A lot of my making comes from things I need since I would rather learn how something is made, make it myself, and give it handmade sentimental value than buy it. In this case, I needed a journal to keep track of assignments in my Junior year of high school. I could have used the mass-produced one that I found in my closet but I figured that was too poorly constructed for daily use. Instead, I deconstructed that notebook and rebound it with a new, stronger, and better-looking cover made of leather.
Leather Journal
I have been leatherworking for a number of years now. I was still learning the ropes in this project but I think it still turned out great. I like the contrast between the dyed sections and the veg-tan-colored areas of the cover. I died the black sections of the cover with screen printing ink which seemed to stick well to the leather and never came off. Then, I gave the cover a stitch around its edge for style. This design was so much better than the journal that I started with that I would expect it to survive for another few years if I needed it to.