How to Make Cards with Stamperia's Junk Journal Ephemera Books
How to Make Cards with Stamperia's Junk Journal Ephemera Books
Stamperia's junk journal kits are not just for journals. The White Christmas Junk Journal by Cristina Radovan gives you 16 pages of backgrounds, stickers, and die cuts in a cozy vintage winter cottage theme, which makes it one of the fastest ways to build a layered, nostalgic focal point for a card without owning a single stamp. Here is how to bring one to your card table.
Want to learn how to build your own card base? Read "How to make your first A2 card base here.
Step 1: Pull your images before you pick your card base
Flip through the kit and pull three or four pieces that share a color story or a theme. White Christmas gives you sleeping polar bear cubs, a girl cradling a rabbit by the fire, sheep, deer, panettone, and vintage furniture in soft creams and dusty blues. Let the images you love guide your card base color, not the other way around.
Step 2: Build your focal panel first
Cut a panel slightly smaller than your card front. This is your canvas. Layer your die cuts and stickers here before you commit anything to the card base itself. Working on a separate panel means you can move pieces around freely and only glue the panel down once the whole scene works.
Step 3: Vary your image sizes
Pick one larger die cut, like the tufted armchair or the sleeping polar bear cubs, as your anchor, then two or three smaller pieces to layer around or partly behind it. A single large cutout on a card front can look flat. A large piece with smaller supporting pieces tucked at the edges reads as intentional and finished.
Step 4: Reach for liquid glue on the small pieces
The stickers in this kit are ready to place, peel and stick right onto your panel. The die cuts are a different story. Those are printed on a heavier weight paper without a built in adhesive layer, so a fine tip liquid glue is your best friend for those pieces. It bonds flat, delicate cutouts cleanly without the bulk of tape. If you also work with Ciao Bella junk journal books, those do include transparent adhesive pages on the die cut sheets too, which is a nice option to reach for when you want a faster build.
Step 5: Add dimension with foam tape
Once your focal panel is built, foam tape one or two of the top layer pieces so they lift slightly off the page. This small step is what makes a card look dimensional in person instead of flat like a printed image.
Step 6: Finish with one of the kit's own sentiments
This is where White Christmas does some of the work for you. The kit includes sentiment stickers like "Handmade with love" and "let it snow," so you often do not need to source a separate greeting. Pick one that fits your scene and let it be the only text on the card.
Step 7: Save the scraps
Every kit leaves cut off edges and partial images behind. Keep a small envelope or pouch for these scraps. They are perfect for shaker cards, gift tags, or a quick second card when you are short on time.
We carry a large selection of Stamperia's junk journals, stencils, and specialty papers, hand selected for vintage-inspired card making and mixed media work. Browse the full Stamperia collection here.
A few questions I get a lot:
Do Stamperia junk journal kits come with adhesive already on the page?
The stickers do, they are ready to peel and stick. The die cuts do not have adhesive, so add some glue to attach those pieces to your project.
Can I use a junk journal kit if I have never made a card with ephemera before?
Yes. Start by cutting a few pieces you like and laying them on a spare panel before gluing anything down. There is no special skill required, just a willingness to move pieces around until the layout feels right.
How many cards can I get out of one junk journal kit?
It depends on how much of each sheet you use, but with 16 pages of backgrounds, stickers, and die cuts, most card makers get several cards plus leftover scraps for shaker cards and tags.
Happy Card Making!