use a craft knife.
- Pencil. To help mark the measurements for your inside papers.
- Book Binding Tape. This is definitely not a time for using duct tape. You want something that is meant to strengthen a book binding and can stand up to the book’s being opened and closed as you use it. I found this multi-color set and loved the options it provided! (#AD)
Method
It looks like there are a lot of steps here, but each step is really easy and the whole project doesn’t take much time (outside of drying time for the Mod Podge. I completed this project over the course of 2 days, and maybe put in about 2 hours total to get it all done. But, it was a lot of fun, so the time passed quickly.
1. Gather your collage papers. Depending on the type of collage you want to do, you will need to gather up all of the paper pieces you intend to use on your cover. I went with vintage-looking sticky notes, which were already small, and decided to apply them at right angles. You may wish to tear up pieces of old books or use paper scraps from other projects. Just be sure you have enough to cover the entire space of the front and back covers.
2. Sand the notebook. Unless your book cover is already textured, it will be helpful to sand the book a bit so the glue you apply will form a strong bond between the cover and your paper pieces. Scuff it up all over and be sure to wipe off any of the shavings that come off.
3. Coat the cover in glue stick. Apply your glue stick to cover every part of the notebook cover. I found it was easier to do one cover at a time, so apply the glue on one half of the book before collaging. If you apply glue to both covers, it’s likely to dry before you finish adding your paper pieces.
4. Apply your paper pieces. There is no right or wrong way to arrange your paper pieces. I do recommend having the pieces overlap over one another so you don’t end up with small sections of the original cover peeking through. It also gives it more of a collage feel to have different pieces overlapping. Make sure to have enough of the paper scraps or sticky notes hanging over the edges of the notebook cover. Also make sure to smooth out the paper so that it creates a flat surface.
5. Fold over excess paper. Once you have collaged the entire book, use the glue stick to adhere the overhanging paper onto the inside covers. You’ll be covering them up later, but this will ensure that you have a nice edge to your decorated covers.
6. Apply Mod Podge. Using the paint brush, apply a thin, even layer of Mod Podge onto the collage pieces that decorate the outside of the covers. You should not see any white streaks, but instead, a clear and glossy coat. Depending on how your first coat goes, you may need two coats of Mod Podge. Be sure to dry completely between coats and before adding the lining to the inside cover.
7. Cut your inside cover liners. For the inside cover, you will want to cut paper that leaves between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch (maybe 3-5mm) between the edge of the cover and the decorative paper you’ll be using inside of it. Only three sides should have this distance from the edge- the top and bottom and the side furthest from the spine. The amount of space you leave depends on how much of the paper scraps you left overhanging and how much of them you would like to show. The last side of the paper should be flush with the pages of the book at the spine. Measure out the dimensions of the paper using your ruler and pencil. With your paper trimmer, make clean cuts to create the lining of the inside cover.
8. Glue down the decorative inside cover liners. Once again, you’ll be doing one side first and then another. Ad your glue stick all along the inside cover, including over the overhanging pieces of collage paper from the front. Making sure that one of the longer sides is pressed as close to the spine as possible, press in your decorative paper and smooth it out to make a flat surface.
9. Tape the spine. You can skip this step if you are decorating a spiral notebook. But, if you are using any single-piece cover such as the one featured here, you will need to add something in order to keep the collage pieces from fraying at the spine. First, measure out a piece of cloth tape made for book binding. I find it best to roll out a piece just longer than the book, adhesive side up. You can curl the end of the tape onto your table to hold it down. Then, place your spine in the center of the tape and use your scissors to carefully cut the tape. After you press each side onto the book, creating a decorative spine, use your scissors to trim away any excess tape.
Voila! You have decorated your own notebook cover! At this point if you like, you can add other decorative elements such as distress ink or oxide (#AD below) to the edges to make the book look more vintage. Or, you can leave it as is.
I hope that for National Crafting Month, you’ll break out some of those papers you’ve been hoarding and craft supplies that are gathering dust and try this easy project. It is so satisfying to create a cover like this.
Are you into arts and crafts? Do you make or decorate your own journals? Leave a comment below!
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