Tech
25+ gadgets to totally level up your junk journaling game
If you're a junk journaler (or have one in your life), you probably have a proclivity for swiping a crisp cocktail napkin into your bag when you’re out for drinks or saving a particularly cute flyer from a museum event that you went to. Maybe your first thought is even, “I should grab some for my junk journal” at the sight of confetti exploding over an arena during your favorite artists’ concert or a stray plastic flower petal that blew onto your picnic blanket. Junk journaling can be quite special and meaningful to those who really jive with this creative practice.
Junk journaling is also an awesome analog activity to take up if you're looking to cut down on screen time and spend less of your day doomscrolling.
What is junk journaling?
“The number one rule of junk journaling is that there are no rules,” Martina Calvi says in her book A Year of Junk Journaling: 52 creative prompts to transform the scraps of your life into art. In case you haven't heard about it, junk journaling is a practice of saving "trash" or ephemera from your daily life and gluing it down in a physical journal. Some folks also have robust digital junk journals and collages on their iPad in programs like Procreate or Freeform.
“No matter how mundane you think your life is, there are beautiful memories worth preserving, and your future self will thank you for collecting these in a tangible form,” Calvi writes. “The simple joys of sharing a coffee with your friend, walking through the park on your day off, or having dinner with your parents.”
In her book, Calvi encourages folks to get creative with what they see in their daily life. Fans of junk journaling emphasize that the practice of noticing the meaning behind small objects can have a ripple effect of appreciation for the minutiae of your life.
For example, junk journalers often commemorate things like a stray grocery receipt from a first Thanksgiving in a new home or a matchbook from a memorably bad date. As opposed to scrapbooking, which often spotlights traditionally important events, anything goes in junk journaling.
Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable
What are the best gadgets for junk journaling?
Junk journalers on TikTok and Pinterest have a healthy self-awareness that our little hobby can be a bit unusual or extra. It seems like many junk journalers often must find a way to strike a balance between saving memorabilia for our hobby and letting things just go into the trash or recycling. Antics aside, junk journaling can be super fun. Something that makes any crafting practice more fun is snagging the best tools to enhance it.
You can call me inspector because I truly love a gadget. Picking up a new tool or gadget related to your artistic hobby can be so inspiring. It can renew your love of the practice because you suddenly have new and inventive ways to create. Below, we rounded up some of the absolute best tools and essentials for junk journalers and crafters, et al.
A journal
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First and foremost, you need a journal to house all your junk. The blank Leuchtturm1917 notebook is one of the most popular among junk journalers on TikTok. Just note that the pages are a bit see-through, so you'll want to glue them together for each new spread to avoid bleeding.
A Year of Junk Journaling
This book is such an amazing resource for avid junk journalers or folks who are curious about the art form. It inspired me so much about things I wasn’t even considering for my spreads, like fruit stickers, restaurant matchboxes, receipts, candy wrappers, and handwritten things from loved ones, like grocery lists. The spreads are so colorful and inspiring in this book, too.
A photo sticker printer
A mini photo printer is the perfect sidekick for someone who wants to fill their junk journal with pictures to correspond with their spreads. Some of our favorites are the Canon Ivy 2, Kodak Step, HP Sprocket, and HP Sprocket Panorama. Just connect the printers to your smartphone or social media accounts and print photo stickers on demand.
Bench organizer
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This is the perfect addition to a junk journaler’s desk. There are so many compartments for organizing postcards, pencils, pens, stickers, scissors, and notebooks. Junk journaling can get pretty chaotic and disorganized with all of the random scraps that you save.
Epson EcoTank printer
For serious crafters and junk journalers who want to print to their hearts' content, the Epson Ecotank series is a complete game-changer. At varying price points, Epson has revolutionized printing in color. The EcoTank printer comes with bottles of ink that barely run out after printing many pages of full, vibrant color.
Chompsaw
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The Chompsaw is an exciting new invention directed primarily at children, but the brand emphasizes that it's safe for ages 3 to 103 for a reason. The Chompsaw acts like a “bench saw” for cardboard and thicker paper products. Intended to be completely safe for tiny and adult fingers, it allows folks to get really creative with their trash.
Toddler digital instant camera
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This might sound so bananas, but this toddler digital camera with instant print capability is an amazing tool for junk journalers because the cameras use thermal printing, meaning the film is not as precious as Instax or Polaroid (though those are super fun to use as well). While some instant print cameras that use film cost around $16 for a box of 20 photos, rolls of paper for these cameras cost around $10 for six rolls. Each roll for these “toddler” cameras can print 70 photos. The photos are only in black and white, but can add a fun pop of creativity to your junk journaling spreads.
Pen hot glue gun
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This cordless pen glue gun from Dremel is seriously innovative with its easy-squeeze trigger. The glue gun is designed to be held like a pen for easier maneuvering and grip strength. This is awesome for junk journalers who like to include unique and hard-to-glue-down objects like fake flowers, pennies, and other truly random treasures. Eschew the annoying features of the classic glue gun with its limiting cord, constant tipping over, and clunky application design.
Dremel electric scissors
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For folks who work with many different materials, from fabric to cardboard, these electric scissors from Dremel might come in super handy. Cut through tons of material for your junk journal spread without tiring out your hands.
Kodak nice digital camera
A friend to many junk journalers is the classic digital camera. Yes, many, if not most, of us have phones that can take pictures. However, having a digital camera can offer a different texture and aesthetic to the photos that you’re snapping.
Polaroid camera
For folks who want higher-quality photos in their spreads, a classic Polaroid camera can’t steer you wrong. This Polaroid Now 3rd-generation I-type instant camera also comes with two packs of eight film sheets. Add that classic nostalgic touch to your junk journal spreads with vivid snaps of your favorite places, people, or things.
Portable scanner
This portable scanner tool is so cool. It is specified for documents, but many folks will use it on surfaces, signs, posters, and textures they see when out and about. Scan textures you see on your travels or in your neighborhood and save them for your next digital or IRL collage. Graphic designers rave about the scanner’s ability to capture texture more than a simple smartphone photo.
Artist and content creator lamp
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If content creation is an essential part of your creative or artistic practice, artists have raved in the avalanche of positive reviews for this lamp. The lamp clamps onto your desk and can move around and change its brightness level. It also has a convenient mount for placing your phone in and recording your crafting session.
Letter stamps
If your handwriting looks better in your head than it does on paper, you might have fun with an alphabet stamp set. Create cohesive titles for your spreads or stamp out words and numbers that fit the theme of your junk.
iPad
For folks who vibe with the concept of junk journaling but not with the mess of scissors, tape, paper, and glue, you can still be a junk journaler! Celebrate those photos that just sit in your camera roll by giving them another life in a digital collage with Procreate or Freeform.
Apple Pencil Pro
Digital junk journalers all over TikTok are rarely seen without an Apple Pencil. This stylus is so compatible with iPads, it can allow you to digitally collage, illustrate, and junk journal to your heart’s content.
Band.do stickers
Sticker lovers can rejoice with this booklet from Ban.do. The brand has tons of different artists contribute to each booklet it releases. Stickers can always be a fun addition to junk journaling, even though they’re not “found objects.”
Flow, the Book for Paper Lovers
Sometimes you just don't have enough junk to fill up all of the white space in your journal — or you simply want some fun paper as the backdrop for your spread. Flow is an awesome book full of paper, stickers, illustrations, and even journaling ideas.
Double-sided tape dispenser
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Double-sided tape dispensers can make your junk journaling session go super smoothly. This set comes with two dispensers and eight refills, so you can get a lot of stuff taped down.
Fiskars circle cutter
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This Fiskars circle cutter can punch out precise circles from various materials. Cut out different sizes of circles with this cutter that comes with three separate replacement blades.
Funky scissors
Give your junk a fun, decorative edge with this set of six scrapbooking scissors.
Mini embosser kit
This mini embosser machine is something that could elevate or add a dash of creativity to your practice. Roll paper through this machine to emboss the material with unique shapes, patterns, or words. The opportunities for creativity are pretty much endless.
X-Acto knife set
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This scrapbooking knife set speaks for itself when it comes to junk journaling. It’s an excellent tool for isolating certain images in a pamphlet or paper that you want to cut out with more precision than the average pair of household scissors.
Heated ribbon cutter
This tool is super helpful for cutting ribbon or other materials that are likely to fray. It seals the end of the cut material with heat.
Label printer
Label printers are such an unsung hero of the junk journaling game. Instantly print labels for your spreads that can indicate any info you’d like. Print out labels for the date of your spread, explain an inside joke, or even decoratively incorporate song lyrics or lines from your favorite poem.
Thermal laminator
A laminator might be a great score for someone who wants to junk journal in a more practical sense. Make bookmarks or reusable calendars out of your junk journaling spreads by creating your masterpiece and feeding it through the laminator for enhanced permanence.
Accordion file folder
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This accordion file folder on Amazon is perfect for the junk journalers who are running out of room for storing all their unused ephemera. It’s expandable, so it can grow and shrink with the ebbs and flows of your collection of things.
Phone app limiter
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This might be a surprising inclusion on this list, but the Brick phone-locking device could be a really helpful tool for your creativity. Tap your phone against the Brick to lock your access to the apps of your choosing and fully focus on your artistic project. (Many of our staff members use and love the Brick.)
Tech
Bad Bunnys halftime show sparked emotional reactions across the Americas. See the heartwarming videos now.
During Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show, millions of viewers experienced the performance together — cheering in living rooms, filming on their phones, and reacting in real time. But for those of Latin American descent, hearing their home countries named out loud during Benito's grand finale made the moment especially meaningful.
In his closing act, Bad Bunny transformed the stage into a celebration of the Americas. Dancers carried flags from countries across North, Central, and South America, while a massive screen behind him flashed messages like "The only thing more powerful than hate is love." He capped the roll call of nations with a declaration that "together, we are America," framing the finale as a moment of shared identity and joy.
For those watching at home, the emotion didn't end when the music stopped. Viewers immediately took to social media to document their reactions, sharing clips of their friends and families cheering, hugging, and erupting with pride when their countries were named — turning a televised performance into a collective celebration.
Together, these clips formed a digital mosaic of diaspora, stitched from small, intimate moments across phone screens and time zones. Each video captured the same feeling: that for a few minutes, home — wherever it was — didn't feel so far away.
Tech
Best last-minute deals on Valentines Day flowers so far — you have way more options than plain roses
The Bouqs Co.
1-800-Flowers
Urban Stems
Unless your recipient has explicitly expressed their disdain for receiving flowers (we all know at least one hater), you really can't go wrong with surprising someone with fresh blooms for Valentine's Day. Not when there are so many opportunities to pick out a truly unique bouquet that fits his or her tastes: Most of the best flower delivery services are offering great last-minute Valentine's Day deals on flower deliveries, saving you 25% to 50% on a gift for the upcoming romantic weekend.
1-800-Flowers is your go-to spot for a classic bouquet of roses on a budget, while The Bouqs Co. and Urban Stems have elevated takes on traditional arrangements that aren't like anything you'd walk past in the grocery store. A majority of bouquets on sale can be delivered by Saturday, Feb. 14 (check the earliest possible delivery date for each). Either way, you're bound to find some pretty stems that scream "them" — so while the timing itself is rushed, the flowers they receive don't have to feel like an afterthought.
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SAVE $30: As of Feb. 10, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 is on sale for just $69.99 at Amazon. That's 30% off its list price of $99.99.
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Mashable's shopping team has spent quite a bit of time with Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speakers and we're big fans. We love the Hyperboom and Epicboom, but the itty bitty Wonderboom is one of our absolute favorites. If you're in the market for a portable Bluetooth speaker, we highly recommend this tiny powerhouse — especially when it's on sale.
As of Feb. 10, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 is down to just $69.99 at Amazon. That's 30% off its list price of $99.99 and just 10 bucks shy of its best-ever price from Black Friday.
Our favorite sub-$100 Bluetooth speaker, the Wonderboom 4 fits in the palm of your hand but offers surprisingly balanced and powerful sound. As Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard noted in our roundup, "the sound profile is well-rounded and can get loud."
It can last up to 14 hours on a full charge, handles drops from up to five feet like a champ, and can be submerged in water for up to half an hour. We do wish it offered a companion app to customize the sound profile, but for a ultra-portable no-frills speaker, it's an excellent value.
Bad Bunnys halftime show sparked emotional reactions across the Americas. See the heartwarming videos now.
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