DIY Journal Covers!

 

    I saw people making Daiso journal pouch covers on TikTok... So I had to make my own journal pouch!!! o(≧▽≦)o

    However, I didn't have a Daiso close enough to me in the moment, so I had to improvise. I looked at all of their materials needed for the project, and I thought, "Hm... I could just get that at the Dollar Tree!". And I did.

    Essentially, the "journal cover" is just a pencil or paper pouch, depending on the size. The ones at Diaso come in gridded plastic, mesh, or clear plastic. The ones being used in a majority of the TikTok tutorials involve the gridded pencil pouch with a zipper in the front, and possibly the side. That means it has 2 compartments!

Here are some of the most popular choices/options!

    You'll need one of these in size B6, but honestly, you can do whatever size you want. Just know that it will be folded "hamburger" style, so the journal itself will have to be half of the measurement of the length of the pouch. Blah blah blah!!!

    You'll need to poke holes through the plastic, so you'll need either a hole puncher or anything pointy enough to pierce the plastic. The last thing you will need is some elastic!

 

    The reason the project is being advertised as the "DIY Diaso Journal Cover" is because you can essentially find everything you need at Daiso. While there, you can get anything arts & craft related to decorating your journal, like stickers, keychains, and clips to keep your journal closed.

    There are also people, who had the same idea as me, who would make their journal pouch using supplies from the dollar store! Honestly, all I needed for my first attempt was a plastic pouch and a journal to fit the measurements! I had everything else at home already.

    Preferably, you want a pouch without any binder holes, but I used that to my advantage! I had also grabbed a pack of journals just in case. And because they were cute...

    Instead of using a hole puncher, I used an awl hole punch tool (I didn't know it was called an "awl"). I also substituted the elastic for ribbon. It's not the best choice, as the journal needs to be easily replaced and elastic is better for that! I'm going to need to replace the ribbon with elastic after I complete the journal.

    You can see the ribbon I used! It was such a bitch to weave through the holes I made. A hole puncher would have made things easier, I do admit. I also used double sided tape to adhere the cover to the journal. This combo was not a smart choice because it restricts the movement of the pages. Oh well! At least the ribbon matched...

    I had loads of fun looking through my stickers and scraps to decorate the journal! You see, the point of having a zipper on the front of the pouch was to put stuff in there! You could utilize both compartments of the Diaso pouches by inserting scraps or stationary. I liked using the clear pouches from the dollar tree so that you could see all the cute scraps I inserted!

    I got so excited about decorating, I was digging through every box I had for keychains, charms, hair clips, and buttons (the ones with the needles). And I must say, I think my journal came out pretty freaking awesome despite my poor construction!

    I could have cut the binder hole strip off, but I decided to use it to my advantage! I had these mermaid rings saved from my previous birthday cake! I could never wear them cause they're for kids or some shit... Too small!! I thought, "I wonder if I could weave these through the binder holes..." And I did!! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ They look so cute on my journal!!!

The mermaid rings ~ ★

    I was so happy with the outcome, I immediately wanted to make a cover for a sketchbook. I did a lot of research into the sizing of everything and found the best options. And by research, I looked everywhere for different pencil pouch sizes: Walmart, Daiso, Family Dollar, DD's, etc.!! But guess who didn't let me down? That's right, the fucking Dollar Tree!!!

    The smallest sketchbook I can compromise for is a 5.5 x 8.5. And the paper has to be multimedia, preferably bristol. I have a Canson XL Mix Media, spiral-bound, 5.5 x 8.5 sketchbook, however!! The spiral wire is too bulky for the journal cover, so I had to find a bound sketchbook meeting my requirements. I ended up settling on the Canson Graduate Manga Hardcover sketchbook! It ended up being an excellent choice!

    That leaves a pouch big enough to encase this sketchbook. As I mentioned, I visited the Dollar Tree and came across this!

    It was perfect. Granted, it doesn't have any zipper, but the measurements were something I couldn't pass up on! It was pretty easy to slide in my scraps, compared to the smaller pouch. I would have preferred the color pink, but I like this shade of blue. Sky Blue. Which means the cover is gonna be Hatsune Miku themed.

    BOOM!!! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆ This one came out way better, since I used elastic and the cover is almost exactly the same length as the sketchbook. I'm more excited about this cover because it's for a sketchbook! I'm going to draw something cute on the first page to test it out! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ I'm super proud of my results, I want to share it on TikTok like everyone else. I might want to draw something first. I will! I will...

    Anyways, I saw on TikTok (my brain, MY BWAIN!!!) that you can use the pencil pouches to store pretty much anything. I grabbed 3 more and some binder rings and BAM!! I made a book of stickers. It looks so cute. I love all of the colors I picked out. It's very on brand for my mermaid summer.

    There is still room for more pouches, and even more stickers (¬⩊´¬ ) However, I think I've bought enough pencil cases for a while! The employees at the Dollar Tree must be sick of seeing my ass. I had a lot of fun making everything though!!