A junk journal is the perfect personal project for the new year and uses up all that leftover wrapping paper! …
Lilly Higgins’ book, The Homemade Year, Things to Make, Do And Eat At Home to Welcome Every Season, is brimming with ideas for slow-living, self-care and sustainability. A junk journal is a bound book created with scrap paper and things that might otherwise end up in the recycling bin – a creative way to avoid paper waste. You can add mementos throughout the year for a journal to reflect on by Nollaig na mBan. She recommends a “crafternoon” for all of the women in your life to come together today, which we can get behind …
“The new year is the perfect time for a fresh start, setting out intentions for the coming months. Manifesting and making plans happen. It’s a time of hope and I have some lovely projects to make that happen, from making your own kombucha to ensure good health to making your own calendar and journal.”
What You’ll Need:
– Scrapbook paper, tea-dyed papers, wrapping paper, old book or magazine pages
– Cardboard or cereal box card for the cover
– Scissors
– Glue
– Bulldog clips to hold the paper in place
– Needle
– Embroidery thread
Method:
1. Fold all your pages in half. Tear the pages to size, measuring them by eye as you go. The more organic and relaxed the style, the better. Cut any pages that don’t suit being torn.
2. Compile them into signatures: collections of four folded sheets. Sit the pages of each signature into one another to make ten in total.
3. Measure the card to make the cover; it should be slightly larger than the signatures. Glue an extra strip of card or paper to the spine to make it stronger.
4. Find the centre page of each signature. Make sure the pages are all evenly placed and lined up. Clip one side and mark where you want to place 3 holes evenly down the centre crease of the pages – one in the centre and one either side. Then poke holes and corresponding holes in the spine with the needle.
5. Thread the needle through the middle hole in the first signature, then place the signature into the cover and thread through. Thread through the holes either side, and finally thread through the middle hole again and tie the thread ends together tightly. The signature is now sewn into the cover. Repeat with the remaining signature.
Top tips:
– Look in charity shops for old books that have interesting pages that you can use.
– Dye your paper by spattering it with string tea, or paint over the pages with a thick brush. Leave to dry, then iron with a piece of fabric over it or flatten by placing a heavy book on top.
– Add little pockets and sleeves in which to stash photos or keepsakes.
The Homemade Year by Lilly Higgins is published by Gill Books. @lilly_higgins_
