What is a junk journal?

Image by 育银 戚 from Pixabay

A junk journal is a book you create that is used with junk items around your home. You can be as experimentive of this as you like, or you could keep it relvateiyl simple.

You can use a junk journal, with some writing pages inside, so you can actually journal in the junk journal after you create it.

Or you can just decorate each page, so you have a lovely book decoration at the end.

So how do you create a junk journal?

What I have done previously, is used shopping paper bags and cut them to all the same size. Put two paper holes in the side, added a cute pink ribbon to tie it up and then created the inside of my junk journal. That sounds pretty simple, because it is. And that is just the foundations of the junk journal. But there are many ways to combine the junk journal, such as sewing the edging, using different cute techniques.

For the actual journal, you can really get creative. Some people make little envelopes inside the journal, so you can pull out a little paper treasure, cutely designed. Other people, add ribbons for frills, or decoration. Stickers, paper, fabric, cute accessories. Really the list goes on!

Recycled items around the home to use for a junk journal

Don’t forget you can use recycled materials as well, to add different sensory types in your journal. You could paint or spray paint a bottled lid, gold or your favourite colour or the colour of the journal.

You can also go to a second hand store and buy a very very old book, or just a second hand book. Rip it out and stain the page with a wet tea bag so the page goes yellow. This helps your recycled junk journal look even cooler.

You can even use old maps and make a treasure or pirate junk journal. You could even create one for all the children at your child’s pirate party that could be inspired by a treasure map and each page hints them to the treasure! How unique and memorable for the children to have something cool like that in their hands.

Use paint and paint accessories to create different backgrounds

You don’t need to use scrapbooking paper to use as backgrounds, you can paint your own backgrounds onto your journal. You can create cute designs, such as hearts, or stripes, or even just paint in your journal, like a garden with a tree, or the ocean and the sand. It’s really up to you how you create your junk journal, there are no hard and fast rules!

You can scrapbook a junk journal

Yes, I know, scrapbooking and junk journalling are different but you can combine the two. I wouldn’t normally add photos to a junk journal, but you can! Just a couple to add a touch of memories.

With junk journalling you can use scrapbooking materials, such as scrapbooking paper, scrapbooking stickers such as window frames, or flowers etc and even washi tape. Rubber stamps can be used to decorate.

You can create a theme for the entire junk journal

Whether its rustic, or all pink, or a fairy theme or garden theme. Any theme will do! This way you can easily decide what materials to include in your junk journal to ensure they match the theme.

I suggest gathering all of your materials first, that way you don’t have to go back and forth to choose the right sticker or the right piece of paper. It’s just all next to you to help you with your junk journal adventure.

Layering a junk journal

A junk journal is cool, because you can have it quite bulky if you want. You can add multiple layers to make it pop-out on each page. For example, say you had a mermaid theme. You could paint a background of ocean. You could then half paint the top of a mermaid. Then create a left-over piece of mermaid fabric for the tail and sew it into a plait and then tie it with a elastic band to create the tail. You could also paint or use cloud stickers in the sky. And add a yellow bit of fabric into a circle and glue gun it onto the page.

The outcome – the overall look appears simple and it is. Its just a pop-out version with texture to really excite the reader.

You can give junk journals as a gift

Gifting a junk journal is priceless. It’s a piece of your creative heart that you are sharing with someone special. Home made gifts are so special, so to have the ability to give one is so precious, especially in this day and age.

A junk journal could be filled with memories

Similar to a scrapbook. You could have saved movie tickets, or receipts to cool items, or postcards from your favourite holiday, wrappers and other small tokens from a holiday you went to or a memorable moment you had and add it to a junk journal. This way, it stays with you forever. And you can look onto your table where its sitting and remember those fun memories all the time.

 

So are you excited to create your junk journal? Share your finished result on my Facebook group.

Also if you are a beginner in crocheting, you may appreciate reading my ‘The journey of crocheting for beginners’ ebook by Melanie Toye. You can purchase here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1808619

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