Hybrid Journaling Blocks How To

by Michele Ciola

Designing using hybrid techniques is not only fun but very versatile. You can create and/or use digital elements that will perfectly compliment your project whenever you feel like it. No more waiting for your order to arrive or spending countless hours searching for that perfect embellishment. You have everything you may need at your fingertips already.

In today’s tutorial, we will be creating a wonderful journaling box from scratch using a digital program and then dressing it up to perfectly match any project.

First, let’s open your photo editing program of choice and select a new document 6x4 inches, 300 dpi with a white background.



Then choose a font and color you would like to use. I will be using the Time New Roman left parenthesis bracket along with a chocolate brown color (#5B4B26).


Now simply type the { bracket character at approximately 276 points. Position the bracket at about ¾ inch in from the left-hand side of your document while centering it vertically.


Next we will work on creating the journaling lines. First select a new layer in your layers palette. Then using the same color simply select the brush tool at size 2 with a 51% opacity and draw a straight line. A great way to do this is to press and hold your shift key as you draw your line. This will keep it perfectly straight.


Once you have your line simple duplicate that layer and position it below the previous one. By duplicating each layer, all of your lines on the journaling area will be the same length. You can eyeball the spacing or you can turn on your grid lines if you would like them perfectly even. In my example, the lines are spaced about every 5/16 of an inch.

Now your journaling block is ready for printing but you don’t have to stop there! You can add digital embellishments now along with various other layers or you can simply print and have fun with all your traditional supplies. You can also vary your cardstock and font colors to come up with various combinations.

If you prefer to computer journal on your project, here are a few pointers: Select the Times New Roman font and use a font size of 12 along with spacing set at 25.3. This will ensure your text lines up perfectly with your journaling lines.

For the final project, I used Deanna Patterson’s kit Monday ‘s with Dah, I printed out her beautiful frame and used it to surround my journaling block instead of a photo. I then heat embossed the photo corner and the name plate to give it added dimension.

Let’s see what you can do using this hybrid technique!! Can’t wait to see your projects.