Tutorial: Over 20 Vintage Junk Journal Tab Ideas

Vintage tabs add unique character and fun details to my junk journals. I wanted to take a moment and share the various kinds of tabs I like to use in my journals.

Vintage Fabric Tabs

For these types of tabs, I typically just use my Tiny Attacher to staple the fabric bits onto my journal pages. However, you could also sew them onto the edge of your page either by hand or with a sewing machine.

#01: Vintage Cotton Fabrics

#02: Vintage Sari Silk

#03: Vintage Kimono Silk

Vintage Trims

These types of tabs add lots of texture to the journal! They could be stapled on as I’ve shown in the photos or you could sew them onto the page.

#05: Vintage Bias Tape and Seam Binding

#06: Vintage Ribbon

#07: Vintage Ric-Rac

Vintage Tickets

This was the first type of vintage DIY journal tabs I used and they’ll always be one of my favorites. I prefer to glue the ticket onto the page, but you can also staple or sew them on.

#08: Vintage Carnival Tickets

#09: Vintage British Bus Tickets

#10: Vintage Argentina Bus Tickets

Vintage Tags

Tags tend to be a tad thicker than most of the other tabs in this list, so if you need a sturdier tab, these would work well. I’ve glued these in place, but you could also staple them onto your page.

#11: Vintage Hang Tags

#12: Vintage Price Tags

Vintage Stamps

Vintage stamps remind me of little pieces of art and I love the added detail they provide as tabs in my journals. I tend to glue these onto my pages, but if you wanted to add stitching you could do so after the glue dries.

#13: Vintage Postage Stamps

#14: Vintage Saving Stamps

#15: Vintage Fundraising Stamps

Vintage Labels

Depending on the aesthetic of your journal, smaller labels can make especially great tabs. I like to glue my labels on, but you could also sew them on.

#16: Small Vintage Dennison Labels

#17: Vintage Dutch Registered Mail Labels

#18: Vintage Matchbox Labels

#19: Vintage Cigar Bands

Vintage Ephemera

These tabs can be made from any vintage papers. I especially love sheet music, maps, and book pages. For the examples, I glued them in place, but you could staple or sew them as well.

#20: Paper Scraps

#21: Paper Punches

Vintage Film

Vintage film is one of my all-time favorite tab materials! I adore the translucent effect you get and they’re super easy to just staple into place. You could also sew them on if you prefer, but I don’t recommend gluing them since you can see through the film.

#22: 16mm Film

#23: 8mm Film

Please save and share this tutorial on Pinterest by clicking the Pinterest logo on the image below: