Jumbo Junk Journal [Pt 5]: Fabric & Paper Pockets

Project JJJ...

As designer friend Christine is fond of saying, you can never have enough pockets.

Of course, she's talking about bags and purses, but I've discovered that the same sentiment also applies to junk journals.

It didn't take long for me to realize that one of the main goals of making a junk journal is to stuff it with as many bits and pieces as possible. 😁 To maximize this opportunity, one needs to create multiple "tuck spots" and corner pockets. These are traditionally paper-based things.

As I was "finishing up" the pages (I put that in quotations because my junk journal is an on-going concern), I thought about making a separate pocket to keep stickers and small ephemera close at hand while I used the journal. This, I determined, would be made out of my scraps of Tim Holtz fabric.

A two-side pocket to keep journaling ephemera handy...

And I would need the pockets to be – gasp! – see-through and made out of vinyl. (As I confirmed previously, I have a small supply of vinyl that I purchased some years ago. While I will refrain from buying new plastics, using what I have is not going to make my sensibilities explode.)

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This vinyl and fabric pocket is very simply designed, consisting of a stiff divider that is open on both sides for storage.

A piece of Peltex covered on both sides with scraps of Tim Holtz fabric...

I cut a piece of single sided fusible Peltex to size and then arranged pieces of scrappy fabric on top (fusible side). Once fused, I repeated the process on the other side, only this time, I used glue.

None of the pieces of fabric overlapped, so no sewing was required.

Vinyl wrapped around the resulting fabric-pieced Peltex...

Next, I cut a piece of vinyl twice as long as the length of the divider and 2" wider. I made pleats with the extra width (they're hard to see, but you should be able to barely make them out in the photo above) and then clipped it in place.

Edges bound...

Using some more Tim Holtz scraps, I cut some binding strips and secured the vinyl to the divider by binding the two edges.

View from the top showing openings on both sides...

Couldn't be easier, right? A great way to use up some scraps and the resulting pocket/pouch is perfect for keeping some journaling supplies handy. (I sized it so that it can actually be stored in the journal itself, but my pages have become so embellished that I can't actually close it up if I leave the pouch inside, especially if it's also full of stuff.)

Stickers that don't stick...

Before anyone points out that I must have purchased other materials for my junk journal like this "scrapbook kit", let me clarify that I had these from a long time ago. They are so old, in fact, that the adhesive on the stickers is quite useless; I ended up having to apply glue every time I used anything from these booklets.

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There are likely dozens of YouTube videos that show various ways of making paper pockets for junk journal pages, but I "discovered" this particular method when I took apart one of the many greeting card envelopes that I had at my disposal.

Cut envelope into three main pieces...

As you might guess, this method works especially well if the envelopes have printed patterns on them, but in the spirit of junk journaling, a plain envelope can just as easily be decorated after the fact.

Anyway, my process for making corner pockets is to take the two back pieces of a deconstructed envelope, fold them in half vertically, stack them as desired (in one of two directions), glue them together and then attach to a journal page by gluing along one or both sides and the bottom.

Corner pockets out of an envelope... 

Once attached to a page, the resulting pocket will actually consist of three or four separate openings, depending on whether or not the flap piece is sealed to itself. (An alternative use for these pockets is to slide them onto the top corner of a page, sort of like a bookmark.)

My sewing tool for rounding corners comes in handy here too...

What to do with the front of the envelope then? Round off the corners and it's a piece of paper that you can actually journal – i.e., write – on.

How you might use this pocket...

The above photo shows what my journal page looks like, with items contained in two of the storage areas of this corner pocket.

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My friends, we are getting close to the end of this amazing (ha, ha, ha!) series of posts about my jumbo junk journal; part six will be the last one. I hope they've given you a smidge of inspiration towards realizing that it's possible to create something unique and beautiful out of the most unexpected and simple things.

This jumbo junk journal is part of my daily routine...

In case you missed it from my previous posts, if you want to see a flip through of my journal, I've uploaded three PDFs for you to explore at your leisure: signatures one, two and three.

As I slowly wend my way back to the topic of sewing, let me take this opportunity to advise of another of Sew Modern Bags' bundle sales, now on its final day. This National Sewing Machine Day (June 13; did you know there was such a thing?) promo features nine patterns by various designers for the unbelievably low price of just $19.99, a savings of 70%!

All this for only 19.99!

The patterns (all pictured above) include three that are currently not available anywhere else, so if you're looking for something truly new to sew, this might be just the ticket. Oh, and to wrap up today's post on the same note as I began – with a reference to Christine at ChrisWDesigns – use this link to get all the details about this bundle and to support her creative efforts (as her convertible backpack in two sizes is one of the featured patterns).

'Til next...