Hello friends! You may have noticed that I've decreased the frequency of my posts in the last couple of weeks. Don't worry, I'm still here and I'm still making stuff. I just decided to slow down the pace for a few weeks over the summer, to make more time to hang out with friends and family.
One of the fun things I made recently is a smash journal, using Dollar Store supplies!
I am IN LOVE with the smash journal concept. If you have drawers and boxes full of vintage ephemera, or if you've simply collected an abundance of pretty paper over the years, this is a project you might love, as well! This is a project inspired by a Heidi Swapp video. Heidi made a scrapbook for her daughter using a plastic 12x12 paper holder.
I started by grabbing a few items from the local Dollar Tree, including a plastic document file, some pretty note paper, and a package of binder dividers. All you really need, however, is a plastic file, and a drawer full of random paper.
Begin by cutting off both fused ends of the file and discarding. You can even up your cuts with a paper cutter afterward, if you need to.
Next, go through your papers and dividers and cut them down to a size that will fit inside your smash journal. I used the plastic divider sheets from the document file as a guide. Get creative here. Fold some pages over, create pockets -- anything goes! As long as your items fit in your book, they do not have to be the same size.
I cut down the pocket divider from the Dollar Store set that I bought. Assemble your pages and bind together. I have an O-ring binder, but if you don't have one, you can take your stack of pages to a printer and they can bind it for you -- or you can punch holes and add rings or cord. I bound my plastic file right into the journal by folding it back on itself and and adding it to the back of the stack before inserting the O-rings.
I LOVE IT! This smash journal was made as a gift, to encourage a friend, but you can be sure I will be making more very soon.
The book is full of pretty things, vintage book pages, hand drawn doodles, pockets, and note pages.
I was planning to do a "flip through" in this post, but it was getting so long, I decided to save it for another post.
Have lots of fun decorating the cover of your smash journal. Since the cover is translucent, I made sure the top page was something pretty, then I added a tiny banner, made from tiny scraps and embroidery floss. The elastic closure was dressed up with fun foam flowers. The recipient's name was added in glittered foam letters.
If you have a stash of fun papers, you'll definitely want to try a version of this project!
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