If you’ve fallen down the junk journaling rabbit hole and Googled “junk journal kit” looking for a single box that has everything you need, congratulations, you’ve found the actual right way to start. Junk journals have a million components and buying them all separately can take weeks of trial-and-error before you have enough to build a single page. A pre-made kit (or a thoughtfully assembled DIY one) cuts that from weeks to one trip and one purchase.
This guide breaks down what’s in a good junk journal kit, how to build your own from scratch, what to look for when you’re buying one, and our own kit launching this summer. By the end you’ll know exactly what you need (and what you don’t).
What’s Actually in a Junk Journal Kit?
A junk journal kit is a curated collection of supplies for building junk journal pages. The exact contents vary by maker, but a complete kit covers five core categories:
- Papers – patterned paper, cardstock, vintage book pages, music sheets, ledger paper
- Ephemera – tickets, tags, postcards, labels, stamps, vintage-style printed pieces
- Embellishments – stickers, washi tape, lace, ribbon, charms, buttons
- Adhesives and tools – glue, scissors, paper trimmer, bone folder
- Optional extras – rubber stamps, ink pads, pens, fabric scraps
If you’re brand new to all this, our what is a junk journal guide covers the basics. This post is for people who already know what a junk journal is and now want to know how to actually buy or build a kit for one.
Want to create layouts like this? Our monthly kits include coordinated papers, embellishments, and supplies to bring your scrapbook pages to life.
The Core Categories (And What to Look For in Each)
1. Paper
Paper is the bulk of any junk journal kit. The variety matters more than the quantity. A kit with 50 sheets of the same patterned paper is way less useful than one with 15 sheets across five different paper types.
Look for:
- Vintage-style patterned paper in muted colors and aged finishes. A vintage paper pad is a great single purchase if you’re building from scratch.
- Old book pages and dictionary pages. Real ones from thrifted books are best. Pre-cut book page packs are sold for crafters who don’t want to thrift.
- Music sheets and ledger paper. Print outs work, but pre-made music sheet packs save time.
- Cardstock in cream, kraft, and tea-stained tones. Kraft cardstock 12×12 packs are the most versatile base paper.
- Tissue paper, napkins, and translucent papers for layering.
2. Ephemera
Ephemera is the soul of a junk journal. These are the small printed pieces (tickets, labels, postcards, tags, vintage advertisements) that make pages feel collected and personal rather than scrapbook-perfect.
The fastest way to get ephemera is a pre-curated ephemera assortment pack – you’ll get 100+ pieces across multiple categories in one purchase. The slower way is to print free vintage ephemera from public-domain archives, which is great if you have a printer and time.
Categories to look for in an ephemera pack:
- Vintage postcards and tickets
- Old-style labels and tags
- Postage stamps (decorative, not for mailing)
- Botanical and apothecary prints
- Maps and atlas pages
- Vintage advertisements
3. Embellishments
Embellishments are everything else that goes on a page. The right embellishment stash for a junk journal is broader than for traditional scrapbooking because junk journals welcome found objects, fabric, and texture.
- Washi tape – a pack of 10-15 rolls in muted/vintage colors covers most needs
- Vintage-style stickers for quick page accents
- Lace trim and ribbon for binding seams and edge accents
- Vintage-style charms and pendants for tied accents on tags and seams
- Twine and jute string for tied bindings and decorative elements
- Vintage-style keys, buttons, and metal pieces for textural focal points
4. Adhesives and Tools
The unglamorous category but the one that makes everything else work. Bad adhesive ruins good papers; bad scissors fight you the whole session.
- Mod Podge (matte) for adhering and sealing layered papers. The single most useful adhesive in junk journaling.
- A precision-tip liquid glue for small embellishments.
- 3D foam squares for dimensional layering when you want elements to lift off the page.
- Sharp precision scissors for fussy-cutting around ephemera and detailed shapes.
- A paper trimmer for clean cuts on full sheets.
- A bone folder for crisp folds on signature spines.
5. Optional Extras Worth Adding
You don’t need any of these to start, but each one expands what you can do.
- Vintage-style rubber stamps – dates, alphabets, decorative motifs
- Distress ink pads for inking edges and aging paper
- Archival ink pads that won’t smear under wet techniques
- Archival fineliner pens for journaling that won’t fade
- Fabric scraps, tea bags, coffee filters, and burlap scraps for texture
Build Your Own Kit vs Buy a Pre-Made Kit
Here’s the honest breakdown of when each makes more sense.
Build your own kit if:
- You enjoy hunting for vintage finds (thrift shops, estate sales, your grandmother’s attic)
- You have a clear vision and want exactly the colors and themes you’ve planned
- You don’t mind multiple purchases over weeks to build up your stash
- You’re on a tight budget and willing to substitute (printable book pages instead of real ones, dollar-store stickers, etc.)
Buy a pre-made kit if:
- You want to start making pages this week, not in a month
- You’re new and don’t know yet what you’ll actually use
- You like the surprise element of someone else curating coordinated supplies for you
- You’d rather pay for someone else’s shopping time than spend your own
Most people I know who do this seriously end up doing both: a subscription kit for the curated monthly supplies, plus their own ongoing purchases for the specific things the kit doesn’t cover.
How to DIY Your First Junk Journal Kit From Scratch
If you want to build your own kit and not just buy random stuff that won’t go together, here’s the order I’d buy in.
Step 1: Get the binding base. A blank junk journal book or a stack of blank journal pages and a chipboard cover to bind together. If you don’t have a journal yet, our junk journal books guide covers all the options.
Step 2: Buy one big paper assortment. A vintage paper pad or a printable junk journal paper pack gives you 50+ sheets of varied vintage-style paper in one purchase. This is the single biggest leverage purchase in the whole kit.
Step 3: Buy one ephemera assortment. One pre-curated ephemera pack of 100+ pieces. This single pack covers tickets, postcards, labels, stamps, and tags in one go.
Step 4: Buy your adhesive and tool basics. Mod Podge, sharp scissors, liquid glue, washi tape (one variety pack). About $30-40 total and these supplies will last you for dozens of journals.
Step 5: Make 5-10 pages with what you have. Don’t buy more until you’ve actually used what you bought. You’ll discover which categories you reach for constantly (probably ephemera and washi tape) and which you barely touch. Then your next purchases are informed by your actual habits.
Total starter cost going this route: roughly $50-80, depending on what you already own. That’s enough to build a complete first journal and then some.
What to Look For When Buying a Pre-Made Junk Journal Kit
Not all junk journal kits are created equal. Here’s what separates the good ones from the cash grabs.
- Variety, not quantity. A kit with 200 of the same sticker is worse than one with 50 stickers across 10 designs. Variety lets you build pages without repeating yourself.
- Multiple paper types. Patterned paper, vintage book pages, music sheets, ephemera prints, cardstock – the kit should hit at least four categories.
- Coordinated palette. Pieces should look like they go together. If the kit is a chaotic mix of bright neon stickers, vintage sepia ephemera, and modern geometric paper, the curator wasn’t paying attention.
- Real ephemera, not just stickers. A great kit has actual paper ephemera pieces (tags, tickets, labels, postcards) not just printed sticker sheets that try to mimic them.
- Printable PDFs included. The best kits supplement the physical pieces with downloadable printables you can print as many times as you want.
- A theme or season focus. The kit should tell you what aesthetic it’s going for (vintage academia, botanical, autumn cottagecore, travel) so you know if it matches what you want to make.
If you’re comparing multiple kits, our best scrapbooking kits guide covers the broader category including kits adjacent to junk journal use.
The Hip Kit Club Junk Journal Kit (Coming Summer 2026)
If you want a curated kit and you’ve been around our blog for a while, you might have noticed we’ve been quietly building toward our own junk journal kit launch. After ten-plus years of curating monthly scrapbook kits for thousands of crafters, we know what makes a kit worth subscribing to (and what makes one a disappointment when the box arrives).
Our junk journal kit launches summer 2026. It will include vintage-style patterned paper, real ephemera pieces, coordinated stickers and washi, plus printable PDFs you can re-use across multiple journals. Each kit is themed around a specific aesthetic (think botanical, vintage academia, travel, autumn) and curated to actually go together on a page.
If you want to be on the list when it launches, our existing monthly scrapbook kits are a good way to get a feel for our curation style. The junk journal kit will follow the same approach, scaled to junk journal-specific supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a junk journal kit cost?
Pre-made kits typically run $30-80 depending on size, components, and brand. DIY starter kits assembled from individual purchases run $50-80 if you start from zero and want decent quality. Subscription kits average $35-50 per month for a curated set.
What’s the difference between a junk journal kit and a scrapbook kit?
Scrapbook kits are designed for traditional 12×12 scrapbook layouts and lean toward coordinated patterned paper, photo-mat cardstock, and themed embellishments. Junk journal kits lean toward vintage-style ephemera, mixed paper textures, and embellishments that work on smaller, layered, more chaotic page formats. Some supplies overlap (washi tape, adhesives, basic tools) but the paper and ephemera selections are different. Our scrapbook supplies guide covers the traditional side; this post covers the junk journal side.
Can I make a junk journal without a kit?
Absolutely. Half the appeal of junk journaling is the use-what-you-have aesthetic. Old book pages, magazine clippings, packaging, ticket stubs, and dollar-store supplies all work. A kit just speeds up the start. Our junk journal tutorial walks through building one from minimum supplies.
Are subscription junk journal kits worth it?
If you make journals regularly and like the variety of a curated drop each month, yes. If you tend to hoard supplies without using them, no. The subscription model works best when you’ve established that you actually consume kit supplies at the rate they arrive.
What’s the best junk journal kit for beginners?
For absolute beginners I’d skip subscription kits initially and buy one vintage paper pad plus one ephemera assortment pack. That gives you enough variety for 5-10 pages, you’ll learn what you actually use, and you can scale up from there based on real preferences instead of guessed ones.
Where to Go Next
- Junk journal ideas – 88 ideas across 8 themes once you’ve got your kit
- How to make a junk journal – the step-by-step build process
- What is a junk journal – the basics if you’re brand new
- Junk journal supplies – deeper dive into individual supply categories
- Junk journal cover ideas – what to do with the outside of your journal
- Junk journal printables – free downloadable ephemera for DIY kits
- Junk journal page ideas – things to actually do with your pages
- Hip Kit Club monthly scrapbook kits – a feel for our curation style ahead of the JJ kit launch
Grab This Month's Kit
Every month we put together a box of coordinated papers, embellishments, and supplies that all work together. Open the box, start creating. It's that simple.