Scrapbooking and junk-journaling
In early 2017, I began sending souvenirs to one favorite and longstanding student to whom I was teaching conversational English. The souvenirs were such that you could collect, place and preserve them in a scrapbook. It is basically a blank book, sort of like a three-ring binder as a base, perhaps with sheet protectors that you could glue or tape things like special coins, foreign currency, trinkets, tiny seashells, comic cartoons, postage stamps, special postcards, valentines, some photos, etc. Actually, my student began a blog and posted photos of all the things that I sent. Thus, hers was a kind of meticulous digital scrapbook. The scrapbooking hand-crafted hobby began in the 1800s and continues to this day.
An offshoot of scrapbooking that emerged popularly and competitively in the 21st century is "junk-journaling." The similarities between it and scrapbooking are greater than the differences. To give you an idea, perhaps you have heard the idiomatic phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." It means that something considered subjectively worthless by one person may be subjectively valuable to another. Junk journals are made with mostly a mix of found and recycled materials that record memories, inspired written thoughts and ideas, sketches, quotes, old letters, holidays, graduations, etc. It is filled with the everyday fun stuff of life and documents all those little sentimental moments that we sometimes forget but are personally important to us. It is kind of like a memory book with received birthday cards, ticket stubs to events, flyers, stickers or charms, beads, sequins, pressed flowers and collages.
Junk journals show a bit of personality behind the creator as opposed to scrapbooks. Nevertheless, these altered books have no hard-fast rules for what to include or not to include. Although junk journals perhaps show more minor transient repurposed paper ephemera that are usually discarded like boarding passes, business cards, bookmarkers, menus, receipts, nametags from special events, etc. Anything can make it into these aggregated collective books, even unsolicited junk mail.
Both hobbies provide an interval of rest and relief from all things that compete for our time and attention. Both are easy do-it-yourself accomplishments and an inexpensive source of fun, providing a nice mix of creativity, nostalgia and harvest of visible and tactile materials. We are able to reuse things in a meaningful way. It requires little financial investment as we use what we already have lying around. Finally, variations are to fit the creator. It may be thematic based on personal travels and adventures, or it may be streamlined about the holidays only, or it may display chronological occurrences or circumstances you experienced.
The point is that whether it's scrapbooking or junk journaling, it's a personal activity, and I emphasize that there are no rules to follow. It's eclectic and flexible. You have complete control and freedom in how you choose to present your creation. Sharing it with family or friends brings moments of joy and might even elicit a few "Wows!" That's the captivating charm of the hobby.
The author (wrjones@vsu.edu) published the novella “Beyond Harvard” and teaches English as a second language.