Create a Diary
Do you want to start a diary from scratch? Feeling creative? Well, let's get started!
Contents
Steps
- Get the materials (which you'll probably find at home) and get started. You'll need a pencil too, for the basic structure of your diary. Read the "Tips" section before you begin working on the diary.
- Join all the normal sheets and compact them with your hand. If you have someone to help you, better. If not though, that's okay. You have to apply a lot of compression to the sheets—consider holding them down with a textbook or dictionary.
- Pick up the white glue, or liquid glue. Spread a thick layer of glue on the side of the compressed sheets you think the spine of the diary will be. Don't worry if some glue spreads beneath some sheets. The important thing is that there is a lot of glue in the spine so the sheets won't be loose. The worst part is: you have to compress the sheets until the glue is dried, so the sheets won't be hanging out.
- Now that the glue in the spine of the book is dry, cut a straight piece of paper, and glue it to the glued spine of the book. You have to remember that you need at least a {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} border to each side. These {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of normal paper will be glued on the first and last normal sheets of the inside of the book.
- Take the cardboard paper and with the white/liquid glue, glue firmly each piece of cardboard to the first and last normal sheet pages of the notebook. Your diary will be more resistant now. These cardboard pieces, glued to the last and first page will be the cover.
- Reinforce the spine of the book with the half piece of cardboard. This will have to be measured previously with a ruler, to be neat. Right now, your book should look like a sad, uncoloured book, but still a book, with cover, sheets and spine.
- Unleash your imagination! Start to decorate the cover of your diary! Cut old magazines and glue the cuttings to the cover of your diary! Draw in the cover, spell out your name or glue cute and fun stickers in it! It's all up to you!
- Start writing in your diary. Put the date on the top of the page and start telling your feelings. Draw, glue, be imaginative! Specially: Have fun!
Alternate Method
- Stack and then line-up 20-25 sheets of paper.
- Staple the pages together on the left (4-7 staples).
- Decorate the front cover however you wish. Write phrases, draw pictures, etc. Do the same on the back, but use less wording. Use markers, crayons, stickers, or colored pencil.
- Open the diary. You'll uncover the first page of the diary. Draw a circle in the middle of one page with crayons. Color outside the circle.
- In the circle, write "This diary belongs to:" and then write your name under it.
- On each corner of each following pages draw little doodles (example: roses, butterflies, or pumpkins).
- Tape one end of the strip to the front cover by the staples. Do the same on the back.
- Write and draw anything you want in it with the pencil and have a blast!
Sample Entries
Doc:Personal Journal Entry,Reader Response Journal Entry,Task Oriented Journal Entry
Tips
- Have imagination decorating the cover. Find anything and everything that can be usable. Maybe those old coloured pens you thought you didn't like? Or those old stickers inside a box that you forgot? You can even cover your notebook with a beautiful cloth pattern!
- To make the diary more colorful and more enjoyable for your use, don't stick with the white sheets! Buy some color paper. These can be light tones or electric shocking colours. Make a colour pattern of the sheets (example: white sheet, red sheet, pink sheet, blue sheet and all over again.)
- Reinforce your book with transparent, adhesive paper. Your diary will be more resistant to water and your cover won't be all messed up, after a while.
- If you have someone who can possibly disturb your privacy, and read you diary, buy a small locker with the key, and improvise a locker in the cover. Try to put a strap of felt till it crosses the cover and find a way to put the locker there. If you don't think this is enough, remember: someone curious may open an unprotected diary, but if someone destroys it to see what's in it, that's not curiosity, it's something else.
- Try to do a professional diary by doing specific sheets for your use. For example, you can use the computer to create a very neat time-table using Microsoft Excel or a presentation sheet with your name, phone number, address... if you have enough time and patience, you can print the number of the day/week/month (according to a calendar) to the top of the page. You can put a favourites page, a top-10 page of everything, a table with your tests and exams results, etc.
- To make a neat book spine, cover the finished spine with a piece of beautiful cloth or flexible paper with a border of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} or plus. (like the way you used in the primary stage). This way, you won't see any fissures between the spine and the cover.
- If you feel like somebody is going to read your diary, name it a school book or something boring.
- If you can't find anything to write about, consider your dreams, your future, your crush, and even do some fan art from your favorite movie, or write your favorite song lyrics.
- If you don't feel like writing in your diary some days then don't. It will make it seem like a chore, which could make you not want to write anymore.
Warnings
- Be careful with your fingers if using strong glue.
- If in a place where no one can find it.
Things You'll Need
- A4/A5 sheets of paper. (you decide the number of sheets, depending on the size of the diary you want).
- glue stick
- white glue (or another kind of liquid glue)
- scissors
- head
- ruler
- 2 and a half pieces of paper carton A4/A5
Alternate Method
- 20-25 sheets of paper
- stapler
- crayons
- markers
- pencil
- tape
- 1in x {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} paper strip
