If you've been wondering what a fully embellished junk journal actually looks like from cover to cover — every pocket opened, every hidden tag revealed — this flip through walks you through exactly that. The journal started as a naked crocodile mouth structure from a Cheaply Chic kit, and what ended up inside is a sewing-themed collection of tuck spots, flip-down envelopes, mini booklets, glassine bags, fabric tabs, and hand-stitched details that took shape through fifteen minutes of creative play at a time. I made this as a design team project for Cheaply Chic, and it became something I genuinely want to sit with every time I feel stuck.
What we cover
This is a full flip through of a completed, fully embellished junk journal — every spread shown, every interactive element opened. The journal was built from a physical Cheaply Chic kit combined with stash materials, all held together by a sewing theme. Along the way I point to companion craft-with-me tutorials for the more complex pages, so you can see not just what's possible but how it was made.
What you'll learn
How I used a storage pocket at the front of the journal to hold leftover kit pieces — rather than leaving unused embellishments scattered on my desk, everything that didn't get used ended up tucked inside a dedicated pocket at the beginning of the journal, ready to add more later.
How fabric flaps and tabs create interactive page layers, including:
- A fabric flap that lifts to reveal a tag tucked underneath
- Fabric tabs along page edges used as section markers and pull points
- A flip-down panel that opens to a full journaling surface
How hidden envelopes turn a flat page into a treasure to discover — several spreads in this journal have envelopes sitting completely concealed beneath other elements. Opening them reveals lined journaling spots, additional tags, and in one case a page from a paper lovers writing book.
How to use playing cards, book pages, and tea-dyed paper as interactive journal elements, including:
- A playing card framed behind a window that opens out from the page
- Tea-dyed paper folded into a small notebook sewn into the journal's spine
- Book pages repurposed as flip-down journaling panels rather than flat decoration
How to build a multi-layer accordion-style spread — one of my favourite pages in this journal opens once to reveal a notebook, then opens again to show individual pockets holding buttons, a measuring tape snippet, a stamped image, and a tag labelled moments. The whole assembly sits on top of the page and can be removed.
How to make doily booklets as a journaling insert — folded doilies become small booklets that sit inside pockets or tuck spots, adding texture and extra writing space without bulk.
How to hand-stitch words and phrases directly onto paper — the phrase sewing my life together one stitch at a time runs across one page in actual stitching. I have a separate tutorial on this technique and link to it from this video.
How a bulldog clip with a button attachment holds a multi-page hidden journal — one spread uses a decorated bulldog clip to secure a small folded notebook that opens out to reveal tags, a stamped image, a little envelope, and a lined journaling page. It closes back cleanly and sits flush on the page.
How glassine bags work as both decoration and storage — glassine bags from the kit appear in two places: once holding a decorated tag, once holding a small handmade booklet with a printed quote on the cover.
How paper bags become sewn pockets — a small paper bag was sewn down to create a functional pocket holding sewing-themed paper ephemera I plan to add into the journal later.
How to use a printed freebie word sheet throughout a project — the quotes and phrases scattered across the journal came from a printable sheet I link below. I printed mine on sticky paper so the words and phrases are ready to peel and place without any extra adhesive.
Tips & gotchas
Keep a storage pocket at the very front of the journal and put your leftover kit pieces in it the moment you finish a session. It sounds like housekeeping, but it's actually part of using the journal — you'll come back to those pieces later when a page feels unfinished, and you won't spend twenty minutes hunting through your desk.
The fifteen-minutes-a-day approach is worth trying if you feel like you never have a natural stopping point when you sit down to create. Setting a small time boundary made this journal feel manageable rather than like a project that needed to be finished all at once. Most sessions I ran over — but having permission to stop meant I actually started.
If you use the freebie word and quote sheet I link below, print it on sticky paper rather than regular cardstock. The phrases are small and fiddly to glue precisely; on sticky paper they go exactly where you put them, first try.
When you're working with a themed kit and want to add pieces from your own stash, keep the palette tighter than you think you need to. This journal stayed coherent because almost everything traced back to the sewing theme — even when I was improvising. When I wasn't sure whether something fit, I asked whether it could live alongside a measuring tape or a button, and that was usually answer enough.
Crocodile mouth journals can feel overwhelming to fill because the structure itself promises a lot. Start with the pockets and tuck spots that already exist in the binding, then build outward from there. The journal tells you where it wants things before you have to decide.
It's fully embellished, but most of the journaling spots are still empty — and that's deliberate. When I feel stuck or uninspired, I can flip through it, open things up, read the little quotes, find the tags I hid months ago, and come back to the work. A journal like this is as much about the making of it as the writing in it — and if you've been hesitant to start something similar because you're not sure what to fill it with, I hope seeing this helps you just begin.
