Junk Journal My Way

The usual definition of a junk journal ...  A book which is often made using found and recycled materials to be used as a way to collect and record memories, thoughts, ideas and inspiration. 

Making any type of journal is always fun, making a "junk journal" can likely become more fun and maybe even a bit of a challenge.  My thoughts on creating one immediately went to creating one from fabric as the base of my journal. 

The process began with finding a variety of basic fabrics from my stash that would easily lend themselves to be used for the covers, signatures or pages.  The choices were chosen because of the neutral color, the ease of sewing and could be altered with my choice of paint, inks, stamps, stencils or other mediums.  

When making a “junk journal” it’s handy to have a great collection of all types of materials and ephemera at your figure tips. All those bits and pieces that seem to be laying around are a very good place to start. I gathered gel plate prints, stamped pieces and extra die-cuts that could be interesting additions. 

For this blog post I will be be focusing mainly on one idea.  Always wanting the challenge of experimenting with the unusual, I went to my collection of reusable/recycled materials, I will be using cereal bags to make some of the inserts for this journal. I had seen ideas using the cereal bags in various ways quite awhile ago.  How to instructions/ideas can be found by searching “how to fuse cereal bags” online. Several can be found online, along with You Tube videos.  

Working with cereal bags

• Open the bags along the seams by pulling them apart. 
• Wipe or wash (only if absolutly necessary) the inner side of the bags. 
• Set iron to a medium setting (wool or nylon).
• Lay the cereal bags to be fused onto a silicone sheet or parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over the bags. Begin in center and move out to the edges with the iron moving for the fusing process. Lift cover paper to check the fusing, replace and iron again.
• Cut, fold and stitch to make folders or pockets for journal inserts.  

Tips: Never place the iron directly onto the cereal bags, they will melt onto the iron. 
A bag from a large cereal box can be prepared and folded in half to create a decent size of fused material to work with. 

Edges can be trimmed after fusing. I like to use a acrylic ruler and craft designated rotary cutter.

Place bits of papers, threads or coloring between layers before fusing. NOTE: I've experimented with re-inkers. Results were decent and unexpected. 

• For this journal I created two types of folder inserts and a folded pocket from the fused bags. One is a simple folded piece, cut longer in length for adding a pocket, as a page insert. 

• A second one was created into an accordion style folder insert. It was also stitched with the pocket edge embellished with washi tape. 
• Once the folder insert is made I stitched around the piece using a zigzag design with my sewing machine.  NOTE: The edges can be left without stitching, cut with decorative scissors or covered with washi tape. 

• The folded pocket begins with a fused square slightly smaller then the pages length, but wider then one side of a page. Fold to create a pocket of any depth.
• The side edges are covered with washi tape before sewing sides and bottomi onto one side of a page.  

Making the journal

• The majority of this journal is made from various fabrics. Canvas is used for the covers plus a spine extension. 
• Before die-cutting the covers and extra spine, the canvas was coated con one side with a clear gesso. 
• Once covers are die-cut, add a zigzag stitch around the edges. 
• To join the covers and spine extension refer to the photos. Once the 3 pieces are aligned, stitch them together.

NOTE: The extension expands the journal to 7 sections for inserts instead of 5.

• The cover is embellished with a colored piece of distressed webbing (Lutradur), with a clear matte collage medium. Topped with a handstitched monogram. 
• Cording is laced into the spine to hold the signatures instead of elastic. 
• A length of seam binding is used for a tie plus a found button for a closure.
• The extra length of cords are knotted along the top of the spine and held together with a scrap of the webbing. REFER to the photos.

• Prepare fabrics for others pages by using using a sewable fusible interfacing between layers of thin fabrics. Experiment with a variety of fabric combinations. NOTE: Refer to photo for examples. I chose to use white or light neutral fabrics so that they could be painted, inked, stamped or embellished. Use a clear gesso on the fabric before stamping or stenciling or adding other mediums that could "bleed" through the fabrics.

• Fold the prepared fabrics in half and cut from the page section on the die.  After die-cutting, stitch around the edges of each of the fabric pages.  
• With pages cut, begin adding pockets, folders, paper bags, envelopes and any interesting inserts. 

The finishing of a junk journal may be ongoing and that's the challenge and enjoyment in making this type of journal.  My journal still has several "blank spaces" to continue adding any variety of elements to those spaces. Hope you enjoy the journey I took! 

Materials

Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook die, Sizzix
Big Shot
Various Fabrics, canvas, batting, muslin
Sewable fusible 
Clear gesso
Iron
Sewing machine
Collage medium, matte
Cereal bags
Cording or cord elastic
Various found objects