How to Start a Junk Journal: ✨ A Beginner’s Guide to Tips, Supplies & Easy Page Ideas
Feeling inspired by beautiful, layered junk journals online but overwhelmed by where to start? You’re not alone. A junk journal is more than a notebook—it’s a portable museum of your memories, creativity, and everyday magic, built from paper scraps and found treasures.
This guide will walk you through everything: what it really is, a starter supply list you probably already own, simple techniques, and easy page ideas to banish the blank-page fear. Let’s begin your creative adventure.
Part 1: What is a Junk Journal? (Spoiler: It’s Not About Trash)
A junk journal is a handmade, usually vintage-inspired book created for writing, collaging, and memory-keeping. Its soul is in “upcycling”—giving new life to what might be thrown away.
- It IS: A creative playground for self-expression, a tactile memory keeper, and a wonderfully eco-friendly craft.
- It is NOT: A test of artistic skill. Its beauty lies in imperfection, personal history, and the joy of the process.
(Tap to Shop)Part 2: The Beginner’s Mindset: 3 Golden Rules
- There Are No Mistakes. A torn page? Add a tape border. A smudge? Turn it into a background. Embrace “happy accidents.”
- Start, Don’t Wait. Don’t wait for the “perfect” materials. The best junk journal is the one you actually begin.
- It’s For You. This isn’t for social media likes. It’s a personal, judgment-free zone.
Part 3: Your Starter Supply List (Start Simple!)
You only need three things to begin: a base, an adhesive, and content.
1. The Foundation: Your Base Journal
- Option A (Easiest): Alter an existing book. Grab an old notebook, novel, or composition book.
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Option B (Most Flexible): Use a blank sketchbook with sturdy pages or a Traveler’s Notebook (TN) system with inserts. This allows you to work on pages separately.
- Pro Tip: Look for paper that can handle light glue and paint.
2. The Glue: Your Trusty Adhesives
- Glue Stick: Perfect for large, thin papers. Quick and clean.
- Double-Sided Tape or Tape Runner: Excellent for precise placement of photos and small elements.
- Mod Podge or White Craft Glue: A must-have. Use it as both a strong adhesive for heavier items and a sealer to protect finished pages.
3. The “Junk”: Your Story’s Raw Materials
Start by foraging at home:
- Paper Ephemera: Old book pages, sheet music, maps, magazine images, used envelopes, paper bags, coffee filter papers, receipts, stamps.
- Life Bits: Ticket stubs, postcards, labels, packaging with nice typography, pressed flowers.
- Textiles: Fabric scraps, lace, ribbon, buttons.
- Flutter Post Toolkit: Use vintage-style washi tapes to adhere and border. Add focal points with themed sticker packs. Create background layers with printed scrapbook paper. Stamp dates and titles with distressed alphabet stamps.
(Tap to Shop)Part 4: Your First Page: A Simple, No-Fail Tutorial
Let’s create a “Today’s Glimpse” page. Follow these steps in any order.
- Lay a Background: Tear a page from an old book or a piece of neutral scrapbook paper. Glue it down, covering about 2/3 of your page.
- Add a Pocket: Take a used envelope or fold a piece of decorative paper into a pocket. Glue it along the sides and bottom to the background. This will hold little treasures.
- Create a Focal Point: Find one image or photo you love—a person, a place, a vintage ad. Glue it slightly off-center.
- Layer with Paper & Tape: Tear a small strip from a paper bag or a contrasting scrapbook paper. Place it near your photo. Add a strip of washi tape beside it for texture
- .Journal & Embellish: Write a date, a thought, or a quote on a scrap paper and tuck it into the pocket. Add a small sticker or draw a border with a pen.
- Seal (Optional): Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge over everything to unify the textures and protect your work.
You’ve just completed a core junk journal technique: layering!
Part 5: Easy Page Ideas to Keep You Inspired
Stuck on what to make next? Try these beginner-friendly themes:
- A Gratitude Spread: Title it “Good Things.” Fill it with small papers listing what you’re thankful for, surrounded by floral stickers and washi tape borders.
- A Color Challenge Page: Pick one color (e.g., sage green). Use only papers, tapes, and images in that color family.
- A Found Poetry Page: Take a page from a discarded novel. Circle words that stand out to you to create a new poem. Black out the rest with paint or collage.
- A Memory Pocket Page: Dedicate a page to a recent event. Fill the pocket with memorabilia (a photo, a ticket). Decorate around it with relevant ephemera stickers.
- A Simple Habit Tracker: Draw a grid or calendar. Use different washi tape snippets or tiny stickers to mark each day you complete a habit.
(Tap to Shop)Part 6: FAQ: Your Questions, Answered
Q: I’m not artistic. Can I really do this?
A: Absolutely! Junk journaling is 10% art, 90% curation and assembly. It’s about arranging pre-existing elements you love. If you can tear paper and use a glue stick, you can do this.
Q: My pages feel flat. How do I add depth?
A: Use foam adhesive dots behind key elements to pop them up. Sew on buttons or lace. Fold page corners. Let things hang off the edge.
Q: It feels messy and chaotic. Help!
A: Use a repeating element to create order. Add the same color washi tape in a few spots, use similar fonts for all text, or leave a consistent border around the page edge.
Q: Where do I find good “junk”?
A: Thrift stores (for old books), your own recycling bin, flea markets, and even nature (leaves, feathers). Friends often save things for crafters—just ask!
Ready to Build Your Time Capsule?
Starting your first junk journal is a promise to notice the beauty in the everyday scraps of life. It’s a practice in creativity without pressure, where a vintage postcard, a strip of lace from Flutter Post, and your morning coffee receipt can tell a story more vivid than words alone.
Your First Step: This week, collect just five paper items from your day. Then, find a base and glue them down. You’ve just begun.