The Ultimate List Of Junk Journal Theme Ideas: With Prompts

The Ultimate List Of Junk Journal Theme Ideas: With Prompts

Have you ever wanted to start a new junk journal, but just can’t decide which theme to go with? I know from experience how frustrating that can be!

I don’t have that problem anymore, because not long after I had made my very first junk journal, I started creating a list of all the different junk journal themes that I found interesting. Whenever I thought of a new one, or was inspired by one I had seen on social media, I would add it to the list!

I’m Going To Share My Junk Journal Theme List With You!

Sometimes it can be really difficult to just get started! So I really hope this list of junk journal themes will help inspire you to choose a theme, not just for your next journal, but for all the journals that you will hopefully make in the future.

Along with the theme idea, I have added some prompts for different ways you might want to use that particular theme.

As you start reading the prompts, it will possibly show you how my mind works when I’m planning my junk journal and how I will often go down a different route of a theme.

How To Use This Junk Journal Theme List

As I said, this was the list I created for myself, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible to find the theme I was looking for, so I created it in alphabetical order.

I did initially try to group categories together, but I soon discovered that it wasn’t going to work that way because there were a lot of themes that would fit into several different categories and I didn’t want to keep repeating the same theme.

First, I have written the list of the junk journal theme name, but if you want to see more about my ideas on each different theme, you will see those further down the page.

Junk Journal Theme Ideas List

Here’s The Ultimate List Of Junk Journal Themes With Prompts

1. Afternoon Tea – The traditional style of afternoon tea here in the UK is a pot of tea, china cups and saucers, with sandwiches, a selection of cakes and scones with jam and clotted cream. 🍰 🧁

3. Alice in wonderland – Playing cards with the queen of hearts – Mad Hatter – White rabbit – Cheshire cat – bottles of potion – Jabberwock – Caterpillar – Tweedledee & Tweedledum – There is a huge list of things you could add to this theme, and you could do it either in a children’s version or a darker theme. This is a very popular junk journal theme and a particular favourite of mine.

4. Aliens – You can really let your imagination run wild with this one! You could use images and storylines from fictional films, or delve deep into the topic of people who claim to have seen aliens. 👽

5. Allotments / Community Garden – You could record what you have planted, and where – The crops you have picked – Your plans for the next season – Keep any packets from the seeds you’ve sown – photographs from when you first started and at various stages – Keep a record of costs. 🪴

6. Amusement Parks – Depending on how big you want to go with this one, you could do the biggest/best amusement parks in your country or around the world – or theme parks that you’ve actually visited – The biggest rollercoaster – fastest ride – scariest ride.

7. Angels – Cute Angels with lovely quotes – Actual named angels and what their purpose is for each one. 😇

8. Architecture – The history of architecture through the ages – Buildings that have special meaning to you – The major buildings and structures around the world.

9. Art Deco – The 1920s and 1930s style of decoration with geometric shapes and often bold colors – I particularly like the sunburst designs that still keep the geometric shapes within them.

10. Astronomy – Planets, stars… this topic is HUGE! Get it, the universe is infinity. Hhmm sorry! 🪐

11. Ballet – The types of ballet dances – The history of ballet – A progress journal of you or you kid’s lessons – Famous ballet dancers – Ballet in general, with pictures and light pinks with lace and soft fabrics. 🩰

12. Bees – As this is such a popular subject, there’s a huge amount of bee related ephemera and images available. 🐝

13. Birds – For a theme that sounds very simple this one could take a lot of different paths. Birds in your garden or yard – What to feed wild/pet birds – The larger varieties, like birds of prey – Birds of various countries – Breeding and keeping birds in captivity – Or perhaps just pretty birds in general. 🦅 🦢

14. Birthdays – In the form of a calendar, with all the relevant birthdays in date order, perhaps with a photo of the birthday person. – An ongoing birthday theme for a particular person through the years, perhaps of a child, another loved one, or for yourself. – Memories of past birthday events, such as photos from the kids birthday parties or milestone birthdays of older people. 🎂 🍰

15. Bohemian – A Bohemian lifestyle is often described as unconventional, I call it being a free spirt! So for a bohemian themed journal I would consider using places traveled to – Music – Spirituality – Friends – I would make it colorful with rich deep colors of gold, reds and purples.

16. Books – This could be a theme of a particular book, either for kids or adults – An author that you admire- A book series, such as Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones. Books in general. 📚 📕

17. Botanical – The study of plants, some lovely images of plants and what they are used for in medicine – The structure of plants and how they effect the environment. 🌱 I have made some specimen slides that would go perfectly with this theme, you can check out how to make them HERE, there is also some free printables on there to help you make them.

18. Bucket List – I have never created a bucket list, but it’s something that I would love to do by incorporating it into a junk journal! I think writing down your goals (or bucket list) is a very powerful tool in achieving them. Once you start creating a bucket list journal, it will get you thinking about new ideas of things you would really love to do, then it would be great fun to work through the journal and actually do some of the things on the list, ticking them off as you go. Once you achieved a goal, like traveling to a particular country, or a parachute jump, you could create another junk journal recording the event.

19. Burlesque – I love burlesque, (not me personally doing it though) I think it’s just so glamorous and powerful! I think a junk journal full of all that glitz, fans, feathers and corsets sounds amazing! This one is definitely on my to do list!

20. Butterflies – Aren’t butterflies the most gorgeous little creatures! No explanations needed here, I mean who doesn’t want to make a butterfly themed junk journal!

21. Cactus – What is it about cactus? I mean, they are spiny little things that want to prick us at every opportunity, but we still love them!

22. Camping – I have done a lot of camping over the years, and I love it! So I made junk journal with lots of photos of our camping trips and made some written notes about things that had happened… It’s one that I treasure because it has lots of lovely memories from our camping trips when the kids were little. You could make a general camping journal or places you have visited or would like to visit.

23. Cars – The history of cars – A particular make of car – The cars you have owned – high end cars.

24. Cats – Your own puuuurfect little kitty – a particular breed of cat – All beautiful cats!

25. Chocolate – A junk journal made of chocolate mmmm! Well maybe not, but perhaps vintage images of chocolate wrappers! – recipes of things made with chocolate.

26. Christmas – There is definitely no shortage of images and text you could use for a Christmas (or holiday) themed junk journal. – vintage images – cut up Christmas cards – bells, ribbons and charms in Christmassy colors of red, green and gold with a splattering of snow.

27. Circus – What a fun junk journal this would make, ‘all the fun of the circus’! With images of acrobats and clowns (unless you find them scary of course!) – vintage circus.

28. Classic cars – If you’re a classic car lover, or someone you know is, this would make a lovely unique gift. Images and specs – the history of classic cars.

29. Clocks – Clocks in a theme these days are usually thought of as a Steampunk theme, but clocks are interesting in their own right too, particularly vintage clocks.

30. Comedy – Things that make you laugh! humorous postcards – Favourite jokes/stories – Limericks – Cartoon sketches.

31. Comic book heros – This is for adults as well as kids. Images of superheroes along with their superpower – Maybe a splattering of KA-POW! BOOM! POOF! SNAP!

32. Crafts – Crafts you have made – things you want to make – A history of crafts – different types of crafts.

33. Crochet – Projects you’ve made – Things you want to make – Crochet patterns – crochet lace – samples of crochet stitches – Record of hook size, yarn type and stitch used for a particular project.

34. Crystals – Different types of crystals – What each crystal is used for – Which ones you have – Which ones do you want to have.

35. Disney – There are no need for prompts here, who doesn’t love all things Disney and everything to do with the subject.

36. Dogs – Similar to cat prompts… Your own perfect pooch – a particular breed of dog – All beautiful dogs !

37. Dragonflies – These are very significant in our family – Did you know that dragonflies can fly backwards?

38. Dragons – The myths and legends – images – fire 🔥 – scales.

39. Drawing – Your own drawings – how your drawing has changed over the years – the history of.

40. Dreams – This could be a dream journal – The meaning of different types of dreams.

41. Easter – Easter chicks – bunnies – eggs – the religious meanings.

42. English Garden – Your own garden and the plants in it – roses – spring flowers – seed packets.

43. Fairies – There is a vast array of beautiful fairy images to choose from – collect images and story pages from children’s. If you are unsure about cutting up books, you might find this article interesting; Is It OK To Cut Up Books To Use In Junk Journals?

44. Fairy Tales – The same prompts for a ‘fairies theme’ also applies here.

45. Family – A family tree – photos and memories of past generations – pictures your kids have painted…you could scan them and print them out at a reduced size. – Your family as they have grown – funny things they have said.

46. Farming – vintage farming images, a look back at farming when a lot of things were done by hand or horse power – crop rotation – animal farming – All things found on a farm… Tractors, barns, hens, pigs, haystacks, cows, horses… I’m sure you get the general idea! 😆

47. Flamingos – I put flamingos in here because my sister loves flamingos and I want to make her a junk journal!

48. Food – Your favourite foods – meals your family enjoy – Barbecues.

49. Football/soccer – Favourite team – favourite players – team colors – a record of trophies won – matches played – goals scored.

50. Forests – Types/names of forests – different plants and trees that grow in forests – the animals that live in them.

51. Friends – Memories of special times with friends – Lots of photos.

52. Fruit  & Vegetables – Pictures of lush fruit – images of fruit trees – your favourite fruits.

53. Gambling/Casino – Dice – poker chips and table – altered playing cards – altered dominoes – James Bond, or other film characters inn casino roles.

54. Gypsy – beautiful caravans – horses – cooking campfires – dancing and singing.

55. Halloween – Pumpkins – jack o lanterns – ghosts and witches – dressing up.

56. Hawaiian – Pineapples – This is such a fun theme to do with all the beautiful summery colors and pineapples – grass skirts and hula dancers… Oohh and did I mention pineapples? Palm trees and beach parties.

57. Healthy Eating – keep all your healthy recipes in one place, with your favourites front and centre – healthy snacks with lovely images, so when you are tempted to ‘go off track’ you can flip open your junk journal and be inspired by all the lovely healthy goodies.

58. Herbs – Images of all the different types of herbs and what they are used for – maybe some recipes of things you have made – create your own herb garden and keep a record of it in your junk journal.

59. Horses – Types of horse breeds – your own horse or horses – The types of food they eat – horse shelters – Famous horses – horse racing/jumping.

60. Hot air balloons – There are some gorgeous images of hot air balloons – The history of ballooning – hot air balloon races.

60. Inspirational quotes – I have a file on my computer where I save quotes, there are just so many of them. You can print them out with a picture background. This is another theme that is on my list of junk journals to do in the very near future… I just need more hours in the day!

61. Japanese (or country of choice) culture – You can obviously do any country that you like here, I just have a fascination with Japanese culture, when I get chance to make my bucket list journal, a trip to Japan will be on that list. Kimonos – Anime – Geisha – their cuisine – Their ancient tea ceremony – Kawaii culture.

62. Journalism – There are many different types of journalism, so you would go down the route that interests you the most, or do an overall journalism junk journal.

63. Jungle – Oh I like this one! All the different big cats, the amazing trees and leaf patterns.

64. Knitting – Similar to a crochet theme, projects you’ve made – Things you want to make – Knitting patterns – samples of knitting stitches – Record of needle size, yarn type and stitch used for a particular project.

65. Love Letters – What a lovely way to keep all those treasured love letters, it keeps them safe, and easy to rad through at any time – If I made one I would have lots of soft lace and ribbons.

66. Magic – This could contain famous magicians – Well known magic trick images – altered playing cards.

67. Maps – I have a roll of wallpaper that has world maps on it, which I use for lots of different craft projects. I have covered a travel journal with it and made some ephemera for them too.

68. Memory book for a loved one – Photographs – quotes of things they were known for saying – Ephemera made from their clothes – a lock of hair – Their favourite color – Clips from comments they made on social media. This is one of the Junk Journal themes that I will be doing in the very near future for my beautiful daughter, Sammie who passed away when she was 15.

69. Mermaids – This is a very popular junk journal theme because so many people love mermaids.

70. Metallics – I cut open empty soda cans and emboss them. However, there are lots of ways to create a metallic look without actually using metals. There are some great metallic paints available and also Rub ‘n’ Buff which works wonderfully.

71. Motorbikes – The history of motorbikes – A particular make of motorbike – The bikes you have owned – high end motorbikes.

72. Mountains – The biggest mountain ranges – Climbing – Mountains you have seen/climbed.

73. Movies – Different movie genres – your favourite movie theme – quotes from movie scenes – favourite actors.

74. Music – Old music papers – music genres – musical instruments – composers.

75. No Theme – Of course you are free to have no theme at all! A lot of people don’t get started with their journal because they just don’t know what theme to go with. I have made several junk journals that didn’t have any theme at all, and they turned out fab… I plan to make more in the future too!

76. Nursery rhymes – There is a vast array of beautiful nursery rhyme images to choose from – collect images and story pages from children’s. If you are unsure about cutting up books, you might find this article interesting; Is It OK To Cut Up Books To Use In Junk Journals?

77. Origami – this would be such fun to do, you could make some great origami pockets and tuck spots to go along with the theme.

78. Painting – Your own paintings… you could paint straight into the junk journal, or you could scan your paintings and then print them out at a smaller size – Banksy – Different painting styles or mediums – Famous painters.

79. Pandas – All those pictures of gorgeous pandas!!

80. Photography – If you’re into photography, then I’m sure you don’t need me to suggest anything here. 😃

81. Picnics – Oohhh picnics!!! Lovely summer days with picnic blankets… or at least pictures of them or fabrics!

82. Pirates – We have dressed up a few times as pirates for various themed parties and festivals, so why not a junk journal theme!

83. Pokémon – All thosee cute little Pokémon characters you could use!

84. Postage Stamps – You can make your own ephemera in the form of postage stamps! I also have some free printable stamps on this website in the Freebies Library! Feel free to go in there and help yourself to all other freebies too! 😃

85. Prayer – Keep all your favourite verses in one place.

86. Prompts for your art or writing – Having good ideas for our art or writing is fab, but trying to remember them all is not so fab… Create a junk journal to keep a record of them.

87. Rainbows – Nothing needs to be said here… just, I love rainbows! 🌈

88. Reading – Anything and everything to do with reading! You could make notes of books you have read and your thoughts on them – a list of books you would like to read.

89. Recipes – All your favourite recipes in one place!

90. Romance – Who doesn’t like a bit of romance! Soft lace, hearts and flowers, pictures of the love of your life and you together.

91. Running – photos and journal your own running experiences – running as a theme in general.

92. Sailing – Ships through the ages – sailing races – sailing in general.

93. Seaside – All things at the seaside.

94. Seed Packets – these are great to use as ephemera in junk journals. Either vintage prints of seed packets, or seed packets that you have used yourself. A whole journal with this theme would be lovely, all those beautiful vibrant colors.

95. Sewing – There’s lots of vintage ephemera that can be printed out and used for this theme, because just about every family made their own clothes at some point back then.

96. Shakespeare – perhaps not the whole works of Shakespeare, that would be one HUGE junk journal, but an overall view of the man and his work would be lovely.

97. Shoes/boots – I love shoes, because even when I can’t find clothes in the shops that fit me and look nice, I can ALWAYS buy a pair of shoes!! 👠 😀

98. Steam trains – They may have been smelly an not good for the environment, but they are such beautiful vehicles! There is so much information on thee internet that you could use in a steam trains themed junk journal, along with all those lovely pictures.

99. Steampunk – Victorian fashions – the age of steam – hot air balloons – corsets and hats… Oh the glamour of it all!!

100. Suffragettes – This is a very important part of our history, and one that should be remembered and applauded forever! To honour these courageous women in a junk journal gets my support!

101. Tarot – You could use thee full deck of cards throughout the journal.

102. The weird and wonderful – We probably all have different ideas of what is weird and wonderful, but the world is full of weird and wonderful stuff to use here.

103. Theatre – I love going to the theatre! All those ornate fixtures and fittings, with beautiful drapes of red and gold curtains! – Theatres through the ages.

104. Traveling – A travel journal is very popular and a great way to record your holidays with new junk journal for each holiday you take. – photos – ticket stubs – favourite destinations – the food – the culture.

104. Turtles – Just turtles! They are fab!

105. Unicorns – You don’t have to be a kiddo to love unicorns! All those pastel colors and, well, unicorns!

106. University – Keep a record forever of your time spent at university – Put all your favourite photos and memories in here … oohhh and the lessons of course… maybe!

107. Vintage advertising – The vintage adverts are so much nicer than they are today! I have made so much ephemera from vintage adverts that I’ve printed out, I think I may be a little bit addicted to them!… See below for Info on how to get some from my freebies library.

108. Vintage Women – There are so many elegant vintage fashions, and so much choice, so this is also one I really like.

109. Yoga – Keep a record of your own yoga experiences, or go for a more general yoga themed junk journal.

I hope my junk journal themes list has given you lots of inspiration!

Some Free Printable Pictures For YourJunk Journals

I have created lots of free stuff for you to print out and use in your junk journals… Just click HERE to find my Freebies Library

Books Full Of Images To Cut Out And Use In Your Junk Journals

I created some actual books that are designed to be cut up and used in your junk journals. I know not everyone can print things out at home, so this is a great alternative. You will find a bit more detail about them at the bottom of THIS page