My Journal Kit: Junk Journalling Essentials

PSA for all craft girlies, journal lovers, scrapbook fanatics: this one is for you

I remember one of my earliest journals was an A4 High School Musical notebook with Troy and Gabriella on the front (obviously), it was pink and blue and had PLENTY of room for me to write my heart out with glitter gel pens and stick down stickers from those sticker note pads while jotting down my hopes and dreams (a baby pink Nintendo DS featured a few times). 

From my decades of being an artsy gal with her stack of bits and bobs and tower notepads – I have compiled a list of a handful of things that I deem to be essential when it comes to journalling. Here we go…

✿ A JOURNAL: This one is pretty obvious, it is your canvas to place everything onto – my favourite size is an A5. It is that perfect middle size to be able to pop into any bag for on the go, an A6 is far too small for me and an A4 is just overwhelming. My current journal is from a sweet company called Notebook Therapy – the quality is just perfect for me and I love how chunky it is, plus the soft velvety cover makes me feel super fancy. 

✿ JUNK: Every good junk journal needs junk. From receipts, to paper coasters, scraps of paper, hand written notes, postcards, napkins, junk can really be anything. I love having a junk journal as it allows me to not overthink what I am putting in my journal, to just have fun and P-L-A-Y. Plus junk of all forms finds a way of taking you back to very specific moments that you’ve experienced and that is pretty special. I have also put together some really Cute Junk Kits so you can just grab and go without having to think of collecting bits on the day-to-day. 

✿ GLUE TAPE, DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE, GLUE STICK: For sticking down your junk. Each one is better at something than the other – I love glue tape as it doesn’t make any message and I can just stick down paper or photos in an instant, I like double-sided  tape for sticking down strips of lace, ribbon or fabric and I love a glue stick for larger sheets of paper that I am using for a background. They all shine in different ways. 

✿ WASHI TAPE: This is such a fun way to add an accent colour or a little pop of a fun patterned tape on top of a photo or as a border on a page to give it a little something something (I have far too many but I can’t help but buy more).

✿ STICKERS: Letter stickers are great for using as a title of a page, vinyl stickers are PERFECT for decorating the front of your journal as they are heavy duty (see our collection of hand drawn vinyl stickers here), sticker sheets are fun to pop through the pages. I just love stickers, once you get over your fear of using them, they bring you so much joy.

✿ PAPER: Great to use for the background of a spread or to back photos on so they stand out more. Honestly a needed and fantastic all rounder. 

✿ SCISSORS: For chopping up lace, ribbon, paper, photos – y’know how scissors work. 

✿ PENS: Ballpoint, felt tip, highlighters, markers, brush tip pens, whatever you fancy! They are what you will need to brain dump, write down affirmations or goals or get fancy schmansy with a cursive title. Majority of my favourite everyday and ‘just chuck in the bag’ type pens are from Muji – especially the felt tip pens and compact ball points. 

✿ PENCIL CASE: My most used pencil case is a hard case from Muji too (can you tell I had fun on my first visit), its a very good small size to fit in my everyday bag and nestle in my normal chunky journal kit. I am a very big fan of the hard case so I can customise it with (you guessed it) funky vinyl stickers. 

✿ PHOTOS: I love, love, love having photos throughout my journal to really capture memories and bring a very me feel to a page. A normal 6X4 photo print is a little too big for me so I typically print 2 photos on one 6X4 and then cut them in half. That way they fit so much better and I am able to add several on a page!

✿ STAMPS & INK: It’s a little bit of a fuss with the ink but I don’t think you can ever go wrong with the nostalgic feel of a stamp to paper. I have a date stamp that I like to date the top of my pages (it feels very cohesive and retro) and I also love my little Miffy stamps for fun characters or just some florals to add a bit of further interest. 

✿ CORNER ROUNDER: This one is very optional but I am weirdly particular about sharp edges on things – especially for photos, sometimes they just feel so out of place or stark if they have very defined corners. I personally use a corner rounder punch often to soften the edges of photos and paper, it creatives a very delicate and nostalgic vibe. 

That’s it! Your journal is yours, please do not feel scared to decorate it or use it – they are meant to be loved, used and treasured. You are basically creating a little time capsule of your life and that is so special! I hope I help you get started in some way and that our products continue to inspire you and bring you joy.

Please be sure to let me know if you found this article helpful and show me any of your spreads!