From junk to art: the compelling story of the humble scrapbook

With well over a million combined TikTok videos for #scrapbooking and #junkjournaling, it’s clear that this hobby has become a force of nature in its own right. The concept is to collect something everywhere you go, slide bar mats out from under ice-cold beers, always ask for the receipt at a restaurant, scour shops for stickers, and never turn down a postcard. The end product is a double-page spread that gives at-home crafts a run for their money.

The reality is you won’t get it until you start, and then before you know it, you become a full-blown scrapper. I can testify to the journey because I’ve also been swept up in its wake (even my boyfriend has started picking up my junk!). Before heading off on my year abroad, my best friend, Issy, mentioned she would scrap our adventures in Bordeaux, and I thought nothing of it until she showed me the supplies. If, at 10 years old, you were a self-proclaimed stationery lover, nothing would stop you from getting excited about stickers, washi tape, colourful paper, and gel pens, even 10 years later.

There is something so special about nostalgia; every memory is collected in one place, and nothing is left behind

Now, Issy will tell you just how obsessed we’ve become with a hobby I once thought nothing of: “Beth and I once joked that if we got to the check-in desk at the airport, the suitcase was overweight and we had to make the choice between clothes, personal items, etc. or the scrapbook… our entire suitcases were being emptied so the scrapbook could return in one piece from our year abroad.” And now we both fear this is closer to reality than it is a joke, ha!

Now a proud member of my scrap and yap group (Issy, Bella, Polly and Lottie this is a shout out to you), with over 40 pages in my scrapbook, I can truly say I get it. There is something so special about nostalgia; every memory is collected in one place, and nothing is left behind. Each ticket has a place, stamps from new friends across the world, cards of gratitude, the pub quiz we all failed at, even the prescription slip from that one time I had tonsilitis, although I haven’t gone as far as one TikToker who saved a gravy stain from their dinner napkin. A scrapbook is definitely one of those items you know you’ll show your kids when they ask about that one special holiday or your time at university; just be prepared to answer hundreds of questions every time someone looks through it.

But it’s not just the end product, no, it’s that cheesy saying: it’s about the friends we make along the way

I know some people love the Leuchtturm1917 journals, but honestly, they start cheaper. I got my scrapbook from Flying Tiger for £5 and it’s great. For starters, there are definitely a few pages I’ve ripped out as a perfectionist, and you can’t do this in leatherbound journals. The best thing about the hobby is that you can make it as cheap as you want. It really is about picking up free scraps everywhere you go, using up the supplies you already have and creating art from nothing. Although, I’m not very good at saying no to sticker packs, double-sided tape and letter stamps!

But it’s not just the end product, no, it’s that cheesy saying: it’s about the friends we make along the way. To have a community of people who, like you, are memory savers, perhaps before they kept every birthday card, or took pictures that spoke a thousand words, but now there is nothing that will bring these people together more than a scrapbook. Now, you look out for each other, you find each other stickers, leaflets and city maps and share them out, you help each other work through life problems as you methodically stick in polaroids, and you write their names in lasting ink on the paper that tells the story of your life. Not just a passing person, but a friend who made a lasting mark.

My scrapbook is not just junk; it has become the story of my life

If I haven’t sold you the value of scrapping yet, let me turn to my friends. I asked them one question: Why do you love scrapbooking so much? And their answers were so full of joy, it should be enough to turn anyone towards this latest phenomenon. In their words (Polly McManus, Issy Murphy and Bella Warne-smith, 3^rd year students): “Scrapbooking is about savouring the beautiful memories you’ve made with friends, getting together and feeling nostalgia”, it’s our “most prized possession, a personalised and touching souvenir and it has provided undivided time with friends, moments of reflection and gratitude, a safe space and creative outlet”. They said, “It’s more than a fun pastime, it helps you embrace and appreciate the lows and highs of life and makes you stop and regard beautiful detail, even in minute things”. So, if you aren’t sold yet, frankly, you’re missing out.

My scrapbook is not just junk; it has become the story of my life. I only wish I had started documenting earlier.