Baby's Monogrammed Altered Journal
Record Baby's Firsts and More with this Gift for First-Time Mothers
Pretty paper, rickrack, and flower accents frame a chipboard monogram letter for a wonderful homemade journal that every new parent can use. Journal prompts included.
New mothers (and fathers) are often overwhelmed by having a newborn in the house. A great way for first-time parents to cope with the stress and wonder of a new addition to the family can be by writing in a journal. This handmade journal will be appreciated for years to come as it gives new parents a place to write down their feelings of being a mom or dad for the first time, or a place for the new parents to record all of the beautiful, funny, and amazing things their little bundle of joy does during his/her first year of life.
Journal prompts placed directly within the journal will encourage the new parents to record much more than simply dates and baby's firsts; in addition, they will be prompted to record favorite moments, baby's (and parents'!) routines, family values, and much more.
Choose the first letter of the baby's name for the front of this journal. Choose colors according to taste and the sex of the baby. The journal pictured, for a baby girl, was made using brown and pink papers, with a touch of green. For a boy blue could be substituted for the pink.
Technique for making Monogrammed Altered Journal
Materials needed:
- 14.5 x 30 cm blank journal
- 3 co-ordinating patterned paper (brown, pink, and green used here)
- 3 flower accents
- brown rickrack
- chipboard letter
- vellum
- adhesive (double stick tape and glue dots were used in this project)
- pop-up dots
- emery board or sandpaper
- rub-on (optional)
Directions:
- Assemble the background for the journal by cutting two pieces of patterned paper (pink) 12 x 30 cm. Glue the pink paper to the front and back of the journal, aligning with the right-hand side.
- Cut three small strips of 0.5 x 11 cm patterned paper (two green and one brown). Glue to the bottom as shown, being careful to space evenly apart. If adding the rub-on doodle at the bottom, glue only the green strips first. Place the rub on over the strips and carefully rub onto the paper. When finished, add the brown strip, gluing directly over the rub-on.
- Cut another piece of patterned paper (brown) 11 x 30. Cover the left-hand side of the journal with the brown paper, wrapping it around to the back.
- Cover the chipboard letter with a scrap of the brown patterned paper. Carefully cut around the edge with an Exacto knife. Do the same for the inside of the letter, cutting out the extra paper. When finished, sand the edges using an emery board or a small piece of sandpaper. The more you sand, the more rustic the look.
- Attach a small piece of vellum behind the letter. Glue a small strip of brown rickrack to the left-hand side of the letter.
- Attach the letter to the journal using pop-up dots to give dimension.
- Add flower accents to the corner of the chipboard letter, one directly on the chipboard and two directly below it on the patterned paper background.
- Cover the edge where the brown and pink papers meet with another strip of rickrack. Do the same for the back of the journal.
- Add journaling prompts to the inside of the journal. Some ideas are given below:
- What values do you want to teach your baby?
- Describe a daily routine: bedtime, bathtime, feeding time, morning, etc.
- How does pet interact with baby?
- Compare baby pictures of mom and dad with baby's picture. What feelings come to your mind? What similarities are there? Differences?
- What moments do you want your baby to remember forever?
- How do you want baby to feel about mom as he/she gets older? About dad?
- What is your favorite time of the day with baby? Why?
- What are baby's favorite songs? Books? Toys?
- What personality traits does baby exhibit? Do these change over time?
- How does baby react to grandma/strangers/aunt/uncle, etc.?
Supplies used:
Patterned paper: Stampin' Up: chipboard letter: Making Memories Jigsaw Alphabets, Poolside Monograms Upper Case; flower accents: K&Company Grand Adhesions, ancestry.com; rub-on: Making Memories Rub-on Books, Doodles; rickrack and vellum: unknown
