What is a Junk Journal and How Do You Make One?

One of my favorite - and super easy - videos is Shanouki Art's tutorial on using a granola bar box as the cover and lots of leftover scrapbook paper as the guts. No nonsense!   It's only 10:22 long, easy to follow.....let's do it!

joie de fi (Manchester, UK) has a video where she discusses different kinds of journals - all the types that speak to me - including great food for thought.  She, herself, prefers single signature junk journals that have 12 - 13 sheets of paper.  See that video here.

She also has a video showing exactly how she chooses, then puts together the pages to make a double signature junk journal.  It's really interesting to see her collection of books and to hear her thinking about all aspects of the creation of the journal.  That video's here.

Margarete Miller makes a very cool (and easy) journal from a package of alphabetical 4 x 6 index card dividers.  She puts it together *with masking tape!), creates an easy cover, and then decorates her first two double-page spreads.  This could be made from any consistently sized heavy duty cardstock or even a lightweight cardboard.  Will definitely give this a try.  She's making hers for Christmas.   Video here.   She's one of my favorites ... fast forwards through lots so you don't have to keep going faster yourself.

This isn't exactly a "Junk" journal....all the pages are the same size and it's binding is glued together, not sewn. It's called "Christmas Hard Cover Journal."  The pages are 8.5 x 11 kraft paper folded in half with a piece of patterned paper dividing the pages into thirds.   It's glued heavily on top, covered with muslin, then covered with a paper binding.  LeNae shows every step and how easy it seems to be. Easy-to-follow instructions are found here.

Annette Green dyes her papers, cuts them all the same size or just a bit smaller (8.5 x 11 paper is just a tad smaller than her other pages), then uses a sheet from an Arteza CANVAS pad to make her soft cover.  Three signatures, with a good explanation of putting them together, and the 3-hole binding sewing technique.  Ultimately this is the junk journal I want to make first.......Watch the video.....

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Pink Monarch Prints has a different and unique of putting five folders together (It's actually like a big pocket) that attach in a fold in the middle with a sort of tab..  I haven't explained this very well, but it's pretty darn cool.  She calls it "Easy and UNIQUE Tab Journal Base.  I'd like to try this for sure.  The video's here.                                                   * * * * *

The Paper Outpost uses 5 pieces of scrapbook paper that she doesn't like/isn't going to use for the cover, gluing them together.  She wraps elastic cording (could use anything, even ribbon) around and around the spine and then inserts cards (could be signatures) onto each.  I could see adapting this in a zillion ways.  Video here.

In this video Kathleen Mower shows how she covers a gutted book to prep for a 2-signature junk journal. (She's making a time capsule journal for her 65th year.)  I hope she goes on with another to show how she adds the signatures and perhaps made one that shows how she created the signatures.  I'd really like to make one of these.  In her description for this video she gives websites for other covers she's done.

Margarete Miller uses food boxes (crackers...) and even smaller boxes that perhaps playing cards come in as a cover, then attaches same-sized paper inside with a long reach stapler. (She makes a smaller one on this video to hold a collection of ATC cards and clusters that she's made.)  Just my style!  Check out the video here.

Meg Journals makes a beginner/very simple junk journal of 6 pages and a cardstock cover, where all the pages are more or less the same size as the cover.  This is perfect for my first junk-journal-from-scratch, and I'm going to make it right now!  Here's her tutorial.

Kayann Ausherman finds hard cover books (in her demo she uses two different kids' books, one a larger picture book, the other a Dr. Seuss-size) and removes all or most of the pages ... but she leaves a 3/4-inch to one-inch strip where she then goes back and puts in Franken-pieced pages that she's created. She glues them between two of the strips for good strength.  This is her base for junk journals, and it's terrific!  No nonsense, great description, MUST do!  Check out the video here.