What started as a shared love of stickers, scraps and storytelling has grown into a welcoming creative community across Tucson.

Keep Tucson Crafty, a local junk journaling club founded by newcomers Codi Wilcox and Ayzia Logan, brings people together each month to unplug, get creative and connect at neighborhood businesses. Through low-pressure meetups built around collaging everyday “junk,” the group has become a space for friendship, self-expression and community.

Junk journaling is a creative, low-pressure form of journaling that combines elements of a diary, scrapbook and collage. People use everyday items, including receipts, wrappers, ticket stubs, magazine clippings, notes and stickers, to document memories, moods, interests or daily life.

There are no rules or expectations, making it less about perfection and more about personal expression and storytelling.

Wilcox and Logan became friends through their mutual following of Martina Calvi, an Instagram junk journaler who sells stickers and supplies dedicated to the hobby.

Both Wilcox and Logan moved to Tucson in the past few years and were inspired to create the club as a way to meet other crafty people in the area.

“I have met so many good friends, Codi’s one of them. I’d probably never have met her if it was not for the journaling,” Logan said.

Junk journaling has gained popularity in the past year, with people around the world finding joy and comfort in collecting items to collage in their journals.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve been into garbage, collecting wrappers and papers,” Logan said. “I’ve always been a crafty kid. I still have a journal from when I was like 8 or 9, it was like my own diary and junk journal.”

She said that when she was younger, her peers were more focused on technology and social media, making it feel “weird” to be junk journaling before the hobby was popular or widely known.

Recent trends show more people choosing to disconnect from social media, contributing to a growing interest in physical media such as magazines, books and journaling.

“It’s just a stress-free way to put your memories down,” Wilcox said.

For perfectionists, junk journaling offers a pressure-free creative environment. There is no need to worry about making perfect pages or comparing work to others, as the “junk” aspect encourages experimentation and imperfection.

Materials can range from napkins saved from a lunch with friends to lists of favorite movies, color-themed collages or small items found during a walk. The format also offers an outlet for using collected craft supplies that might otherwise go unused.

“Every little piece, it tells a story,” Logan said. “Try not to overthink it. We have everything else in our life to overthink.”

That sentiment carries into the group’s meetups. The co-founders host gatherings at local coffee shops and restaurants to encourage support for local businesses, where participants journal while enjoying food and drinks.

“We need a space where we can go be safe and just turn off our brains,” Wilcox said.

The pair seek out partner sponsors to provide fun supplies and create scrap kits with their own special stickers and digital designs that are exclusive to each themed meetup.

“Everybody’s journals have different spreads and everybody is handed the same supplies,” Logan said. “Everybody’s so different but the same.”

In November, the group hosted a recipe-themed journaling session, complete with alphabet soup–inspired stickers as participants exchanged their favorite recipes. Earlier this month, the theme shifted to vision boards, with members collaging their goals for the new year.

“The tables are like their own little community,” Logan said.

As the club has grown, Wilcox and Logan said they have seen participants bond and form friendships, describing the group as kind and generous. Members often swap and trade stickers and supplies with one another.

Looking ahead, the co-founders say upcoming events will continue to build on that sense of community.

“February is going to be very exciting,” Wilcox said.

Keep Tucson Crafty posts regular announcements on its Instagram, including dates and themes of upcoming events.

Emma Diaz is a University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist based in Tucson.

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