How to Make a Junk Journal Signature: A Simple Beginner's Guide


If you're new to junk journaling, you've probably heard the term signature and wondered where to start.

The good news is that making a signature is much simpler than it sounds.

In this beginner-friendly tutorial, I'll show you how to create a simple signature using papers you may already have at home. No fancy tools, no complicated techniques - just a calm place to begin.

What You'll Need

To make a basic signature, you'll need:

  • a few sheets of paper
  • printable journal pages (optional)
  • a patterned or tea-dyed paper for interest (optional)

That's it.

Step 1: Gather Your Papers

Start by choosing a small selection of papers.

You might use:

  • plain writing paper
  • printable journal pages
  • scrapbook paper
  • book pages
  • music paper
  • vellum
  • tea-dyed paper

Almost any lightweight paper that can be folded will work.

Step 2: Arrange Your Pages

Place your papers into a stack in the order you'd like them to appear in your journal.

You might like to alternate:

  • plain and decorative pages
  • light and dark papers
  • different colours and textures

Don't overthink this step. Part of the fun is experimenting and discovering combinations you enjoy.

Step 3: Fold the Stack in Half

Once you're happy with the order, carefully fold the entire stack in half.

I like to score my papers lightly first because it helps create a cleaner fold, but this is completely optional.

                                                                   Scoring the paper


You can simply crease the papers with your hands.

No special tools are necessary.

Step 4: Adjust the Pages

After folding, you may notice that some papers sit slightly unevenly.

That's perfectly normal.

If you'd like a neater finish, you can trim the edges later, but for now there's no need to worry about perfection.



Step 5: Keep Everything Together

Once your signature is folded, you'll want to keep the pages from moving around.

I simply use a couple of bulldog clips to hold everything together while I work on the rest of the journal.

This keeps the pages neat and makes them easier to handle until they're attached to a cover.



And That's Your Signature

Congratulations - you've just made a junk journal signature.

It may look simple, but signatures are the foundation of almost every junk journal.

Once you understand how to make them, creating journals becomes much less intimidating.

A Quick Note for Beginners

One thing I really want you to remember:

Your signature does not need to be perfect.

The folds do not have to be exact.

The papers do not have to match perfectly.

And you absolutely do not need expensive supplies to get started.

Junk journaling is meant to be creative, personal and enjoyable.

The goal isn't perfection - it's creating something uniquely yours.

What's Next?

Now that you have a signature, the next step is creating a journal cover so we have somewhere to attach it.

That's where your journal really starts to come to life.

Happy creating,

Angela x

P.S. If you're more of a visual learner, I've also created a simple beginner-friendly video tutorial showing exactly how to make a signature step by step. Find it here.

P.P.S. Looking for papers to add to your signature? Feel free to browse the Paper & Bloom collection, where you'll find printable papers, journal pages and kits designed to work beautifully together. Browse the shop here.

Location: Walsall WS3, UK

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