Getting ready

So, you’ve decided to start your first junk journal—how exciting! You don’t need lots of expensive supplies or a dedicated craft room. A little preparation is all it takes to make getting started easy and enjoyable. Let me help you get ready, so that when you start it will be a smooth process.

The first thing to decide is what you’ll use as the base for your journal. There are three popular options:

• a notebook
• an old book
• loose sheets of paper folded into signatures

I will talk about the first and third option. If you want to use a book, you can find a lot of information online. Personally, I like making journals from folded sheets of decorated paper because I can choose exactly the papers I want to use. But there’s no right or wrong choice—pick the one that makes you excited to begin.

If you want to use a notebook, choose one adapted to your style. If you are going to paint on it, you might want a sketchbook with pages thick enough to absorb the paint. If you are going to write a lot, you might want lined pages. If you are going to glue lots of items, you might want a notebook with pages thick enough to support the weight of these items.

If you are going to use sheets of paper (A4 or 8.5 x 11 inches), you need to decide between blank sheets or decorated sheets. The same considerations apply either way: choose thicker paper if you’ll be painting or gluing heavily and consider whether you want lined or blank pages. Blank paper is usually cheaper, while decorated paper saves you design time and adds instant visual interest, with lots of themes to match what you want to express.

Once you have chosen your support, what else do you need?

The first thing that come to mind is glue. You are going to glue lots of things to your pages, so glue is essential. I personally like using double sided tape and glue dots, as I find them less messy, but strong glue will work too.

Then come the things you are going to glue. You can buy ephemera (tags, envelopes, folios, secret notes…) to embellish your pages, they are fun, but you can also collect all sorts of things (junk) to use.

These are some ideas, but please let me know what else you use:

Junk mail envelopes

You can decorate them by drawing on them, adding pretty paper scraps, buttons, and more. They are also great for making little pockets to tuck things into.

Images from magazines and junk mail

Keep an eye out for interesting pictures, words, advertisements or patterns. You might find something perfect for your next page.

Pretty papers

Wrapping paper, pretty paper napkins, old book pages and even paper bags can all be useful. Just be careful with thin paper napkins, as they can tear easily when gluing.

Buttons and fabric

I love using buttons and fabric scraps. If you have old garments that you are about to throw away, have a look at what you can save for your junk journal. You might find some lovely buttons, lace or interesting pieces of fabric.

And you will feel less guilty about throwing things away!

Ribbons and lace

These are perfect for adding texture and a little extra charm to your pages. Even a small piece can make a lovely embellishment.

Washi tape

I also really like washi tape for decorating my pages. I buy mine, but you can find online tutorials about making your own if you fancy giving it a try.

A few useful tools

Apart from glue and things to decorate your pages, you might also find a few basic tools useful:

• Scissors
• A ruler
• A pencil
• A hole punch
• A stapler

You don’t need to buy everything at once. Start with a few basics and see what you enjoy using. You can always add more supplies as you go along.

Voilà! I am sure there are lots more things you can use, and again, I would love to hear about what you are planning to use in your junk journal.

In an ideal world, you would have a place dedicated to your junk journalling, where you can keep your notebook/sheets of paper, the different items that you have collected, your ribbons, tape, your colouring pencils, paints… ready for you to use them. But let’s be realistic, most of the time this is not the case. Still, you can use folders, boxes to keep everything sorted, so that when you are ready to use your junk journal, everything is ready to use whenever inspiration strikes.

One little tip that saves me lots of time is to cut out my printed tags, pockets, and ephemera while I’m watching television. Then, when I feel like journalling, everything is ready and I can simply enjoy being creative.

That’s it—you’ve done all the preparation! In the next post, we’ll finally start putting your junk journal together and I’ll share some simple ideas for filling those first pages without feeling overwhelmed.