Journal Decoration Ideas for Your Planner

If you are looking for an easy way to add a journal decoration to your planner, I’ve got an easy project for you! A stenciled journal cover! Let’s get started on this fun and easy project 😊

There is a video towards the bottom of this post! Be sure to watch it!

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how to decorate your journal cover

The truth is, I can’t leave well enough alone.

Are you like that? You see something that is functional yet plain and ordinary and then you have to do something to it to change it up?

That’s me. I have used a plain journal for years as my bullet journal. The covers have always been blank.

For some reason, this year I wanted to change that.

Thankfully, I had the supplies on hand because when the mood strikes, well you know the rest of the story!

The supplies are simple: paint, stencil, sponge, and sealer. I will share what I used for my two journals (yep, I said two!) and I will add some links if you would like to use the same supplies.

You can use any stencil but I highly recommend using Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint. This stuff is seriously amazing! It adheres to anything and once it is cured, it is super durable. No fumes or funky smells, water clean-up, and gorgeous colors to choose from!

list of supplies:

• journals (this is the pack I bought – they come in many colors!)
• pen ( not used in the tutorial but you will love these pens!)
• Drop Cloth chalk mineral paint
• Caviar chalk mineral paint
• Tea Towel Floral Stencil
• Script d’amour Francais Stencil
• chip brush
• small sponge
• paint brush (for 2nd journal)
• Best Dang Wax by Dixie Belle

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Dixie Belle supplies can also be bought by clicking the graphic below. Thanks for supporting our blog this way!😊

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notebook cover ideas

Stenciling is easy. You’ll see me stenciling this decoration on the journal in the video below.

You just dab a bit of paint on the sponge and then dab most of it off on a paper towel. This dry sponge technique will help to prevent paint from going under the stencil and making a mess.

Then with the sponge, a bit dry, pounce over the stencil. Do this with a light touch. You can always add more layers of paint if you want but you can’t remove them once you are done!

It doesn’t take much time to cover the front of this notebook cover. Isn’t this a simple decoration for a journal yet so pretty?

can you use wax on a journal?

Yes, you can! I know that sounds crazy – I mean who in the world waxes a bullet journal cover??

I do. 🤪

On a serious note, it is best to seal the chalk mineral paint. In fact, I might even add another layer of wax every couple of months. My bullet journal gets used every single day. I literally bring it into whatever room I am working in, including my outdoor workshop (aka our garage) so I want it protected.

A chip brush works well for this. I dab a bit of wax onto the brush and swirl the wax onto the decorated journal cover.

When both sides were covered in a light layer of wax, I opened the journal as you see in the image below. The wax dries in about 20 minutes.

an an aesthetic look for your journal

After the wax was completely dry, I used a clean paper towel to lightly buff the surface. I created a soft sheen to the journal that was soft to touch.

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notebook cover ideas

Isn’t she a cutie?? I say she because I refer to my bullet journal as my assistant. Seriously, I couldn’t accomplish all that I do without her.

She is my best friend and she keeps this place running! The least I could do is give her a little journal cover decoration and some wax to soften her cover! 😊

more bullet journal ideas!

Just click any of the images below to peek inside my bullet journals!

pretty journal cover

Wasn’t that a fun and fast way to add some decoration to your journal? There are so many kinds of stencils to use for a journal – whether it is a writing journal or a bullet journal for planning, if you are going to use it every day, it should be pretty!

You’ll see here that I did a second journal with a different stencil. You’ll see more of that in the video below!

more stenciling posts!

Stenciling has been one of my favorite techniques here lately. You can see some of my recent stenciling projects by clicking the images below.

Just click the image and you will be taken to the post with all the details.

Pin the image below to your bullet journal or easy craft project boards! Just click the pin button at the top left corner!

YouTube video

And just like I promised at the beginning of this post, here is a video of this project.

Thanks for joining our journey!

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