The Best Tools for Junk Journaling (You Only Need Four)

Junk journaling has a reputation for needing a drawer full of supplies. It does not. Four tools cover ninety percent of what you will ever do, and almost everything else is a preference rather than a need.

The four tools that matter

1. A bone folder

The single most useful object in paper craft. It creases folds flat, burnishes glued edges down so they stay down, and scores card cleanly without cutting it. A fingernail crease looks like a fingernail crease forever. Under ten dollars, and it will outlive you.

2. A glue pen and a glue stick

You need two, because they do different jobs. A glue stick for full-page gluing — fast and it does not wrinkle thin paper. A fine-tip glue pen for edges, corners and small ephemera. Almost every lifting corner in a finished journal is a corner that got glue-sticked instead of pen-glued.

3. An awl

For piercing signature holes before you sew. Sewing through unpierced paper tears it and the stitches sit crooked. An awl turns binding from the hardest part of journaling into the easiest.

4. Scissors that are actually sharp

One good pair, kept for paper only. Blunt scissors crush and drag the edge instead of cutting it, and on aged paper that shows immediately. A small pointed pair for fussy cutting is more useful than a large pair.

What to add once you are hooked

• Distress inks — for ageing edges. One brown and one black covers most needs.
• Waxed linen thread — grips knots and does not need waxing as you go.
• A corner rounder — makes cheap paper look considered instantly.
• Edge scissors — deckle and scallop edges, for tickets and tags.
• A stamp and pigment ink — dates, numbers and postmarks add believable depth.

We stock the short list rather than a full catalogue — see junk journaling tools.

What you can genuinely skip

A guillotine or trimmer. Nice, not necessary. Scissors and a bone folder do the same job on the scale journals work at.

Expensive specialist adhesives. A glue pen and a glue stick cover it.

Die-cutting machines. Completely optional and a different hobby.

Bulk ephemera bundles. This is the big one. Mixed bundles look like value and then you spend your evenings sorting rather than making, because nothing matches anything else. Themed, curated packs cost slightly more per piece and save the thing you actually have least of.

Where the material comes from

Most journalers work from three sources: things found and saved, printables printed at home, and curated packs bought by theme. Printables are the most economical by a long way — you print exactly what a spread needs and reprint the same sheet in five years. See our printable junk journal kits, or start with the free starter sheet to check how the files behave on your own printer.

For physical material, our curated ephemera packs are sorted by theme and era so everything inside a pack works together.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to start junk journaling?

A bone folder, glue, an awl, scissors, and something to make pages from. That is genuinely it. Everything else is preference.

What glue is best for junk journaling?

A glue stick for large areas and a fine-tip glue pen for edges and small pieces. Wet PVA wrinkles thin and aged paper.

What paper is best for junk journal pages?

Anything that takes a fold: book pages, brown paper, sheet music, printed backing papers, envelopes. Junk journaling is specifically the craft of using what would be thrown away.

Do I need special paper to print junk journal printables?

No. Standard printer paper works and gives an authentically thin, aged feel. Print on 120gsm if you want pages that stand up to heavy layering.

How do I stop my journal from bulging?

Every added layer thickens the spine. Either build in a spine expander when you bind, or keep the number of signatures low and make several thinner journals instead of one fat one.