Road Trip Journals #2

My First Screw Post Journal

This is a continuation of the discussion of travel journals. Following an earlier post regarding travel journals/business journals, I wanted to share with you an easy solution to many of the problems that people have--starting a journal from scratch.

As mentioned last Friday regarding Making Books By Hand, I was asked to make a Screw Post Wedding Album for a friend's wedding. I had never made a book of this type before so I decided to purchase the book by Mary McCarthy and Philip Manna. One of the many lessons that I learned while catering, I decided to do a run through and make a screw post journal for my own purposes. I wanted a journal that I could use for work or pleasure.

This is what I came up with.

I decided to use preexisting materials that could be found at any stationery store--namely, pre-made pages, folders, envelopes, dividers, etc in the 5" by 8.5" format. By doing so, I could concentrate on making the front and back covers and not have to worry about the text block, or type of paper.

I used lined paper, two envelopes, tabbed dividers, and alphabet dividers that were already pre-made. The beauty of this type of construction is that you can easily move pages or elements around wherever you need them because all you have to do is loosen the screws, rearrange, and reassemble the book afterwards.

Inside front cover

I used Davey Board for the front and rear covers. I covered them in orange reptile embossed paper that has a plastic coating on the front and is paper backed. I wanted something that was easily cleaned and wouldn't show dirt or fingerprints. The end sheets are a paper backed Chinese silk that I had available. Sometimes when making books, you simply get lucky with your materials. So was the case with my book--the materials I used worked great considering there was a working hinge which could wear away the materials if they weren't so sturdy.

Envelope in front and
tabbed dividers

I wanted to be able to subdivide the sections of the book so I purchased tabbed dividers so I could section off pages for different purposes. If you are using this for your own purposes, these could include daily itineraries, maps, etc. I always wanted to keep receipts and loose papers so I included a top loading envelope to the front and back of the book. I simply hole punched them to place them in the book. In the top and second picture, you can see that I included a bulldog clip so I could clip materials that I needed at a moment's notice or pieces that were too large to include on a page.

The inside back cover

For the back section of the book, I decided to add alphabet tabbed dividers and another top loading envelope. Since I was using this book for work, I wanted the alphabet tabs in order to register names and addresses/business cards that I collected on my trip. When finished on this trip, I simply remove the pages and put them somewhere else more permanent. 

Since I am always at a loss for a writing utensil, I put a pen in the back envelope so I would always have something to write with.

I was glad that I put some thought into the book before making. I still use this book for business and it is my go-to book when I need to grab something fast.

With all of the new materials that are being made in this format (pouches, photo holders, business card holders, etc.) there are plenty of options to make one of these for yourself. Tomorrow, I will share with you my traveling journal pouch with my journal art making materials.