You can make these DIY art journals for kids with recycled and upcycled materials you have around the house. And be sure to include drawing prompts to inspire your kids’ creativity!
Updated September 2024
If you’re getting ready for a road trip or are looking for a fun after-school art invitation, try a DIY art journal! They are a place for your kids to doodle and draw, or a place for them to store their artwork.
The best part of this project is that it uses recycled materials! And you can make these with your kids or make them for them as a surprise.
DIY Art Journals for Kids
MATERIALS
- Thin cardboard (from cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc.)
- Recycle bin paper like grocery bags, magazines, notecards, etc.
- A variety of papers including colored construction paper, patterned paper, origami paper, and white printer paper
- Artwork (either art that you make specifically for these art journals or artwork that might have been headed for the recycle bin)
- Scissors
- Tape
- Glue stick
- Stapler
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the journal cover
Fold your cereal box cardboard and cut it into the size you want your art journal to be. You can make your art journal as big as a box of cereal or as small as a notepad.
You can either leave the plain brown cardboard on the outside or glue colored paper onto the cardboard.
- Cut your pages to size
Cut and fold a variety of papers to fit inside the cardboard journal cover.
Arrange the pages in any order desired. We like to provide variety, putting brown paper bag pages next to white drawing paper next to colored construction paper, etc.
We also like to glue envelopes to the inside of the cover, to store pieces of artwork.
- Attach the paper to the cover
Then, we stapled the pages to the cover, but you can also sew through the pages and the cardboard cover with a straight basting stitch on the sewing machine. Or hand sew with needle and thread. Or punch holes and sew with embroidery floss or yarn.
And don’t forget to decorate the cover with a small artwork or the words ART JOURNAL!
Optional: Add drawing prompts! You can use your new art journal as is or you can alter the pages with drawing prompts and challenges, such as…
- Cut a hole out of a page
- Paste an interesting paper or shape onto a page
- Add eye stickers to a page
- Glue a portion of a magazine picture to a page
- Draw frames on a page
- Draw a squiggle or other drawing prompt
- Add photocopied nature items
- Other? Use your imagination!
And don’t forget that DIY art journals make great gifts for kids or adults!
More Drawing Activities for Kids
- 12 Kids’ Drawing Games for Creative Fun
- Fingerprint Art for Kids
- 10 Art Prompts for Kids to Foster Creativity
- Invitation to Draw: 99 Drawing Prompts to Inspire Kids Creativity
- Experimenting with How to Draw Books
- Creative Alternatives to Coloring Books for Kids
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