How to turn a FSJ MIni Book into a Journal Step by Step Part 6 Side Pockets by Cindy Bristow

How to turn a FSJ MIni Book into a Journal Step by Step

 Part 6 Side Pockets

 by Cindy Bristow

 

Howdy!

 

Today is the last in the series of turning a FSJ Mini Book into a Journal.  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the link and purchase the product, I receive a small commission from the sale.

Today's Step by Step is to create a side pocket for your Journal.  I like to put these side pockets to the outside of my pages because when you place them on the hinge side, your book becomes to bulky and will not close properly.

 

 

Let's gather our supplies.  You will need the page you are placing the pocket on, a 2" piece of coordinating cardstock, if that 2" is a piece of patterned paper, you will need another piece of 2" cardstock to layer it on( that is the Halloween paper you see in the picture), a 1" piece of coordinating cardstock, lace, a small embellishment, your  Vintage Photo Ink pad,  glue, thin lace, and a sewing machine if you have one.

 

Start this project by inking the edges of your paper. I glued my pink paper to the Halloween paper and set it aside to dry.  I did this step to make sure that my pocket was extra sturdy. (plus it helps me use up some paper scraps I have laying around).  Next, I stitched my lace to the 1" strip of cardstock.  If you don't have a sewing machine, you can glue your lace down.  Make sure you secure it while it is drying.

 

Next I added glue to 3 sides of the 1" strip.  I did it like this to create a small pocket or tuck space within the larger pocket.

 

Because I had coffee stained the pink paper, I made sure to secure it with these little clothes pins while it was drying.

 

After that was dry, I took the entire piece over to my sewing machine and stitched around 3 sides of my pink paper.  This adds a bit of interest to your pocket.  After that, I added glue to 3 sides of the pink strip and glued it onto the page.

 

I used my clothes pins to secure it while it dried.  Coffee or Tea stained paper tends to get wavy so this helps it to stick the entire way around and not have gaps.

 

To finish the pocket off, I added the small butterfly embellishment to the bottom corner.  I also tucked a tag in both of the pockets.  I will add a few more of these in my journal, just be careful so that your journal does not get too thick to close.

 

My last tip is to alternate the decorating of your pages from the front to the back.  This way the back of your journal gets as much love as the front.  When I started making mini books and journals, I use to work my way from the front to the back and would loose steam about 1/2 through my project.  I have learned that if I go back and forth in my books, all the pages get some love.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this series and check back in with my blog to see my creative journey.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Cindy