Filling a Junk Journal. My 'Summertime 2014' album *Part 2*: strengthening a page for binding

Hello again.

This summer I'm sharing the pages from my current junk journal to demonstrate one way of making a record of your days from paper, card, scraps and bits!

[If you've purchased a Junk Journal Bits pack, or a kit, or any of my Plundered Pages packs ... all the ideas can be applied to those.]

All the posts -so far- which feature this particular journal can be found here:

• Part 1: Inside my Summertime 2014 Journal 

Today we'll continue to look at ways to get that journal filled up .... in creative and thrifty ways!

How To: add a decorative edge to strengthen ephemera pages

From time to time you'll find a sheet of paper or scrap of ephemera that you'd like to use as a page in your book and yet ... it might also feel a little too thin to hold up to having holes punched into it and being flipped over on the book rings all the time.

You could strengthen it by backing it with card/ another sheet of paper .... but if there's something interesting on both sides then you won't want to hide one of them!

So, next time you're faced with that dilemma ... or even if you're just looking for a fun way to bind any sheet of paper OR even just make a sheet larger ... this is for you ....

What you'll need:

• a page / piece of ephemera / paper bag / scrap that you plan to use as a page or feature in your album
• two strips of paper in a heavier, more sturdy, weight
• a glue stick
• a hole punch

What to do:
Erm ... I'd hate for this to sound patronising but this is so simple I might not be able to avoid it .... let's see ...

You simply:

• Cut 2 strips of heavier paper approximately the same height as your thinner page. I used patterned scrapbooking paper.
• Glue one of them to the front of your page and the other to the back sandwiching the flimsy ephemera in between the sturdier strips.

• To make the page larger extend the paper strips beyond the edge of the existing page [my page was torn from an unused diary].

• Next punch holes in the strips and slide on to the book ring binding inside your journal.
• Finally, feel self-satisfied for a while ... then add a photo, journaling, collage, or nothing to your page depending on what it was for.

Here are a few more examples of where I've used this technique in my summer journal. This one, like the one above, made use of the two-for-one patterns provided by that little decorative patterned strip you get on a full sheet of scrapbooking paper:

And another page ripped from a diary:

And finally, I wanted to use a paper bag which came from a shop we visited on holiday [where James treated me to a pair of bird earrings]. The bag was hand-stamped with a bird image so it seemed appropriate to hang on to it.

I've used it in the journal as a pocket to hold additional ephemera from the holiday and, as it was a flimsy textured paper, I strengthened the edge with the same patterned paper technique:

And that's all there is to it. Strips of paper, glue stick, hole punch .... and the world of ephemera's your crafty-oyster!

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Do let me know if you give the technique a try.

• Drop me a line here right here on my blog,
• or on my 'With Julie Kirk' Facebook page and I'll be happy to share your results!
• And if you're looking for some new/old ephemera to try it out on then do have a browse around the shop.

Next time in this series I'll share another easy-yet-creative, unexpected, method you can use to add a non-standard page into your journal.

See you soon.

Julie

p.s: any pinning, sharing, or shouting about this idea would be very much appreciated!