If you've been sitting on a roll of contact paper — maybe tucked in a drawer for years, maybe bought on a whim — this video is full of reasons to finally use it. In this first episode of the Quick Inspiration Series, I work through a whole collection of contact paper creations for junk journals and mixed-media projects: pouches, envelopes, flip-down pocket pages, journaling spots, tags, and journal covers. Every project is made from simple materials — mostly book pages, cereal box scraps, and whatever contact paper you have on hand.
What we cover
This is a roundup-style tutorial built around three types of contact paper: clear see-through, tinted semi-transparent, and fully opaque. I show how to use all three to make several different journal elements, including basic book-page pouches, embellished variations, a non-see-through envelope, and a full journal cover with collage decoration — plus a few in-between experiments that turned into happy accidents.
What you'll learn
How to make a contact paper pouch from two book pages, including:
- The plain version — two pages sandwiched between two pieces of clear contact paper, sewn on three sides
- The embellished version — adding washi tape, translucent stickers, or stamps to the pages before applying the contact paper so the decoration shows through
- The no-sew version — gluing three sides shut instead, with the top left open
Why book pages work so well for these pouches — the pages are already the right weight and size, the printed text shows beautifully through clear contact paper, and if two pages stay connected when you pull them from the book, the process is even quicker.
How to work with different types of contact paper — clear and see-through for showing off what's inside, tinted contact paper for a coloured-plastic effect with depth, and opaque contact paper (including decorative furniture-grade vinyl) for envelopes and covers. Each type handles slightly differently, especially when it comes to curling and stiffness.
How to apply contact paper smoothly with minimal bubbles, including:
- Going with the curl of the paper rather than against it
- Peeling back a little at a time rather than removing the whole backing at once
- Smoothing from the middle outward using your whole hand or a finger — not a ruler, which creates more bubbles, not fewer
How to make a contact paper envelope — using a single book page covered in non-see-through contact paper, trimmed, folded, and either sewn or glued shut, with a pointed or shaped flap
How to make a flip-down opening pocket page — using a large book page with a full-bleed image, covered and formed into a house-shaped opening that clips into a journal and gives plenty of journaling space
How to make a journal cover from contact paper and tea-dyed cardstock, including:
- Covering a large piece of material with contact paper (including managing the extra challenge of working with a stiff, heavily curled sheet)
- Sewing around the edges for a finished look, or gluing the edges down if the contact paper lifts
- Adding a collage layer on top using cereal box cardboard covered in black and gold contact paper, stamped images, and brads
How to use embossing with contact paper — running red contact paper applied to tea-dyed cardstock through an embossing folder creates a beautiful textured journaling spot or tag, especially effective for Christmas-themed journals.
Ideas for using these pieces inside a finished journal — clipping pouches into signatures with a paper clip, tucking ephemera into a large front or back pocket, using a flip-down envelope as a built-in storage page.
Tips & gotchas
The single biggest thing that trips people up with contact paper is bubbles — and the fix isn't a special tool, it's technique. Always go with the curl, never against it. And don't try to remove the whole backing sheet at once — peel a little, lay it down, smooth it, peel a little more. Use your hand or a finger to smooth from the centre outward; a ruler feels like the logical tool but it actually increases bubbles rather than reducing them.
If you're applying contact paper to a large surface — a journal cover, say — you'll likely be fighting a stiff, curled sheet. Don't panic. Use one hand to smooth while the other holds the backing down. It doesn't have to be perfect; you can cover a lot of sins with collage on top.
Whatever you put inside the sandwich before applying the contact paper needs to be thin. Stamps, translucent stickers, and flat washi tape all work well. Anything with thickness will create lumps and make it hard to get a smooth application.
If you're sewing the pouches, back stitch at the top of your seam so the thread doesn't unravel with use. A standard universal sewing machine needle goes through contact paper without any trouble — no special needle needed.
If you're not sewing, glue works well: apply glue to three sides, leave the top open, press everything together, and then apply the contact paper over the whole thing in the same way. For journal covers where the contact paper might lift at the edges, a little glue along those edges will keep everything secure before you sew or as a substitute for sewing entirely.
A plain pouch becomes a whole embellished object. An envelope becomes a flip-down pocket. A failed envelope becomes an ephemera holder. The same contact paper technique that makes a pouch also makes a journal cover — just scaled up, with a collage layer on top to make it your own. Old contact paper you've had for years, cereal box scraps, book pages you've been meaning to do something with — it all has a place here.
