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What Is a Junk Journal? A Complete Beginner’s Guide
A junk journal is a handmade book assembled from paper that would otherwise be thrown out — envelopes, book pages, receipts, tickets, packaging, sheet music, brown paper bags. There are no blank uniform pages and no rules about what belongs. That is the entire point.
People come to it from two directions: scrapbookers who want something less rigid, and journallers who find a blank page intimidating. A junk journal solves both, because a page that already has texture on it is far easier to start than a white one.
What actually goes in a junk journal
Four categories cover almost everything.
The pages themselves
Old book pages, brown paper, envelopes opened flat, sheet music, ledger paper, wallpaper samples, printed backing papers. Anything that folds.
Ephemera
The small printed things: tickets, labels, stamps, receipts, tags, playing cards, seed packets, library cards. Ephemera is the word for printed matter that was never meant to be kept, and it is the visual heart of a junk journal.
Pockets and tuck spots
Folded paper, envelopes and half-pages glued down along one edge, holding tags and notes. These are what make a junk journal interactive rather than flat.
Your own writing
Some people journal daily. Others write nothing and treat it purely as collage. Both are legitimate — a junk journal does not have to be a diary.
How a junk journal is put together
- Signatures. Stack four to six sheets and fold them in half. Each folded stack is a signature.
- The cover. Anything stiff — a cereal box, a book cover, chipboard, thick card.
- Piercing. Mark three or five points along each fold and pierce them with an awl. Skipping this is why beginner stitching looks crooked.
- Sewing. A simple pamphlet stitch for one signature; a long stitch or coptic stitch for several.
- Filling. Now the actual work begins — layering ephemera, adding pockets, ageing edges.
A first journal takes an evening to bind and then fills up over weeks or months.
Where the material comes from
Three routes, and most people use all three.
Found. Free, personal, and slow to accumulate. Start saving envelopes, packaging and tickets now and you will have a drawer full in two months.
Printed at home. The most economical and the most controllable. You print exactly what a spread needs, and reprint the same sheet years later. Our printable junk journal kits work this way — try the free starter sheet first to see how the files print on your machine.
Bought as curated packs. Faster, and everything in a themed pack works together. See ephemera packs.
The mistake almost every beginner makes
Buying a huge mixed bundle of ephemera because it looks like good value. It is not, because nothing in it matches anything else, and you end up spending your evenings sorting instead of making. Buy by theme, even if it costs slightly more per piece.
What you need to start
A bone folder, a glue stick and a glue pen, an awl, sharp scissors, and paper. That is the whole list — we go through it in detail in the best tools for junk journaling.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a junk journal and a scrapbook?
A scrapbook documents specific events with photos on uniform pages. A junk journal is the book itself as the creative object — mismatched pages, layered ephemera, pockets, and often no photos at all.
Do I need to be able to draw?
No. Junk journaling is assembly, not drawing. Most journallers never draw anything.
How long does it take to make a junk journal?
Binding takes an evening. Filling it takes as long as you want — many people work on one book for months.
What paper can I use?
Anything that folds without cracking. Old books, envelopes, brown paper, sheet music, printed backing papers, even paper bags.
Is junk journaling expensive?
It is one of the cheapest crafts there is. The material is literally things being thrown away, and the tool list is four items.