I’ve become a little obsessed with junk journaling. I’m talking a spread a day, which might not sound like much, but it’s been a while since a hobby made me this excited. Naturally, I’ve started finding ways to weave it into my work, too.
So, for this week’s $25 Challenge, I decided to see what I could collect along Fourth Avenue to make a junk journal spread. My main stop would be Tucson Creative Reuse, a newer addition to the avenue where you can shop for secondhand art supplies. But first, I wanted to see what I could find nearby.
First stop: Antigone Books
Antigone, at 411 N. 4th Ave., has a great selection of stationery, greeting cards and postcards, including cards by local artists. I found a $2.50 watercolor postcard of a cat walking past prickly pear cacti by Saraiya Kanning of Raebird Creations. I also picked up a Turtle’s Soup desert sticker for $3.50 and a sheet of floral skull stickers for $3.50.
My total, with tax, was $10.33. The skull stickers were already giving me an idea for the spread: something a little gothic and spooky, with a Tucson twist of course.
The main event: Tucson Creative Reuse
I had a feeling Tucson Creative Reuse was where I’d find most of my materials, and I was right. The shop, at 419 N. 4th Ave., has papers, stamps, old magazines and books, beads, googly eyes and all kinds of little things you might never think to look for until you see them. I could have spent hours digging through it all.
I was a little nervous when I picked up a basket. Would I actually find enough to make a spread? Next thing I knew, it was full of papers and other little treasures begging to be glued into my journal.
Many supplies are sold by weight. My assortment of ephemera cost $1.43, and I also picked up two vintage Arizona magazines for $3 and $1. My total at Tucson Creative Reuse was $5.90. Honestly, I came home with enough material to make several spreads from this stop alone.
One more stop: Popcycle
I’ll use just about any excuse to stop at Popcycle, at 422 N. 4th Ave. I already had more than enough for one spread, but I still had $8.77 left in my budget.
I found two postcards: a $5 vintage image of Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat and a $2.50 map of Tucson shaped like an anatomical heart. Both felt like they belonged with the things I’d collected so far.
Putting it all together
With my new pile of junk in hand, I headed home to make the spread. My best friend, who often joins me for junk journaling, gave me an old bandana to use as the background. I glued it down first, then started cutting things out and seeing what fit together.
The finished spread turned into a slightly spooky love letter to Tucson. One page has a map of the city shaped like an anatomical heart layered over prickly pear cacti and the cat postcard I found at Antigone. On the other, Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat sit beneath a starry desert sky, with a little felt skull tucked into the corner. I added magazine clippings, stickers and a postage stamp wherever they felt right.
I spent $23.73 across three Fourth Avenue shops, with $1.27 to spare. And the best part is, I brought home enough leftover material to make a few more spreads.
