Junk journals are amazing little books. When I found junk journaling, I was hooked right away. A craft that involves books and writing? Yes, please.
I didn’t really get into crafting until we were all staying at home during the covid times. Since we were not going out, I needed something to do. I learned how to design SVG files for my craft cutting machines (you can see those designs in my Etsy shop).
I found junk journaling about a year ago and have been learning all I could ever since. Scrapbooking has been popular for a long time, but I’ve always been a little intimidated by it. Precise cuts, perfect color combinations — it all seems a bit beyond my reach.
But junk journaling? I’m in heaven. Some people in the junk journal world are pretty adamant about what a true junk journal is. To them, junk journaling is using only found things or mementoes, even what others consider trash, to build their books. That’s okay. That’s what works for them and I’m glad they found their thing. I am in the larger camp of junk journalers who believe that the biggest rule of junk journaling is that there are no rules.
What exactly are junk journals?
Making a junk journal is making a book completely unique to you. Or, if you’re making one to sell, it’s creating a platform, almost a little world, where someone can add their own touches and preserve their memories of things that are important to them.
Some create art journals while others create journals with a theme, like butterflies or general vintage. Recently, I created a journal with all blacks and whites and grays. I am writing quotes and inspirational sayings on journal cards and tags because that book is all about the written word. I haven’t finished the cover yet, but the insides are already getting filled up with lots of delicious words and phrases.
What I really like, though, is travel journals. I am starting to work on one from a trip we took through Mississippi a couple years ago, and one is based on visits to South Carolina. Ideas for those books have been turning over in my head for a while, because I put a lot of pre-planning into a journal. But you don’t have to do that at all. You can just dive in and make whatever you want to make at the moment.
Making your own journals
One of the things I like best about junk journaling is that I can use my own photos to make background pages, pockets, and tags. I love to take photos of large, beautiful buildings and landmarks. I also love to photograph cool bricks in a sidewalk, falling apart buildings with holes in the walls and tin roofs, and houses being reclaimed by vegetation. When I found junk journaling, I kind of had a ‘where have you been all my life’ moment. There’s only so much wall space, you know? But by using my pictures in books, I can ‘display’ them in a way that takes up less space. Using my photos also makes everything I make with them more meaningful.
Recently, I was talking to an artist friend, Missy. I dabble in arts and crafts, but this woman is truly an artist on a much different level than most. For some reason, I was bold enough to show her some small junk journals I made. And she loved them. She suggested I teach a class in her studio, and for some reason, I said okay. It’s a teeny bit terrifying, but mostly exciting. I have watched a ton of YouTube videos, read blogs, and worked more with geometry than I ever thought I would after the ninth grade. And I am having the most fun, except maybe for that geometry part. I am excited to share that with others, and maybe they’ll love it too. Maybe they won’t, but I hope that they’ll at least have a good time for a few hours, chatting and laughing as we make something pretty.
Stay tuned if you’re interested — details about the class and how to sign up are coming soon!
