Wanderbrush

There’s something about a vibrant postcard, a quirky sticker, or a charming business card from a local treasure that stops me in my tracks. Over the years, Mason and I have accumulated piles of these little paper gems from our travels — fun souvenirs that usually ended up gathering dust in a drawer.

Then TikTok introduced me to junk journaling, and suddenly that dusty drawer became a goldmine. This trend, part scrapbooking and part collage art, is all about celebrating found ephemera — from souvenir stickers and ticket stubs to menus and fruit stickers — in a free‑spirit, creative way. I realized this was the perfect evolution of my childhood scrapbooks, but without the pressure or clutter.

So here’s the new tradition: for each trip we take, I craft a junk journal spread — a compact keepsake that’s part memory mosaic, part art piece. Instead of letting our postcards and business cards gather dust while we endlessly pawn on what to do with them, I transform them into colorful, layered stories that we can both flip through and relive.

Why Junk Journaling Feels So Effortless

1. It’s totally free‑form.
   No rules, no pressure — just glue, paper, scraps, and your imagination. The process feels “less intimidating” than structured journaling and is perfect for spontaneous creativity.
   
2. Everyday ephemera tells deeper stories.
   A souvenir sticker becomes more than decoration — it’s the food wrapper from a local restaurant you tried, the ticket stub from a historic site, or the quirky postcard that sparked a day’s adventure.
   
3. It’s therapeutic & mindful.
   The hands‑on process of cutting, layering, and gluing anchors you in the moment — it’s calming, mindful, and creative fun. Especially when unwinding from a day at work after the PTO has long passed.
   
4. Maps, brochures, and business cards become art.
   That business card from the local sushi restaurant? It anchors a page. A vibrant sticker from a local coffee shop becomes a centerpiece. Ticket stubs and brochures layer in color and context — and even guide the story visually. 

How To Do It

• Collect during travel: That native wildlife sticker, a historical site brochure, your boarding pass, and even a unique receipt can all go into the journal. *Note: let these items come naturally do you, identify things that are part of the experience*
  
• Back home, sort & prep: I keep an “ephemera basket” by my desk — everything goes in until I’m ready to craft. This could be a day later or a month later, I do not rush the process.
  
• Craft at my pace: I start each trip’s journal with a theme — maybe a central postcard or sticker from the trip — then layer in colored paper, writing, and public transit stubs as we relive memories.
  
• Final piece = time capsule: The result? A beautifully layered memory mosaic on paper that we can relive whenever we plan our next trip. 

So that’s our new ritual: each trip gets its own junk journal time capsule. The next morning as I sip coffee, I’ll flip through our trip to the Florida Keys — leafing through shrimp‑taco wrappers, Everglades postcards, sunset stickers, map snippets, and more. And instead of forgotten papers in a drawer, we’ve got a tangible, colorful reminder of a week well-spent — ready for Summer 2025 and beyond.