How to Make a Junk Journal: Step-by-Step Guide

Creating your first junk journal is a fun and forgiving process. There are no strict rules—but following a basic structure will help you build a sturdy, functional base that can hold layered pages, glue, and interactive elements.

This step-by-step guide walks you through how to make a standard soft-cover junk journal from scratch, using simple materials and junk journaling techniques.

1. Prepare Your Cover

Start by choosing a cover for your book.

Making a junk journal cover is simple, and you don’t need special materials or bookbinding skills. The easiest option is to reuse something you already have. An old binder, a used journal, or a old hard-covered book cover can instantly become the base for your junk journal. These options are sturdy, already bound, and perfect if you want to start quickly without building a cover from scratch.

If you’d rather make your own cover, cardboard works beautifully. A flattened cereal box, cracker box, or any sturdy piece of cardstock makes an excellent base. Cut two equal pieces for the front and back covers, and if you’d like a spine, cut a narrow strip to connect them. This method is lightweight, flexible, and easy to customize.

Once you have your base, you can decorate it however you like. Cover it with fabric, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, or collage elements. You can keep it simple or layer it with lace, labels, tags, or handwritten text. The cover doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be strong enough to hold your pages and reflect your style.

A junk journal cover sets the tone for the entire journal. Whether it’s reused, handmade, or somewhere in between, it’s meant to feel personal, creative, and a little imperfect—just like the journal inside.

You can cover the raw cardboard with fabric, wrapping paper, or an old map using glue to make it look more finished.

See more junk journal cover ideas and how to make a cover step-by-step.

2. Gather Your Pages

Gather your papers and cut or tear them to size. You can include scrapbook paper, envelopes, book pages, wrapping paper, or any paper you enjoy working with. Fold pages in half to create spreads, or leave some pages smaller or uneven for interest.

Collect a stack of varied papers—between 10 and 20 sheets is a good amount for a single “signature” (a group of folded pages).

• Variety is Key: Mix standard lined paper with envelopes, book pages, brown paper bags, and patterned paper.
• Fold: Fold each sheet of paper in half.
• Trim: If some pages are sticking out too far past the cover, trim them down. However, having pages of different sizes adds character to the journal.

3. Assemble the Signature

Stack and arrange your pages the way you want them to appear. This is the time to decide where envelopes, fold-outs, or pockets will go. You don’t need to glue anything yet—just make sure the flow feels right. See signatures

Stack all your folded papers inside one another, nesting them to create a booklet. Place this booklet inside your folded cover. Use a binder clip or paper clip to hold the cover and pages together so they don’t shift while you bind them.

4. Bind the Journal

Once your pages are arranged, bind them together. Simple binding methods include string or twine, binder rings, staples, elastic bands, or a hole-punch with ribbon. The binding should be secure but flexible enough to allow bulky pages. See various binding methods below.

Prepare the Cover
Start with a soft or flexible cover, such as fabric-covered cardstock, thin cardboard, or an upcycled cover. The cover can be folded in half to form a spine if your junk journal is going to be thin. However, if your journal will be thick (multiple signatures or bulky pages), the cover should include a spine section. Therefore, don’t just fold the cover in half—instead, make the cover from three sections: a front cover, a separate spine piece (wide enough for the thickness), and a back cover, then hinge/attach them so the spine has enough room to expand. If your cover is wide enough, you can just fold it into 3 sections. See junk journal cover ideas.

Create the Signatures
Group your journal pages into small bundles called signatures. Each signature is made by stacking and folding several sheets of paper together. Keeping signatures thin helps the journal open nicely.

Punch Holes in the Spine
Along the fold of the cover’s spine, punch evenly spaced holes. Each elastic band will need two holes—one at the top and one at the bottom of the spine—for each signature you plan to add.

Thread the Elastic Bands
Cut elastic cords slightly longer than the height of the journal. Thread each elastic through a pair of holes from the outside of the spine to the inside, then back out again, forming a loop inside the journal. Tie the elastic securely on the outside of the spine.

Insert the Signatures
Open an elastic loop and slide a folded signature into it, positioning the elastic along the fold of the pages. The elastic holds the signature in place without glue or stitching.

Adjust and Add More Pages
You can easily add, remove, or rearrange signatures by slipping them in and out of the elastic loops. This makes elastic binding ideal for junk journals that will grow over time.

Why This Binding Works Well for Junk Journals

• Allows pages to expand as layers are added
• Makes it easy to rearrange or replace signatures
• Works well with uneven, thick, or textured pages
• Requires no sewing and minimal tools

Elastic-bound junk journals are practical, forgiving, and perfect for journals filled with pockets, fabric, and bulky elements—just like the one shown in the image.

This is probably the easiest way to bind the journal. Elastic Bands for flexibility: Punch holes in the spine and run elastic through (Traveler’s Notebook style) or simply use a strong rubber band around the whole book or around each signature. See more binding options for junk journals below.

Once the binding is tied, your junk journal is technically complete and ready for creativity.

5. Start Filling It In

Once your notebook is assembled, you can begin adding layers, writing, and decorations. This is the fun part! Work page by page or jump around—there’s no right order. Junk journals often evolve over time as you add more to them.