The Only 8 Supplies You Really Need To Make a Junk Journal

If you’re anything like me, the second you discovered junk journals, you probably want to dive in and make one right away! And there are TONS of people selling fancy stuff to make them. It’s all very exciting, but I thought it would be useful to do a quick roundup of the most basic supplies you need, so you have a starting point and can begin already.

I’ll post direct links to get the supplies I use on Amazon, but you can get most of this stuff at a dollar store or craft store near you. Affiliate Disclosure: If you use these links to get your supplies, they give me a small amount of compensation. It doesn’t cost you anything, so if you’re planning to buy from Amazon anyway, click on through!

These are the 8 essential supplies I use in every project:

1. Double-sided tape (the thinner, the better).

2. Acid-free glue sticks. A lot of people recommend tacky craft glue too, and you’ll probably want some eventually, but I find it messy and prefer to use extra-strong glue sticks with double-sided tape around the edges whenever possible.

3. This awl is for poking holes in the paper when you sew it together:

4. Waxed Thread to sew the signatures (groups of folded pages) together.

5. A curved needle, large enough to hold the waxed thread.

6. Ribbon to sew into the spine and mark your page with. Some people would not consider this essential, but it’s so much easier to use your journals when you can easily mark where you left off. I’m going to assume you have item number 7, scissors…

7. Paper-cutting Scissors. The wider the ovals, the better.

8. If you want to have hardcovers on your journals, you can use recycled cardboard from cereal boxes, or folders like these:

Other than these basic supplies, all you really need is any kind of paper, and you’re ready to craft!

(Okay, so maybe that’s technically 9 things, but since the ribbon is optional, let’s call it a day!)

Get your free junk journal tutorial, full of step-by-step instructions and a video link for the tricky bit, to help you get started:

If you have a printer, you may enjoy using a pre-made junk journal kit for your first project.
You can see some examples of printable junk journal kits in my shop, here.
These come in a variety of themes. There are tons of options available on Etsy as well!

And if you want 5 days of beautiful, free printable junk journal ephemera, join The Pegasus Papers, my freebies mailing list, using the form below. The digital gifts I send to my freebie list aren’t available in my shop or anywhere else!

I hope that helped get you off to a quick start. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.