The Modern Girls' Guide to Digital Junk Journaling on Pinterest and Shuffles
This one’s for my creative girls who don’t love to get down and dirty with a glue stick. If you’ve ever wanted to junk journal without the mess—(or hoarding craft supplies) - this one is for you. Perhaps you’re a spreadsheet girly who lives online. Perhaps you simply don’t have space in your apartment for bins of colored pencils and magazines. Or - perhaps you just want a place to get started before you commit to the real-deal-tactile thing. Let’s talk digital journaling with Pinterest and Shuffles.
What Is Digital Junk Journaling?
Surprise! It’s just what it sounds like. Digital junk journaling is a creative form of self-expression that blends visual collage, personal memory keeping, and digital design - and you might love this - no scissors or glue required. Inspired by traditional junk journals filled with paper cutouts, ephemera, and handwritten notes, the digital version takes the same cut-and-paste spirit and brings it to the digital space.
Instead of rifling through drawers for washi tape and stamps, digital journalers turn to apps like Pinterest, Procreate, Canva, and most recently, Shuffles — a collage-making app (now integrated with Pinterest) that’s quickly becoming the modern girl's favorite journaling tool.
I’m definitely a list maker. Ask my 200+ spotify playlists or 137 Pinterest boards. So it makes sense to use these digital junk journals to sort out concepts I just don’t have the materials to start a real spread for. Digital junk journaling offers a flexible, no-rules creative outlet. It’s part scrapbook, part vision board, and part digital diary, curated entirely by you.
Why Pinterest (and Shuffles) Is the Perfect Place to Start
Let’s talk. If you’ve ever fallen into a Pinterest rabbit hole (don’t lie to me rn) of cute 90s stickers, the perfect thrift wishlist, or interior design ideas for your non-existent home, you already know: Pinterest is a visual goldmine. It’s where aesthetics live, and where digital junk journalers find endless inspo.
But here’s where it gets even better: Shuffles was built by Pinterest — and it shows. With Pinterest now deeply integrated into Shuffles, you can pull pins directly from your boards into your collages with a few taps. No saving, downloading, or screenshotting needed. It’s seamless, intuitive, and honestly kind of genius.
Let’s say you're crafting a moodboard for your “main character energy” era or piecing together a page full of visual affirmations. Either way, Pinterest gives you the source material, and Shuffles turns it into a fully layered, moveable, remixable digital journal spread.
For beginners, this combo is the dream:
No need to create your layers from scratch
Built-in (and endless) inspiration
A shared visual language that makes curation easy and fun
In short? Pinterest fuels the ideas. Shuffles brings them to life.
How to Use Shuffles to Make Digital Junk Journal Pages
Once you’ve gathered a little inspiration (and maybe made a board or fourteen), it’s time to start creating collage. Shuffles makes it surprisingly easy (and addictive). Designed with digital scrapbooking at its core, Shuffles gives you the tools to layer, cut, and remix content with way more freedom than traditional free, mobile graphic design apps.
Here’s how to get started:
Pull from Pinterest (or your camera roll).
You can import images directly from your Pinterest boards or use photos, screenshots, and downloads from your phone. Shuffles automatically crops out backgrounds, which makes everything feel like a sticker you can move around.Start layering.
Add as many images as you want. You can rotate, resize, flip, and layer them to create that signature junk journal look — messy, textured, and full of personality. The layering options are super intuitive, so you can easily send images backward or bring others to the front with a tap.Save your collage as a draft.
Not finished yet? No problem. Shuffles lets you save projects as drafts, so you can come back later and keep building. This is especially helpful for those pages you want to sit with for a while before calling them “done.” For example, my thrift wishlist pin was not a one-day-and-done type of deal.Add text or doodles if you want.
While Shuffles is more visual than text-heavy, you can absolutely add little phrases, handwritten notes, or overlays for a more personal touch. Think: song lyrics, affirmations, or that quote you saw on Instagram 4 years ago and still think about.
Shuffles gives you the tools to make your vision feel intentional and aesthetic — fast.
Not sure where to start? Let me inspire you with some of my Pinterest Creations:
Curating Your Pinterest Boards Like a Digital Ephemera Library
If Shuffles is one book in your collection, Pinterest is your personal library archive. The trick? Organize your boards in a system that works for you.
Just like a traditional junk journaler might keep a shoebox full of stickers or a drawer of patterned scrapbook paper, you can use Pinterest to collect and categorize your digital “scraps.”
Here’s how to curate with intention:
Create themed boards - Think in categories: vintage fonts, pressed flowers, ticket stubs, modern letters, textured backgrounds, affirmations, color palettes, Y2K sparkle. Something that will be easy to browse when you’re building a collage in Shuffles.
Pin with purpose - Don’t just save things at random. Ask yourself: Would I use this in a spread? Does this fit my current aesthetic? Over time, you’ll train your algorithm to feed you better pins — and your boards will start to feel more catered to you.
Use board sections for even more organization - Inside a single board, you can break things down further. For example, a “Junk Journal Textures” board might include sections like paper backgrounds, tape and torn edges, grunge overlays, and soft pastel swatches.
Think beyond just images - Save quotes, layout inspiration, and color stories. Anything that sparks a feeling or a concept can find a home in your library.
A well-curated Pinterest account becomes an ongoing resource — a creative filing system that grows with you. And because it integrates directly with Shuffles, your pins are always just a few taps away from becoming part of your next digital journal page.
What to Do With Your Finished Digital Junk Journal Collages
So you’ve layered, stickered, and moodboarded - now what?
One of the best things about digital junk journaling is how versatile the finished pins are. Whether you’re creating just for you or sharing your work with the world, your collages don’t have to sit in your Pinterest account collecting “digital dust”.
Here are a few ideas for what to do next:
1. Save them to your camera roll
Shuffles allows you to export your finished collages as high-res images. You can keep them in a dedicated album on your phone, create a monthly “visual diary,” or just scroll through them when you need a dose of your own creativity to look back on. For example, let’s say you have a garden inspo pic - it’s easy to pull up every time you visit the nursery.
2. Share them on social
Post to Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok as part of a digital journaling series. You might be surprised how many people are inspired by seeing behind-the-scenes glimpses of someone else’s process. Or — keep them private and sacred. There’s no wrong way to journal.
3. Print them
Yes, print! Use your collages as covers for physical journals, vision board posters, postcards, or even zines. Some journalers love the hybrid approach — designing digitally, then printing out favorites to glue into physical journals for a mixed-media moment.
4. Use them as wallpapers
Turn your collages into lock screen or home screen wallpapers for a daily reminder of your intentions or as a way to manifest your vision.
5. Archive them into collections
If you journal regularly, consider creating folders (or even using a cloud service like Google Drive or Notion) to organize your spreads by mood, month, or theme. Over time, you’ll build a visual timeline of your thoughts, feelings, and inspiration.
No matter how you use them, your finished spreads are little time capsules — visual snapshots of your inner world. Keep them close or share them widely, they’re worth seeing.
Hashtags & Keywords to Help Your Digital Junk Journaling Get Seen
If you're ready to share your digital junk journal pages with the world, a well-chosen hashtag or keyword can help your work reach the right corners of the internet. Post on Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram, or whatever your social of choice. Discoverability is all about language.
Popular Hashtags to Try
Use these when posting your spreads to increase visibility:
#DigitalJunkJournal
#ShufflesApp
#Shuffles
#JunkJournalSpread
#DigitalJournal
#Collage
#DigitalScrapbook
#Moodboard
#JournalingCommunity
#AestheticJournaling
You can also niche down based on your content — for example:
#ThriftJunkJournal
#VintageEphemera
#ManifestationJournal
#CottagecoreJournal
#MaximalistMoodboard
Mix and match hashtags with searchable phrases to give your content a better chance of getting picked up by both algorithms and real humans looking for inspiration.
Remember: your journal pages are art — and art deserves an audience.
Wanna Get Exclusive Spread Ideas?
I’m launching The Little Object Files May of 2025!
The Little Object Files is a digital PDF download, lovingly curated around May’s monthly theme (think Summer Picnic Vibes)—designed to spark inspiration and joy around junk journaling. Perfect for junk journalers of all experience levels—whether you’re a seasoned sticker-layerer or just discovering the joy of tiny scissors. Inside:
2 Exclusive Spread Ideas (you won’t find them on my blog)
1 Page of Journal Prompts
A 1-Page Monthly Themed Junk Journaling Scavenger Hunt
Either 1 Page of Tips & Tricks or 1 Page of Printable Collage Items
Get on the waitlist to be notified:
My Junk Journal Must-Haves List
P.S. If you want to shop my amazon list of items I bought for my junk journal, it is here.
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