Upcycled Books: Junk Journals 101

Upcycle an old book and breathe new life into it!

In this 3-hour workshop, we will be creating a wonderful “Junk Journal” from a hardcover book.

We will use all sorts of papers, including but not limited to: junk mail, scrapbook papers, vintage sheet music, book pages, paper bags, magazine pages, envelopes, ledger paper, children’s book pages, graph paper, and whatever you can think of.

The process begins the moment you choose your book! I will take you through all the steps to deconstruct your hardcover book, determine the size of your pages, decide the order and placement of the pages, create and sew in the signatures. You will have a variety of papers to choose from as well as those you bring with you. I’ll have sheet music, maps, book pages, vintage yearbook and catalog pages, and more. Then we will complete our journals by embellishing the pages with some collage, stencils, stamping, doodling, painting, pockets and tags.

Materials List:

What I will provide:

A bunch of various papers

A few hardcover books

Needles

Waxed linen thread

Some washi tapes

Some pens, stamps, sari ribbon

What you will bring:

One hardcover book, about 6” x 9” with a spine no wider than 2”

A variety of papers, such as book pages, sheet music, ledger paper, graph paper, paper bags, postcards, etc.

Scissors

An old catalog or phone book to use as a book cradle

4 Paper Clips or clothes pins

Bone folder if you have one (I have extras to use)

Optional: beads and charms; Black sharpie or Micron pen; White gellyroll or uniball signo, stamps and stamp pad, stencils; Washi Tape, a piece of ribbon or Sari Ribbon for the closure.