Note: I finally made an updated video tutorial for this DIY. You can find it here!
Hey everyone!
Today’s DIY is super easy but I love it. We’re going to make a diary lock out of some pretty basic materials that you can find almost anywhere, literally. If you’re a big fan of notebooks and journals like me, you’d probably want your things to be personal and secure. This DIY will help keep out all those curious eyes from lurking in places they shouldn’t be! I hope you like it. 😀
I have recently fallen in love with writing and I just like to keep a record of the things that happen in my life and the things I want to do. I was browsing the internet, searching for easy ways to make diary locks as I didn’t have one, and they were all so difficult and confusing! So I decided to invent my own..
Let’s begin!
What you will need:
- A notebook or journal (I covered mine in fabric)
- A hole punch
- Short Strip of Ribbon (You could sub this for wire to make it more secure!)
- A piece of tape
- Scissors
- Diary lock
WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL HERE
1. Punch a hole close to the edge of the notebook, halfway down. (Take a look at where I did mine). Do this on the front and the back cover of the book.
2. Go over to the BACK cover and thread your ribbon through the hole, making both ends meet.
3. Tie a knot and cut off any excess ribbon.
4. Twist the ribbon around so that the knot is closest to the hole. Tape it down.
(It’s a little hard to see, but the back cover should look like this ^)
5. Flip back to the Front cover and bring the ribbon over.
6. To lock your notebook, thread the ribbon into the hole from inside the cover and out the front. Slide your lock into the loop you have created and… yay, you’ve made a diary lock!
Note: Make sure you keep your key somewhere secure so that only you can find it! Some places to hide it can include: inside an empty chap stick, a jewellery box, pencil tin or your wallet.
I hope you found this tutorial easy and enjoyable! Ask me if you have any questions… Have a beautiful day! xx
m i s s c a l y 
Thank you very much for this video, it’s really helpful
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I love it wow
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Hi, where do you find the lock and key? Thanks for the awesome tutorial 💜 I would frequently hold back in my writing out of fear that someone would read it 😦 but love this solution!
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Making your own lockable journals will not only save you money by eliminating the need to purchase cheap lockable diaries, but it will also improve your artistic abilities and add a little bit of personalization to your diary.
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I’d not understand how the dairy would open
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Me too
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Just use the key to open the lock and remove the ribbon
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This is so cute! I love it so much thank u😇
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very bad
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Can you use thread
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I think so
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This is splendid, I am a girl of 14 . i just want to start a diary and i want no eyes to see it, THANK$
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Just can’t thank u enough caly.. I almost gave up diary writing cz here In India hardly anything is personal😄 Thanks again caly .. U made me fearless 💜
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Um.. one problem.. ITS RIBBON.. it can be cut!
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simple yeah
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Think of something that is hard to cut but bendy, simple common sense. I am not saying this as a hater, I am saying it as a point of improvement. So please take my advice before you get hater. LOL. Thank you Caly
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Hmm..yes, that’s so true. But I guess you’d know if they did. Because the ribbon would be cut. This is ideal for pesky sisters and brothers.
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I do not even know how I stopped up here, but I believed this put up was once great. I do not realize who you might be however certainly yo#278&1u;re going to a well-known blogger in case you aren’t already Cheers!
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Hi ms. Caly.your so amazing..I just wanna thank you because you help me a lot…my friend want to had a diary.and I don’t know what to do..so I think of you..so..I’m very thankful
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I am going to make my key a necklace! There is this mean teacher at school who thinks my friend and me are good at drawing/doodling and flips through our notebooks without our permission! Sooo I am making this just to see his reaction and it’s cool! Thank you so much!
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Your idea has really helped me in keeping my diary from being read. Thanks so much.
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Happy this helped!
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OMG!!! Thank u soo much i ao totally did this and it worked well first i used to buy diaries with ACTUAL locks but they were easy to open and my sis used to read my diary but this will so totally work and again THANX😊😊😊
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Haha, it’s hard to keep siblings from looking at your things! I’m glad you like this 😀
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What if someone cuts the ribbon or wire?pls suggest an alternative to this. But I appreciated ur idea:)
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Hi, this method is mainly for regular notebooks that you don’t want people to openly read without your permission (because if they cut the ribbon you’d know they read it!) However, if you’re looking for a more secure place for your notes, I’d suggests purchasing an actual secret diary 🙂
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I am gonna do this with all my notebooks – that way hopefully they will include less scribble pages…. I won’t use the padlock, though… I will post it on my blog once I have done it and worked out best method….
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I’m excited to hear that! Be sure to let me know how it goes. By the way, I’ll be posting an updated video of this tutorial this Friday so don’t forest to check it out! 🙂
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omg you r so cool
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thanks miss caly,can i lock my diary with a button
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i dont really undastnd d the act of putting the ribbon part
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Hey there! Basically it’s just tying a ribbon to the back cover then bringing it to the front so that the lock can slip on. Yes, I realised I probably didn’t explain it very well in this post so I’ve decided to make a clearer tutorial, which will be up next Friday. Stay tuned! 🙂
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Pls this time do not use a ribbon. Be more free, smart and creative at the same time
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Hi! What is the tape for? Also, do you add the tape on the outside or inside of the journal?
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Hi Monica, I used the tape inside the cover of the journal – it was just to secure the ribbon knot in place. Good luck!
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I don’t understand what to do after the tape 😁
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Neither do I
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Hey there! Sorry, I know it’s a little bit hard to see in the photos… Basically, after you’ve taped the ribbon, you now have a little knotted loop of ribbon on the back cover of the notebook, right? All you need to do now is bring that ribbon loop all the way over to the front and poke it into the hole you’ve punched on the front cover. (Make sure you poke it from the inside of the front cover so it comes out of the hole.) After that, you can add a lock to the loop!
Goodness, I hope that made sense! If you’re still a bit confused, I can make a video tutorial if you’d like.
Good luck!
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Just to let you guys know, I recently posted a video tutorial on how to make this diary lock! You can find the link at the top of this post. 🙂
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Hey….it is superb idea it is very helpful thank you very much
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Thanks, I’m glad you found this helpful! Be sure to let me know if you try it out!
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What if someone cuts that ribbon with a simple Scissors
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Hmm, that’s a very good point! I guess then you’ll know that someone is definitely reading your diary. If you’d like a sturdier lock, perhaps you could try substituting the ribbon for craft wire or something stronger. Do let me know if you come up with anything! 🙂
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Brilliant idea. Thanks for sharing!
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I wish that I can make but I can.Good Luck!
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