Yes, I will write a little blurb about my day in my new 5 Year Journal this year, but also, when I need to write/work things out, I will always journal in my diary. Like I’ve always done and always will.

Pimp your journal cover with collage process video

Currently I’m working in a Moleskine Plain Notebook, a favorite brand with cream colored pages and no lines. I love having it handy for writing out thoughts with no space limit. But since this notebook came with a (to me) boring black cover, I decided to “pimp it” with a cut and paste session – and film my process for making a paper patchwork notebook cover! So I took out some papers and images that I like, and went to work…

Desk full of collage materials for pimping the cover of this yummy notebook #moleskine

I edited the video last year, but I thought it would be a good first video of the year for us, since it is about new beginnings…

Collage time with iHanna

Here’s the video, where I tried to share “tips and tricks” on how to create a full all-over collage cover on a notebook. Enjoy!


If you can’t see the embedded video click here. When on YouTube subscribe to my channel, click like and leave a comment if you have the time – it helps others see my video too. :-)

Those of you that have been reading this blog for a while will remember that I’ve done this kind of “paper patchwork” before, although never as a tutorial video (if you don’t count the traveler’s notebook style reading journal and the TN art journal I made and covered of course). Ha!

Oh well, I love altering notebook covers, making them more iHanna – and then filling every inch of the inside pages as well, often with collage. Although in this particular Moleskine I will (try to) only journal because I intend on using it as my diary.

Patchwork Collage Cover by iHanna - I love to journal in pretty notebooks

Paper Patchwork Ideas

I love paper patchwork a lot, Digging around I found some of my blog posts from previous years, if you need further inspo, read away!

Leave me a comment anywhere (even older posts), I appreciate you being here!

Finished diary cover with collage by iHanna

Growing forgetful

My most recent photos on instagram was about my own slow decay (memory loss) and how scary it is to discover that things that were one bright in front of your mind has now tumbled backwards, some to be actually lost for ever. For example, I used to know all the blog posts I’d ever written by heart, typing in their actual title to find them. Now? I need several tries, and sometimes I can’t figure out what I called something that I want to find. It makes me wonder if even wrote it?

Where do all the lost memories go art journal page by iHanna

I dig through the archives and sometimes I have to give up. I think it is partly because, of course, my archive is so big these days, but also because my brain can’t store it all. Some things fall out, and I guess that is okay too…

And maybe this is one of the reasons I’ve always journaled? If the memories fall out of my wee brain, I can call (some of them) back by reading through past years, months, days and moments… :-)

Open journal with lots of pages to write on Collage cover by iHanna

Fun fact once again from the archive: My first video last year was also about my love for keeping a diary and journaling, probably because it’s a good new year habit to reinforce! It was my previous journal, now filled: New Year, New Diary!