A Travel Journal

Hello Again Everyone!

Today I am sharing a great, creative way to use envelopes.  I am going to the Southwest for vacation this summer and wanted to make a travel journal, to be used somewhat like a 'Smash' book, but I wanted to make it my own, I wanted lots of storage pockets and I wanted it cheap!  So, I took bits and pieces of tutorials I found on the web and then came up with my own take on my journal; here is the finished project~

To make this journal,I started with my Brown Bag A7 Envelopes.   These envelopes have such a great earthy look to them and are earth friendly!  They are perfect for any outdoorsy themed project.  I also used some patterned paper to embellish my project.  

1.  To make your accordion binding, cut a piece of patterned paper to 7 1/4" x 9".  Score every 3/4" along the 9" side of the paper.  You should have a total of 11 score lines.

2.  Now fan fold your patterned paper along the score lines.  The way you fold it will make a difference as to which side of the patterned paper is visible! The printed side seen below will be the visible binding; notice how on the two side edge folds the free edges of the paper are facing to the back?

Here is how the journal will come together, using the folds as the binding~

3.  Cut the flaps off of your Brown Bag A7 Envelopes.

4. I reinforced my accordion fold binding by applying scotch tape along every fold on the backside (the side that will not be seen) of my binding.  This step is not necessary, but if you are concerned about wear and tear, you may want to do it. 

5.   Now, you can add a ribbon or twine for closure.  To do this, you will need to flatten out your accordion fold binding and on the backside (the side that will not be seen) apply adhesive along the center of the paper, from side to side.  Adhere your ribbon/twine to this.  My twine is about 3 feet in length.  In the end, you will not be adhering your ribbon/twine to the last pleat on either side of the binding so you can eliminate the adhesive on both side pleats if you want.  I adhered them initially just to keep everything in place.

6.  Apply adhesive along the closed edge of your envelope-only one side is necessary at this point; you can then insert it into a valley fold as seen above, and adhere it to the binding. 

7.  Here you can see how I have added the envelopes to the valleys of the binding.  You can also see just how messy my craft area is!  LOL! :)  You will notice that the binding is still very loose and not completely adhered at this time.  You can now go back and adhere the remaining sides of the envelopes to the binding.  Do NOT adhere the outer most flaps down on your front and back of your journal.  These will be used to adhere your covers. 

8. Cut 2 pieces of Tangelo Flavours Gourmet CutCardStock 7 1/4 x 6".  Tangelo is such a 'Wow' color; I love it for my southwest themed project! 

9.  Score the 7 1/4" length at 5/8" and crease.

10.  Apply adhesive to the inside of the folded 5/8" flap and seat this into the remaining pleat of the binding on the front of the journal.  Now, pull back your ribbon/twine from the last bit of exposed binding, apply adhesive to the binding and adhere the other side of the cover down.  Repeat this with the back cover. 

11.  I chose to cover my spine.  To do this I cut a piece of patterned paper 7 1/4 x 2 1/2 ".  I scored it at 1 " and again at 1 1/2" .

12.  Fold on the score lines.  I did not want my twine adhered underneath the patterned paper for the spine, so I poked a hole into the spine where the twine was (I eyeballed it)  and threaded my twine through.

13.  Now you can apply adhesive to the 1 inch flaps and adhere to the front and back covers. 

14.  It is now time to decorate!  Cut patterned paper to fit your envelopes and

Stamp your image on your cover. 

I left the rest of my journal plain, allowing me to journal on the inside envelopes, add stickers or other trinkets, stamps etc that I pick up along the way. 
Here is one more view of the spine~

Where are you traveling to this summer?  Is a travel journal in your future?  Or maybe you have a wedding coming up and want a card keeper for the bride.  I hope you give this versatile project a try; it is so much fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Lee Ann  Barrett

CutCardStock Design Team Member

CutCardStock products used in this project~