Beginner's luck

Thank you everyone still reading today after my much needed break. The kids are back to school, dance, Lego League, etc., and I'm back with another Eco Emi follow-up DIY (if you've missed the rest of them, here's January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, my first September Eco Emi DIY, my second September DIY, my first for October, my second for October, November and December of 2012, as well as January and February 2013).

But first, I wanted to share a few pics from one of our last days of Spring break, when we took Hayden bowling. She experienced some beginner's luck, both on the lane, as well as in the arcade.

Here she is getting ready to roll the ball for her first time. She just had to have a 7-pound ball, because it was purple (the 6-pounders were blue green).

Although mommy (yours truly) gave her a little guidance, my stubborn little princess tried to maintain total control of the ball. Watch it go straight down the alley.

It reminded me of the post I did about Jacob's trip to the bowling alley quite a while ago. Just look at him now.

I love his reaction in this shot.

After bowling, we headed to the arcade. Most of the games were too advanced for Hayden, so I let her try the grabber machine. She had her eye on the stuffed blue star inside. I never expected her to get anything out of the machine ...

... but she never ceases to surprise and amaze me. Talk about beginner's luck. 

The star reminded me of all the gold suns, moons and stars, as well as the deep blue fabric pouch, from last month's Eco Emi box. I had yet to do my follow-up DIY, so I decided to use these items and the box to make a journal. Maybe I could use it to write about our day. 

To start, I prepped the paper for the inside of my journal. I had hoped to make some recycled paper out of all the scraps from past Eco Emi boxes, but due to time constraints, I ended up using standard white printer paper. I cut 10 pieces of paper in half, resulting in 20 smaller sheets. 

I, then, folded them over, so I'd end up with a 40-page mini journal. The pages were the perfect fit inside the top of my Eco Emi box lid.

I cut the lid off, as shown, leaving the tabs on the sides. 

I folded the cardboard in half to create the journal's cover. Then, I added the pages, securing them in the center with a rubber band.

Having the rubber band down the center not only secures the pages in place, but it also allows you to still add and remove pages in the future. 

To dress up the cover of my journal, I decided to use the fabric pouch. I removed the ribbons ...

... and took out the side seams. At that point, I was able to line it up under the cardboard.

I used a hot glue gun to adhere the fabric to the outside of the cardboard. 

I made sure to cut slits for the tabs, which I slipped through the fabric. Then, I finished attaching the fabric to the inside cover.

I hot glued one of the ribbons down the center of the journal's cover, draping the excess inside to become a simple bookmark.

I added this bead I found for that extra special touch. 

Speaking of special touches, I also glued some of those gold suns, moons and stars to the front of the journal for decoration. 

Lastly, I cut the other ribbon in half and glued them to the tabs to act as a tie closure.

Here's how I tied it shut. What do you think?

Oh, and I guess Hayden wants her star back :-)