Lenten Journal Tutorial

I have been diligent this year in pushing myself to be prepared for Lent when it comes. Though many people dread the sacrificial aspect of Lent,  I actually look forward to this Liturgical Season.

This year my plan is to follow a Lenten Devotional (haven't chosen one yet) and to journal about my journey as I (hopefully) get closer to the Lord. I am actually not a "journaling" type. I want to journal but rarely put it into practice. I have come to the conclusion that I will meditate better if I slow down, think, and write. I really feel like journaling will help me pray better. We shall see....

On to the project. I thought it would be even more fun if I were to create a beautiful Lenten Journal! Here are the details:

Lenten Journal Tutorial

First I started with a regular el' cheapo notebook. I bought a ton of these at the beginning of the school year for less than 25 cents.

I chose some patterned paper to cover my notebook. This particular paper is two-sided so I used the front for my cover and the back/scrap for my strip. I tried to use something kind of muted but nice to look at.

The front and back cover pieces are 7 1/2 inches by 10 1/2 inches and the decorative strip is 3 1/2 inches by 10 1/2 inches. I attached the front and back covers first. I used a glue runner but you could use almost any adhesive- including ModPodge. I then used my glue runner to attach the one side of the decorative strip. I then loosely folded it over the spiral binding and glued it onto the back.

Want to hear a little secret?? The adhesive didn't hold well so I added a strip of scotch tape over the decorative piece and then attached that piece of turquiose paper to the front. On the back, I left the scotch tape exposed. To prevent this problem, you can use a tape called "sticky strip". It is red and double sided. I used it later on in this tutorial.

I used my computer to create the label. I set my font size to 26. The label was decorated with some thin ribbon and a pretty brad I won a while back. That's it! It is as super simple as it sounds so give it a try!

Well, I have gotten to be the kind of person who enjoys making accessories to go with my projects. I love decorated binder clips more than anything! They are the ultimate cute bookmark! I used sticky strip to attach a 1 1/4 inch by 2 inch strip of patterned paper to a medium (any size will work!) Binder Clip. After distressing the paper, I added a thin strip of scrap paper to it. Tie on a piece of ribbon and you are ready to rock!

I am really looking forward to digging into this.... I am also thinking that a matching pen would be nice... (have you ever read the book "If you give a mouse a cookie..."??)

Thanks for stopping by! Alicia