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JUNK JOURNALING ESSENTIALS: COZY COLLAGE
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items If you're looking for a fun, creative outlet, this is it! Junk journaling is the ultimate low-pressure way to be artistic. This list has all the best aesthetic materials and clever tools you need to get started making something totally beautiful and ...
Sections
3
The Aesthetic Must-Haves
The Toolkit & Foundation
Layers, Textures, & Writing
The Aesthetic Must-Haves
Martina Calvi is a must-follow for this aesthetic! Her sticker sheets are the best for layering, they're high-quality, perfectly vintage, and give you that instant polished look you see on Instagram.
Martina's Tiny Store – TINYSTORE
This is a huge TikTok trend right now! These clear stickers look like delicate dried flowers, and you can layer them right over text or paper without blocking the background. So pretty!
Pressed Flower Stickers Clear
Tim Holtz is the king of vintage junk journaling. These packs are full of amazing reproductions of old tickets, labels, and ads. Instant vintage aesthetic, no thrifting required.
Ephemera Pack - Snippets by Tim Holtz, 111 pcs
Okay, this is extra, but it's so worth it for a finishing touch. Use it to seal a little pocket or an envelope in your journal. It makes the whole project feel incredibly luxurious and intentional
CRASPIRE Butterfly Wax Seal Stamp Kit 25mm
Grabbing a cheap set of real, canceled vintage stamps is the easiest way to add tiny bursts of color and history to a page. They look so cute glued into a corner—total aesthetic booster.
Vintage Stamp Set
The Toolkit & Foundation
This is my favorite sturdy journal for mixed media. The paper is thick enough to handle glue and light paint without too much bleed-through. Plus, the covers are adorable!
Dingbats Wildlife Dotted Writing Journal A5
Skip the cheap glues! UHU is the best because it holds strong without warping the paper or making your pages look bubbly. It's the only one I trust for clean collage
UHU Glue Stick 1.41 oz White Pack of 12
Perfect for quickly tacking down photos or smaller layers when you don't want the mess of a glue stick. It’s clean, fast, and great for quickly making pockets and tags
Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive Applicator
If you cut out tiny images (like flowers or figures), these small, super sharp scissors make detailed cutting way less stressful. No more awkward corners!
Tonic Studios - Scissors - Pro Cut 5" - 2646e
A simple tool that makes everything look more professional. Punching the corners of tags, photos, or journaling cards gives them a soft, vintage feel.
We R Memory Keepers 3 Way Rounded Corner Punch
Use a brown or black distress ink pad (Vintage Photo is my fave!) to lightly smudge the edges of your paper. It instantly makes new paper look old and moody,a must-do hack
Tim Holtz Distress® Oxide® Ink Pads
Layers, Textures, & Writing
(The finishing details)
You can never have too much washi! Use it to attach small items, create borders, or just add a pop of subtle color. I love the neutral sets for that vintage look
Washi Tape Set
Find a pack of old sheet music on Etsy! The aged color and delicate lines make the best layering pieces. It adds so much immediate texture to your pages.
Vintage Sheet Music
These are the best pens for journaling because they don't smudge or bleed through the thin papers. I use the fine tips (01/03) for writing dates and small notes.
SAKURA Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens - Black
Use small, aesthetic bulldog clips (gold or copper are my favorite!) to clip tags, receipts, or small envelopes right onto your pages. It makes the whole thing feel functional and cute.
Bulldog Clips
Stop throwing out birthday cards! They're free, personalized ephemera. Cut them up for cool quotes or use the images for collage focal points. Super easy.
Vintage Greeting Cards