Aunty Vera Scrap and Craft: Christmas in July - Christmas Card 'Junk Journal'

Hi everyone and Happy Weekend!

Today I'd like to introduce Design Team Member Sarah who is making her debut on the blog *throws balloons and streamers in the air* by showing us how to make a Junk Journal out of Christmas cards. What a fabulous way to recycle those old cards and create, create, create.........

Christmas Card Journal with Sarah:

1. Choose a selection of Christmas cards. These may be new, leftover and unused, or used ones you’ve received. Whether you use ones all the same size, or different is up to you.

2. Choose the card that you would like as a cover and lay it out flat. Lay ribbon or twine across the centre of the card and choose some sort of tape (such as deco or duct tape) to run down the spine of your journal. Adhere the tape over the ribbon and wrap to the inside so that you have a nice finished edge. You now have a reinforced spine and ribbon closure for your journal.

If you don’t like the edge of your tape showing, adhere some ribbon along the edge like I have done.

3. Choose the cards you would like to use as pages and stack them inside one another. Once you have decided on the innermost card, lay it out flat and measure along the fold line of the card. Mark the centre of the line, as well as either side of this mark at 1 inch intervals.

4. Place this card back inside the rest and flatten them. Keep the cards together with bull-dog clips or large paper clips. Using a paper piercer (or similar) make a hole on each of the marks on the crease line of the innermost card, punching through all of the cards to the cover.

5. Select thin ribbon, twine, or strong thread to bind your journal together. Thread a needle and knot the end, leaving a long tail. Starting at the top of the book, thread the ribbon/twine/thread through the top hole, from the outside to the inside. This will leave the knot and tail on the outside of the book.

6. Weave in and out of the holes in a 'zigzag' pattern. Inside to outside hole 2, outside to inside hole 3 etc until you reach the bottom.

7. Once you've reached the bottom, do the same thing back to the top. Knot the end of your binding inside the journal before threading back out the top hole. Knot again here, leaving two tails hanging out the top hole (the start and end of your thread). Finish the binding how you choose - I've tied two bells to my journal but you might finish with a bow, or leave some twine hanging.

8. Now your journal is bound together. Remove the bull-dog/ paper clips and un-flatten your journal. Now get to decorating! Use washi tape, stickers, stamping, and anything else you can think of to cover up logos or sentiments. I've fussy cut and coloured some stamped images to cover the backs of some cards, while sticking three sides of scrap card stock down creates a nice pocket on the inside of some pages.

9. Finally, the edge of your journal may be uneven like mine. If you like a nice finished edge, use a craft knife, scissors or a guillotine to trim off the excess. And presto - your Christmas journal is complete and ready to use!