In a chronically online world, people are finding respite in junk journaling | National & World [Video]

(CNN) — Danielle Catton is the kind of person who hangs onto old birthday cards, boarding passes and business cards — ephemera that feels wrong to toss but doesn’t have a particular use.

These pieces of her everyday life sat accumulating in a large plastic bin until recently, when she came across a YouTuber who introduced her to the practice of junk journaling.

Junk journaling calls for taking those bits and bobs and sticking them onto a notebook page. A freeform hybrid of collage, scrapbooking and traditional journaling, the creative hobby is having a moment right now. Google searches for “junk journaling” spiked in late December and early January, and countless creators across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have been documenting their junk journal processes and sharing tips with followers.

While scrapbooking might involve purchasing sticker kits and ornately decorated paper to document a specific occasion, junk journaling emphasizes the use of found and recycled materials: a sticker from a piece of fruit, …