Hi everyone, I’m JD from Willowbound Journals, and this video is the very beginning of a new series where I flip through all of my completed personal journals. I’m doing it partly because I’m in a big “declutter and organize” season—my aim is to get things down to zero and make space for new creative projects. As I go, I’m looking for ephemera I tucked away “just to hold it,” pages I might reuse, and journals I might consolidate… because our relationship to our supplies really does change through the seasons. This particular flip through is where it all began: my 2017 yearly journal—the first personal junk journal I ever made. I discovered junk journals in 2017 through the YouTube rabbit hole (Johanna Clough and Amity Bloom), and it felt like I’d found my home as a lifelong journaler and sentimental ephemera-keeper. I made this one from an old journaling Bible cover, improvised a lot, and filled it with real life: beach mission sand, packaging, notes from loved ones, ballet memories, Cyclone Debbie documentation, happy mail swaps, thrifted bits, and pieces from my kindred-spirit grandma. It’s messy, it’s not my style now, but it’s a time capsule—and I’m happy to keep it as-is.