Do-It-Yourself: 10 Year Journal

I recently saw this adorable perpetual calendar journal at Better Life Blog. 

She used this tutorial from Design Sponge.

While I loved the look of their finished projects, my favorite part was the fact that each day's activity is recorded in the same place every year. That way in two, three, or ten years you can look back and see at a glance what happened on that date over the past years.

photo from Rhymes With Magic's simplified version

I was a little concerned that in a home with many small children, the index cards in a box, while pretty, would not be very practical. The thought of trying to reorganize 365 index card into chronological order made me search for an alternative.

For me, I thought a nice journal style would work better. I also love the fact that I could use up to a few lines for each day in case it was really eventful. It appears as though I'm not the first to think of this as you can purchase your own 10+ Year Journal here. 

While this journal looks amazing and even has some extra features, I wasn't ready to fork over $40 so I adapted the idea and decided to make my own 10 Year Journal. (By the way, you can also download a free PDF 10 year journal that you can punch holes in and place in a binder here.)

Would you like to make one, too? It's very easy and can be completed for a fraction of the cost.

For this project any journal will work, but I'd lean towards that nicer quality ones since it will be used for such a long time (hopefully). Make sure your journal has at least 365 pages (one for each day). As I discovered, journals do not count each individual page, but typically count the front and back as two separate pages, like a book instead of a notebook.

Don't make the mistake I made and purchase a journal with 192 pages thinking that it is actually enough...it isn't. Lesson learned = count the pages before you purchase the journal and leave the store.

The second journal I purchased has 400 pages and was found at Walmart for just under $13. It's more than I would normally spend, but I figured that the cost actually came to about $1.30 per year and that wasn't so bad.

At this point you could simply write the date at the top of each page. Make sure you just write the month and day/date not the year or day of the week. Example = January 1 ( Jan. 01) or March 13 (Mar. 13)  not January 1, 2010 or Saturday, January 1.

Since I had access to small letter stamps I stamped each month's name. I'm still looking for small number stamps to add the dates, but just imagine the dates are stamped next to the month :) I chose to place the date towards the top left corner of each page so that the date on the back of the page wouldn't interfere with the date on the front.

If you have access to a date stamp (like libraries used in the past) you can easily add your dates. Just make sure you turn the year to the blank space.

Also make sure you add February 29th even though there is no 29th of February this year!

You can also mark special days, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. by writing them at the top of the page. 

You're done! I told you it was super quick and simple! 

Now when I write my entry for each day I'll just add the year followed by a colon and then write the entry. Count your lines and divide by ten to see how many lines you can use each day. My journal has 29 lines (not counting the very top where the date is stamped) so I'll use up to 3 lines for each entry.

I'm definitely keeping this idea in mind for gift making/giving and will be looking for journals on sale throughout the year. I think this would be a great gift for any busy woman or mom!

Have fun making your own 10 Year Journal and preserving memories for years to come. 

P.S. ~ We'd love to see your finished projects!

Linked up to Craft-O-Maniac, Making Monday Marvelous, Motivate Me Monday, Making the World Cuter Monday, The DIY Show Off, Gratituesday, Tutorial Tuesday, Take-A-Look Tuesday, Get Your Craft on Tuesday, Finer Things Friday

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