The sentimental art of junk journaling

By Nalyn Tindall

The outside of this journal full of treasures (Sammy Kogan/CanCulture)

My tendency for “sentimental hoarding,” coupled with my lifelong habit of collecting stickers I was too afraid to use because I may regret their placement, has found the perfect outlet in the form of my junk journal: A scrapbook compiling each little piece of my days, barraged in stickers to complete the maximalist yet delightful aesthetic.

Sometimes the packaging of products, whether intentional or not, is just too cute for me to bear throwing out, and that's where my junk journal comes in. From concert tickets to bread tags, each scrap of paper helps to tell my story. How else am I supposed to remember what type of iced tea I had or reminisce about my dentist appointment? Chances are, if you give me a business card, or I have tags from my latest shopping splurge, this is exactly where they’ll end up.

Let’s take a look inside.

This is the first page I ever made. Since moving to Toronto to study, my parents have sent me cards in the mail for every holiday that passes. With that, I accumulated a large collection of envelopes, each graced with a stamp, which you can see here. The colourful envelopes and stamps, each housing their own artwork, sparked my sentimental urge to start this scrapbook

This is where stickers started to take the lead. Not only is this piece covered in them, but the primary piece of trash which makes up this piece was the packing from a set of stickers. While I love making sentimental pieces, I also just like to collage. Finding a monochromatic scheme and seeing what adorable stickers I can incorporate brings me just as much joy.

Sometimes garbage isn't pretty on its own. While holding on to my daily scraps, I’ve noticed that the world is made up of a lot of black and white trash, but when pieced together, I like to think they can make something pretty too. These mementos are a reminder of my daily purchases and transit rides, the menial moments that make up each day.

Not every piece needs to be a mass amalgamation of tiny pieces. Sometimes a nice shopping bag and some pretty packing is enough to slap some stickers on and call it a day.

Last summer, I visited Montreal and Quebec City for the first time and I couldn’t have been more glad that I started this journal. Over the course of my trip, I kept a small pouch of each of the scraps of paper I collected. Tickets, tags, labels, wrappers and receipts paint the story of my week. I’m able to look at these two pages as a reminder of each tourist attraction I visited and look back fondly on my trip.

This is just the beginning of my junk journaling journey. Beside my desk sits a container of scraps and stickers waiting to be pieced together. This practice allows me to reflect both in the process of making each collage and every time I flip through the book, not only basking in the memories but enjoying each piece of art my life has formed.