Junk Journals.
Junk journals can be creative but they also reminded Carol that God wants to clean up and repurpose our lives.
Accumulated Junk
Junk – those pieces of our puzzle that accumulate faster than we want at times. Purging the junk can take on different forms. Something are easy to recycle or throw things into the trash. Some people find it easier to minimalize what they keep around. But are there things that can go from trash to treasure? Of course there are. What might be trash to you is something another person can use or fits into a collection of old objects that they enjoy.
Creative Junk Journals
But what about other junk? Those pieces of junk mail or receipts or old cards? Is there anything we can do with them other than to add them to the recycle bucket? We could stick them away in a memory box or in the kitchen junk drawer but we could also add in our imaginations and creativity and make a junk journal.
Have you ever heard of such a thing? I’ve heard of it from a few people and then googled it to find out even more. A junk journal, as the name implies, is a handmade book or journal created from a variety of materials. These are usually things we find around the house or recycled materials we use instead of getting rid of them. You can use patterned paper from scrapbook supplies but also things like old sheet music, envelops, brown paper bags, old maps and brochures or even recycle your birthday or Christmas cards.
To make the covers more sturdy you can take a cover off an old, falling apart book or use heavy cardstock or chip board that you cover with fabric, paper or even paint on it. You might even want to use a combination of techniques. There are lots of how-to videos to give you ideas on making the journals and binding them too.
Junk Journals Can Be Unique
A junk journal will be unique every time you make them and can be a way to preserve memories with the personal ephemera you’ve hung on to. Do you have old greeting cards or ticket stubs because you are sentimental like I am but don’t know what to do with them? Incorporate them into a memory junk journal. Give new life to bits and pieces of paper, ribbon, envelopes, and odds and ends.
You can paint, draw, or collage pages to give it your own unique style even if you don’t consider yourself an artist. I’ve been told many times by one of my granddaughters who is an accomplished artist to have fun, play, and don’t be afraid to try new things.
Maybe making your own journal and then writing or drawing or collaging in it seems overwhelming. You can buy an inexpensive blank page book and then decorate the covers and use those bits and pieces of junk to embellish pages. I’ve done this one several times. It gives you more than a journal to write in but not as overwhelming as a full handmade book.
Repurposing Junk
As I thought about repurposing junk in this way and then journaling thoughts, feelings, and memories, I pondered about how God wants to clean up our junk and give us a new life. We don’t have to clean out the junk of our heart first, we just need to give it all to Him and let Him get rid of the excess, repurpose some of the things for His glory, and then give us a new lease on life.
Psalm 51:16 says,
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 139: 23, 24 says, “Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
2 Corinthians 5: 17 says,
“If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
We all have pieces around our homes that can be called junk, at least for short periods of time. We can choose to throw it out, shove it into a junk drawer, or grab our creativity and have some fun transforming it. We also all have junk that hides in the corners of our hearts and minds and only God has the power to search it all out and create in us a clean heart, repurpose our lives, and turn the junk into something amazing.
How do you think you are creative? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Carol Harrison
Listen to Carol’s program Puzzle Pieces Of Life or visit Carol’s website carolscorner.ca
Carol Harrison B.Ed is a speaker and published author with one book, Amee’s Story and stories in twelve anthologies. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and ability levels find their voice and reach their fullest potential.
She knows, through personal experience that some of life’s experiences are tougher than others. She encourages people that even in the twists and turns of life God’s amazing grace provides hope.
She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband Brian. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren.
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Images courtesy of:
Scrapbook – Darkmoon_Art
paint – ulleo
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