Junk journals, bullet journals, altered books, etc.

I don't. I feel like this requires a level of artistic creativity that I don't have. I do enjoy looking at them, though.

I used to, and I'm gearing up to again. First I'm in the middle of a card background process where I'm reminding myself of mixed media techniques, and gathering supplies and ideas, then I'll update my supplies a bit.

My personal journal is scrapbook style and mixed media style.
I have quotes, my writings and thoughts, bucket list, etc... in it.
Originally it started out as neat and orderly (type written words), but in 2019? or 2020? .....I deconstructed it and have been copying what I have previous written and hand writing it.

I am writing...sort of a book >> a self care....sort of guide book. It's still in the compiling phase, but I intend for it to be scrapbook style and mixed media style.

I don't do that, but I did start an 8x8 album for my favorite things. I snap photos of drinks, desserts, scenery, hobbies - whatever! Then I scrapbook in my smaller album. I need to start playing with mixed media in that album. I also use any ephemera I pick up, such as the band that goes around my coffee cup from Caribou Coffee or other local shop.

Historically, I was a “whatever I want” kind of scrapper. As a kid I hung positive quotes, pretty images, cool color schemes, etc. on my walls with my pictures. Then I started keeping them in folders and eventually migrated to books.

I started scrapbooking so I’d have a home for everything. Then I started collecting pretty papers and embellishments and designing for stores/shows/classes and my pages started looking like traditional pages.

I’ve returned to the hobby long removed from any design aspects requiring I showcase product. This sense of freedom has made the hobby much more enjoyable for me. I keep saying I want to get into art journaling but I think I’m really saying I want to get back to my roots and putting whatever I want on a page. I want to mix everything up occasionally but I wouldn’t necessarily classify my resulting pages as mixed media or place them within the art journal realm.

me me me.. I am just dipping my foot into the junk journal world.  I LOVE LOVE it.  I guess I have kinda always did it in a way... but then I went to the traditional what we call scrapbooking, 12x12 type stuff.  I kinda got bored with it?? I don't really know, but not enough to give it up.  Then one day I just bought a plain old sketch book and made these little pages, mostly no pictures, but fun stuff. Now that has evolved into small theme type books.   I have been using my hoarded supplies of scrapbook papers, embellishments and so forth.  BUT I have also bought thin papers from Temu or where ever for these small books.  

THEN I started keeping an eye out at garage sales and estate sales and have picked up tons of old magazines, unused books (like the old scrapbooks with the black pages, wedding albums, etc).. and found a couple of old dictionaries for pages. Old books with cool graphics and just misc papers that are old and fun (like graph paper, ledger paper, envelopes).  My most fun cheap purchase has been at Goodwill where they bag up a bunch of postcards, cards, index cards, envelopes and sell for like 2.50.  I keep what I want and recycle the rest. It's so much fun to see what there is.  My last package was a bunch of beautiful floral envelopes.  

I haven't had the nerve to actually make a book yet, but I think I'll get there soon.  I keep watching live videos on TT and how to videos on YT.  

I quit scrapbooking quite a while ago. I then moved on to card making to continue using my supplies.

Then, late last summer after the loss of two of my dogs, I lost my motivation and was struggling to be creative. I just didn’t have it in me to make cards like I had been. One night I was perusing YouTube videos about junk journaling, art, journals, etc., and stumbled on “ glue booking”. The idea of just gluing things into a book with no rules, no stress, anything goes mentality really appealed to me. Glue booking allowed me to be as random or a structured as I wanted to be, use anything and everything paper crafting to make books that were personal and meant something to me and only me.

Over the months, as I watched more videos, joined more Facebook groups, I discovered simplified paper collaging, frequently using themes and/or prompts. It was more structured than glue booking, but not as demanding as many of the collage artists work. I have one particular artist, that I love to follow her prompts. I really like that she uses small, handmade books, old books, notecards, tags, etc. she provides instructions, prompts, and yet, she’s very adamant about doing what you want to do and putting your own spin on it.

I think I have found a way to express myself with a limited amount of artistic ability needed, yet I find it relaxing, satisfying and enjoyable.

I think this idea of gluing random things in a book is the new scrapbooking in some respects. It is the trendy thing to do now and just going to big box stores like Joann, you see items that are specifically marketed toward it. Just this last weekend, my 13 year old niece showed me her “chunky journal” that she started after she saw the idea on Tik Tok- it was a notebook she had collaged all sorts of random things in. Stickers I’ve given her through the years, bits of paper, quotes. It was essentially a junk journal, without the vintage elements that often go hand in hand with those projects.

The shift to this kind of papercrafting is very humorous to me because lots of people seem to enjoy how unstructured and fun it is, compared to traditional scrapbooking. I have heard many people say that it is a chance to play without the pressure of making a structured, organized layout and are transitioning to that format from scrapbooking layouts. But, I did the exact opposite!

I have always written in notebooks and glued bits in but started what I called journaling consistently when I was maybe 10 and have kept with it all these years. They are all numbered and I’m on number 84 now. It started like a daily journal with just words and the occasional stickers or magazine clippings. I just kinda made it up and liked the idea of documenting my life through words and bits of life. Nobody knew I did it and I hadn’t met anyone else who did until I started college and had a roommate who did it too. That was a big aha moment for me as we would journal together and often do little paintings, collages, and more “art journal” type pages. The journals became a catch all for anything I wanted to do. Drawings, paintings, quotes, playing with paper and color, a bit like a “commonplace book” without the structure. Imagine my surprise when I saw Smash books at a Michael’s and realized other people did this too! This eventually led to my discovery of project life which combined my love for journaling, documenting, and paper-play with my photography hobby. It wasn’t until way into my pocket page and mini-album journey that I ever made a traditional scrapbook page!

I still continue with my pocket pages and my journals and it all ebbs and flows. But I see so many creators starting creative journals (Heba has made a huge transition to that type of creating from scrapbooking) and talking about ideas for pages and things to add and it just makes me chuckle inside because YES! It IS fun! Where was everyone when I was doing this alone, in private!? I worked at Michael’s for many years in college so I was able to pick up so many supplies for my journals. I would also go to thrift stores and get older supplies and books, any free magazines that were offered, any life ephemera. I have SO much now that it seems to be so easy to access that I have no need or desire to buy the newer journal marketed stuff. But past me would have been absolutely BESIDE herself with all the options. Now I spend my money on more traditional scrapbook supplies even though I don’t do too many traditional layouts. Some of the supplies don’t work as well in pocket pages so I would love to try to incorporate it into my journals instead. But my journals are private and my albums are not and in my brain, the stuff I spent more money on should be showcased in the public albums. The free life ephemera feels like it should be reserved for the private journals. But I have too much to ever use up. This is what I have struggled with for years now. I would like to see these new journalers use more scrapbooking supplies in a junk journal-esque way. I don’t really add photos in my journals so it feels weird to use those types of products without photos. Any suggestions of journalers who use those products without the page looking like a scrapbook layout missing pictures?

I do make the occasional junk journal--usually for a specific purpose. Some short term goal I'm working on and need or want to write things down in relation to it, or sometimes for a fun sort of scrapbook--like a week in the life, or a pic a day for a month, or a December Daily or something like that.

I've done Dec. albums in a junk journal before and had a lot of fun with it and am thinking of doing it again this year.