I mentioned that I was going to do a nonfiction reading journal and I've started to play around with it. I watched a lot of book journal setups and flip throughs, but they were all for fiction. I did find a few ideas that I liked, though, and adapted them for my needs.
1. Nonfiction
2. Not limited to a single year. This journal is for the entire collection
3. I didn't want games like book bingo or bracket challenges. That gave me very little front matter.
From watching the YouTube videos, I knew I wanted a square journal. This size is 8"x8" from Archer & Olive (I received no compensation in any form from this company. As my weeping credit card will attest). BTW, their paper is yummy and I'm in trouble now. I already have a small notebook problem and this is going to make it worse.
This notebook has a nautical theme, but I thought it also had a steampunk vibe to it.
This is my title page. All my graphics were either purchased on Etsy or from Cora Crea Crafts (Again, no compensation of any kind).
I bought this alphabet, put it together to form words in my graphics program, and then used my sticker cutter to cut it out. Which was an absolute ordeal! For one, it's been a long time since I made stickers. I've been buying printables with cut files already made. For two, the steampunk alphabet has a lot of little things sticking out of the letters and the cutting software wanted to cut around each and every letter.
The first pages of a hardcover notebook are normally difficult to use because of how they're made, so I did a two-page spread of decor. Top image is the left side. Bottom image is the right side.
Before I made any of the stickers, I printed all my possibilities out on regular paper, cut them out, and played around with the layout. I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes when I used my stickers.
It didn't work. I messed up. I meant to put a background graphic down on the left side as well as the right, but I forgot and stuck down the first sticker before I remembered. It was too late then to go back, so I went without it. Originally, I didn't have the tickets on the spread in the upper left-hand corner, but it looked as if it needed something, so I added it.
More mistakes on the right-hand page. I did remember to put the background down this time, but I put down the airship image before the lady on the left. Which meant some of the airship is behind her and not visible. I then compounded my problem by adding another extra image to the layout. The bag in the front center of the page. It made the layout look busy and I'm sorry I did that.
Part 2 of the saga is on Thursday
