Short answer: A junk journal is a handmade book created from found and recycled materials—old tickets, dried flowers, packaging, envelopes, fabric scraps—where pages are filled freely without rules, combining memories and creativity in a single tangible object.
Junk journaling has moved from a niche crafting community into a mainstream creative practice, driven largely by its accessibility and its explicit opposition to perfectionism. Unlike traditional journaling (which can feel pressure-laden) or scrapbooking (which often requires dedicated supplies), junk journaling begins with materials most people already have or would otherwise throw away. The practice has a significant mental health dimension: the act of working with found physical objects, without digital distraction or a specific outcome, is increasingly cited by practitioners as a form of therapeutic mindfulness.
What Makes a Junk Journal Different from a Regular Journal
A regular journal is a container for writing. A junk journal is a container for everything—writing, found objects, textures, images, memories, decorative elements, and scraps of daily life. The defining principle is that nothing is wasted: a coffee sleeve, a bus ticket, a tea bag wrapper, a flower pressed from a walk, a page from an old calendar, an envelope from a letter—all of these become raw material. The result is an object that looks like nothing else in the world, because it is literally made from the specific life of the person who made it.
What You Need to Start a Junk Journal
The Base Notebook
Choose a notebook with paper heavy enough to handle glue and layers without warping—80gsm minimum, 100gsm+ preferred. A lay-flat binding (sewn or spiral) is important so pages stay open while you work and close flat when the journal is complete. Canvas-covered or linen notebooks work particularly well as the base for a junk journal because their covers can absorb additional decoration (paint, stamps, collage) without losing structural integrity. Chapters' canvas notebook collection offers several formats suitable as a junk journal base.
Found and Collected Materials
These are the core of any junk journal and cost nothing: transport tickets, cinema and concert stubs, packaging from food and drink you enjoyed, dried and pressed flowers and leaves, napkins from cafes or restaurants, old postcards and photographs, envelopes from letters, fabric scraps, pages from old calendars or books, washi tape offcuts, and anything with interesting texture or personal significance.
Start a collection box or bag where you deposit interesting scraps as you encounter them. Within a few weeks, you will have more material than you can use in your first journal.
Basic Tools
Glue stick or PVA glue, scissors, pens or markers in a few colours, washi tape, and stamps if you have them. That is genuinely all you need to start. Expand the toolkit over time as you develop a sense of what you want to create—watercolour paints, stencils, wax seals, and vintage embellishments are popular additions, but none are required.
How to Make a Junk Journal: Step by Step
Step 1: Prepare Your Base
Start with a good quality notebook as your base, or create your own by folding and binding recycled papers into signatures (groups of four to six sheets folded together) and covering them with cardboard or heavier paper. If making your own, stitch or staple the signatures together and attach to a cover.
Step 2: Create Backgrounds on Pages
Before adding specific elements, create background layers on some pages—a sheet of paper with an interesting texture, a stained page, a watercolour wash, or a collage of newsprint. These backgrounds give your specific items something to "rest" on visually and prevent pages from feeling sparse.
Step 3: Add Your Collected Materials
Place collected materials onto pages using glue or washi tape. Overlap elements to create depth. Leave some blank space—not every page needs to be completely covered. Create hidden elements where possible: small envelopes glued to pages that contain additional notes or photos, folded flaps that reveal something behind them.
Step 4: Add Text and Personal Reflection
Write directly on pages, on material scraps, or on small labels attached to elements. The writing in a junk journal can be anything: memories connected to a ticket or photo, a quote you loved, a date and a brief note about the day, or simply a description of why something made it into the book. There are no rules about format, length, or frequency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need artistic skill to make a junk journal?
No. Junk journaling is deliberately non-technical. The aesthetic value comes from the accumulation of meaningful materials and personal choices, not from artistic technique. Many of the most beloved junk journals are made by people who do not draw or paint—they work entirely with found paper, tickets, and ephemera. The result looks rich and layered because the materials are rich and layered, regardless of the maker's skill level.
What type of notebook is best for junk journaling?
A notebook with heavier paper (90-100gsm+) and lay-flat binding is ideal. The paper needs to handle glue without warping and layers without tearing; the binding needs to allow pages to open fully and close flat even as the journal becomes thicker with added materials. Canvas or linen covers that can be decorated are preferred by most junk journalers over smooth or glossy covers.
How do I stop my junk journal from becoming too thick to close?
Distribute bulky materials (folded papers, layered collages, pressed flowers) evenly across the full journal rather than concentrating them in one section. Use thinner materials where possible—a photocopy of a ticket rather than the original, a pressed flower rather than a whole leaf. Wait for glue to dry completely before adding the next layer, and close the journal with a rubber band or ribbon while glue dries to prevent pages sticking together under pressure.
Where can I find inspiration for junk journal page ideas?
Pinterest and YouTube have enormous junk journaling communities with thousands of videos showing complete journals and individual page tutorials. The hashtag #junkjournal on Instagram provides daily examples across all styles and skill levels. But the most personal inspiration always comes from your own collected materials—what you have gathered tells a story that external inspiration cannot provide.