Fun Ideas for your Junk Journal

Are you looking for some fun ideas that you can use in your junk journal? Hopefully this blog post will give you lots of inspiration that you can try out. These ideas would work well in any type of journal, but I always think it's helpful to provide tips for working on those busy backgrounds that are so typical in a junk journal.

I created the pages above using packaging and other items that I found in my recycling tub. The pieces of paper were torn from a bakery bag and tea packet. I also used the lid of a plastic bottle rolled in acrylic paint to create the kind of barcode effect on the bottom left. You can watch a video where I created some other pages using packing below.

The next idea is to use lots of photos in your junk journal, they really help to tell a story.

I often like to group together photos of a similar topic which in this case was flowers. I use a Brother Colour Label printer for my photos as I love the quality and that they print on self-adhesive sticky paper.

Another idea is to print a photo of yourself in black and white, which I did on my home printer. I then added smudges of acrylic paint to my face and also painted colour on my jumper. This idea was inspired by one of the exercises in this lovely book by Kasia Avery.

Adding small sitched elements can bring such lovely colour and texture to your pages. It's often easier to do this on a loose sheet and then add it to your junk journal. I have stitched directly onto some of my pages, but you do have to be mindful of what's on the back.

Slow-stitching is something that I want to do lots more of during the coming months. I recently bought the most gorgeous book, The Untamed Thread which is full of inspiration. I just finished making a new junk journal earlier this week, so I think it will be the perfect place to get started. If you want to learn how to make your own junk journal, you can watch this video here.

I always like to find fun ways of incorporating writing in my junk journal. The busy backgrounds can make this challenging, but I always find a way, even if it's only a few words.

For these pages I used acrylic paint to create a night sky, with splashes of gold metallic watercolour on top. I then used a white gel pen to add my writing on the background. I really enjoyed the whole process of creating these junk journal/art journal pages.

Adding tip-in cards, tuck spots and pockets is such a fun way of bringing interactive elements to your junk journal pages. It makes the journal really enjoyable to flip through and is another great way of adding some writing space or keeping your thoughts more hidden.

Creating simple collages for my junk journal will always have a special place in my heart. I love looking through my stash of papers and tiny torn pieces to find elements that feel just right together. I enjoy playing with different colours throughout the seasons so that I can reflect what is happening in nature too.

My final favourite tip for today is using texture or modelling paste through a stencil with a palette knife. If you leave it uncoloured it gives a really subtle but interesting effect. You can add it straight onto your book pages or onto your collages for an extra level of dimension.

I really hope you enjoyed this blog post and that it's given you lots of ideas for your own junk journal. I will leave you with one final video sharing a flip through of my most recently completed pages, Helen x

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