Happiness in Crafting covers a wide range of Arts and Crafts but it has to be said that Gi's primary passion and focus is hand crafting Junk Journals, the embellishments to go in them and creating printable digital kits to make them with.
A most popular question comes from those outside of the wonderful Junk Journaling community:
"What is a Junk Journal?"
Similar to Art Journals or Scrap Books, Junk Journals could probably be described as a mixture of the two. The secret lies in the name. If a Scrap Book is made from scraps then a Junk Journal is made from junk: probably more accurately described as a mix of found, salvaged and recycled materials.
There is no "one size fits all" type of junk journal, from the large A4 file folder style to the much smaller Travellers Notebook size, they come in all shapes and sizes. It´s all a matter of preference. Whilst most journals use a wide variety of "junk" there are many purposely designed printable digital kits, like the range created by us here at Happiness in Crafting that can be found on Etsy.
A journal can be as simple or as detailed as you like. Some people much prefer to have writing space, while others will fill them to the point of bursting with pretty ephemera and embellishments. Whether you are making a piece of art for art's sake or functional book you can be sure that it will be unique.
"What do you do with them?"
is the most asked question in the Happiness in Crafting Group and in the YouTube comments. The answer is simple: "Whatever you want".
Whilst it must be said the main reason for making a Junk Journal for most is just the pure pleasure of making one, they have many uses from - prayer books, photo albums, diaries, coffee table books or a place to store thoughts and memories. Junk Journals are best suited to being whatever you want them to be.
Whether you are writing a grand sprawling novel of epic proportions, your innermost thoughts, recipes or a simple shopping list, why not write it in a Junk Journal?
Have some special photographs? A Junk Journal can be the perfect place to showcase and preserve them for prosperity.
For the spiritual and religious, a Junk Journal is a great place to record prayers, reflections or hopes and dreams for the future. As Junk Journals often contain many types of ephemera, a journal of this kind can be embellished with hymns, sermons, or inspirational quotes and poems.
