Looking for a way to keep your pen handy when journaling? I have an idea to make a Pen Holder that Fits Onto Your Journal.
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I've said it a million times, here and here, I love to journal. There's lots of research out there that says why journaling is such a good idea, but I'm going to make it simple and tell you why I am a big fan of journaling. I do it because I am a lady that has lots of thoughts so getting them out of my head and onto paper helps them to not be so overwhelming. When thoughts are on paper instead of ruminating in my head, I can get leverage on them and not be controlled by them.
I can't tell you how many times I have tried to write in my journal and couldn't find my pen. So I came up with an idea to make a pen holder that attaches to a journal. We also used this idea for YW camp, which worked so awesome for all of those little ladies to pack around and journal during quiet time!
How to Make a Pen Holder for a Journal
Measure your Journal. First thing you need to do is measure the height of your journal. For YW camp, we used composition books as journals, which measure around 20-21" tall. But this idea works for any journal that you use.
Measure and cut Elastic Ribbon. Once you know how tall your journal is, subtract 1-2 inches from that total and cut a piece of elastic ribbon. This elastic ribbon is so great because it come is multiple colors and is . . . elastic. Haha! That means it stretches around your journal and stays in place. The ribbon even comes in patterns if that is something you're interested in.
For the pen loop, cut another piece a little less than 2 inches long.
Put Pen Holder Together. Wrap the long piece of elastic around your journal. Over lap the ends by about 1/2 inch and either sew it together or use hot glue.
Of course if you use hot glue, be very careful. I am a long time glue gun user and still managed to burn myself the first time I made a pen holder. For this reason, at YW camp, we had the girls use a needle and thread to sew their loops closed.
Make a small loop that will hold your pen, over lap the ends again and either sew or hot glue the loop closed.
Then attach the loop to the piece of elastic that is around your journal, with you guessed it - hot glue or sewing.
The sewing does not have to be perfect, which is obvious by these photos. I would like to say I purposely made it sloppy, but actually I just sewed and hoped for the best to see if it would work. And it did. You can't even see the messy stitching when it's all put together.
Once the loop is sewn on, place the pen holder around the front cover of the composition book journal.
Then you can add your pen and be ready for journaling. You can also decorate the cover of the composition book like I did here. I simple glued on a piece of patterned craft paper with a tape runner.
This is a super simple project with lots of impact because when you journal, you don't want to spend the time searching for a pen. With this DIY Pen Holder, you will always have a pen handy when you are journaling!
Need some ideas for what to journal? Use this free printable with Journaling Prompts.
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