Sometimes the best part of a story journal is using what you already have.

For this fall spread, I wanted a little booklet that could tuck right into the page. I didn’t start with special book board or a purchased blank. I started with an empty Mountain Dew carton.

It really did start with a Mountain Dew carton

I didn’t photograph every step while I was making it, but here’s how I put mine together if you’d like to try your own.

I cut the carton apart instead of throwing it away. The cardboard was sturdy enough to become the little cover I had in mind. I cut it to size and folded it at the center to make the booklet cover and spine.

For the writing pages, I used two sheets of paper. I cut each sheet about ¼ inch smaller than the booklet cover, folded both sheets in half, and nested them together. Folding the two sheets gave me front-and-back writing pages that fit neatly inside the cover without sticking out around the edges.

Next I covered the outside of the cardboard with one of the botanical papers from A Little Taste of Autumn, wrapping the paper around the edges of the cover.

Before adding the paper that would finish the inside cover, I hot-glued a length of ribbon to the cardboard so the booklet could be tied closed. Attaching the ribbon first meant the glued ends would be hidden underneath the inside cover paper instead of showing on the finished booklet.

Once the cover was finished, I centered the two folded sheets of writing paper inside it. Using a needle and thread, I stitched through the fold of the paper and the booklet spine, then tied the thread securely to hold the pages in place. No special bookbinding supplies were needed.

What started as part of a soda carton became a little handmade book—a place for lists, memories, quotes, or whatever else I wanted to tuck into this fall story.

Then the little booklet became part of the story

Inside, I added things that felt like fall to me—handwriting, a little painting, a poem, lists, and thoughts I wanted to remember. Nothing about it needed to be perfect. The point was to make a place for the season as I was actually experiencing it.

That is one of the things I love about story journaling. A page can hold writing, paint, patterned paper, recycled cardboard, ribbon, scraps, or whatever else helps tell the story. It doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s journal.

Use what you have. Tell the story anyway.

If you want to try something similar, you don’t need to go buy a pile of supplies first. Look around the house. Save a piece of packaging. Tear a scrap of paper. Add your own handwriting. Make a tiny booklet. Paint something if you feel like it—or don’t.

The fall papers I used here are part of the free A Little Taste of Autumn set. You can download them and make something completely your own.