Thrifting Goodwill and Value Village | Crafting Thrift Haul / Journaling Materials
My daughter and I heard someone mention “junk journals” and we immediately looked at each other and said, “What are those?!” We googled, watched some videos, and came across Johanna Clough’s lovely, sweet, nostaligic junk journals and we knew we had to make our own. The very next day we went to the thrift store and looked for anything that could be used as background paper and our new favorite word, ephemera.
We found some great stuff, maybe too much stuff. The books were great, I couldn’t help myself! Check out what we found and let me know what crafting materials you love to use in journaling.
THRIFTED CRAFTING MATERIALS
1. music books
The thrift stores are loaded with music books of all kinds. I’ve seen music books for guitar, ukulele, piano, recorder. They have a bunch for beginners, children’s, and advanced learners. If you’re looking for vintage music books, the thrift store is one of the best places to look. I found a load of children’s music books with adorable graphics in them. There’s plenty of vintage, worn, aged books that are perfect for using as background in scrapbooking or journaling. You can dye the pages for an even more fun or nostalgic look as well. I found a ton of music books for $1.99 but they happened to be green tag so they were half off!
2. children’s books
I am a sucker for vintage children’s books. I actually have a small collection of vintage children’s chapter books, some of which include A Little Princess, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Winnie the Pooh, and The Wizard of Oz. The paper in older books have a nice, thick, quality feel. The images are adorable and the colors are muted. I found some great vintage kid’s picture books that make for lovely graphics in journaling. Usually the books cost anywhere from $1.49-4.99 at Value Village. If you find four, the fifth one is free!
3. photo album
Photo albums seem to be a thing of the past but I think there is something so fun and sweet about going through a photo album and experiencing the memories again. I’ve thrifted several and I am making an effort to print out pictures and keep them in photo albums. I used to print photos at Costco and now the only place I can find to print photos is Walmart. It’s quite sad and annoying. I don’t think the quality is that great at Walmart but that’s a different convo for a different day! I found a small album that I plan to rip the photo pages out and slide them into pockets inside my journal.
4. children’s hair bows
I stumbled across these toddler hair bows and thought they would make ADORABLE paper clips. I only wish I had kept some of my own kid’s hair clips and it would have been even better!
5. 3D garden popup
This garden kit didn’t have a price tag on it so I asked the cashier and I got it for $3.99! It’s perfect for my gardening journal! It included all kinds of plant cut outs, garden themed paper, and fun fencing. It’s supposed to be used for planning an actual garden but the bits and pieces make for amazing ephemera.
6. sewing books
Sewing books have great graphics. They often have tons of fun images explaining directions and pictures of the final product. I think the graphics add a touch of vintage charm and I’m obsessed! I liked this particular book because I liked the weight of the paper and all the images and graphics throughout.
I love thrifting because you never know what unique things you will find. They are filled with so many things that can be repurposed for journaling if you look beyond what it is “supposed to be”. What journaling things do you love to find secondhand?! Give me the goodies in the comments section so I can look for them too!
I hope this gets your creative juices flowing! May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He shine is face upon you and be gracious to you, may He turn his face towards you and give you peace, may He fill you with joy and happiness and inspiration as you piece your journal together!
Happy journaling!
