DIY Altered Book Journal | Vintage Children's Book Makeover

This is a sponsored post in partnership with JCB Marketing. Please note the project, opinions and deep love of all things junk journal adjacent are 100% my own.

For years when I was a jewelry designer I lived by the motto if it will sit still long enough I will eventually make it wearable. More recently I’ve tweaked the adage to be about junk journals. I’ve made them out of matchbooks, cake boxes, saris and today a collection of vintage children’s stories gets turned into an altered book journal.

What exactly is an altered book journal?

Before you gasp in appalled horror at what I am about to do to these vintage childrens books please remember that these books are being up-cycled, given a new lease on life and sometimes saved from the land fill. Plus, these are fun to make and oh so cute! So what is an altered book journal? Think junk journal wrapped in an old book package. You can use as much or as little of your book for these projects. In this example I am mainly just using the covers. Don’t worry, all the illustrations inside get added to my vintage collage curio packs and the rest is recycled.

How do I choose the right book for my journal?

The first thing I do is judge a book by it’s cover. In other words often times I choose the book based on what the cover looks like or at least the graphics on the insides of the covers. A hard cover book works well for this project. Old books are tough, but it’s no match for an awl. Also, you want to look at the spine of your book. This series ‘Best in Children’s Book’ has a perfect width spine for 3 signatures.

Mind the Gap When Making an Altered Book Journal

Lot’s of different types of books will work for this project. You need to remember that you are removing the pages of the book from the spine. Sometimes the pages are stapled in and sometimes they are attached with adhesive. I usually look for books with this small gap at the top and bottom where the book pages meet the spine. This gap tells me that with my Precision Craft Knife I will be able to easily get the pages out.

Supplies For Making an Altered Book Journal

Vintage Book
Paper Trimmer
Craft Knife
Scissors
Various Papers
Waxed Thread
Awl
2 Binder Clips
Large Eyed Needle
Pompom Trim
Hot Glue

Paper Trimmers – The Tool That Makes This Entire Altered Book Journal Project Work

Once you have your book pages out and your cover is ready for action it is time to cut all those papers you lovingly chose down to size and this is where a good paper trimmer and sharp craft knife earns its keep. I have several in my stash: large, small, guillotine and trimmer styles. It is a matter of preference on which one to choose. Trimmers are better for cutting just a couple of sheets at a time. Guillotine cutters often can handle a larger stack and do more sheets at once. Trust me, get a nice sharp cutter like one from Scrapbook.com (sponsored) plus some extra blades and make your altered book making life easier.

By the time this is all said and done you will be cutting approximately 36 sheets of paper – possibly more. Each of the 3 signatures will have 12 sheets of paper. Though each sheet does not need to be the same exact size, they most likely will need to be cut. Scrapbook paper is 12X12 and that will not fit into an altered book journal of this size. Enter my handy dandy paper trimmer. Ideally the paper you trim will fit inside the book cover.

Both paper trimmers and guillotine style paper cutters will have grids or rulers across the top. The paper should be slightly shorter than the top and bottom of the book cover and the width (when folded in half) should also fit inside the cover of the closed book. I use the rulers and guides on my paper trimmers to help me make sure each sheet will fit.

Some of the cutters come with a built in scoring board. These are super handy when you are folding the paper in half to create the signatures of your altered book journal. Sure you can fold the sheets in half without one, but an option that includes one is like a twofer!

I also used my trimmer in this project two more times. First it worked great on the felt I used to reinforce the spine of my journal. Second I love trimming down my scraps to make large collage master boards. The We R Makers Mini Paper Trimmer was perfect for this. Plus I tend to pack a paper trimmer when I travel and this one fits perfectly into my purse.

Step 1: Remove the Pages of Your Book

Using the Precision Craft Knife cut both sides of the book. Where the pages meet the cover is called the hinge. Your craft knife will easily go through the paper.

Tip: Take care not to puncture the actual book cover or spine. These knives are sharp!

Prepare the Cover of Your Altered Book Junk Journal

Once the pages are removed you are left with the hard cover of the book. This is exactly what you want to use as the base of your altered book journal. Notice there is a strip of cardboard in the center. You could leave this as is, but I prefer to cover it.

Step 2: Reinforce the Spine of Your Altered Book

Using adhesive backed felt cut a strip about .5″s wider on each side than the strip of cardboard. Fun fact – you can cut felt with a paper trimmer to get really straight lines. Apply the felt to the center and press down. You could also use regular felt and a strong glue. This step is not only decorative but it also reinforces the spine of your journal for when you are stitching later.

Step 3: Choose the Perfect Pages for Your Signatures

My favorite part of any bookbinding project is choosing the papers to go inside. For this project I was going with a pink and red theme. I love going through my stash of vintage ephemera, hand painted papers and more. For an altered book journal with 3 signatures you will need roughly 36 sheets of paper or 12 for each signature. When these papers eventually get folded in half your book will have 72 pages in total.

Try Making Your Own Collage Masterboards

A fun addition to any altered book or junk journal are hand painted sheets of paper. I am hoarder so I keep ALL my scraps. From time to time I trim them all down with a paper cutter into small squares. Using matte medium I apply the squares randomly to a sheet of scrapbook paper and make my own collage master boards. I love the way these papers look and it is a great scrap busting project.

Step 4: Fold All Your Pages in Half

Once you have chosen your papers it’s time to fold. All the papers should be folded in half. After that section into 3 signatures. In other words 3 groups of 12. Stack the pages into one another.

Step 5: Time to Poke the Holes

Start with your middle signature. Clip into the center of the book cover using binder clips. With an awl poke 3 holes. I start with the center and then make two more holes at the top and the bottom equidistance apart.

Step 6: Bind Your Altered Book Journal With a 3-Hole Pamphlet Stitch

Thread your needle and insert into the center hole from the inside of the book. From the outside center hole go up and through the top hole. Once you are back inside the book bring your needle down to the center hole and out again. From the outside center hole bring the needle down and thread through the bottom hole. Once the needle and thread are through the bottom hole and back inside the book bring it back up to the center hole and push it outside. When the needle is outside the book loop it underneath the top stitch you did and bring it back into the center of the book through the middle hole. Essentially you are creating a figure 8. Tie the end in a knot.

TIP: The stitching guide I give to students in my junk journal workshops with a visual guide can be found on my Substack Newsletter.

Step 7: Repeat This Book Binding Process

Once you have your center signature in you can use it as a guide to place the other two signatures. No shade to using an actual ruler, I just happen to be a good eye it kind of girl.

Step 8: Add Pompom Fringe to Your Book

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – everything is better with pompom fringe. This goes for an altered book journal too. Using hot glue add a strip of pompom trim to the edge of your cover.

Altered Book Journal FAQ

Can I use this journal like an art journal? Sure you can! Depending on what type of paper you used in your signatures. I always like to use a combination of my hand painted papers, vintage ephemera and mixed media paper. That way I can paint, glue, stitch, embellish – whatever tickles my fancy.

Do I have to use 36 sheets of paper? No! I use 12 pages per signature as a general rule of thumb. Much more than that and you will have a hard time getting your awl to poke through. Too few and your junk journal will look puny.

What if my stitches won’t tighten? Remember how you went through the center hole a gazillion times. You need to make sure not to ‘split your thread’ while stitching in your signatures. This means going through the thread with your needle.

Am I committing a major sin altering a book that could be rare and worth a ton of money? I just searched the above image on eBay and there were 11,000,000+ listings starting at .99 cents. If you are worried about it Google lens the book before you cut it up.

Can I use a paperback book? Anything is possible. However, the cover will not be as sturdy and will need to be reinforced with something. I’d cover the entire inside cover with adhesive backed felt. I’d also laminate the cover before that.

I’m still not exactly sure how to stitch my altered book journal? Well as it just so happens I am teaching an online workshop about the basics of bookbinding for a virtual Summer Creative Retreat. I’ll walk you through all the steps.

I like to think the books I turn into journals are upgraded in most cases. The chances that I was ever going to curl up and read the stories inside were slim to none even as riveting as Betsy and Tracey Go Over the Big Hill sounds (what IS on the other side?). Do you have a stack sitting around collecting dust just begging to be made into altered book journals? If you don’t I promise that the thrift store does and you know you are dying to try to make one of these for yourself!