Twentysomething production assistant embraces scrapbooking as a sentimental time capsule

A twentysomething Guardian Australia production assistant says she has become enamoured of scrapbooking, describing the hobby as a way to create her own sentimental time capsule.

She says the pastime, often labelled “junk journalling” on social media, involves collecting physical mementoes such as tickets, receipts, packaging and Polaroids, and has appealed to people seeking an analogue counterpoint to heavy screen time. After finding written journalling humiliating, she says scrapbooking lets her explore feelings through glossy pictures and miscellanea—ribbon scraps, brand labels and gemstone stickers—and that “with scrapbooking … I’m able to speak in a language only I can decipher.”

She adds the craft does not require skill—“you just need scissors, glue, paper and the joie de vivre of a toddler”—and describes it as intimate, meditative and aesthetically pleasing. She has introduced friends to it, who told her “this is a lot more fun than I thought” and “who knew this would be so relaxing?”, and many said they were keen to take it up. Her scrapbook has grown mammoth-sized, and she goes through plenty of glue and paper, which she says at least makes her feel like a celebrity at her local Officeworks.

Key Topics

Culture, Scrapbooking, Junk Journalling, Eleanor Burnard, Polaroids, Officeworks