Recently I’ve been taking the time to explore recycled materials in my crafts, especially in paper crafts. This has led me to putting together a diy junk journal that uses lots of recycled fast food packaging! You don’t need expensive pads of paper, ephemera, and junk journal digital kits to make a fabulous junk journal, you just need some imagination!
Here’s a quick flick through I filmed of my recycled fast food junk journal after I’d sewn the signatures in. There’s still a long way to go with adding more decoration, but I really love how it’s come out so far!
The four junk journal signatures contain pages from magazines, fast food delivery bags from Starbucks and Subway, food boxes, and some tags made from recycled Amazon packaging and cereal boxes. I tea-dyed lots of the pages and also used artists gesso on the tags. The pockets are a combination of sewing and double-sided tape to stick them down.
The cover is actually a cake box which was the exact right size, covered in a KFC delivery bag and using a Pizza Hut box on the spine for reinforcement. On the inside of the cover there are pages from magazines, but I plan to add some pockets as extra tuck spots. There is lots I want to do in this journal but I was really, really keen to upload a video to show my progress so far.
For the next stage of this journal I’m going to look at designing my own junk journal elements using SVG files from various websites. I like the fact that SVG files can be used for so many different things, from just printing and cutting out, to cricut stickers, or even embroidery. It makes them the kind of resource that once you buy them, they can be used time and time again.
I’m really excited to grow my junk journaling hobby and see where it leads. I think that there are lots of different ways to take this kind of relaxed and creative bookbinding. I’m really enjoying the freedom to be creative without worrying that everything is all neat and tidy like traditional bookbinding. And I’ve already noticed that this new hobby has started to creep over into other parts of my life too – I’ve been stashing papers already for a photography junk journal!
During the various lockdowns I’ve started using this fast food junk journal to document all the different and new takeaways and foods that we’ve tried. I’ve been cooking lots more than usual, and we’ve also been making a point to try out different takeaways and restaurants in our local area that we’ve never tried before. I’m hoping that this junk journal will be a positive memento from this global pandemic, one that I can think about all the good experiences I’ve had rather than just the negatives.
I’m hoping that my photography junk journal will be the same. Once I’ve made it and decorated the pages I’ll use it to stash ideas, plans, and even finished photographs that I’ve taken. Hopefully it will become a real focal point for my creative photography work.
