If you've been thrifting for craft supplies and walking away unsure whether you grabbed the right things — or walking away with too much of the wrong things — this video is for you. After years of op-shopping for journal making, I've worked out exactly what to look for and, just as importantly, what to leave behind. In this haul I share what I picked up on a recent trip, organized into eight specific categories, with honest notes on what I'd buy again and what I regret.
What we cover
This is a thrift haul organized around eight categories of finds for journal making and bookbinding: books (for harvesting pages and covers), tools, paper and card stock, embellishments, doilies and fabric, containers and storage, jewelry and findings, and art supplies. For each category I show what I bought, what I paid, and how I plan to use it — including a few honest "I probably shouldn't have bought this" moments.
What you'll learn
How to evaluate secondhand books for journal making, including:
- Illustrated vs. photographed images — why illustrated pages (botanical drawings, paintings) cut more beautifully and hold up better in journals
- How to check whether pages are stitched or glued at the spine before buying — glued pages can't be pulled for signatures
- Why foreign-language books make beautiful collage and page material, and why it's worth reverse image searching them first so you know what you're actually buying
- What to look for in coloring books — mandala books especially, because tea-dyed pages become ready-made paper doilies
What makes a tool worth buying secondhand — tools keep giving over and over, unlike consumable supplies. A die-cut machine, a gem-setting tool, a clay extruder repurposed for mark-making: these are all better investments than a pack of die cuts you'll use once. I show a few specific finds from this trip and talk through how I evaluate whether something's worth the price.
How to use waxed bookbinding thread found at op shops — these vintage-style cords are occasionally hiding on shelves and are genuinely useful for binding signatures. Worth grabbing whenever the price is right.
What to look for in the paper category, including:
- Kids' scrapbooks stapled (not glued) — once you remove the staples, you have large sheets that can be tea- or coffee-dyed and used as journal pages
- Manila folders as versatile card stock — for journal covers, page bases, matting, and tabs
- Letter sets with matching envelopes — fold the writing paper straight into the envelopes and you have ready-made tuck-ins for journals
- Gratitude journals and small notebooks — worth buying for the pages alone if they're stitched, not for daily use
How to use embellishments from op shops, including:
- Brads — large ones especially, and how to cost them out per piece to check you're actually getting a deal
- Paper flowers — how to layer them with crocheted or knitted doilies (cut from old tablecloths) and a DIY brad for a quick, beautiful embellishment
- Wooden and metal word pieces — beautiful on journal covers at a fraction of craft-store prices
- Tiny gift tags — how I glue them to the edge of a page as a tab with a loop to hang a charm from
- Die cuts — worth buying as a bag if you can see at least one thing you genuinely want
How to use handkerchiefs as journal pages — iron flat, fold in half, and they become a soft fabric pocket page. I show a real example in my shabby chic journal where one handkerchief gives two pockets.
What to look for in the jewelry and findings category, including:
- Necklaces with multiple individual charms — more useful than single pendants, because you can pull one charm at a time as needed
- Pieces that can become journal closures — I show my Halloween journal and my shabby chic journal, both closed with secondhand necklaces
- Fishing findings and jump rings — useful for attaching tassels and charms to spines
How to assess grab bags before buying — the rule I use: there needs to be at least one item I can clearly see and genuinely want before the bag comes home with me.
Tips & gotchas
The single most useful instinct I've developed after years of thrifting: if you pick something up and start talking yourself into it, put it back. "Oh, I could maybe use this as... or maybe if I... possibly for..." — that's a no. A yes feels different. You know immediately.
Check book spines before buying. If pages are glued rather than stitched, you can't remove them cleanly for signatures. You can still use the book for images and covers, but know what you're getting before you pay.
Tools over supplies, almost every time. A mark-making tool, a die-cut machine, a gem-setter — these live in your craft room for years and keep producing. A pack of specialty stickers is gone in one project. When I'm weighing up an unfamiliar find, I ask: is this something I use up, or something I keep using?
Pinking shears bought secondhand will likely need sharpening before they work on fabric — but they're perfectly fine on paper as-is. Worth knowing so you're not disappointed.
Puff paints, specialty glazes, and art supplies with a very specific use: skip them unless you can answer the question "exactly when and how will I use this?" right there in the aisle. I've had puff paints sitting in my stash for years. I bought them in the "acquiring phase" — the stage where you're accumulating ideas rather than actually making things. It's a real phase, and it produces a lot of purchases you eventually regret.
Don't pay op-shop prices for things available brand new at the same price from chain stores. Some items end up in charity shops still in their packaging, priced identically to what you'd pay at a discount store. Brand new is better than secondhand at the same price — full stop.
Once something comes home, it's very hard to let it go. There's a reason shops encourage you to hold things — the moment something is in your hand, emotional attachment begins. Being selective at the shop is much easier than being selective later.
What I've found is that the longer you do this, the shorter your list gets: fewer categories, higher standards within each one, less time spent in the "maybe" zone. The video on 10 free things to use in junk journals pairs well with this one if you want to go further in that direction — everything there costs nothing at all.
