If you’re a beginner junk journal-er or just want a new place to buy junk journal supplies, then this post is perfect for you! If you just want to skim, I’ve bolded some phrases that offer a tl;dr. Please let me know what you think about that in the comments. I’m doing it to make my posts more accessible, but if more people find it distracting than helpful, I’ll make some changes! Links are also in a different color to help easily identify them.

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What’s a Junk Journal?

If you’ve found your way here and don’t know what junk journaling is, then I’ll give you a short rundown. Soon I’ll be making more in-depth tutorials and recommendations, but for now, here’s a quick explination:

Junk journals are a mix between a journal, an art journal, and a scrapbook. You can write in them, paint in them, draw in them, or use them as mini scrapbook/photo album. You can use them with a theme (dedicated to an event or trip, etc) or just use them to jot down your thoughts and feelings. They are an evolution from K&Company’s old Smashbook line.

From what I’ve heard, they’re called junk journals because a) you can make them out of junk mail, old cereal boxes, etc., and b) you can throw any old “junk” you want in there. I personally like putting fortune cookie slips in mine, but I’ve also seen people catalogue their favorite teas with dried out tea bags of their favorite brands.

If you’re looking for junk journals, I actually sell them! Click here or go to “The Storied Lives Shop” button on the navigation menu. I have physical books, digital journaling kits, and digital ephemera. Soon, I’ll be adding more journals and even physical ephemera to my shop! It’s totally not expected but totally appreciated!

If you’re looking for resources and guides on how to make your own junk journals, there are tons of great ones out there. I’ll be adding in-depth tutorials and recommendations here and on my new YouTube channel soon, so be on the lookout for that!

Basic Supplies for Junk Journals

Before I start explaining, I need you to know that there’s no wrong way to use a junk journal. If you just want to write in pencil, go ahead! If you want to glue in cool looking rocks and dried plants you find on your daily walks, that’s awesome! It’s whatever you want to make out of it. These are just suggestions that are based on my experiences, which may be totally different than the experience you’re looking for.

There’s a million ways to use a junk journal, but no matter which way you use yours, there are a few basics you’ll need, and some that are just nice to have. I’ll list them and then go into them more in-depth and give my recommendations for each.

Basic Junk Journal (Must-Have) Supplies

• Pens/Pencils
• Adhesives (glues, tapes, staples, decorative tapes)
• Good pair of scissors
• Pictures/anything else you might want to save if you’re using it as a sort of album or mini scrapbook
• Ephemera (don’t worry if you don’t know what that is—I’ll explain below!)

Nice to Have Junk Journal Supplies

• Brush markers/nice highlighters
• Scrapbook paper
• Nice washi tape
• Letter stickers
• Other stickers
• Multimedia art supplies
• Fabric scraps/ribbon/lace

Where to Get Junk Journal Supplies

Even considering the lists above, I have to say that a LOT of junk journal supplies will probably come from what’s already in your home. Like I said earlier, that’s part of the junk in junk journal.

Still, if you really want dedicated supplies or currently want to upgrade your supplies, I’ve got you covered! Here’s some of the things I either use myself, want, or have bought and plan to use. You can get them from Amazon or Etsy, or even find supplies in thrift and antique stores.

Scissors

You know how sewers get really, really grouchy about their fabric scissors? I’m the same way about mine. My favorite pair is this nonstick titanium pair from Wescott.

They’re the perfect size and SO easy to clean. And trust me, you’ll want that! There’s none of that icky adhesive build up that even just repeatedly cutting tape will give on other scissors. If you’re working at all with any kind of glue in your workspace (and chances are you will, at some point–even if it’s just to glue in an envelope for extra storage) you’ll be thanking me later.

Adhesives

If you’re new to junk journals or any kind of papercraft, chances are you don’t have any kind of strong opinions on adhesives. Most people don’t, I suppose, but I’ve never been like most😅.

If you’re making a junk journal or adding something to the front or back cover, you’ll either want ModPodge or Fabri-Tac, depending on what the thing is made of or where it’s going.

If you already have a journal and want to focus on the pages, then you’ll want a nice glue that is strong, but isn’t wet. This will help avoid as much wrinkling as possible with as little work as possible. Pam at the Paper Outpost recommends this Scotch glue stick, and now it’s the only one I use! Before I started using this, I couldn’t find a glue stick that was truly dependable for any of my personal projects. I’m so glad I found Pam’s videos. Check her out, she’s awesome!

For most people, that’s generally all you need. But if you can’t use any of the ones listed about due to allergies or accessibility issues, there’s still some other choices you have. A stronger washi tape is a great option. You can even use a mini stapler or something like glue dots. There’s so many options that you could also mix a handful and use whatever’s easier for you when you’re working on it.

What is Ephemera for Junk Journals?

Now lets talk about a few things to integrate into your junk journals that are more fun/aesthetic based. These can still be functional and serve a practical use in your journaling, but add interest and interactivity (much like washi tape).

I promised I’d describe ephemera earlier, so here it is:

Ephemera is decorative pieces that make your junk journal look nice. In the most popular aesthetic of junk journals, this may be vintage stuff. (Think memorabilia from anywhere between the 1700s to the 1970s.) However, I’ve also seen ephemera themes ranging from grimoire to ultra kawaii.

Ephemera pieces don’t have to be original. There’s nothing wrong with buying high-res reprints on good quality paper. Most of the images are public domain (eg, free) but curated and ready to use for you. Tim Holtz is my absolute favorite line if I’m purchasing ready to use ephemera.

But if you have more printer ink and card stock than money, there are TONS of free and super affordable options. Some of these are also great options if you want to curate your own by picking and choosing which images you’d like.

For free ephemera:

• The Public Domain Review offers curated appreciation for public domain images and texts. They have straight-forward copyright explanations. That will come in handy if you ever decide to curate and sell ephemera. (While each is public domain, some collections are, in themselves, subject to copyright. There’s a fantastic breakdown of this on their site.)
• The Graphics Fairy is my all-time favorite resource for ephemera. The Graphics Fairy is inarguably one of the biggest resources for paper crafters. Not only does it offer free images and scripts, but you can also find completely free tutorials and user-submitted inspiration on the site. This website is so useful for me that I have subscribed to the premium version of the site, which I’ll touch on later.
• Stuff you have laying around the house can make for amazing ephemera. You could literally cut up a cereal box or take that deck of playing cards that’s missing a few cards and glue, paint, draw, write, or whatever else you desire. You’re bound to have a few beads or pendants laying around from a necklace or bracelet that either doesn’t fit anymore or you’ve been meaning to get repaired but never did. Try looking around your house through the eyes of creative upcycling and I promise you’ll find something that will turn into a treasure.

For affordable ephemera:

• Etsy offers so many options! They have original digital downloads, physical reprint bundles, and physical original pieces. I firmly believe in doing business where you do business. When there’s so many talented curators and artists on the site, it’s hard to turn down.
• The Premium Graphics Fairy site is equally tied as my ultimate favorite. Every Monday, themed bundles of images, SVG files, designed printables, PhotoShop brushes, PhotoShop Elements tutorials, and handmade item tutorials. They also have courses streamlined based on what concept technique you want to learn or item you want to make. Whew! That’s a lot! And it’s only $9.98 a month! You’ll get access to their whole library. (And no, I’m not getting any kind of kickback for linking or anything like. I just genuinely love the site and have been subscribed for YEARS!)

There’s so much more to discuss!

As someone who has been into papercrafting and bookbinding for years, I have so much more to say about junk journals, but this is MORE than enough to get a beginner started. If you found this helpful, please share it on Pinterest or Facebook, or leave a comment below! It really helps me so I can continue to offer you great guides and tutorials to junk journals. I genuinely hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or constructive criticism that you think would make reading my blogs better for you, leave them in the comments!

Have fun journaling and see you again soon,

Kara from The Storied Lives