Christmas journal

Measure and cut the cardboard. Our album is 4.5 inches wide by 5 inches tall (which means that pre-fold, it measures 9 inches wide by 5 inches tall). Make yours whatever size you would like. Measure and cut the felt. We lined the inside with white and the outside with red. Be sure to include enough to cover the edges on the piece you cut.

Prep to hand-sew. We stitched the corners of the inside (white) to the cardboard with one simple x-stitch, just to hold them in place while we stitched the whole thing together. We also used separate little bits of double sided tape every so often on both the top and bottom of both the front and back covers, to hold the outside felt (red) to the inside felt (white). It doesn’t hold real tight, but enough to hold the felt in place as you’re stitching.

Stitch it all together. We stitched through the cardboard. This is a little tough but once you do it a few times you get used to it. Using a thinner cardboard (like from a cereal box) will be easier to work with, as will using a thicker needle. We did a few x-stitches at the top and bottom of both the front and back covers, and then stitched the sides with a back-stitch. Use whichever stitch you like and are comfortable with. And remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Finally, add the button and flap. Measure and cut the felt to be whatever size you’d like (ours is 5 inches long by 1.5 inches tall). We made ours to wrap so that half is on the front and half is on the back. I used a backstitch to connect, on the back only as the front connects with the button. We sewed through the cardboard about 1/4 inch away from the outer edge and then again towards the middle, to give extra support. Sew through the cardboard to connect the button to the front and snip a small hole in the felt where the button will go. This will be tight the first few times opening and closing, but the felt will stretch, so don’t make your hole too large.

Now you have a fun, handmade journal to store special things from this Christmas – anything from receipts, photos, or journaled thoughts. Be creative and make it yours! Merry Christmas!