To make the journal itself you will need a piece of card stock cut to the size of your papers to use as a stencil, chip board (I didn't have any so I substituted foam core but determined it probably isn't going to be durable enough to last a year), a selection of scrapbook papers to decorate the cover, glue, hemp cord or other binding string, Duct Tape, Drill with small bit, Filling pages of your choice and scissors.
1. Trace the outline of your paper on chip board 1 time (front cover).2. Trace the outline of your paper on chip board plus 1 cm in length to create the back cover.
3. Cut the front cover along the short edge at 3/4 inch from the edge.
4. Using Duct Tape (Or masking tape, but I think the duct tape is more sturdy) tape the two pieces of the front cover back together leaving a 1 cm gap (both covers should now be the same size).
5. Decorate both covers to your liking.6. Organize the filler pages as you would like them (mine are organized in sections with a piece of blank colored page separating them).
7. Clamp pages together using binder clips.8. Add covers and clamp together with large binder clips or garage clamps.
9. Using your drill drill a hole in the smallest piece (where you taped) every half inch to 3/4 inch.
10. Starting with the 3rd hole from the top "sew" through the holes until you reach the bottom hole then start back up the opposite side so that all the holes have been gone through twice but there is only one length of string on each side. When you reach the top sew back down the opposite side until you reach the original hole. At this point securely tie string into a bow.
