Junk Journal- this is how to make your own

A Junk Journal You can easily make it yourself. How to? I show that step by step in this post. It’s an easy way to make a Junk Joural and immediately clean up your paper a bit.

If you like to be creative? Then a Junk Journal might be something for you too!

What is a Junk Journal?

What is a Junk Journal? A bullet journal, art journal or scrapbook, you may already know, but then what is a junk journal? A junk journal is really nothing more than a homemade journal in which you can put leftover paper.

Just like a journal, there is no “one size fits all” definition of what a Junk Journal is, you can totally put your own spin on it.

What you use a Junk Journal for can vary

Just like any other journal, you can use a junk journal for whatever you want, for example:

Use it as a daily journal. Write down your thoughts and appointments every day. Put in receipts from dinner with a friend and write down memories.
Use it as a planner, write your to-do lists in it.
Give your Junk Journal a theme, for example, you can choose patterns, which you collect and stick them all in here to keep everything together. Sort of like a Pinterest board, but physically hold it in your hands.
Make a Junk Journal especially for the vacations, use papers and folders from summer activities and take your journal with you on vacation. When you get to your destination, collect all the receipts, flyers, business cards and store it all in your Junk Journal.

How to make your own Junk Journal

Search the Internet and you will find different ways to make your own Junk Journal. Easy and difficult. Since it was my first time making a Junk Journal, I decided not to make it too difficult for myself and followed Liz ThePaperProject’s instructions. Make your own cover out of cardboard. When I get the hang of it I also want to try making a Journal based on the idea of The Paper Outpost, she has a video online where you make the cover out of an old book cover.

After which the pages’ll be bound here.

What do you need for your own Junk Journal?

For the example I explain here you need:

cardboard
glue
scissors
ruler
string
Junk Journal paper, this can be leaflets, pages from magazines, Design block from Craft sensation, recycle paper
Washitape, stickers, receipts: and anything else you want to craft with

How to start

Start with the cardboard, I used a pack of crackers, but of course this can be anything, just what you have at home.

Choose how big your journal should be

Choose a size for your journal. What do you like to work with? I myself chose a standard size for my Junk Journal. And chose 15×21 cm and 2 cm for the back of the book.

So on paper this was 15cm, 2cm, 15cm. Draw the lines straight with a ruler and cut out. Then use scissors to shorten the pressure points of the centerpiece, which will make your journal fold easily.

The front and inside

Next, make the front of your junk journal. You can do this at your own discretion. Here I chose different pages’s from my Design blocks from Craft Sensations and put some stickers and washitape on them.

During the time, by the way, I pasted more on these, every now and then I come across something and think ‘ oh fun!’ and that I then stick to it again. This is a real Journal, you’re never done. After you have finished the cover you can glue the back, inside and the spine of your Junk Journal.

An extra envelope

You can keep the inside of your junk journal free or make an envelope out of paper, I can make different tags for this later that you can keep here.

Collecting paper

Next you collect paper. A Junk Journal is all about recycled paper. This can be paper from magazines, old forms, pages from books, blank pages from a notebook, paper bags from stores, paper from design blocks, just whatever you have lying around or have collected.

Everything in different sizes for the fun playful effect.

So much more on my list

Now you see on YouTube very nice Junk Journals popping up and they often use vintage papers. These are so pretty, I really need to look for these myself, but there is more I am saving up for. Think about Distress Ink by Tim Holz, which you can use to give a vintage look or a Corner Punch where you can make beautiful curves in tags or on photo edges.

But anyway, none of this is for give, so I’m saving up for a while longer.

Then fold everything in half and take a piece of string, cut a little at the top and bottom of the spine of your journal, so that the string runs over it nicely. Tie the string ( I did this back and forth twice) and your Junk Journal is ready.

Making pages

Then I started pasting some pages, making envelopes, adding tags, printing out vintage photos with my Canon Zoemini, gluing in cards and prepping pages. This way when I have a reminder of a day, want to write down a quote, jot down something special or save it, I can stick it on and describe it and fill it in to my own liking.

Random pages’s

When filling in the pages you don’t have to start in order, that&#8217s the fun of a Junk Journal, it can be a bit more sloppy, it doesn&#8217t have to be so neat. You grab, use staples, stickers and just see where that memory from that day fits. Like this page for my son’s birthday, the color matched the picture and then I start writing, cutting, pasting and stapling.

The leaves I used for my Journal:

As inspiration for my Junk Journal I followed the steps of Liz the paperproject and now you understand why I am so jealous of the beautiful paper she uses?

Recycle it

A Junk Journal is made in your own style, with your own colors, sizes and what you like. Take it literally and use junk! This way you recycle your paper and cardboard and make a very sustainable journal.

Looking for products like Distress ink: Find all the products here

Looking for more inspiration: Check out my Pinterest Board: Journal with me