Halloween Junk Journals

Halloween Junk Journals is happening at the Eagle Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library on Monday, October 26, from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM. It's part of the library's Spooky Teen Zone, a craft session for teens to spend an hour putting together their own Halloween-themed junk journals.

If you've never made a junk journal, the whole point is that it's not supposed to be neat. You build it out of a mix of materials—scraps of paper, old envelopes, bits of fabric—and the more eclectic the better. The library describes these as spooky, gothic, or plain scary, so you can lean into the Halloween vibe as much as you want. You'll spend the session assembling the journal and then filling it with whatever you like, and you get to take it home when you're done.

There's more to it than just the journals, too. The session includes whipping up a candy salad—basically a big bowl of mixed sweets—and everyone walks away with a goody bag to go along with their journal. It's a full afternoon of crafting and treats, all in one go.

The Eagle Branch is at 3905 Moller Road, in the 46254 zip code. It's a 20,000-square-foot building that opened on June 1, 2019, replacing an older 12,000-square-foot facility at 3325 Lowry Road. The branch itself goes back to 1960, when a storefront location opened at 30th Street and Lafayette Road after residents petitioned for a permanent library—the first branch in the system to be located in a shopping center. The session runs from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM on Monday, October 26.