Make a beautiful vintage writing junk journal with pretty papers and gorgeous ephemera that you won’t be able to stop flicking through. You can customise to exactly how you want it, so if you prefer a less chunky book you can keep ephemera to a minimum. Or you can stuff it like crazy as I did!
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This journal is made using a printable kit from Vectoria Designs on Etsy. I followed her Youtube video and adapted it to make my own version.
Materials to Make this Vintage Writing Junk Journal
- Vintage Writing Junk Journal Kit from Vectoria Designs
- 2mm Greyboard (if you don’t have this you can use cardboard from packaging) – 14cm x 20.3cm (x2 for front and back covers) and 3cm x 20.3cm for the spine. Plus a piece 19.5cm x 2.5cm for the inner spine to bind the pages to.
- Duct tape
- Mock leather tape
- Glue stick
- Strong wet glue
- Double-sided tape
- Kraft card – 160gsm
- Printer paper – 80gsm
- White card – 160gsm
- Bone folder
- Waxed thread and needle
- Awl
- Metal ruler
- Pencil
- Sticker paper (optional)
- Craft Knife
- Scissors
- Circle punch – 1 inch
- Printer
- Metal corners and Metal hardware for the front (optional)
Print and Assemble the Pages of the Vintage Writing Junk Journal Kit
Print the pages from the vintage writing junk journal kit on 80gsm paper front and back and cut out. I printed on the best quality in the printer settings.
There should be 24 sheets (48 sides) to provide 3 signatures.
Assemble papers into 3 piles (8 sheets in each).
Fold papers together using a bone folder.
Trim all signatures together using a metal ruler and a craft knife to get a crisp edge. Use a paperclip to keep all papers together while trimming.
The size of each of my pages is 18.2cm x 11.5cm.
*Note that there may be some white edges. I had some on mine as the printer didn’t align the front and backs perfectly. You could cover this with some ink.
Make the Cover
The beauty of making books is that they can be made in many different ways. This vintage writing journal is no different. This is how I made mine.
Print a full-size A4 page x2 from the Vintage Writing Junk Journal Kit. I chose a nice brown floral design. I printed mine on self-adhesive sticker paper as it saves time glueing later. But you can just print on 160gsm card and stick on using glue stick/double-sided tape if you prefer.
Cover the 2 larger pieces of greyboard with the self-adhesive paper or card.
Arrange the 2 pieces of card you just covered with the greyboard piece that measures 3cm x 20.3cm. Leave a space of a couple of mm between the pieces to ensure that the cover can bend properly.
Use duct tape to stick the covers and spine together.
Add the mock leather tape on the top of the duct tape to cover. Use glue to attach it to the covers.*
Cover the last piece of greyboard strip in the same design as the cover.
*A little note here about the mock leather tape. The tape is self-adhesive but it will need glue adding on top of it to ensure it sticks to the duct tape and board. The morning after I attached mine it had peeled on the front. I had to lift it up and apply some strong glue. Save yourself the hassle and apply the glue when you first attach it to the cover.
Sew the Pages
There are many ways to sew pages into a book. I used the 3 hole pamphlet stitch. It’s best to watch a youtube video that demonstrates this method a couple of times before you have a go yourself. This 5-minute video will guide you through the process. Once you have done it once you will realise how easy it is.
Before you go ahead and sew the pages you need to make holes in both the signatures (the 3 sets of paper you have set aside) and the strip of grey board that will be adhered to the spine after sewing.
To make the holes you can create a template if you like. This will be helpful if you are creating many of the same books. I didn’t use a template.
You will need three sets of holes to accommodate the 3 signatures that you created earlier. As we are using the 3 hole pamphlet stitch there will be 3 holes for each set. Use a pencil to mark where the holes will go. I used the following guidelines. 5cm each from top and bottom and a hole in the centre for the middle signature. Then 5cm from the right and left for the other two signatures.
Use this as a guide to mark the holes on the spines of the paper too. Using the awl, and something underneath like scrap cardboard from packaging, punch holes in both the inner spine and the paper.
To sew the signatures in start from the back to the front (i.e right to left). Make sure that the thread is pulled tight but take care not to tear the paper. Check that you have sewn through the correct holes before you knot and snip the excess thread. Repeat with the next two signatures.
Finish the Inner Cover
Now we need to attach the inner spine of sewn pages to the inner cover. I added double sided tape on the sewn section and also some wet glue. This needs to be stuck on really well so use a strong glue.
Cut 2 pieces from the kraft card (160gsm) 19.3cm x 13cm. attach double-sided tape and stick to the inner front covers. If you don’t have, or don’t want to use, kraft card you can just go ahead and use any of the pretty papers (print on 160gsm card) from the kit as your inside covers.
Make Envelopes for the Inside Covers
Pockets are great to add to junk journals to pop extra little bits in. I added two envelopes to the front and back covers that were very simple to make. Just print out a full-size sheet of a design that you like from the kit on 160gsm card. Then trim to the size of 17.cm x 25cm, score at 10cm and 21cm and fold along the score lines. Use the circle punch to create a half-moon cut out in the envelope.
Use the kraft card to cut a size 10cm x 4cm (x 2 pieces) and score every 1cm. Concertina fold that piece of card. Attach this to the sides of the envelope with glue/double-sided tape. This helps create a pocket that can be stuffed with more things. If you don’t want that you can just glue the sides together with double-sided tape or a glue stick.
To create an enclosure, cut 6 circles from the 160gsm kraft card. Use a 1 inch circle punch or cut by hand. Glue 3 pieces together to form one faux ‘button’. Use the awl to punch 4 holes in the circles in a faux button design. Sew with waxed thread to attach the button to the envelope. Repeat this process again to add another button to the flap of the envelope. Wrap thread around the buttons to create the enclosure.
Attach the envelope to the inner front cover with double sided tape. Make another envelope for the back cover if desired.
You now have your basic vintage writing journal completed. You can leave it how it is and start using it now. Or you can add further embellishments and ephemera that come with the kit.
Add Ephemera
The vintage writing junk journal comes with plenty of pages of ephemera that can be added to this journal. Cut them out on 160gsm card and get as creative as you like with your designs.
I made lots of cute little things such as pockets, mini notebooks and notepads, plenty of journaling spots and secret areas for writing. Just play with the kit and let yourself be creative.
And don’t forget to keep your scraps as there will be plenty of things you can make with them for other projects.
Add Finishing Touches
I love finishing books with metal embellishments. This vintage writing junk journal got the special treatment with beautiful bronze metal book corners and a bronze plate on the front. The book looks more professional and is more durable.
I had so much fun making this journal. Now what to use it for??? So many ideas! Oh, and by the way, it lies completely flat so it will be great for writing in!
You can purchase the vintage writing junk journal here and get started on creating your own cute book.