We are about to start our homeschool year and I wanted us each to have a special notebook to write down notes, standout ideas, things we are memorizing, glue in pictures, or whatever else we want to remember from the year. I had a bunch of leftover blank notebooks from a girls camp that we did over the summer. We each decorated one in our own style and I love how they turned out! I think I will always do painted notebook covers from now on!
This is a perfect project if you want to personalize a basic journal or notebook! You can make it as simple or detailed as you want! If you find yourself uncertain what to do, be sure to look up ideas online because there are tons of fun ideas. Search “journal cover painting ideas” or “bible cover painting ideas.” There are so many cute things that other people have done that may inspire you!
Supplies
- Journal/notebook- any size! A blank cover is best for this type of project. This is the set I had leftover from girls camp.
- Pencil
- Acrylic paints
- Paint markers
- Permanent markers
- Colored pencils
- Brushes if needed
- Mod Podge
How to do your painted notebook cover!
First, pick what design you want to do! If you are really talented, invent something yourself. If you are more like me and need some kind of idea, look at some ideas online, print it off and go from there. I picked a couple of different ideas and merged them together. For example, I knew I wanted mountains, wildflowers, and a fence, but couldn’t find a good example with all of those, so I found two different ones and combined them.


Second, lightly sketch out your ideas on the journal cover. My son and I chose to draw on both the front and the back. My daughters just did the fronts of theirs. Either way is fine.


Third, determine what art medium you want to use. My oldest daughter used brushes and bottled acrylic paint. My youngest used the paint markers and permanent markers. I mostly used colored pencils, a few parts with acrylic markers, and the more vibrant parts with permanent markers. I like using a mix of mediums!
Fourth, have fun painting or coloring! Take your time. Experiment. And don’t stress if it doesn’t turn out perfect.

I started with colored pencils for the sky and clouds and then moved down to the mountains and the base of the meadow. I used a permanent marker to draw the fence. Finally, I added in all of the flower accents in the front with permanent marker. For the finishing touch, I put the quote “faith over fear” in the sky with permanent marker, patterning it after one of images I was looking at.

I think they all turned out pretty cute! And now we have personalized painted notebook covers for our journals, all ready to start the school year!



Note
My son ended up doing his cover a little differently. He started out trying to draw the whole thing with the intent of painting it, but quickly realized it was going to take longer and be much harder than he wanted. So we came up with the idea of cutting out the print, glueing it to the cover and putting Mod Podge over the whole thing. It worked great! He is really happy with how it looks and he was able to do the project much more quickly.
So if you find yourself short on time or feeling a lack of artistic ability at the moment, cut and glue is a great option!
Have fun designing!
~Rachel