Snazzy notebook decorating

In the spirit of the new school year, as well as in celebration of making two great new writing friends, I've decided to share another how-to, this time on decorating those boring old spiral-bound and composition books every teacher and her granny is making you buy for school. Sure, they're fine plain, and whatever you do to them is bound to get fucked up if you don't treat your notebooks like they're made of glass, but that's not the important part! As I always say: when in doubt, decorate decorate decorate!

You will need:

1. Some notebooks. Or just one. These are the kind I like because they can be folded over to show just one page, and cost about 50 cents when bought in bulk.

2. Newspaper clippings, magazine pictures, construction paper, and whatever else you can think of! I recommend keeping a file folder in your room to fill with whatever interesting clippings you find for later craft use.

3. Tools of the trade. I really do recommend buying Mod Podge- I finally got some a few weeks ago and I'm already in love. To use that, you'll need a paint brush and scratch paper. If you're using something else like a glue-stick or boring old elmers, scratch paper'll also be useful, so you don't get your desk all sticky like I always wind up doing. I use an Xacto knife for precision cutting, but scissors should be fine. You'll also need some heavy, preferably hard-bound books, with which to squeeze the life and joy out of the wrinkly things you glue together.

The process

First of all, it only occurred to me to capture the process of making myself a notebook halfway through, so the beginning phases you'll be missing. It's pretty much all the same concept though, so don't sweat it.

1. Look at all your clippings and find some that are awesome. There doesn't have to be a theme, but if there is, that's great too! I like taking slogans and replacing a word or two with other clipped words to create new ones. I did this on the cover of the notebook I'm working on now:

It doesn't have to make that much sense, or any at all, actually, as long as it sounds good or cool to you! That's really what I love about collages; they don't have to be pretty or expertly done or symbolic. They just have to be awesome and great to you, and when you realize that, it gets totally easy and fun!

2. Lay these clippings out where you think you'd like them. It might take a while, but once you've got them all in the right places, burn the image into your mind, 'cause you'll be taking them all off in a sec.

The background was part of what I finished before I realized I should take out my camera.
Those little comic things are part of a 60s ad for baking soda. Wicked cute, right?

3. Chop everything up so it's the right size and shape, and glue it on in the right order. Be careful not to add too much glue! If you can see the opaque white color, it's too much. We don't want everything getting more wrinkly than it will anyways.

It was way too hard trying to hold the big camera with my left hand and take
the photo while holding the razor in my right. At least it turned out okay, and I didn't hurt myself.

Oh no! The dreaded wrinkles! Come on step 4!

4. SQUISH.

This'll help everything dry flat, and get rid of most of the wrinkles that appeared after gluing. While this sits for a few minutes, you should go find something fun or distracting to do, like taking dumb pictures of yourself in the mirror.

Or of your large stack of hats!

If you have one, that is.

I eventually went and made a sandwich, and by eventually, I mean it was probably only two minutes until I got bored.

Something is missing here...

Perfection.

5. Now that everything's all dry, guess what: More glue! Yeah, one great thing about Mod Podge *hinthint* is that it can be used as a final coat to seal things up! As before, don't paint on so much that you can actually see more than small white streaks, but make sure everything's all covered up.

Of course, more glue can only mean one thing:

More squish! Just make sure to wait until the glue coat is done being sticky, or you'll get rip-streaks on your papers when you tear the books off.

You see those lovely speakers? She's a koala, with one of Marlena's bows on her head,
made out of this pretty dragon-fly fabric scrap I found.

I swear dudes, this time is the real end of the squishing. Pinky swear.

And, voila.

She's supposed to be leaning on that pastry. I think. Also no, I have no idea what
"Take your mother to FIGHT" means. I do know, however, that it used to say
"Take your mother to Disneyland."

There are few things I enjoy more than a good craft, which I guess is the reason I started this blog in the first place. Hopefully there'll be a few less boring and plain notebooks wandering school halls this year!

On a final note, here's a song I can never, ever stop singing once I start.

Until Manic Monday, my friends!

How to Journal Like a 5 year old

With the Good Camera still out of the house and away from my slimy little fingers for the next couple of days, I’ve decided to write a post on an experiment I’m conducting this year rather than the sewing guide I had planned.

A journal!

I’ve tried to keep a journal/diary/sketchbook/planner several times in the past, but I always get sidetracked and it winds up abandoned under my bed for bugs to lay eggs in or something. This summer, however, I discovered this lovely creation on Deviantart. It’s everything in one big, ink-drenched , chicken-scratch package! Sure, I’m not studying art, so mine won’t be as lovely as hers, but if there was ever a way to accurately capture one’s life experience it would be in a collage diary.

As such, I’ve filled up my Mario pencil pouch with an entire kindergarten classroom’s worth of art supplies, and doodled away! At first I was afraid of ruining it with either an off day, or my general lack of artistic arrangement skills, but then I realized it didn’t even matter! Journal’s aren’t supposed to be pretty or smart or filled with detailed prose about pondering life’s mysteries. They’re supposed to be about what happens to you! And you know what? Big pencil scribbles and way too much glitter is what’s happening to me right now.

My beloved Mario pencil pouch.

Journaling this past week and a half has been a surprisingly liberating experience, leaving me less nervous about screwing up the perfection of a crisp empty page, and more in touch with my thoughts and my daily life than I usually am.

As such, I figured I’d show off a few spreads and tell you how to do this as well!

How to make a REAL journal:

Materials:

1.      A journal of some kind. I got a $10 one from Amazon since I wanted something sturdier than your average spiral-bound or composition book, but those work fine as well, and can be decorated just as easily. Lined/graph/blank paged books are all great!

2.      Coloring materials. Dig through the art cabinet no one has opened since you were ten and pick out your favorites. For me, it’s some colored pencils I got for X-mas a few years ago and the few glitter pens to have survived my youth.

3.      Glue stick. Sure, maybe you’re not a collage genius- I’m certainly not- but you’ll find stuff to glue in, like your schedule and locker number, or new friends’ emails, or even just a funny fortune cookie fortune you get at lunch. I suggest the massive Elmer’s ones emblazed with the intimidating title of X-TREME School Glue Stick.

4.      An X-acto knife. Seriously. It’s one of my prized posessions. You can cut anything with this baby, quick and easily, and it fits into any pencil pouch like just another sharpie!

5.      Whatever else you can think of. Stickers? String? Magazines? Nail polish? I dunno what you can do with those things, but obviously you do, and whatever you think should go in your journal can.

Procedure:

1.      Do whatever the hell you want with your new journal.

That’s it! Write down interesting conversations or funny jokes, glue in strange notes you find crumpled up on the floor, and draw a picture of your LA teacher with your eyes closed. In five years when you look back on your younger self, you’re going to appreciate having the sort of journal that actually says something about you, rather than one filled with whiny passages about teenage hormones written every once in a while when you get grumpy.

Come! Join me! Together, we shall take over the world with our unconventional diaries! 

And now, for some inspiration. This will help show you how much thought and time you don’t have to put into your journal:

What could that sensor bar possibly be covering?
Also, 10 points to whoever knows what song I obviously had stuck in my head.

I'm a real sucker for creepy songs, and was bored out of my mind in Latin, so I decided to make a Rookie-style playlist.
That blacked out one is Jeremy, by PJ. As much as I love that song, and it's about a killer, it isn't that creepy.