My Handmade Journals

I love to make unique items, I love the character that a homemade item possesses. I love the feel, the smell and the giddy feeling of knowing that it was made with love (they might not be perfect looking but hey I made it!)One of my favorite (non-yarn related) things to make are journals. I have kept a journal since I was 8 years old and it is still one of my favorite ways to unwind and keep my thoughts controlled.When I found out I was pregnant with Ace, I noticed that my journal entries more often than not began with "Dear Baby" (we didn't know with either of them what their gender was). So I started a journal just for him, I kept track of his development throughout my pregnancy and then once he was born I kept track of things he did to make us laugh, or his "firsts". Each of my boys now have their own book and I still keep track of as much as I can, granted some entries are just "You threw all of your toys in the garbage can and we spent an hour looking everywhere for them but gave up. Two hours later I went to throw something away and there they were!", but I'm glad I at least add those little moments. Sometimes I write long, heartfelt letters in them but I try to capture as many moments as possible even if it's the abbreviated version.I do write a special letter every year on his birthday (Lucky will get his first birthday letter in July). Ace LOVES to snuggle with me at night with a cup of warm milk sprinkled with cinnamon and read stories from "his book".I make my journals for lots of things, for my everyday mom stuff and story ideas that I keep in my purse, to private journals. The one below is a journal I started for a group I am a part of on Yahoo! called Theteafriends. It's such a wonderful group of Christian women that I've enjoyed the company of for 5 years now. They are always sharing recipes, tips, etc. So I created a journal specifically for that group. I love sipping different teas, so I often jot down the names of ones they recommend and that I want to try someday or books that I want to read.The other 2 pictures are of the ones I made for my boys...To make the tea journal, I simply bought an old used book the size that I wanted the journal to be and poked 2 holes in the front and back covers. Then I covered them with scrapbook paper and lined the inside of the covers with decorative card stock. I then added whatever embellishments I wanted to the front (I love quotes so I usually include a few) and I make as many dividers as I want and decorate those to reflect the theme of each section.I'm in the process of making another one, I'll post pics of it when I finish. If anyone tries this or has already made some of their own please post pics!