Junk Journaling 101 – How to Add Tip-Ins to Your Journal
So you are making a junk journal. You’ve got your signatures together, your cover’s ready to go, but what about all those pages? Should you do something with them? What could you add to give them the element of surprise and fun? Tip-ins! Today I’m going to talk about what tip-ins are, why they are useful (and FUN!), and how you can easily incorporate them into your own junk journaling making.
What are tip-ins?
Tip-ins are basically something attached to a journal page on one side that allows it to “flip” – revealing more of the page. They are a way to add more journaling space to your journals – or even to add a whole new page to a completed journal. They can hide pockets, page elements and just look really darn cute on a page.
Why should you incorporate them in your journals?
Beside being really darn cute – I mean did you read the paragraph above? 😉 – they add dimension to your journal. No more flipping pages from right to left – now you can flip pages up and down and in and out. They are also a great way to add color, collage, texture and even other basic journal elements (think pockets and tucks).
What can you use to make tip-ins?
Ok – this is my favorite question, and it really does have a simple answer: ANYTHING can be a tip-in! You just need to understand the basics of what a tip-in is, and then you can look through your paper stashes, ephemera piles and even your scrap bin for items to create a tip-in.
Some specific ideas for tip-ins include:
- Tags – these make great tip-ins, and if you mass create ephemera ahead of time, they can be an easy go-to.
- Cards – I’m being vague on purpose here, because think of how many different types of cards you might have in your stash – index cards, note cards, greeting cards, time cards, library cards, playing cards….I mean, we could probably go on and on!
- Fabric – scrap fabric (or even just fabric you’ve cut down from not-so-scrap fabric) is perfect for tip-ins. If you’ve used fabric on your cover or another place in your journal, adding a piece of matching fabric as a tip-in will likely just pull everything together.
- Envelopes – I love adding envelopes to my journals – not just as tip-ins, but, well, everywhere! Adding a decorative envelope gives an element of surprise when you flip it over and find a pocket there into tuck some journaling or other bits of ephemera.
- Paper – yep. You guessed it – scrapbook paper, book pages, printed digitals, ledger pages – all these things make great tip-ins, and most of the time, you can find something that matches the theme of your journal!
How do you make them?
Adding tip-ins to your junk journals is easy once you know a few techniques. Here are a few to try (and this is by no means all-inclusive!):
- Washi tape – Washi tape is a great starter technique for tip-ins. You probably already have some in your stash, and if you use a little bit of extra glue (to be sure it holds!), you can start adding tip-ins to almost any page of your journal.
- Hinges – Paper and fabric hinges are a super easy way to attach tip-ins. Paper hinges can be easily made from leftover scrap papers you have (try to pick the more study ones so they don’t tear on the seam!). All it takes to make a fabric hinge is some scrap fabric and glue – done!
- Tabs – fabric tabs that can be made from adding double-sided tape to fabric and then cut to about 1” x 1/2” can help you add tip-ins so you don’t cover up much of your tip-in element. Tabs are also great to use if you want to create more space between your tip-in and the page (if you are building up the page with other embellishments like pockets or belly bands).
- Sewing – I love to have some stitching in my journals and adding a tip-in using sewing is a great way to get that texture in there! You can fold a tip-in page over about 1/2” and then sew that down to the side of the page. Sewing also works great on a fabric panel tip-in.
- Use your imagination – there are so many more ways you could attach tip-ins – in my video below, I used eyelets and ribbon. But think outside the box here – what about slow stitching? Brads? Staples? Paper clips? All you have to do is come up with a way to keep that tip-in attached and you’ve created a tip-in!
I hope you can see how adding a tip-in or 2 (or 4) can be a fun, creative element in finishing off your junk journals. Experiment with different techniques and materials to find what works best for you!
Want some tips and tutorials on making some tip-ins? Be sure to check out my video “Junk Journal Tip-Ins: A Complete Guide for Beginners” below to see how it’s done! I bet once you get started, you won’t be able to stop!
Oh, by the way, in case you wanted to make an “idea book” like you see in the video, you can head to this playlist here. And if you like the blue digitals, those come from my Atlas kit, which you can find in my shop, here. Just want a mini-kit to play around with? You can get the matching Atlas mini kit by signing up for my mailing list, here!
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