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Make Your Own Journal
By CoffeeMom | November 17, 2009
Do you like to write? Do you like to draw or journal? Do you know someone who does?
Visit your local Barnes & Noble, Hobby Lobby, or Target, and you’ll find a vast array of journals in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, & styles. Some are very inexpensive – wire bound so they lay flat for writing, or leather bound so they are sleek and elegant, or hardback bound with no lines for drawing or doodling. There are guided journals for pregnancy, motherhood, or historical legacy. There are even preprinted journal pages in a variety of styles for your dayplanner or agenda.
Some are very inexpensive, and some are very pricey. Depending on your style and your needs, you can probably find what you need with a bit of research. But sometimes you want something a bit more personalized. You like a few different styles and wish they were put together in one form just for you. Why not make your own journal?
I just created a simple pregnancy journal page that will allow me to track a few things during my pregnancy and add news clippings, ultrasound pictures, and such. I’m printing on copy paper in pretty inks and journaling by hand. I have room to attach pictures – and it’s all in a 3 ring binder that I love. Easy to tuck into a tote bag or to keep by my favorite chair. It’s big enough I can write questions for my doctor on notebook paper and keep all of my pregnancy-related info together. Very handy.
How to do it?
Software
If you have a word processing or spreadsheet program, you can easily make your own to fit your personal style and needs. You can create a simple table in Word or work with lines in Excel to create the outline and basic setup of your writing space. I love Excel for this purpose because the grid is already defined and you can customize the size of your writing space.
Graphics
Most word processing and spreadsheet programs come with built in clipart, border styles, and all kinds of options to dress up your form to fit your taste. There are tons of free clip art sites online that offer clipart for personal use, too. You can download coordinating sets or individual pieces to suit your needs. The number of clip art and graphic design software available for purchase is pretty big, too, and you don’t have to be a graphic designer to work with many of them. If you keep it simple, you can still add a personal touch to your pages. You can download digital scrapbook files for use in a graphics program to make a scrapbook style, or just add a few graphics to your page for a little touch of whimsy.
Fonts
I’m a big fan of graceful, feminine fonts. I love scripts and calligraphy – but sometimes it doesn’t translate well to printing. And sometimes the options available in your word processing or spreadsheet programs aren’t quite what you want. There are font software programs available to buy, and free fonts available online. One of my favorite free font sites is Kevin and Amanda. They have the most beautiful scripty-feminine-fun fonts I’ve seen online. And they are FREE for personal use! They are easy to download and there are directions to add them to your computer so you can access them in your software programs (like Word, Excel or even Photoshop Elements!) Free font fun is another great site for fonts to personalize your own design.
Basic Design
Whether you want to create a scrapbook style journal, a personalized recipe book, or a gift for a friend or loved one, you are really only limited by your imagination. Keep it simple for your everyday journal or dress it up for a special keepsake recipe book for your favorite family recipes. Whether you like a freestyle with no lines but a beautiful bordered edge or a lined style for keeping records of your kids’ funny sayings or your journey through motherhood – it’s entirely up to you!
Function
Excel works really well for me because I can work within the grid to create my borders and lines – and it allows me to insert graphics and clip art to make it fun. When I’m journaling, I like a fairly straightforward design with pretty, feminine touches. It’s all about feminine and functional. And if I feel like typing in the page and printing a finished product, it’s very easy.
But maybe you know a teen who loves to draw and journal. Design a page with room for drawing at the top and a few lines for journaling toward the bottom. Use some funky colors and fonts if you want to offer a guided journal section and print off several pages to fit inside a pocket folder or a 3 ring binder.
Use simple copy paper or invest in some heavy weight paper for a longer lasting effect. Use card stock and heavyweight page protectors for a recipe book or scrapbook style journal and write with an archival safe pen for long-term storage in a scrapbook or 3 ring binder.
What a Great Christmas Gift!
In most cases, the free graphics and fonts are free for non-commercial personal use. You can use them to design anything for personal use as long as you don’t sell them. Each vendor and website has their own terms of use, so don’t download something for free if you intend to sell it…
For a gift, it’s a great idea to add a credit in the footer of your page design like “fonts by www.kevinandamanda.com” Not only does this credit your graphic source, but for someone who receives the gift that would like to return the favor or pay it forward, they can do so with ease!
It won’t cost much when all is said and done, and a personalized gift or handmade treasure to keep is a great gift for someone you love – or for yourself!
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Topics: Christmas, Coffee, Family & Kids, Frugal, Fun Stuff, Holidays, On the Home Front, Pregnancy | No Comments »
