To me, the most stressful part of a “homemade Christmas” has been coming up with something for our little sisters (17 and 18 years old) and my little step-brothers (8 and 13 years old…more on their gift later).

I never want anyone to feel shorted because of our limited gift budget or decision to do a homemade Christmas, but I had so much trouble coming up with something for them that was both cute and at least somewhat functional.

Of course, felt crafts are all the rage right now, and so I decided to try my hand at felt-covered journals. I have to admit that I love how these turned out, and I think I’m addicted. Like all of my other projects, they’re not perfect, but I think they’re pretty good, and they were easy enough that even I could figure them out (unlike, say, the bbq ribs I tried to make tonight that ended up one shriveled hard lump of meat).

To start, cut your felt to the right size, leaving 1/4″ on each side for the stitching. I used the standard rectangles from Michael’s, so I used one piece trimmed down for the outside cover and cut two smaller pieces from a second piece for the inside covers.

Trace an initial or shape on the cover with chalk and then stitch using a chain stitch (okay, so I actually did this last because I wanted to be sure I could actually make the cover before I spent time on the initials, but it would have been easier to do it first).

Pin the pieces together (okay, I didn’t actually pin them, but I think it would have been easier if I had!) and begin stitching with a blanket stitch.

And voila, you’re done!