Getting Started With Junk Journals
Junk journaling is just what it sounds like — taking scraps, old papers, envelopes, and bits of ephemera and binding them into a book you can write, sketch, or stash notes in. The whole idea is less about perfection and more about using stuff you already have instead of buying a fresh Moleskine you'll feel pressured to keep clean. I've been doing this off and on for years, mostly because it's the cheapest hobby I've found that still gives me something satisfying to hold at the end of an afternoon. If you're trying to figure out where to begin, answering a set of Quick Junk Journal Questions for yourself usually helps more than watching a tutorial. You know what materials you actually own, what your space looks like, and how much time you realistically have. That tends to narrow things down faster than anything.
Common Quick Junk Journal Questions Beginners Actually Ask
Here are the ones that come up most often in threads and forums, with straight answers. What paper should I use? Any paper works. Notebook scraps, receipts, printed pages you don't need, cereal box backing with the gloss sanded off, newspaper for lining. The weight matters more than the type. Standard copy paper is too thin for most journal pages unless you layer it. Cardstock, manila envelopes, heavy magazine stock — that's your base. Go as light as 80lb text if you want a thinner journal, as heavy as 110lb cover if you want durability. Anything thinner than 20lb text will tear around the binding within a few uses. Do I need special glue? No. School glue, PVA glue, or even a glue stick works fine for most things. The one thing I learned the hard way: avoid liquid rubber cement on anything that will sit flat. It stays slightly flexible and can warp pages over time, especially in humid conditions. Regular PVA dries clear and rigid. I switched after ruining three journals where the glue kept reactivating when I left them in a car.
How do I bind them without expensive equipment? The Coptic stitch is the most flexible binding for hand-stitched journals, but it has a learning curve. For a first attempt, the perfect bound method using only PVA glue will work and takes about twenty minutes. My go-to for a quick journal is the four-hole pamphlet stitch. You punch four holes along the spine, run through needle and thread, and you're done. Takes maybe fifteen minutes total. If you want something sturdier, look up the Japanese stab binding. It looks fancier than it is and holds up well. What exactly are "ephemera" and where do I find free supplies? Ephemera just means everyday paper items that were meant to be thrown away — ticket stubs, postcards, vintage envelope liners, tea bag labels, pages from expired textbooks, sheet music. Your trash is other people's treasure. Check thrift store donation bins, ask local businesses if they'll save you their printed materials (flyers, menus, mailers) once they update their signage. Mail order places like local post offices sometimes give away older stock packaging. I've found decent amounts of vintage tissue paper by asking at funeral homes and churches — they get tons of printed programs and bulletins they'd otherwise recycle. How thick should my journal be? This depends on your binding. A pamphlet stitch journal holds about 10-15 sheets max before the spine starts to resist closing. Four-hole binding gets uncomfortable past 20 sheets. Coptic stitch can handle 40-60 sheets depending on paper weight. If you're making a perfect-bound journal, you're looking at 30-50 sheets before the glue needs reinforcement. I stopped trying to make journals thicker than 60 sheets because the mechanics stop working cleanly and you're better off making two smaller books.
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My Actual Process
I don't plan anything out. I gather materials, figure out the binding I want to use that day, and just start. Most of my journals end up being 4-6 inches by 6-8 inches because that's what fits on my desk and what my hands can manage without a bone-breaking grip. The largest I've made comfortably is 9 by 12, and that required a clamping setup I don't usually bother with. One specific problem I ran into that took me way too long to solve: using washi tape to adhere pocket elements. Washi tape is beautiful and comes in gorgeous patterns, but it loses adhesion after a few months, especially on textured paper surfaces. I had a journal where every single pocket slowly peeled open over about six months. The workaround was switching to a thin line of PVA glue underneath the tape or, for heavier items, using a glue pen directly. The glue pen gives you precision and the bond lasts. I now keep a glue pen on my desk at all times and only reach for washi tape when I'm doing something purely decorative that doesn't need to hold weight. Another thing nobody mentions: the type of thread matters more than you'd think. Polyester thread is stronger and more flexible than cotton. Cotton thread is prettier but snaps easier, especially if you're threading needles through dense cardstock. I use 100-weight polyester for most bindings now. It's thinner, doesn't bulk up the spine, and holds up through years of opening and closing. Nymo D is what bookbinders traditionally use, and it's what I buy when I need something I know will last.
Things That Don't Work the Way They Look Online
Tea staining paper to make it look vintage is fine for a few sheets. Do it for an entire journal and you're creating a structural problem. Tannins weaken paper fibers over time. What looks like an aged, parchment-style page will become brittle and crack along fold lines within a year or two. If you want the look, use brown craft paper or buy pre-aged paper from a supplier. Don't turn good paper into something fragile just for aesthetics. Hot glue guns are tempting because they're fast. Hot glue creates a thick, gap-filling bond that never fully hardens in the same way PVA does. It stays somewhat pliable, and under pressure or temperature changes, it can shift. I used hot glue for a journal meant to hold heavier items like photos and tickets, and within weeks the pockets were bulging and shifting. PVA or a proper craft adhesive like Diamond Glaze for smaller items will hold everything flat and stable. The biggest misconception is that junk journals need to look "lived in." They don't. A junk journal is a tool first and a craft project second. If it doesn't hold together when you use it, the decorative elements are just clutter. Build it to function, then decorate it. That ordering saves you from making something pretty that you can't actually use.
If you're just starting and want to test whether this actually fits your habits, make one small journal this weekend. Use only materials you already own. Don't buy anything new. If you enjoy the process and want to keep making them, then start building a supply collection. The people who stick with this hobby usually do it because it's the most relaxed creative outlet they've found, not because they're obsessed with making the most elaborate book possible.
