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MPU: Junk Journal

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MPU: Junk Journal
Swap Coordinator:stephiedee (contact)
Swap categories: Ephemera  Journals 
Number of people in swap:8
Location:Regional - USA
Type:Type 3: Package or craft
Last day to signup/drop:December 13, 2016
Date items must be sent by:January 10, 2017
Number of swap partners:1
Description:

The year is winding down and a lot of us probably have piles of random papers leftover from projects and what-not. I've always wanted to do this and thought now would be a good time.

A junk journal is a handmade book with pages made out of anything papery that you can write on. Book pages, maps, used envelopes, junk mail, paper bags, brochures, test prints, old shopping lists, paint chips...anything, really. It's a compilation of scrappy papers. It can be used as a list journal, gratitude journal, scrapbook, gluebook, whatever.

For this swap, we'll be making junk journals with at least 20 pages (inserts, flaps, etc. count as pages) and sturdy front and back covers (cardboard, old book covers, etc.). Size is sender's choice, though I'd suggest something no smaller than 4"x6" and no larger than 8"x10". How you put your journal together is completely sender's choice. I'll link some tutorials below for inspiration.

Put some decoration on the front and back covers of the journal and be sure to make your pages from a variety of sources, new and recycled. You can add pockets, tabs, fold-outs - have fun.

Linky-Links

Ò–¢ Diana Trout's Duct Tape Journal
Ò–¢ Junky Junk Journal
Ò–¢ How to Make a Junk Journal with stuff around the house

There are tons of links around, just search 'junk journal'. If you have a really cool one, please share in the comments below.

Discussion

oblivionspin 11/18/2016 #

oooh very cool. I have been wanting to get out my book binding stuff again and bind a coptic bound junk journal for a while now. This might actually get me off my butt to do it...

pkpeace 11/18/2016 #

This falls under the category of "Something I Need To Try"! I've been watching YouTube videos and am totally game! I love the challenge this provides....

stephiedee 11/21/2016 #

After putting my first one of these together, I can see that "20 pages" isn't exactly clear. Any sort of papery insert you add to your book, like tags in pockets and flaps, count as pages, too.

midwestkiwi 11/22/2016 #

Are the pages meant to be finished, or should they be made so that the recipient is to add personal items and whatnots?

stephiedee 11/23/2016 #

@midwestkiwi - because we can't know exactly what the journals we make will be used for, I think it's safe to finish some pages and leave some as-is for the journal recipient to personalize as needed.

I've made 2 so far because I've never made one before and wanted to test the waters. A lot of the ephemera I used has a blank area somewhere already that's good for journaling. On a few pages I made spots by adding paper or whitewashing areas. Then there are pages that are interesting as-is so I left them alone.

stephiedee 12/ 1/2016 #

Oh, but we're definitely not finishing finishing these - like filling them with our own lists or writings or what not. Just finishing some pages (where needed) so they are ready to be added to later. Decorations on some pages are OK, but the real finishing & filling will be done by the recipient.

Yeah, sometimes it takes me a bit.

Here's a flip-thru video of one of the ones I made: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNHth6og0te/

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