Starting a junk journal from things you already own
Turn envelopes, tickets, packaging and old book pages into a layered, personal journal for almost no money.
Junk journals are the anti-perfectionist craft. Ephemera, glue, and whatever you have. Here's a starting recipe.
Gather
A shoebox of: envelopes, receipts, tea bag wrappers (dried), tickets, maps, old book pages, security envelopes with patterned insides, tags, ribbon, packaging with nice typography, fabric scraps, and a few sheets of plain paper.
The cover
Two pieces of thick cardboard from a cereal box or a mailer. Cover with fabric, a paper bag or painted book cloth. Add a spine strip of the same material, leaving a small gap for flexing.
Signatures
Fold 5–6 sheets of mixed paper in half and nest them. That's a signature. Three signatures make a journal. Trim to a common size or don't; ragged edges are part of the look.
Binding
Use a pamphlet stitch: three holes along the fold, in through the middle, out the top, in the bottom, out the middle, tie off around the long stitch. Sew each signature to the spine through the cover.
Fill it
- Glue envelopes on pages as pockets and fill with tags to write on.
- Fold maps into tuck spots.
- Tea-stain plain pages for an aged look.
- Add tip-ins: half pages glued along one edge to flip.
What to write
Lists, quotes, what you're making, what you're growing, pressed flowers. There are no rules and no wrong pages.
Photograph an open spread with the pockets full.
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