DIY Nature Journal

Okay, this DIY nature journal is so fun and easy! We ended up throwing this together for our botany unit this spring, but it was just too fun not to share!

We love that this DIY nature journal is a kid and eco-friendly craft that you can make out of materials you most likely have on hand. My kids got a kick out of recycling old brown paper bags to make this cute nature journal and then had fun filling it's pages.

Follow the steps below to make your very own DIY Nature Journal and tag me on social so I can see the funny things you fill it's pages with!

You Will Need;

A few brown paper bags (2-3 per journal)

A Hole Punch

Ribbon Twine

Scissors

Step 1:

Lay the brown paper bag flat and cut along the middle using the bottom fold as your guide (you won't be using this very bottom section for your book)

Step 2:

Lay the upper portion of your brown paper bag that you just cut out flat (it will still be connected; don't worry about that as we'll cut the pages in a minute). Take this long tube and fold it in thirds; try to get it somewhat even but don't worry about getting it perfect as different length edges can add to the charm of your DIY nature journal.

Step 3:

Use a hole punch to make multiple holes along the spine roughly an inch apart.

Step 4:

Using twine, ribbon, lace, etc "sew" your DIY nature journal page together. We chose to go down and up to create a criss-cross pattern on the spine to make sure the pages were held together well but you could experiment with different types of loops to create cute styes for your nature journal.

Step 5:

Take your scissors and cut any folds on the opposite end of your binding to free up your pages. You can either choose to leave the edges ragged/different lengths or trim them to create a more uniform look for your journal.

Step 6:

Create a cover for your DIY nature journal and go wild! We loved that the thick brown bags allowed for messier projects like creating "paint" from nature (think berries, dirt, chalk, etc) and forced us to be creative in the mediums we used to see what showed up the best.

Visual Learner? Swipe Through these!!!

Tips:

We loved using colored pencils, oil pastels, or watercolors on our pages!

On pages with print we chose to do construction paper cutouts or paste pieces of nature in our journals to cover them up.

Try using things you find in nature as a "stamp" using paint. (Pine cones, across, rocks, fern, leaves, etc)

Have Fun!

We hope you have a blast creating your very own DIY nature journals and if you do put one together make sure to tag us one social so we can see it! My kids have made and filled a few of these journals since the original and love being able to create something all their own.

Happy Crafting!