This junk journal was made by Wendy. I just love all of her painting, strips of paper and flowers in this book.  Wendy hand sewed the journal together. You can find more of Wendy's art at http://planetscrappymom.blogspot.com/ or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PlanetScrappyMom.

This next one was made by Debbie.  This first slide show is the junk journal before she decorated it.  It's all made from recycled papers and bound with 3 rings.

This next slide show is after Debbie decorated her pages with paint, sketches, stamps and stencils.  You can find more of Debbie's art on her blog at drdunnit.blogspot.com.

The last one I want to share today is made by Betty Molnar. You can find her on Pinterest here.

Hope you liked these different styles of junk journals and I really hope it gives you some ideas.

The next blog post will feature 2 junk journals from a swap I hosted in Scrappy Diva's Facebook group.  One journal will be the one I made for my partner and the other will be the one she made me. 

Thanks for stopping by. I do hope you leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these journals.

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

Next up in the junk journal series is a machine sewn journal with 18 pages, used to document our Spring Break activities this year.  It's a very simple journal that has not been painted and decorated.  It has pictures and journalling. The cover is wall paper.  

The machine sewn seam is reinforced with yellow painters tape.  The lettering and numbers on the front are cut out from magazines and just glued on with Mod Podge.  It's tied together with an old shoe lace. 


Here are some pictures of the inside pages:

In the next blog post, I will share some junk journals that other people have made. There are lots of different styles and fun ideas.  

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the Staycation 2013 journal. 

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000@yahoo.com

Finally!  A page flip of the big huge, awesome, chunky, junk journal made from recycled materials.  This is the 5th in the junk journal series I started in April in honor of Earth Month.  To view the complete set of posts for this series click here.

I hope you enjoy the flip and let me know if you've made a junk journal. I'd love to see it and possibly feature it on my blog in a coming post.

Here is a slide show of the rest of the pages. Click the pictures in the bottom bar or the arrows in the top right corner of the large picture to advance the photo.  

The next blog post will be showing you the inside of this junk journal I made for Spring Break this year.  We didn't go way like we usually do but had fun activities planned for each day.  I'll show you how I added pictures and journaling.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and please comment below and let me know what you think.

Also if you have a minute, check out Emma Goddard's blog here.  My junk journals are featured on there today. Peak around, there are lots of fun things to check out.  

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

Decorating a junk journal can sure be challenging but I have admit, I had the most fun ever decorating this one.  I am sure it would have been easier if I would have allowed myself to use scrapbooking scraps and embellishments but I wanted to stay true to the intent of this series. That intent was to create and decorate a junk journal only using junk, recycled materials, found objects or items from thrift stores or garage sales.  I did this in honor of Earth Month and have had a great time. In fact, this junk journal is my favorite book I have made to date.  

1. Decide on the structure of your book:  What kinds of pages will you have, paper or cardboard?  Will you use envelopes and bags?  What will your cover be made out of?  How will you bind your book?  

My typical junk journals are made out of recycled papers and envelopes. For more information on choosing junk journal papers, see my post here. The covers are usually cardboard or wall paper.  For this book, I decided I was going to use a lot of cardboard as my pages in this book because I wanted them to be thick and sturdy. I also decided to use a lot of envelopes and bags, and that I wanted to use an old interoffice envelope as the front and back cover.  The last decision was to use rings for a binding.  I thought this was the best type of binding method given that I would be using cardboard materials for my pages and would not be able to machine or hand sew them.  For more information on cover options as well as instructions on various binding methods, see my post here.

2. Gather all your materials: I pulled out a variety of different types of cardboard boxes, bags and envelopes. I varied the sizes and shapes. I also used a coffee sleeve, packaging, wallpaper and a toilet paper roll. 

Some examples of found objects I use to create patterns for backgrounds on my base pages:

Collaged pages:  I used recycled papers for collaging some of the cardboard pages that I didn't paint.  Some of the papers included newspaper, phone book pages, dictionary paper, music sheets, magazine cut outs, maps, word search pages, old wrapping papers, napkins, paper towels used to wipe up paint, and foreign language book pages, 

After I collaged my recycled papers down to the cardboard bases using Mod Podge, I got my paint back out and did some spraying and stamping. I also used paint markers to doodle.

4. Add the Extras:  Once all your base pages have been painted and collaged, it's time to add some extras. 


Here are some extras I used to add a fun decorations after my backgrounds were done:

• home made decorative tapes: used making tape and sports tape with paint and stamps, hockey tape
• fun images cut off of packaging 
• flowers made from recycled material, paint chips and scrap fabric
• tags made from recycled materials
• tabs from boxes, paint chips, bread closures
• pockets made from paint chips, sewing two pieces of cardboard together with yarn,  from embossed plastic packaging, old pair of jeans
• pocket page made from sewing wall paper together
• fabric, jean and lace scraps
• yarn and twine

 

5.  Charms:  Besides pony bead I purchased from a thrift store, I used a pop bottle cap, large washer from the garage, old jewelry, bread closure, green twist tie, fabric and jean scraps, and some paper beads to make a couple long charms to hang on the binding rings.  

The next post will be a page flip of this junk journal. You'll get to see every page layout, all decorated.  After that, I have a post on junk journals for kids and to finish up this series, I'll have a post with my favorite recycle/upcycle links and also share some other junk journals that friends of mine have made to give you lots of different ideas.  

I hope you are enjoying this series as much as I have. Thank you so much for stopping by and please leave me a comment. I'd love to know what you think and if you've made a junk journal.

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

BINDING????  Ahhhhh!!!! The four letter word in bookmaking. I know, I know! It's a scary thing but I promise, with a little practice and detailed instructions, it can be mastered.  

In this post we will cover numerous options for binding junk journals including 2 and 3 hole punch, 2 or 3 hole ring binding, hand sewing, machine sewing and pamphlet stitch.

After you've selected all you different papers you will use to make your junk journal, start making a stack.  Alternate with different types of papers, different sizes, and between papers that have pictures and papers that would be good for writing on.  Just keep arranging and rearranging your papers in your stack until you have them the way you like them.    

For more info on what kinds of papers to use in your junk journal, go here to see my detailed blog post.

Here are some suggestions to use for the covers of your junk journals:
Card board boxes - these are great to use with rings, they are really sturdy and can easily be painted.
Heavy magazine covers or catalogue covers
Wall paper (my favorite) - it can also be painted.
Scraps of material or jeans - my next project.  
Book covers from old books

Binding Junk Journals is a lot like binding Daybooks.  I have a series of blog posts that can be found here that show step by step instructions on several different binding methods.  

1. 3 hole punch binding tied with a ribbon in the middle (also known as a pamphlet stitch), and 2 hole punch binding tied with a ribbon:  Detailed instructions found here.  

Pamphlet stitch:  Go here to view a pin in my Pinterest Book Binding board.  The link will take you to a blog that shows a 3 hole pamphlet stitch. It has a nice diagram that shows the order of threading. This blog post also shows a "modified" pamphlet stitch that does not require hole punching.  It's a simple version using scissors and easy to do.  It looks great tied with really wide ribbon.  

This is a link to a ustream video showing how to do the 2 hole punch binding tied with a ribbon.  Side note: it's hilarious!
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23474851

2. 3 hole punch tied with a ribbon at the top, and ring binding: Detailed instructions found here.

Note:  If you like the idea of ring binding, you can use an office 3 hole punch machine instead of a handheld punch. This is super easy and really quick. After measuring the height of your book, set the holes to punch in the middle, and then one inch from the top and one inch from the bottom.  

I really like this method because you can move your pages around.  

3. Hand sewn:  Detailed instructions found here.  This is a very sturdy method of binding.  

Note:  If you don't have a paper piercer, you can use an awl, nail or thumb tack to poke your holes.

4.  Machine Sewing - This is also a really sturdy method of binding.  You can find a great blog post with detailed instructions here.  My friend Yani did this tutorial. She did not use the foot peddle, she just sewed it by turning the needle manually with the hand wheel.  She gives you needle size as well.  I use a denim needle and outdoor polyester thread. When I use regular thread, it seems to break on me quite easy.  

Here are a couple of my machine sewn journals.

I am really enjoying this junk journal series and hope you are too. To read the complete series, go here.  Following posts will be about decorating and filling your junk journals.

Have you tried to make a junk journal? I'd love to see it!

Thanks for stopping by.

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

I know there are lots of different views on what a junk journal is, how you make it and what you make it out of.  For me and for the purposes of this series on junk journals, in honor of Earth Month, the type of junk journal we will be focusing on is one that is made totally from recycled materials and found papers.

What on earth does that mean MiMi?  It means that these junk journals and the ones that will be featured on this blog, this month, do not have any commercial products in them, no decorative papers, no left overs from scrapbooking, nothing...just paper you'd normally throw out, recycle or found papers that you'd pick up during your daily travels and errands. 

used envelopes 
unused return mail envelopes (security envelopes)
junk mail such as postcards and advertisements
brochures left over from travel and vacation
old greeting cards
wall paper (you can get free outdated sample books from the paint store)
wrapping paper
paint chip samples and brochures
packaging from products you have purchased
envelopes and packaging from things you have received in the mail
decorative bags from purchases in stores
boxes: cereal boxes and other food boxes from your pantry
Kleenex boxes (they have great images)
thick corrugated packing boxes
old interoffice envelopes
old file folders
paper grocery bags
old gift bags that you received a present in
pharmacy bags
old recipe cards
old index cards and index card dividers
flash cards
used gift cards
coffee sleeves
empty tea boxes - the designs are usually really pretty
printed on printer paper - something you have printed and are done with
old calendars - purse size, planner size or wall size
catalogues
magazines
tags from new clothing
extra put-put golf cards
old maps
Sudoku or word search pages
old notebook paper or note pads
old journals
left over paper from your kids school notebooks
old book - old school books, books with text, coffee table books with pictures, history books, old encyclopedias, foreign language books, old cook books, old music books, cartoon books, old art books, old poetry books (check thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales and library sales)
 

The next blog post in the series will focus on how to put them together and different binding options.  

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to read your comments on things you use to make your junk journals.



MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

I know there are tons of different versions of junk journals or junque journals out there and man are some of the really beautiful works of art. For some they are altered composition book or journals made from scraps of scrapbooking papers.  For others it refers to what is put inside, junk from ones life.  If you Google or do a search on Pinterest for junk journals, you will find a million different things that are all wonderful but for someone who has never made one before, it can be a bit confusing.  This is my version of a junk journal.

For me, it's simple...the junk in junk journal refers to the materials that go into making the journal (recycled and found papers) and not what you do with it or put in it after you've made it.  Weird, I know and not the popular view either.  I was hard pressed to find some examples of this view anywhere in the internet. I found only a handful.  

Why is my view a different from most? Well I think it might have something to do with the fact that I am a scrapbooker (15 years) and a daily journaller.  My scrapbooking and my journalling tend to intertwine one with another.  My scrapbooks have lots a journalling and my journals have lots of scrapping.  

I don't want to be confined to rules on how to journal and what I can and cannot do in a journal.  If I make a junk journal and just want to write one day, then that is what I want to do. If I want to put pictures in and decorate a page and decorate it like a scrapbook page, then I want to be able to do that.  No rules!  I want the freedom to do what I want in any book, journal or scrapbook I make.  

I have always kept junk, ephemera and memorabilia for daily life. I'm not sure why I am attracted to those kinds of bit of life but I am and love it. I think it's fun to add to any type of journal or any type of scrapbook.

 Making junk journals is really fun and I do hope you give it a try. If you do or have already made one, I'd love for you to share.  Keep your eye on my Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/THEscrapinator5000?ref=hl  this month. We'll have lots of run recycling projects and tips in honor of Earth Month and Earth Day.

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

I have some projects I have been working on over the last few weeks and wanted to do a quick share. The Wedding Planner and Blessings journals are custom orders for customers.  The ATC and Mail Art are for swaps I was in on facebook.  I'll also have a sneak peak of my recent TV shoot and a junk journal I made that will be part of a series of posts in April for Earth Month.

I was asked to make this journal that will be used as a wedding planner.  The bride is having an outdoor wedding, loves owls and bright colors. The journal is made from a composition notebook.  The spine has been painted and the wood paper I used is a printable called "Grunge Planks" by Tsunami Rose Designs.  You can view that printable here.  She creates beautiful printable papers as well as journal kits.

I was asked to make a journal for a customer who wanted to focus on the Blessings in her life.  She wants a journal that she can write down and keep track of all the things that bless her life.  I love the idea and really believe that being positive and grateful are so important so I decided to make two of them. She will select one and the other will be placed in my shop here.  The link it also above in the menu bar. 

The covers are made from old corrugated boxes that I painted and sprayed.  I boud the books with my Cinch.  The letters are Thickers and foam alphas that I sprayed to match.

I don't normally decorate the back of journals other than paint or decorative papers.  I decided to on this one because I had so many flowers left over and was having so much fun with them.

The home made flowers are all made from recycled materials such as music sheets, old book pages, paper towels used to wipe up paint and sprays, used dryer sheets and old jeans my boys grew out of.  I colored all the papers with either Walnut Stain (love that stuff!!!) or my home made sprays made from Rite Dye (Denim Blue) and 91% alcohol. I cut them out using the Sizzix die called Flower Layers.  I cut the leaves out free hand from the jean scraps.  I used some inexpensive crystals for the centers and glued them together and down to the journal with hot glue.

The inside of both the front and back covers were painted and stenciled using the negative from a die cut using Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.  I just love doing that and using those negatives as stencils.  It's a really great way to upcycle and use your scraps instead of throwing them away. One of the journals has cream colored papers and the other has a fun variety of colored papers.

Thanks so much everyone for stopping by. I'd appreciate any comments and feed back you have for me. 


MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000

Here is my February tag: 

Thanks for stopping buy. Hope you enjoyed it and if you are participating, I'd love to see your tag.

MiMi
THEscrapinator5000

I made this daybook for a swap in a facebook group that I belong to and serve as one of the admins.  It's called Scrappy Diva's.  You can check them out here.  

I wanted the book to be more formal than other books I've made so I used black, white and red for the colors. It measures 6 x 6 and is bound with beads using the 3 hole binding method that can be found here on one of my previous binding tutorials.  

The flower is a Prima paper flower that I painted and layered.  I made the art tile. The tutorial can be found here.

There are lots of pockets, tags, and fun size pages that provide plenty of room for pictures and journalling.  I used lace, rose trim, stamping and embossing, washi tape, bird die cuts, and fabric flowers to embellish the book.  The bird die and flower die are Tim Holtz. 

I enjoyed making this daybook. It's very different from my normal style of daybook.  I hope you stop by our awesome Scrappy Diva's group and check out all the awesome art and crafts. 

Up next, my February Tim Holtz tag. Better late than never. 

MiMi Dibble
THEscrapinator5000