How To Create a Journal In Canva (3 Simple Steps!)

Q: How Do I Create a PDF Journal In Canva?

To create a PDF journal in Canva, click on the ‘Share’ button from the top right corner of the screen and then on the ‘ Download ’ button to open the download settings. From the download settings, set your file type to ‘ PDF Standard’ or ‘PDF Print ’ according to your need, and then click the ‘ Download ’ button at the end.

Q: How Do I Create a Notebook In Canva?

To create a notebook in Canva, search for ‘ Notebook’ from the search bar located in the middle of the Canva homepage. Then click on a template of your liking to open it in the Canva editor. After opening the template in the Canva editor, customize text, elements, colors, background etc according to your requirements.

This post may contain affiliate links and we may receive a commission if you make a purchase through our affiliate link at no extra cost to you. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

Do you wish you could create a beautiful, custom journal to capture your thoughts, dreams, and memories?

That’s exactly what Canva makes possible!

While Canva is best known for graphic design, it also has amazing journal and notebook templates that let you make your own personal journal from scratch.

Whether you want to journal for self-reflection, creative writing, travel memories, or anything else, Canva has you covered.

In this quick guide, I’ll walk through exactly how to create a journal in Canva that speaks to you.

No design skills are needed!

We’ll look at Canva’s journal template options, adding your own flair, stylish covers, and more.

Let’s dive in and start crafting your Canva journal!

Table of Contents

How To Create a Journal In Canva (Step By Step!)

Follow the below steps to create a journal in Canva:

1. Open a Design Type

Click on the ‘Create a Design’ button from the top right corner of the Canva homepage. Then search for ‘Journal’ from the top search bar of the new menu.

From the search result, click on ‘Journal’ to get redirected to the blank canvas.

Note: If you have specific dimensions on your mind for creating a journal. Then click on the ‘Custom Size’ button from the left bottom corner of the new menu.

2. Create a Journal Cover

After getting redirected to the blank canvas, start with creating a cover for your journal.

But first, you have to decide what type of journal you want to create. The most popular types of journals are daily journals, weekly journals, gratitude journals, travel journals, etc.

Note: We will be creating a ‘Daily Journal’ from scratch in this blog.

a) Add Background

Once you have the blank canvas in front of you, start by adding a background to your design.

Click on the ‘Apps’ button from the left sidebar and then scroll down to click on the ‘Background’ button.

A new menu with different background categories will open in front of you. If you want to add a color to your background, click on the color pallet from the top of the new menu.

But if you want to add an image as your background then search for your specific keyword from the top search bar. You can search for textures, gradients, abstracts, photos, etc.

For example, I will search for ‘Texture’ for demonstration purposes.

Now from the search results, click on the background of your liking to add it to your design.

b) Add Texts

After adding a background to your design, proceed with adding a title on your cover.

Click on the ‘Text’ element from the left sidebar and then on the ‘Add a Heading’ button from the new menu.

Now type the title of your cover on the text box.

For example, the title of my cover is ‘Daily Journal’. So, I will type ‘Daily’ in the first text box.

Once the text element is on your design, click on the ‘Font Style’ from the top toolbar to change the existing font style of the text.

Now a fonts menu will open on the left-hand side, scroll through the available font styles or search for your desired font style from the top search bar.

Once you find the ‘Font Style’ of your liking, click on it to change the existing font style of the text.

After customizing the font style, resize and position it on your design

Note: Follow the above step to add more text elements as to your design.

c) Add Elements

Once you have your text elements positioned on your design, proceed with decorating the journal to make it attractive.

Click on the ‘Elements’ button from the left sidebar and then search for your desired decorative element from the top search bar of the new menu.

For example, I will search for ‘Leaves’ from the top search bar for demonstration purposes.

Now from the search results, click on the element of your liking to add it to your design.

Once the element is on your design, resize the element by dragging the ‘Resizing’ handles inwards or outwards according to your need.

After resizing the element, drag and position it on your design.

Note: In the same way, you can add multiple decorative elements to your design.

3. Create Pages

Once the journal cover is ready in front of you, start adding new pages to your design.

To create a new page in Canva, click on the ‘Add Page’ button from the bottom of your screen. A new blank canvas will appear in front of you.

Now again we have to create a background for your second page.

Note: I will recommend adding a simple color to your background. A plain background will ensure that your written text is clearly visible and readable.

So, click on the ‘Color’ button from the top search bar.

From the color panel, click on a default color or use the color picker slider to create a new one.

For example, I will click on the ‘Light Cream’ color to add it to my background.

After adding a background, start adding lines to your design so that you can journal or write on them later.

Click on the ‘Elements’ button from the left sidebar and then search for ‘Lines’ from the top search bar.

From the search results, click on your desired line element to add it to your design.

Now stretch the end points of the line according to your need. After resizing the line, position it on the design.

Note: Follow the same process to add as many lines as you want on your design. Make sure to position the lines parallelly, equidistant to each other.

After positioning the lines, proceed with adding text to your page.

Click on the ‘Text’ button from the left sidebar to add the default text style to your design. Once the text box is on your design, start typing the title of the page.

For example, I will type ‘Dear Dairy’ as my title.

Note: Follow the same process to add a ‘Date’ text element on your page as well. After creating the text elements customize it using the top toolbar and then position them on your design.

After placing all the necessary elements on your design, you can also decorate the design from the ‘Elements’ section as explained above.

Once you are done creating a second page, click on the ‘Duplicate’ button to duplicate the existing page.

Keep clicking on the ‘Duplicate’ button to create as many new pages as you want.

Note: After creating the journal cover and the pages, click on the ‘Share’ button from the top right corner of the screen to download the journal on your computer.

FAQ- How To Create a Journal In Canva

Below are a few frequently asked questions:

How Do I Create a PDF Journal In Canva?

To create a PDF journal in Canva, click on the ‘Share’ button from the top right corner of the screen and then on the ‘Download’ button to open the download settings.

From the download settings, set your file type to ‘PDF Standard’ or ‘PDF Print’ according to your need, and then click the ‘Download’ button at the end.

How Do I Create a Notebook In Canva?

To create a notebook in Canva, search for ‘Notebook’ from the search bar located in the middle of the Canva homepage. Then click on a template of your liking to open it in the Canva editor.

After opening the template in the Canva editor, customize text, elements, colors, background etc according to your requirements.

Wrapping Up

And that wraps up our mini-guide to crafting custom journals in Canva!

As you can see, it’s super user-friendly to create a journal tailored to your needs and style. No design expertise is required.

I hope these Canva journal tips were helpful for you. Personally, I love being able to make journals for my various interests – travel, recipes, daily reflections and more.

It’s so satisfying to capture memories and dreams in a beautiful book you made yourself.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m always happy to chat more about Canva.

Before you go, please share this article with friends and family. The more we learn and create together, the better!

Looking forward to seeing all the amazing journals you design. Wishing you many insightful, creative entries ahead!