There's a story behind the name "TreasureBooks," and this video is where Natasa tells it — along with everything else that shaped how and why she makes journals. The 10 Crafty Questions Challenge gave her a structure to share things she'd never said on camera before: where she grew up, what she carried with her, and why paper means what it means to her.
What we cover
Natasa works through all ten questions of the challenge — her name and background, how the channel got its name, her favorite craft and tools, where she shops for supplies, the YouTube channels that inspire her, and when and why she started making journals. It's personal in a way her tutorials aren't, and it goes places you might not expect.
What you'll learn
How the name "TreasureBooks" came to be — it wasn't a branding decision. Natasa's son watched her working in her personal journal one day and said, "Oh, so it's like a treasure book." That was it. The name stuck because it described exactly what she thought a journal was: a place to keep small moments that make up a whole life.
Why Natasa prefers "treasure books" over "junk journals" — not a criticism of the term, just an honest reflection on what the objects actually are. She understands where "junk journal" comes from, but the word "junk" can obscure what these books really hold.
Where her love of paper comes from, including:
- A calendar given to her by a neighbor during her first year as a refugee in Croatia — one side the calendar, the other side blank paper, and she hoarded every sheet
- A childhood diary she started at age eight in 1991, retrieved years later when she returned to Sarajevo, with her last entry dated April 6, 1992 — the day the war began
- The habit of saving every piece of paper she can still write on, which she traces directly to that time
Why journaling has been, for her, a form of healing — she's specific about this: not journaling as aesthetic practice but as a way of working through fear, reframing difficult experiences, and preserving moments she wants future generations to find.
What her mother made her during their refugee years, including:
- A handmade pencil case with separate compartments for scissors, rubber, and pens — which she still has
- A nearly life-sized cloth doll made from yarn, old stockings, and fabric scraps — which she no longer has, but remembers clearly
Both objects shaped something she comes back to throughout the channel: that something made with care, out of almost nothing, is treasured far more than anything bought.
Why she uses an acetone-based glue as her primary adhesive — after working through a cupboard full of glues she couldn't quite make work, she found one that doesn't warp paper, dries quickly, and lets you rub away any squeeze-out like little rubber erasings once it's dry. It took long enough to find that she considers it a tool, not just a supply.
How her sewing machine fits into her practice — she made journals for about two years before buying one, so she's clear that it's not a requirement. When she did buy one, she bought the cheapest available and has run thick cardboard through it for nearly four years on the same needle.
Where she shops — and why she mostly stopped — thrift stores and resource centers (facilities that collect factory offcuts and sell them cheaply to the public) were her go-to sources. She loved the rush of finding something unexpected. She stopped going when she looked at her storage and realized she had enough fabric, leather, ribbon, and paper to make journals indefinitely. The rush, she noticed, had become its own thing — separate from actually needing anything.
What brought her to junk journal-making — a YouTube recommendation led her to Jenny Doan's planner content, which led to a side recommendation, which led to Jenny Bowlin's channel. Watching someone make something beautiful from a cereal box and an old belt felt, she says, like finding something she'd been looking for her whole life without knowing it.
The YouTube channels that have inspired her most, a list she rattles through with genuine enthusiasm: Cheaply Chic, Tracy Fox, Linda Israel, Crafty Savvy (Sabrina), Serene Bookworks, Lolly Palooza, Nevermore Creations (Jessica), To Silver Oranges, Nick Booksmith, Amber Blooming, and others — most of which she monitors through email notifications so she doesn't miss uploads.
Tips & gotchas
Acetone-based glue is worth tracking down if paper warping has been a frustration for you. The two things that make it different from most craft glues: it doesn't cause paper to buckle or wrinkle, and it dries fast enough that you're not waiting around. The bonus — any glue that seeps out from the edges dries into something you can simply rub away, like eraser crumbs. No smearing, no mess.
If you don't have a sewing machine and you've been wondering whether you need one to make journals — you don't, at least not to start. Natasa made journals for two years before she bought one, and when she did buy one, it was the simplest machine she could find. A sewing machine changes what's possible, but it's not the entry ticket.
On supplies: the thrift-store and resource-center run can be genuinely addictive — Natasa is honest about that. The problem she ran into wasn't spending too much money; it was running out of places to put things. If you find yourself buying supplies faster than you're using them, the storage problem catches up with you before the budget does. She stopped going almost entirely once she took stock of what she already had.
That thread — from a borrowed calendar in Croatia to a YouTube channel in Melbourne — runs through everything she makes. It's worth knowing before you watch any of her tutorials, because it explains a lot about why they feel the way they do.
