DIY Halloween Travelers Notebook Journal Insert

To start, I cut off the zagged edge from the top of the kit bag and then folded the bag in half. Next, I chose three scrap pieces of paper left over from my planner setup. I used double sided sticky tape to layer them together to create a page that was slightly smaller than the bag width. Next I took a 1/4″ strip of scrap paper, scored it down the middle then used double sided sticky tape to adhere the cover to the top of the paper bag, keeping the edge of the bag (or the spine) exposed so the bag would open and close easily.

Should the spine area ever get worn from use, simply take some clear packing tape and seal the edge for more durability.

The corners of the scrapbook paper (near the spine) were rounded and the corners on the outer edge were punched with a fancy corner punch. I added a 3-D movable Halloween pumpkin figure to center of the cover along with a trick-or-treat sign.

Lastly I embellished the edge of the cover with a shimmering gold bow tab that is also from the Planner Society. I did this because it makes it easier to open that page without wearing the edges of the paper bag.

When you open it, the left side is the backside of the scrapbook paper cover. All I did here was added some black puffy letters that reads “planner girl” which also came in the kit. On the right side, I glued down one of the journal cards, after using that same fancy paper punch on each corner. I added small orange gems to each corner and a small fabric polka dot bow to the top of the journal card.

This first black bag page is also the top of the bag which gives me a pocket. This extra tuck spot allows me to slide in extra journal cards, pictures, washi samples or anything I might want to use when memory keeping on the go. You can see this in the last photo at the end of this post.

How To Use These Pages

On the “planner girl” page, I thought I would add some black edged Happy Planner colorful boxes and record any Halloween plans, quotes or past memories. I really want to keep this page simple. On the journal card page, I thought I would grab a picture of this years fall porch decor and add a small memory at the top of the page.

While I don’t decorate for Halloween, we’ve always decorated our front porch for fall through Thanksgiving. Get some Fall Decor Ideas for Your Front Porch and Steps from our past years.

For these two pages I basically took the concept of the washi dashboard and just made that the whole two pages. All of the washi tapes I used were from my own collection; the bow washi is from Simply Gilded. On the outer edge of this page I also added a black pom-pom trim; mostly because I felt over time the washi tape would pull up on the edge from regular use. So to keep it secure I used the trim I had on hand and think it worked perfectly.

How To Use These Pages

The washi dashboard pages are the perfect spot to record this years Halloween, trick-or-treating and/or baking memories. My thought was to get pictures of my daughter and niece in costume, record some memories of them and the kids who come to our door, for example, the best costume I saw.

Washi Dashboard Tips

• If you are creating the washi against black paper and want the washi to really show well, it’s best to back it to some white paper and then glue or stick that paper onto the black pages. As you can see my washi does show, mostly because the background was black so the colors were more vibrant. But, the spider web washi doesn’t show too well because it had a white transparent background.
• Always start your washi dashboard in the center and work outwards. Do one side from the center at a time (don’t keep switching back and forth over the washi).

On the backside of the bag, I used an exacto knife to cut a 3-1/2″ long slice to create a pocket. Although you can’t see it, I added some scrapbook paper behind the sticky notes; that way if I use all my sticky notes, the pocket won’t look bland or bare. I added a cut down piece of gold glitter scalloped edge from Planner Society and pulled off a few Halloween house sticky notepapers and added them to the pocket.

The last addition was to add one of the black cat die cuts (I just love this cat!) in the lower left corner -purely for decoration. That completed my project that is now ready to use for Halloween memory keeping.

How To Use This Page

The Halloween house sticky notes are there to record memories and then I’d use them on the washi dashboard page along with pictures. Once Halloween is over, I was going to put in the pocket a slip of paper that would list ideas for next fall and Halloween.