Smash book: what it was, and how to make your own
A smash book is a journal you fill fast: tickets, notes and photos glued in as they happen, with little planning. SMASH was a K&Company range; any cheap notebook does the same job.
Start with 40 pages free. No card needed.
The idea is speed. A page takes minutes because nothing is cut to fit or matched to a colour scheme; it goes in wherever there is room.
The original books came with printed pages and pockets, sold beside a pen with a glue stick at the other end. Today they turn up mostly through resellers.
See also: what a junk journal is, a glue book for the day's paper, junk journal prompts.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages. Make a digital scrapbook online.
| Kind | Pages | How you add | Time a page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smash book | Pre-printed, or a plain notebook | Glued in as it happens | A few minutes |
| Junk journal | Found paper sewn into signatures | Layered, tucked and pocketed | An evening |
| Scrapbook | Card pages in an album | Planned round photographs | An hour or more |
| Glue book | A cheap exercise book | Stuck in with no decoration | Under a minute |
Keep the glue next to the book
A smash book works only if sticking something in is as quick as dropping it in a drawer. Keep the book, a glue stick and a pen in the same bag.
Let the pages be messy
Overlap scraps, write across a photo, turn the book sideways. The point is a record of the week, not a page anyone judges.
Make one from a notebook
Take an A5 notebook, glue an envelope inside the front cover for loose bits, and number the pages so the last one can list what is where.
Steps
Pick an A5 notebook
Plain or dot pages, cheap enough not to worry about.
Add a front pocket
Glue an envelope inside the cover for things waiting to go in.
Pack the bag
Book, glue stick and pen together, every day.
Smash once a day
Empty your pockets onto the next free space before bed.
Questions
What is a smash book?
A journal you fill fast: tickets, notes and photos glued in as they happen, with little planning. SMASH was a K&Company range and is gone; any cheap notebook does the same job.
What's the difference between a smash book and a junk journal?
A smash book is filled in the moment, with the glue next to it; a junk journal is made first, from found papers, and written in later. Both forgive mess.
Can I still buy a smash book?
Original SMASH books turn up through resellers. A plain A5 notebook and a glue stick do the same job for less.