It’s that time of year for family reunions, and you will be prepared for all the memories old and new if you have along this Family reunion journal. Our reunion has always been held on the fourth Sunday in August. The great thing about family reunions is that they give us an opportunity to spend time celebrating with so many of our loved ones. So, if you’re planning one, why not create a few journals that would be available for family members to write down their most cherished memories and thoughts to hold dear and to pass on.
Oral history is a valuable aspect of genealogy and family gatherings are the ideal location to extract memories from that great-aunt or great-grandpa – and what better way than to write it down in a beautiful journal adorned with a bow ribbon made using your Bowdabra.
Here’s how to make one:
Gather
- Composition book
- Scrapbook paper
- Scissors
- Double sided tape or glue
- Craft knife
- Ribbon
- Bowdabra
- Bowdabra wire
- Embellishments
First, apply double sided tape or glue to all the edges, including the edge of the book binding, and back and forth across the front of the book.
Lay the scrapbook paper on top of the book at the binding edge and bottom edge and smooth out.
Turn book over to inside and using a craft knife, cut off excess paper around book edges.
Repeat steps for back cover.
Cut a piece of ribbon 1/2″ longer than the height of the book, apply double sided tape beside binder edge and add ribbon, gluing edges of ribbon on inside cover.
Next, cut a 15″ piece of Bowdabra ribbon wire and insert into the Bowdabra, placing wire ends under.
Cut a 10 1/2″ piece of ribbon, dovetail the ends by folding together and cutting at an angle by the fold. Seal ends with a lighter or clear nail polish and insert into the Bowdabra.
Cut a 20″ piece of ribbon looping ends together at center and insert into the Bowdabra.
Scrunch down the ribbon using the Bowdabra wand, and pull up the wires, pushing ends through the loop.
Pull the wires tightly while the bow is still in the Bowdabra and then take the bow out of the Bowdabra. Wrap the loose ends around to the back of the bow, tie in knot and cut off excess wire.
Glue the Bowdabra bow onto the ribbon strip on front cover.
For tabs to hold a pen, cut two 4″ pieces of ribbon, glue ends together, leaving loops to insert pen.
Glue on tabs to inside front cover.
Add double sided tape to edges and body of front inside cover and repeat steps to add scrapbook paper to hide tab edges and inside cover wording. Repeat for back inside cover.
For embellishment, I made a word cloud from a free site, Tagxedo, in the shape of a tree with the names of family members, starting with my grandparents, their wedding date at the trunk base, and the names of their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren throughout the tree, and pasted it on the
cover.
To complete the journal cover, printed the title, Family Memories, in the same font, cut out around words, and glued onto the front cover.
I really love the results . . . and the journal would make a lovely keepsake for anyone at a family reunion!
Happy Crafting!
Gail
Visit Gail at her blog Purple hues and me and her Facebook fan page for more of her awesome craft projects!