How to make a handmade Pregnancy Journal!

Hey! It's Sizzix Designer, Josh here and as some of you may know, this year I will become a dad and I am so excited! My partner and I are really keen to enjoy the pregnancy and to be able to look back on the whole journey with really happy memories. So, what better way than to create a pregnancy journal?

Journaling is such a therapeutic process and it is a great way to de-stress, plus it can help you remember the good times when you are going through a stressful or uncomfortable time. I can't wait to look back at the journal I have created in weeks, months and years to come and show my children in the future too!

What you will need:

• Sizzix® Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray) w/Standard Platform
• Sizzix® Thinlits® Die Set 12PK - Hello Baby
• Sizzix® Making Essential - Stencil Film, 8 1/4" x 11 5/8", 10 Sheets
• Sizzix® Making Essential - Foam Tape
• Sizzix® Multi-Tool Accessory - Blending Tool Head w/Replacement Sponge
• Sizzix® Surfacez™ - Cardstock, 8 1/4" x 11 3/4", 20 Assorted Colors, 80 Sheets
• Sizzix® Making Essential - Express Glue, 120ml
• Tim Holtz Distress inks
• White Card or a Journal Page
• Black Fine Line Pens

Step-by-step on how to make it:

Step 1.

Gather all of your materials and choose your color palette from Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks and Sizzix Cardstock. Keeping to a minimal palette makes it easier to create a cohesive design especially when the project is baby-themed.

Always remember that the journal you are creating is for you so don't worry too much, choose what you love!

Step 2.

Next die cut the different elements you would like to stencil from Sizzix Stencil Film. The cloud elements in this set come in three different sizes, I chose to position my stenciled clouds with some overlapping elements.

The different sizes of the same element creates liveliness and an illustrative feel which I really love.

Step 3.

Next, you can use a Ruler to draw in your lines, I used two different methods for segmenting my journal page. I have included the alternative method further down in the blog. My top tip is to use a Pencil to draft some faint lines in case you want to erase and change them later.

For the title of your journal page, draw in three parallel guidelines. This way you can have consistent heights for your hand-drawn letters.

Step 4.

Using a Black Fine Liner, carefully draw over your faint pencil lines, then, write in your milestones. Using different fonts from the heading will help to create variation in your project.

Step 5.

Finally, die cut your favorite elements from the Hello Baby Thinlits Die set and adhere them using Sizzix Express Glue. The small elements in this set are perfect for using as bullet points in a journal.

Project variation.

You may want to segment your pregnancy journal in a different way so... here's another idea! Follow all of the same steps from the previous layout, but instead of inking the stenciled images first, draw in your pencil marks first.

This way, you can position the clouds so that they are cut off by the lines. I did this by laying the stencil over the line and using the straight edge of another sheet on top, following the line and then inking over the two stencil sheets.

Again, see the steps and advice from the previous design to fill in your journal using a Black Fine Liner. Add in your milestones and build your journal by adhering your die cut elements. For this design, I adhered the bear element using the Sizzix Foam Tape.

Thank you for reading this blog and found this pregnancy journal inspiring for yourself or your loved ones! This will be something really special you can look back on forever! Remember to use my code JOSH20, for 20% off any of the items I have used in my make today!

Until next time, happy crafting!