|
The Creative Corner · Sunday, August 30
Where Creative Passions Become Life-Changing Journeys
|
|
There is a drawer in my house that I have never been able to clean out, and I have stopped trying. It is full of ticket stubs and seed packets and the good wrapping paper from a gift I got two birthdays ago.
For years I felt vaguely guilty about that drawer. Then I learned what it actually was, which is a supply cabinet.
If you have a drawer like mine, this week's pick is for you.
|
|
|
This Week's Creative Pick · August Edition
Your Paper Scraps Are Already a Book
A junk journal is a handmade book bound from paper you already own. Grocery bags, old book pages, sheet music, envelopes, maps, tissue paper, the backs of receipts. Nothing in it was bought for the purpose, and that is the whole point.
Here's the thing about making one. It sounds like bookbinding, which sounds like a skill you need a class and a bone folder for, and it really isn't. The first one takes an afternoon.
|
Your first junk journal, start to finish
1. Gather. Pull together 20 to 30 pieces of paper. Mix your textures on purpose. Smooth, rough, printed, plain.
2. Fold into signatures. Stack 3 to 5 sheets, fold them in half, and you have a signature. Make a few.
3. Make a cover. A cereal box works. So does book board, or cardboard wrapped in fabric or a piece of paper you love.
4. Bind it. A pamphlet stitch with waxed thread and a needle is the classic. Binder rings, clips, or a line of staples all work too.
5. Pre-treat a few pages. Paint or collage two or three spreads before you start writing. A blank page is intimidating. A messy one is an invitation.
|
The reason this craft hooks people is not the binding. It's that when your pages are made from grocery bags and old book pages, there's nothing precious to protect. You stop trying to make it nice and you just make it.
The full walkthrough is on the blog, with the stitch explained step by step and a longer list of what to save.
|
|
|
Coming Up · Free to Attend
The Art of Handmade Summit
September 15 to 17, 2026
Here's what usually happens after the first junk journal. You want to know how the people who are really good at this do it, and the internet gives you four hundred videos of varying quality and no way to tell which ones are worth your Saturday.
That's what we built the summit for. Three days of workshops with working artisans on hand-lettering, bookbinding, paper crafts, and the handmade skills that stay useful long after the trend moves on. You get real instruction from people who make these things for a living, and you can watch from your kitchen table.
It's free to attend, and registration is open now.
Free registration, all three days.
|
|
|
This Week · Free Mini-Challenge
Want to Put Today's Scraps to Use Right Away?
You don't have to wait for the summit to start playing with that shoebox. Consie Sindet is running a free 3-Day Tiny Zine Mini-Challenge in our Skool community this Wednesday through Friday, September 2 to 4, and it uses the exact same kind of scraps we just talked about.
|
✂️ Day 1, Sept 2: Collect your paper scraps
🎨 Day 2, Sept 3: Fold and layer your tiny zine
✨ Day 3, Sept 4: Finish it up, plus two winners get prizes
|
No special supplies, no experience needed. Just show up with what's already sitting in your recycling bin.
|
Challenge Week Only · Ends Friday, Sept 5
|
Lock In Lifetime Craft & Create Club Access for $147
If this challenge leaves you wanting more, the Club delivers a brand-new workshop every month. Lifetime access is normally $197. Right now, through Friday, September 5, it's $147 with code LIFETIME at checkout.
|
|
|
|
If you do nothing else this week, go put a shoebox next to that drawer and start dropping things in it. That's the whole first step.
Until next Sunday,
Warmly, Destini
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Destini Copp
Creator at HobbyScool
|
|
|
|
Enjoy our emails? Forward to a friend and let them know where they can subscribe. Hint: It's here.
This email may contain affiliate links. If you click through my referral link, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my small business. Read my privacy policy.
You can unsubscribe or change your email below. Please note that if you unsubscribe, you will not receive communication or updates about any products or courses you have purchased from us in the past.
130 Providence Oaks Pointe, Milton, GA 30004
No hard feelings, just soft tears. Unsubscribe Here.
Change Your Email Preferences Here.
|
|
|
