You know how the first page of a notebook always opens awkwardly? For this new setup, I decided to cut away the first page to make a portable grid spacing guide. This year, I found myself flipping to this guide very often when setting up my spreads to know the measurements of the dot grids. With a portable grid spacing guide, I can refer to it more easily than having to flip to the start of the notebook every time. It will also come in handy as a “ruler” if I want to start counting the dot grids not from the top of the page, but anywhere in the middle.Â
Since Midori paper is pretty thin, I pasted it on a piece of recycled cardboard. If you are using a journal with thicker paper, you can do away with this step. It is double-sided and one side is for vertical spacing, and the other side for horizontal spacing. I also marked out the half, third, and quarter sections using various beige or brown brush pens and highlighters for easy reference. To store it in the notebook, I pasted a mini kraft envelope behind the name page. You can also store it on the pocket of your journal or journal cover if there is one.Â