Adding Pockets to Your Journal, Notebook or Sketchbook

When I started customizing my Moleskine for this class, I ran into a slight problem.  There's only one pocket in the back of the book, and I need 3 pockets.  I wanted to include one pocket to hold the book blessing card (more on that in the next post), one pocket for the celebration card we'll create around this time next year, and the built-in pocket that is already in the journal for mementos.  There was one other issue, the first two and last two pages of the Moleskine wouldn't open fully.  That's when I devised a plot to make this little challenge work in my favor.  This is how the extra pockets turned out:

Front Pocket/Inside Cover

Back Pocket/Inside Cover

It's really easy to make these pockets.  They aren't really made to hold much, but they will work perfectly to hold the blessing and celebration cards we're going to make.  I really enjoy layering washi tape, so this was a fun project for me.

What You'll Need:

1. Matte gel medium or another adhesive (preferably matte).

2. Washi tape (or another decorative tape or scrapbook paper).

3. A cheap paintbrush (nothing fancy, because it's going to get glue all over it).

The Steps:

1. Clip the two pages together at the top, where the opening of the pocket will be.  This allows you to get a nice clean edge to your pocket.  It also prevents the paper from buckling.  Note:  If the pages of your notebook or journal are too thin, you can glue two pages together for the front of each pocket and also glue two pages together for the back of each pocket before clipping the two sets of pages together.

2. Using the brush, spread a small amount of adhesive along the outside edge of pages that will become your pocket, on both the front and the back.  Take a piece of washi tape that is slightly longer than your page.  Hold it flush against the edge of the page.  Fold half of the width of the tape onto the front and the other half onto the back of the pocket.  Smooth the tape in place.   Allow the glue to dry and trim any excess tape from the top and bottom of the pocket.  Repeat this step for the bottom edge of the pocket.

3. Using the brush, spread a small to medium amount of adhesive over the tape you added in the last step.  Take a different washi tape and smooth it in place over the glue you just added.  It's best to use washi tape that is either thinner or wider than the tape you used for the last step. Unlike the last step, this tape isn't going to be folded in half.  Allow the adhesive to dry completely.

4.  Spread glue over the washi tape you just added, sealing it in place.  Allow the adhesive to dry.  I would suggest putting a bit of wax paper between the pocket and the other pages, depending on the type of glue you used.

5.  Repeat steps 1-4 to create a pocket at the back of your journal.

Feel free to share pictures of your journal pockets by leaving a link in the comments.

© Wendy M. Juhl