From coffee sleeves to cinema tickets: 7 things you can put in a junk journal

Isha Parvatiyar

Coffee sleeves & café ephemera

Save those illustrated coffee sleeves, takeaway stickers, sugar packets or little café cards from places you love. They instantly bring back the mood of a particular afternoon.

Cinema tickets & event stubs

Old cinema tickets, concert passes, exhibition entries and event wristbands make perfect journal additions. Pair them with the date, who you went with and a one-line memory.

Postcards & travel mementos

Turn your travels into tiny paper memories with postcards, boarding-pass stubs, maps, hotel stationery or museum tickets. Even a small scrap can help recreate a trip years later.

Packaging you can’t throw away

Beautiful packaging often deserves a second life. Keep interesting labels, paper bags, tags, wrapping paper or product stickers and use them as collage elements.

Receipts with a story

Not every receipt needs to be saved, but the ones attached to memorable meals, first dates, shopping days or spontaneous outings can become surprisingly meaningful journal pieces.

Notes, doodles & tiny messages

Add handwritten notes, old to-do lists, birthday messages, doodles or scraps of conversations. These imperfect pieces give a junk journal its personal, lived-in character.

Photos & everyday paper scraps

Print small photographs or use photo-booth strips, magazine cut-outs, newspaper clippings and interesting typography to fill empty pages. Mix textures, colours and handwritten details to make each spread unique.

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