If you've been curious what a junk journal can look like when it's truly all-in-one — not just a place to write, but a home for ephemera, envelopes, tags, pockets, and secret journaling spots all bound together — this is that journal. This is a flip-through of a completed chunky three-section handmade book, and there's a lot to take in.
What we cover
This flip-through walks through every section of a finished junk journal built around three distinct parts: two large envelopes stuffed with ephemera and embellishments, a central accordion book section packed with pockets, tags, journaling spots, and secret fold-out sections, and a sewn journal section at the back made from coffee-dyed, tea-dyed, embossed, and vintage paper. Along the way I point out how each element is made and link out to companion tutorials for the techniques involved.
What you'll learn
How the three-section structure works — and why it holds together The first and last sections (the envelopes and the journal) are sewn directly into the cover. The middle accordion section is bound in separately using a twine binding method, which lets it sit differently in the book and gives the whole thing that satisfying chunky feel.
What the accordion section can hold, including:
- Pockets filled with tags, doilies, journaling cards, and loose embellishments
- Wrap-around vellum pouches (with a separate tutorial linked in the video description)
- Altered paper clips and simple gold paper clips for use in the journal
- A multimedia altered tag, embossed cardstock pieces, and cluster embellishments
- Printed word and quote sheets (again, companion tutorial linked below)
How the secret journaling sections work There are two of them — one hidden in the accordion section, one on the reverse side of it. Both fold out and open up into a private writing space that doesn't announce itself when the book is closed. It's one of those details that feels genuinely special when someone finds it.
What goes into the envelope sections The two opening envelopes hold a curated collection of ready-to-use ephemera: postcards, paper bags, book pages, newspaper pages from 1909, large rectangular doilies, large cards, small journaling cards, and a connectivity activity sheet for coloring and making badges. The idea is that everything you need to sit down and journal is already there inside the book.
How the journal section is put together, using:
- Coffee-dyed paper (made ahead — the smell fades but the color stays)
- Tea-dyed paper
- Embossed scrapbook paper
- Dictionary pages and book pages
- Cardstock, vellum, and wallpaper scraps
- Sewn-in ribbons, lace, and strips along the spine edge
How the spray-painted leaf and flower pages are made I lay leaves and natural objects directly on paper, spray paint over them, and lift them off. The result is a beautiful negative-print tag or page that works as a journaling spot or a decorative element. There's a dedicated tutorial on this one linked in the description.
How the closure and clip work The closure is seam binding. The decorative clip on the front is removable — it's not permanently attached, so whoever uses the journal can take it off and use it elsewhere if they want to.
Why I left the book plate blank Usually I write "Journal" on the bookplate, but for this one I left it empty on purpose. Whoever has it gets to decide — their name, a year, a theme, a word that means something to them. It makes the book genuinely theirs from the first moment.
Tips & gotchas
The blank book plate is worth doing intentionally, not just as an afterthought. When you leave it empty, you're giving the person who receives or buys the book a real invitation to claim it as their own — whether they write their name, a year, a theme, or just a word that feels right. It's a small thing that lands well.
Coffee-dyed paper is beautiful and it photographs beautifully, but the coffee smell does fade. If you're making these papers ahead of time (which I often do, just to have them ready), don't worry that the scent will disappear by the time the book is finished — it will. What stays is the warm toned color, and that's what matters.
When you're building the accordion section, it's easy to keep adding pockets and pouches indefinitely — I speak from experience. At some point you have to make a decision to stop. Stuffing every last pocket before the book is done makes it harder to photograph, harder to film, and harder for the eventual owner to make it their own. Leave some of the pockets lightly filled or empty so there's room for someone else's ephemera to find a home there.
If you're using the twine binding method to attach the accordion section, that's what gives the middle section its independence from the sewn sections on either side. It's a different structural logic, and it's worth understanding why before you start — the middle section needs to flex and fan out in a way the outer sections don't.
The combination of the ephemera storage, the journaling space, and the hidden sections in the accordion is what makes it feel different from a standard junk journal. I've linked tutorials for the wrap-around vellum pouches, the spray-painted flowers, the printable word and quote sheets, and the cover construction in the video description — so if any one element catches your eye, there's a place to go deeper with it.
