Miniature Junk Journal

I have been thinking of making a junk journal for quite some time now. I even collected some material but in the end I decided to go for a Miniature Junk Journal. I love making miniature things, I have some tutorials on clay miniatures and also a few paper miniatures such as the Miniature Paper Handbag, the Matchbox Suitcase or the Origami Mini Book which you can use in this project, too.

I find making these miniatures therapeutic. You can do literally anything! You can use decorative papers, scrap paper, old newspapers, all sorts of stamps, anything goes! And before we start with the tutorial, I’d like to invite you to flip through the Miniature Junk Journal with me:

• heavyweight paper
• decorative papers (if they’re in form of stickers they’ll save you some work)
• old newspaper, music sheets
• cotton threads
• leather thread
• needle and thread
• pencil
• ruler
• scissors
• creaser
• stick glue
• decorations: tiny clothespin, rhinestones, stamps…

First let’s make the base which is the “wrap” of the junk journal. Its size will determine the size of the pieces inside.

I cut this long rectangle from heavyweight paper. You can choose different size but you have to remember that the opposite sides have to be of the same size. (photo 1)

I creased the lines between the segments with a creaser, you can also do it with scissors or a knife but lightly, don’t cut through the paper. (photo 2)

Creasing will help fold the paper. As you see, the small segment on the end overlaps, this is what closes the book. (photo 3)

I decided to cut the overlap round for more of a vintage look. (photo 4)

Then I started decorating the outside of the base with vintage stickers. You can use any decorative paper, even just one piece for the whole thing but I find that combining different papers gives it the “junk” journal look. (photo 5)

I trimmed some papers to fit their segments exactly. (photo 6)

And other papers covered their segments and a little more. There should be some overlap at the creases to cover everything. (photo 7)

Then I covered the inside, although this time with just one paper. You might have to fold the creases again after this. (photo 8)

Now I’m going to show you the inside pieces I made. You can make anything that fits in the base of the journal, just keep in mind that everything you put inside should be a little bit smaller than the base.

I call this the overlap vertical envelope and it’s an envelope that will be attached to the base and it will be a case for another small thing. Here you can see that it’s slightly smaller than the large side of the base. (photo 1)

I creased and folded the lines. (photo 2)

And I decorated in the same way like I did with the base. (photo 3)

I glued the envelope to one of the large sides of the Miniature Junk Journal (on the inside, of course). (photo 4)

The tiny notebook is what I put in the overlap vertical envelope.

I cut five rectangles which, when folded, fit perfectly in the envelope. (photo 1 and 2)

I placed the rectangles on top of each other and made holes in the center back. I used a regular needle to make the holes 1 cm apart. (photo 3)

I threaded the needle and passed it through the holes making a backstitch. I left one end of the thread long and tied a small knot at the very end. This will serve as a bookmark. (photo 4)

I used a decorative stamp on the front page of the notebook. (photo 5)

Then I took three cotton threads and braided them long enough to wrap around the notebook several times. (photo 6)

The finished notebook went into the envelope. (photo 7)

The miniature junk book is another perfect piece for the junk journal. In this case it’s actually a cover with a tiny book inside, however, unattached.

Once again, the steps are the same – trace and cut a rectangle, crease and fold, decorate. This cover is 4 cm wide and 4,5 cm long, the inside book slightly smaller. The spine of the cover is about 5 mm wide. (photo 1)

The book are pieces of heavyweight paper decorated with “junk” papers and stickers and sewn together at the center crease. (photos 2 - 4)

I also decided to make another braid. (photo 5)

The book goes inside the cover, add a tiny wooden clothespin and this piece of the miniature junk journal is finished. (photo 6)

This book will be in the main cover which I call the base without any other cover. This book will have miniature surprises on each page.

Once again, I cut several rectangles from the heavyweight paper and folded them in half. (photo 1)

I glued them together as you see in the picture. (photo 2)

Each side is decorated with different papers and I’ll explain the small things I put on each page. This is an envelope. I glued on a rectangle leaving the upper side open (I glued the edges marked with the red line). (photo 3)

Then I attached the upper part of the envelope. And you can put a message inside, as you can see in the video. (photo 4)

This four-side envelope is another envelope to hide a secret message. Just cut a square, fold the corners to the center and glue the envelope to one of the pages. What you see on the left is a pocket with the round side open. (photo 5, 6)

This is a double-page to write on plus a tiny paper pocket, it’s just a rectangle with three edges glued and the upper one open. (photo 7)

And this is another couple of pockets. On the left is a page glued with the three edges and open on the rounded side. On the right is just a paper folded in half. One half is glued to the page and the other half just flips open. Once again, you can see all of this in the video. (photo 8)

Here's another pocket - two diagonally cut overlapping pieces of paper. (photo 9)

It's not apparent at the first glance but the blue stripe on the left is also a pocket. (photo 10)

There can also be just pretty pages to look at. (photo 11)

Place all the pieces in the main cover.

Close the Miniature Junk Journal and wrap a leather thread around it.

Done!