I've been asked on several occasions to share my process of creating a junk journal, so here we go! My last junk journal has nearly come to an end, so it seemed the perfect time to get creating a new one. I hope you enjoy my step by step tutorial.
Step 1: Gather your "junk". This can be old book pages, printed papers, magazine pages or anything else you happen to have laying around. You can also get some great paper bundles from London Gifties.
Step 2: Pick some firm card to create your cover and fold it in half. I'm using a piece of 12" by 12" scrapbooking paper. To make sure I have a good crisp fold, I am using a bone folder tool.
Step 3: Decide how big you want your cover to be and measure accordingly. My cover will be 6" wide by 8" tall.
Step 4: Use a metal ruler and craft knife to cut your cover to size.
Step 5: Check that you are happy with the size of your cover and tidy up any loose edges.
Step 6: Have a look through your pile of papers and select a good variety of different sizes and design.
Step 7: Fold each individual piece of paper in half.
Step 8: Decide on the order that you want your pages in and lie them on top of each other.
Step 9: Fold all the sheets together and then gently tap them along the spine, to make sure all the folds sit nicely inside each other.
Step 10: Slip your papers inside the cover and use a pencil to trace around the outside of it.
Step 11: Next, draw another line just inside this one, all the way around. This is because you want to cut your papers to a slightly smaller size than the cover.
Step 12: Start carefully cutting through your book pages, using your inside pencil line as a guide. You will find it helpful to secure your papers with a binder clip.
Step 13: Depending on how many pages you have included, you will probably find that you have to keep cutting through a few pages at a time, until they are all the right size.
Step 14: Use a ruler to measure out some holes on your cover. I mark five crosses, with one in the centre and the others 1 to 1.5" apart.
Step 15: Use a piercing tool to make holes in your cover.
Step 16: Now mark out some holes in your book pages, starting with the centre and making sure they are the same distance apart as for your cover.
Step 17: Use the piercing tool to carefully pierce holes through your pages. If you don't have a piercing tool, then you could try using a strong sharp needle instead.
Step 18: For the binding I use some book-binding thread. As an alternative, you could use lots of layers of regular cotton, wool, or twine.
Step 19: Start sewing through each of the holes, making sure that you keep the pages firmly in place.
Step 20: Tie the two ends securely together on the inside of your journal, cutting off any extra thread. Your junk journal is now complete and ready for using!
Step 21: You can also add any extra pockets, tags and tip-in cards if you like. I created this three-layered pocket, following along with a tutorial on Joie De Fi's YouTube channel.
If you are looking for some ideas about how to use a junk jornal, then you can check out my previous blog post here. I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial. You can also watch a video of me creating this junk journal below.
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