If you've ever wanted to add a curated set of handmade journal elements to your practice — booklets, pockets, envelopes, tags, and more — all made from upcycled and repurposed papers, these Treasure Boxes are a look at exactly that. This is a flip-through of the boxes I've put together for my Etsy shop, showing you what's inside each one and how each piece works.
What we cover
A full walkthrough of the Treasure Box contents: every type of handmade element included, how each piece is used in a junk journal or art journal, and what to expect from the "bag of extras" that comes with each box.
What you'll learn
What's in every Treasure Box — each box contains the same types of items, but because everything is handmade, no two boxes look alike. Here's what every box includes:
- A pen loop for the cover of your journal — keeps your pen right where you need it
- A bookmark made from a hand fan
- A flip-down notebook with a small journaling space and two tags
- An over-the-page paper clip bookmark with a handmade flower
- A mini book
- A baggie of five tags (the one shown uses pages from Griffin and Sabine)
- Two fabric clusters in different colors
- A few paper flowers
- Three altered playing cards
- A little paper baggie
- A journal-in-a-box — a magnetized box with a small journal inside, plain white pages, one signature
- A matchbox booklet with a tiny closure
- A sewn pocket envelope made from two photo album pockets — one pocket on each side of the page, two more pockets on the inside, with a handmade tag tucked in
- A larger booklet with a pocket and space for signatures — can be opened two ways, so you can get creative with how you use it
- A flip-down notepad
- A scrappy booklet made from assorted papers
- A journaling booklet
- A four-pocket (potentially five-pocket) fold-out that can be glued into a journal
- A fabric envelope made from a book page covered with see-through fabric
- A pocket made from a junk mail envelope
- A six-pocket booklet (closer to seven, really) made from a 12×12 sheet of paper, filled with bits and pieces for journaling
- A wraparound envelope with journaling space inside — lined paper or coffee-dyed paper, with an original book page image on the back
How the "bag of extras" works — every box also comes with a bag of extras, and this is where each box becomes truly unique. The bag shown in the video includes a Flow magazine sketchbook, eyelash trim and yarn, an assortment of die-cuts, a glassine bag with more shapes, a coffee-dyed and collage-covered altered envelope, sewing pattern paper, stickers, journaling spots, and cardstock pieces in various sizes. Your bag will have different things — that's the nature of it.
How to use the sewn pocket envelope in a journal — this piece is made by sewing two album pockets together. You get a pocket on each side of the spread, plus two inner pockets. Tuck in ephemera, photos, tags, or notes.
How the wraparound envelope works as a journaling element — the envelope wraps around a page and opens to reveal a lined or coffee-dyed interior, with a book page image on the back. Because I'm using original book pages, every image is different.
How the multi-pocket booklet works — made from a single 12×12 sheet, it unfolds to reveal pockets inside and out, pre-filled with paper bits and scraps you can use in your journals.
Tips & gotchas
Every box contains the same types of items — a pen loop, booklets, pockets, the wraparound envelope, and so on — but because everything is made by hand from different papers and embellishments, what you receive will look completely different from what's shown in the video. That's a feature, not a surprise to brace for. It means your box is genuinely one of a kind.
The bag of extras is where the variation is most pronounced. No two bags contain the same combination of things. What you see in the flip-through is one example — yours will have its own mix of die-cuts, papers, fabric trims, and other small goodies.
Most of the elements shown here have their own tutorials on the TreasureBooks channel — the pocket envelope, the junk mail envelope pocket, the 12×12 multi-pocket booklet, and others. If something catches your eye and you want to make your own version, chances are there's a tutorial waiting for you.
Filling up those pockets once the box arrives is half the fun. The multi-pocket booklets, the journal-in-a-box, and the wraparound envelope are all designed to be added to, decorated further, or sewn directly into a larger journal — so they're starting points as much as finished pieces.
Whether you use them as-is, combine them with your own materials, or break them apart for parts — they're built to go straight into your pages.
