unk journaling and exploring the most creative junk journal ideas can be one of the best ways to foster creativity using a wealth of supplies you may already have around the home. While there are many crossover techniques and practices with other kinds of journaling, from traditional diaries to more structured bullet journaling, this particular mode emphasizes found materials, personalization and a certain amount of eclecticism in its approach. Create fun journals from scratch and then fill them with whatever you like!
This blend of bookbinding and collage is completely beginner-friendly and accessible to all skill levels. Not only are there many ways to get started, but unlike some other visual art forms, they don’t require a huge investment in materials and supplies. What you use and the techniques you use to create your junk journal are completely customizable to your interests and what you have available to you.
What Is A Junk Journal & Junk Journaling?
Junk journaling combines bookmaking and collage, creating mixed-media journals in various shapes and sizes using found materials. These handmade volumes can be very simple or very complex, involving many different decorative accents or very few. What are the rules for junk journals? The rule is that there really are no rules! Anything can be made into a journal if you try hard enough, including paper, magazines, books, packing materials, old cards or postcards, bits of ephemera and more. The books made are usually bound in some way, whether it is sewn like a book or held together by other materials like ribbon, binder clips, staples, rubber bands, paper brads or other means.
These journals can be created for various purposes. Many people create them as journals, using them for writing diary-style entries or making mixed-media art and assemblages on the interior pages. Others use them as scrapbooks and memory books, collecting items such as photos and snapshots. Others focus on art and binding techniques rather than the end result.
Many believe that the concept of junk journaling, as we have come to know it, originated in Medieval commonplace books, which were used to collect not only information about a family or group of people but also as a place to store mementos. Sometimes this was a family bible or other official bound book. The need for such bound volumes eventually led to all sorts of things being used as commonplace books, like financial ledgers and blank books designed specifically for this purpose.
The term “scrapbooking” eventually took hold in the 19th century. Over the next century, the art of scrapbooking evolved into its own distinct form as more and more stores began to sell the materials and supplies needed to capture their lives in an assembled book. Junk journaling emerged as an alternative to more expensive, traditionally created books that required fancy paper and embellishments. Making a book from what you have generated involves more creativity and customization. It was also an eco-friendly approach, as it upcycled materials that might otherwise end up in the trash.
Junk Journal Supplies: What Do I Use For A Junk Journal?
The most important element for starting to build your junk journal ideas is paper. This will form the bound pages of your junk journal’s interior, in other words, the pages you will be making art or writing on. You can take the simple route and use blank sheets of plain or notebook paper, or you can achieve a more varied look by using bits of paper from around your home. This is a great opportunity to utilize items such as newspapers, magazines, and old books. Tissue paper, wrapping paper or decorative scrapbooking paper are also great options.
Or use upcycled materials like old greeting cards, postcards, manuals, broken down packaging, receipts or junk mail. Collections of random ephemera can make great gifts for crafters who love making junk journals. You can also use fabric to create pages. Many journals utilize pockets, which can be created with glue from a sheet of paper or by using an upcycled envelope. The covers of junk journals are made from a variety of materials. Great ideas include cardstock, book boards, cardboard, small boxes, leather, fabric and even vinyl.
One of the easiest ways to assemble a simple junk journal is to fold over your pieces of paper or materials and bind them together along the spine. For a simple sewn binding, you would need thread and a large needle (you can use regular sewing supplies on many journals, but for heartier and heftier ones, you might want needles and thread specifically designed for bookbinding). You can also use paper fasteners like binder clips, brads, staples and metal rings. Other techniques involve using rubber bands, ribbons, or elastic to hold the book together. You can also start with a base that is already bound and alter the book from there.
Once you have the basics of pages and binding, a whole world of creativity opens up in what you do next. You can use paint, ink, markers, colored pencils, pastels, or crayons inside. You can also use three-dimensional accents made from found objects, such as fabric, buttons, costume jewelry, coins, and hardware. Other great accents include rubber-stamped details, stickers, postage stamps, rubbings or transfers and dried flowers or leaves.
Other basic supplies you may want to have on hand when creating junk journals include scissors, X-acto blades, staplers (regular or long-arm), a ruler, a bone folder, tape (transparent, masking or washi) and adhesives like white glue, Mod Podge or rubber cement. You may also want to enlist thick bookbinding needles, thread, and an awl to poke holes for sewing the binding.
What To Write In A Junk Journal: Do You Actually Write In A Junk Journal?
You can pretty much do whatever your heart desires in your junk journal, including writing. You can also draw, paint or collage. For many junk journal makers, the process of assembling the book becomes an integral part of the book's contents. If you plan to write in the book, make sure you include pages that allow you to easily see your writing with occasional blank pages, solid color segments and space around other elements to write on. What to write in a junk journal? You could add stories, poems, favorite quotations, memories, jokes and more. The pages are also great for art journal ideas.
Junk Journal Ideas For Beginners
1. Single Signature Journal
This is perhaps the simplest way to create a bound sheaf of pages. All you need is a stack of pages that you can fold over to create a booklet. Use a pamphlet stitch with three holes in the binding by sewing together, using a figure-eight pattern, and tying off the end securely. You could also use ribbon in lieu of thread or use a stapler to attach the pages together at the fold. You can even add a cover folded and sewn together with the pages. For a thicker and more advanced journal, create several single signatures and then bind them together before you attach the cover.
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