A couple of months ago I started thinking about the way I consume products and became more attentive to how much I throw away every day. I started by trying to avoid plastic and re-using as much as I can. It can get pretty frustrating though especially when I go grocery shopping. Everything seems to be wrapped in plastic. I might not be able to cut out plastic out of my life at all but I am trying. Being more aware of all the things I throw away every das opened my eyes to a couple of ways to re-use different items in my journal and use them to document my life. Over time I found a couple of things I like to collect to use in my journals and today I want to share some of those ideas with you.
1. Wrapping Paper
Wrapping paper seems like a pretty obvious choice and if you think about it it’s insane how much wrapping paper just gets thrown away. Most wrapping paper is too pretty to be thrown away anyway. And it is not just wrapping paper used to wrap gifts. The two papers in the middle are actually from when I bought a candle and a tiny plate. The stores wrapped those into the paper to make sure they don’t break in my bag on the way home. I used the grey one for the page shown in the first picture of this post and if you look close you can actually see a cute pattern on it.
2. Paper Bags
Paper bags are also great to re-use in your journal. You can use them to make pockets or you can tear them apart and use them just like any other paper. Tearing paper apart can be so satisfying. I love the sound of it and it gives you this feeling you get when you pop bubble wrap. It is this short satisfying moment.
3. Plastic Bags
I like to re-use plastic bags in two ways. The tiny ones are great for happy mail. I use them to put little stickers or ephemera inside. It looks cute and gives the bag a second chance instead of throwing it away right away. For the big ones, I like to use them to create my watercolor backgrounds. I put the watercolor on to the plastic bag and then push the page on it. If you want to see how I do it check out this journal with me video. Sometimes I also use the ones that have dried watercolor on it as background for my Instagram pictures.
4. Candy Wrapping
Candy is always wrapped in colorful packaging. I got this gold paper from a chocolate bar. It was delicious and I also get a new journal supply. Could it get any better?
Another fun way to re-use candy wrapping is to use it as a little pocket. In this spread, I used the packaging from my Pechkeks, which is like a fortune cookie but with sad slogans inside, to put a couple of little things I got that day inside. It gives you a fun thing to play around with when you skip back through your journal. Interactive pages are always fun to come back to.
5. Anything
Number 5 is literally anything. If you keep your eyes open you can find a lot of things to re-use. Cardboard boxes are great to use as covers for inserts if you make them yourself. You can always paint them. Magazines are good sources for pictures or can be re-used for collages in many ways. Cans and plastic cups can make great places to store your pencils and brushes. I also like to use napkins to remember places I got something to eat or drink. Keep looking out for stuff and I am pretty sure you will find some amazing things.
Do you ever re-use things in your journal? What are some of your favorite things you found to re-use? For me it is the paper my InkDori was wrapped in when I received it and the golden paper from the chocolate.
Lots of Love
just a blank space