How to make a Journal or Daily Planner

I've been making books for a while and this is one that I have cooked up from taking all my preferences of other books and the mistakes of my old books. It is a good book that will take you about 1-2 hours depending on how much of a perfectionist you are.

This book also has a very unique binding mechanism which makes replaceable inserts possible and it also stays perfectly flat when writing on your lap, the car or in mid-air.

This book features a removable insert (moleskine), inside pocket, pen holder and a raised cover. I've had mine for about 6 months now and have flown through about 5 inserts for far. The book goes everywhere with me and helps me keep my life in order.

*note: If you would like a pen holder in your book, please read the whole instructable through before starting, especially step 9

Step 1 Materials

For this book, once you have most of the base materials and tools, making another book won't be expensive at all, but the first one might be more expensive if you don't have anything to begin.

Tools:
-Razor blade in a handle (with a few sharp blades)
-Spray glue
-Cutting mat
-Ruler (metal preferable for make straight cuts with a blade)

Materials
-Paper (they come in large sheets at an art store. You won't need more than one of each kind of this project. I used a blue leaf print for both the outside-background and the inside lining which can be different, and a red for the raised cover)
-Heavyweight cardboard
-Book Cloth (Just the place I use)(I used one for the binding and a different one for the pen holder which was just because I had the extra material. You will get one large sheet or roll and you will use about 1/10 of it)
-1 page bristol board or other thin cardboard like a cereal box
-Moleskine insert (whether it be blank, lined or dated) It is also called Cahier in the moleskine world

Everything can be bought at a craft store even the book cloth, though you might have more trouble finding that so I go on line for quality and color choice.

Comments

[agnesrookes111]

I like it to be used when writing on your lap, the car or in mid-air. Awesome. This is very functional.

[Whales]

Cahier is French for 'notebook' (pronounced Ki-ay, i think)

[RoosterSocks]

Ummm... that's just a moleskine cover. It's not a "daily planner", as in a Trapper Keeper is not a notebook. It looks nice though, i like the raised cover.

[ChrysN]

Nicely crafted, I like how it opens flat.