If you've ever wondered what it looks like when years of journal-making finally finds a home on one shelf, this is that video. I recently picked up a new Ikea shelf and for the first time had all of my handmade journals and books in one place — so I sat down and did a complete collection tour, flipping through each one and sharing what went into making it. There are a lot of journals here, and a lot of different directions I've taken over the years: altered books, envelope books, trash-to-treasure projects, nature-inspired bindings, and everything in between.
What we cover
This is a full shelf tour and flip-through of my entire handmade journal collection — from very early makes (some pre-YouTube, some I'm a little sheepish about now) through to recent tutorials. Where a journal was made in a tutorial, the link is in the description box so you can find the step-by-step instructions if something catches your eye. I cover journals made from cereal boxes, junk mail envelopes, milk cartons, cereal bag liners, plastic bags, newspaper, tissue boxes, old books, gift bags, paper bags, fabric, zippers, tree branches, and more — as well as the binding methods and interactive elements that bring them to life.
What you'll learn
How early projects reveal your creative growth — I kept journals from before my YouTube days alongside my most recent work, and looking at them side by side is one of the most useful things I can share. You can see the difference in cover technique, in how I handle colour and texture, in the finishing. You just have to keep making things.
The range of project types that count as a "journal" — across this collection you'll see:
- Altered books (existing books transformed into journals or ideas collections)
- Envelope books using junk mail envelopes, manila envelopes, or side-loading envelopes
- Flip-out books where every page opens outward
- Wraparound binding that lets you remove and swap signatures
- Japanese stab binding and tab binding for single pages
- Coptic stitch binding that lies completely flat when open
- Tunnel books, cascading waterfall books, Turkish map fold books, and scroll journals
- Toilet paper roll journals, tissue box journals, and milk carton mini albums
Why interactivity matters in a handmade journal — a lot of what I make is designed to be discovered. Flip-out pages, removable mini booklets, pockets inside pockets, writing boards, belly bands, little accordion-fold notebooks tucked behind envelopes. I talk through why I build this kind of thing and what it means for actually using the journal versus just looking at it.
How trash becomes the material — specific things I've used across this collection include cereal bag liners (washed, then fused by ironing), bubble mailers, plastic bags (fused into a sturdy material), milk cartons (washed before use), newspaper, tissue boxes, gift bags, paper bags, linen bedding packaging, and old curtains and tablecloths. None of this is precious sourcing — it's what's already in the house.
What faux leather, fabric paper, and handmade paper look like on a cover — I show examples of the cereal-box faux leather technique (and how much I've improved on it since the early version), the DIY fabric paper or paper cloth method that produces a pliable, durable cover material I genuinely love, and handmade paper with cheesecloth texture.
How painting papers work as journal covers and pages — from early bubble-wrap and fingerprint experiments through to more recent household-paint-on-fabric canvases and mono-printed pages. You can see the evolution across journals made years apart.
What a deconstructed journal actually is — the final journal in the tour is my largest piece: a 2-kilo deconstructed journal where everything is kept as separate sections held together rather than bound into a single spine. I walk through what that means and show the magnetised paper pad, the oversized index card sections, the faux rice paper elements, and all the individual booklets inside.
How to use a prototype before filming a tutorial — I mention this in passing but it's real practice: I always make a complete prototype before filming step-by-step tutorials, which is why the filming tends to run smoothly with no fiddling around.
Tips & gotchas
Scroll journals look beautiful stored rolled up on a shelf — but if they sit in that shape for a long time, the paper holds the curve. I've found that leaving the journal flat under something heavy overnight brings it back. The way I'd use one of these is to journal in it while it's flat, then roll and store it once it's finished.
Milk cartons are a genuinely useful material for journal covers and mini album structures, but they need to be washed before you bring them into a project. I show the washing in the tutorial — it's not complicated, it just needs to happen.
With wraparound binding, none of the signatures are sewn in, which means you can remove and switch them out. That makes it a good option if you want to use a cover like a planner and rotate the content over time.
Stab binding is a clean way to bind single sheets of paper without folding them — but it does cost you a section near the spine. For single pages that's not usually a big deal, but it's worth knowing before you commit to a thick cover you can't crease.
If you're making journals to sell at craft fairs, the 12x12 paper journals are genuinely quick to make and look finished. The cereal-bag fused projects and the newspaper folded wallet journals also attract attention because the material is surprising — people don't immediately know what they're looking at.
One thing that comes through across all of these journals: a prototype made off-camera means the tutorial runs without hesitation. If something goes wrong with the technique at the filming stage, I've already worked it out.
The early journals I was almost embarrassed to show are the reason the recent ones exist. A cereal box that becomes a cover, a junk mail envelope that becomes a pocket, a linen packaging box that becomes a 2-kilo deconstructed journal — the material is almost beside the point. The point is picking it up and seeing what it can be. Every tutorial linked in the description box is a door into one of these makes, so if something on the shelf caught your eye, that's where to start.
