What Is a Junk Journal? A Beginner's Guide to Getting Started
Never heard of junk journaling, or heard of it everywhere and still not sure what it means? This beginner's guide explains everything from what goes inside a junk journal to how to start your first one today.
If you've been down a crafting rabbit hole on TikTok or Pinterest lately, you've probably seen pages layered with torn paper, vintage ephemera, handwritten notes, and tea-stained edges, all stitched or bound together into something that looks like it belongs in an antique shop. That's a junk journal.
And if your reaction was somewhere between "I need to make one of those immediately" and "I have absolutely no idea where to start," you're in the right place.
So What Actually Is a Junk Journal?
A junk journal is a handmade book created from recycled, found, and repurposed materials. Old book pages, envelopes, ledger paper, fabric scraps, ticket stubs, postcards, packaging — anything with texture, colour, or character can become a page. The word "junk" doesn't mean rubbish. It means reimagined. Given a second life.
Unlike a traditional diary or bullet journal, there are no rules. No grid to follow, no structure to maintain. A junk journal is whatever you make it — part scrapbook, part art project, part memory keeper, part creative outlet.
The word junk doesn't mean rubbish. It means reimagined. Every single scrap of paper in your house is a potential page.
Why Is Everyone Suddenly Making These?
Junk journaling has exploded in the past few years, and honestly it makes a lot of sense. In a world of screens and notifications, there's something deeply satisfying about sitting down with paper, glue, and a pile of collected scraps. It's tactile. It's slow. It doesn't need a WiFi connection.
It's also radically affordable. You can start a junk journal with materials you already have at home — a notebook from the back of a drawer, some torn magazine pages, a glue stick, a few stickers. No expensive equipment required, no steep learning curve.
And perhaps most importantly, it's pressure-free. There's no wrong way to do it. Imperfection isn't just accepted in junk journaling — it's the entire aesthetic.
What Goes Inside a Junk Journal?
The contents of a junk journal are as personal as the person making it. Here's a look at what most crafters work with.
Collected ephemera
Ticket stubs, receipts, postcards, old letters, packaging with interesting typography, business cards, maps, paper bags, magazine clippings, wrappers. Basically anything you'd normally throw away that has some visual character to it.
Vintage and found paper
Old book pages, ledger paper, sheet music, dictionary pages, aged newspaper, tea-dyed or coffee-stained sheets. You can age plain white paper yourself by brushing it with a cold tea bag and letting it dry flat. It costs nothing and the effect is lovely.
Printed digital downloads
This is where modern junk journaling gets really fun. Printable junk journal kits give you a complete, coordinated set of background papers, ephemera sheets, tags, pocket templates, and journaling cards. You download, print, and assemble. Many crafters use these as the backbone of their spreads and layer in their personal collected items around them.
Embellishments
Washi tape, stickers, ribbon, lace, fabric scraps, twine, dried flowers, buttons, paper clips. These are the finishing touches that make a spread feel layered and considered.
Journaling elements
Handwritten notes, stamped dates, quotes cut from books, doodles, painted backgrounds. Some junk journals are heavily worded, others are almost entirely visual. Both are completely valid.
How Is a Junk Journal Different from a Scrapbook?
People ask this all the time. The simplest answer is that a scrapbook documents events — usually in order, with photos as the centrepiece. A junk journal is more about mood, feeling, and aesthetic than chronology or documentation.
A scrapbook tends to have clean layouts and organised sections. A junk journal has torn edges, visible stitching, hidden pockets, and beautiful chaos. A scrapbook says "here's what happened." A junk journal says "here's how it felt."
That said, many crafters blend both approaches, and plenty of scrapbookers have discovered junk journaling as a more relaxed, intuitive alternative. There's really no reason you have to pick one.
What Themes Work Well for Junk Journals?
Junk journals are almost always built around a theme or aesthetic. Having even a loose one makes every decision easier. When you're choosing what to include, you can simply ask whether it fits. Some popular directions:
- Vintage and cottage — aged papers, floral ephemera, muted earth tones, lace, handwritten script. The most classic look.
- Dark academia — library cards, old maps, parchment tones, wax seals, botanical illustrations, gothic typography.
- Cottagecore — wildflowers, mushrooms, nature prints, soft watercolour palettes, pressed leaf imagery.
- Coquette — bows, ribbons, pastel pinks, romantic imagery, lace borders, feminine vintage ephemera.
- Seasonal — Christmas, Halloween, Spring, Autumn, built around seasonal colours, motifs, and holidays.
- Vintage botanical — illustrated plants and flowers, scientific diagram aesthetics, earthy greens and creams.
How to Start Your First Junk Journal
Starting feels more complicated than it is. Here's how to approach your very first one without getting overwhelmed.
Step 1 — Choose your base
Any notebook works. A composition book, a spiral notebook, an old hardcover with the pages torn out, or a set of folded pages bound with a binder ring. Many beginners start with a composition book because the thick cover gives structure and the pages can be layered without the spine falling apart.
Step 2 — Pick a theme
Even a loose theme like "vintage floral" or "autumn" makes every decision easier. You don't have to commit rigidly. Themes in junk journals are more like a general direction than a strict rule.
Step 3 — Gather your materials
Raid your recycling, your junk drawer, your bookshelves. Look for anything with interesting texture, colour, or pattern. Tear the edges of paper for a more organic look. Coffee or tea staining plain paper gives it an instant aged quality and it costs nothing.
Step 4 — Use a printable kit if you want a head start
If you want a cohesive, polished starting point without spending hours hunting for matching materials, a printable junk journal kit is the easiest shortcut. Download, print on slightly thicker paper (24 to 28lb is ideal), and cut out the elements. You'll have coordinated backgrounds, tags, pockets, and ephemera sheets ready to layer in minutes.
Step 5 — Layer, don't perfect
Glue down your largest background piece first. Then layer smaller elements on top — a tag here, a torn scrap there, a sticker, a stamped date. Work from background to foreground and let the page build organically. You genuinely cannot do this wrong.
Do You Need a Printable Kit?
You don't need one, but if you're a beginner, a printable kit removes almost all the friction from getting started. Instead of spending time hunting for papers that work together, you download a coordinated set and start creating immediately.
A good printable junk journal kit includes background papers in a consistent palette, ephemera sheets with small decorative elements like labels, tags, and postcards, pocket templates, and journaling cards. You print everything at home, cut it out, and layer it into your journal.
At StudioPixelWave, our junk journal kits are instant downloads, print-ready at 300 DPI, and come with a full commercial licence — so you can use them in journals you make for yourself, as gifts, or even to sell. Browse junk journal kits here.
Is Junk Journaling Right for You?
Honestly, if any of this sounds like you, the answer is probably yes:
- You save things you can't quite throw away — ticket stubs, pretty packaging, interesting postcards
- You like the idea of making something by hand but don't want the pressure of "real" art
- You've tried bullet journaling or traditional journaling and found them too structured
- You want a creative hobby that's genuinely affordable and doesn't require special equipment
- You love vintage aesthetics, paper textures, and the feeling of making something layered and personal
Junk journaling isn't about making something perfect. It's about making something yours. Start with one page. One scrap of paper. One sticker. See where it takes you.