I’ve recently become obsessed with *Smash Books by K and Company. I bought one the other day at Michael’s to use on our Spring Break vacation in a few weeks, and then decided that I would really like to use one as my journal. However, there are only 40 pages in a *Smash Book, and I journal a lot…seriously, a lot! 40 pages would barely last me a month, so I went a slightly different route.
I made my own! 🙂
I bought a 12×12 stack of double-sided cardstock, Antiquities. I chose this stack because it has a nice collection of cardstock that leaves room for journaling – you’ll see what I mean in a sec. I also bought 12×12 ivory cardstock to insert between layers of the designed paper.
See all the designs? 🙂 I cut each piece of cardstock into 6×6 squares, then layered them.
Time to put it all together. I used a sponge brush to put Mod Podge along what will be the binding of my journal…
…then used big binder clips to keep it all attached while the Mod Podge dried. I did two layers of Mod Podge and let it sit for a couple hours before I continued.
I cut a piece of cardstock wide enough to fit across the binding to cover the glued pages.
I used more Mod Podge along the binding, attached binder clips, and set the book upside down (binding side down) to dry overnight.
And now I have a cool little journal with heavy-duty pages that I can journal in, attach momentos and pictures, etc. I decorated the cover, and now I just have to start journaling! 🙂
2 Responses
Hi! Just found your site and this post. I have a quick question, have you found since making this that the mod podge is still holding the pages and spine together? I am doing a Happy Book journal and need something with thicker pages and this is perfect, but would need everything to stick together really well.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Melissa! I’m glad you found me and enjoyed this tutorial. I wish I could say that I knew the answer to your question, but to be honest, I ended up giving this journal away to a friend, and I’m not sure how it held up. (That’s terrible of me, I know.) I think if you really took the time to slather that Mod Podge on and really stick the pages down good, as well as giving them plenty of time to dry, you should be fine. Another option might be to punch two holes in the binding area of your book and string the pages together with suede ribbon, or use long brads. I hope that helps!