Create a gift journal in Pages '09

26.11.2010
A journal is a gift that keeps giving throughout the year, but a homemade journal can be even more meaningful. This guide shows you how to make a simple 50-page journal using tools you already have, including a color inkjet printer, your Mac, and Pages ’09. Be sure to have heavy paper, Elmer's Glue-All, wax paper, an X-Acto knife, a metal ruler, and a paintbrush you don't mind using with glue on hand before you start. You'll also need access to a paper cutter.

In Pages, select File -> New From Template Chooser, then the Blank Canvas Landscape from the Page Layout templates. Each page of this document gives you two journal pages.

Select View -> Show Rulers, then with the page in layout mode (View -> Show Layout), drag a guide from the vertical ruler to the exact center of the page. Select Insert -> Text Box, then View -> Show Inspector. In the Metrics inspector, set the box’s dimensions to 4.25 by 7.5 inches. Click the placeholder text, then hold the Shift and dash keys until you have several complete lines of underscore characters. Double-click to select them. In the Text inspector, click the black color swatch and choose a lighter color that won’t obscure handwriting. Change the underscore’s Line Spacing to 1.6 to approximate college ruled paper. Next, click the Center Text button to ensure the lines are flush with each other. Select Edit -> Copy, then Paste several times to fill the text box with lines.

Position the text box .50 inches from the top of the page and .75 inches from its left edge. Select Edit -> Duplicate, then position the second text box .75 inches right of the center guide and .50 inches from the top of the page. This looks lopsided, but it will give your pages a .50-inch outer margin while ensuring their writing spaces are easily accessible after binding. In the sidebar, select your page and choose Edit -> Duplicate until you have 25 pages. Now save the document.