If you've got a stack of old magazines or catalogues sitting around — gardening, quilting, card-making, even carpet — this tutorial shows you exactly what to do with them. I go through my process for turning catalogue and magazine images into journaling spots, pockets, belly bands, tabs, and embellishments for junk journals, all without a printer, without printables, and without spending a thing.
What we cover
This tutorial covers how to cut, back, and finish magazine and catalogue images so they're sturdy enough to live in a junk journal — as journaling cards, pocket inserts, belly band covers, tabs, and focal collage pieces. I also talk through how to use these in journals you're making to sell, including where the line is on how many to include.
What you'll learn
How to select usable images from catalogues and magazines — not every page works, but once you know what to look for, you'll find far more than you expect. Gardening catalogues, cross-stitch catalogues, quilting magazines, card-making magazines, even carpet catalogues have images that translate beautifully into journal elements. The trick is using the original page — cutting directly from the magazine, never scanning and reprinting.
How to back flimsy magazine pages onto sturdier paper — magazine paper is too thin and floppy to hold up on its own inside a journal. I glue mine onto whatever backing I have on hand:
- Scrap tea-dyed paper (the side I don't need)
- White cardboard from packaging
- Cardstock offcuts
The backing does two things: it stiffens the image so it survives being handled, and it gives you a plain surface on the reverse for journaling.
How to use your existing straight edges to minimize cutting — rather than cutting out every image first and then gluing, I arrange images on the backing sheet to make use of the edges I already have. It saves time and reduces the number of cuts you need to make.
How to apply a blanket stitch around the edges with a sewing machine — after the images are glued and dry, I run them through the sewing machine with a blanket stitch that wraps around the cut edge. It holds the two layers together firmly, adds a decorative finish, and means the image and backing won't separate later. The stitch also tends to flatten out any remaining curl from the gluing.
How to tie off and trim thread ends cleanly — I use a pointy tool to guide the knot to the back of the piece before trimming, so the front stays tidy.
How to use finished pieces as different journal elements, including:
- Journaling spots — slipped into a pocket or clipped onto a page with a beaded paperclip
- Belly bands — glued down as a band across a spread, with something tucked behind
- Pockets — the backing makes the image strong enough to be folded and glued as a functioning pocket
- Tabs — a smaller image positioned at the page edge as a divider
- Tuck spots and focal collage images
How to use magazine images in journals you make to sell — because you're using the original printed image and not reproducing it, this is fine. But the approach matters: one or two of these in a sellable journal is enough. They work as accent pieces alongside your envelopes, tags, and handmade elements. The journal shouldn't be built around them.
Tips & gotchas
Use your straight edges. Images that already have a clean cut edge on one or two sides are your friends — arrange them on the backing sheet to take advantage of those edges and you'll halve your cutting work.
Back everything, even if it looks sturdy. Magazine paper is thin enough that a pocket made from an unbacked image will tear the first few times something is put in and taken out. The backing is quick and it makes the difference between something decorative and something functional.
Flatten under weight while drying. Gluing paper to paper will cause curling while it's wet — that's normal. Lay the pieces under a heavy book or a stack of magazines while they dry and they'll come out flat. Running them through the sewing machine afterwards helps too.
The sewing machine is optional. If you don't have one, or don't want to use it for this, a fully glued and dried piece is perfectly usable on its own. The stitching adds beauty and security, but it's not the step that makes this work.
For journals you're selling: one or two is the right amount. Magazine images are someone else's artwork. Using the original is fine, but filling a whole sellable journal with them isn't the right call — practically because it starts to look overwhelming, and out of respect for the original artist. A couple of well-placed pieces alongside your own handmade elements is the sweet spot.
Keep a stash ready to go. I keep finished pieces in a little bag so I always have something to reach for. Making a batch at a time — gluing a full sheet, sewing through it, then cutting — is much more efficient than making single pieces when you need them.
Card-making magazines are worth tracking down specifically. Because the images are photographs of dimensional handmade cards, they already have depth and texture when you look at them — they become a finished little piece of art inside your journal the moment you stick them in. Charity shops and secondhand stores usually have them cheaply, and you might already have a stack at home.
Paired with fabric envelopes, handmade tags, and a good belly band or two, they're one of the quieter ways to make a journal feel genuinely full of things to discover.
