Table of Contents
A red junk journal lives or dies on its pages, and this kit gives you 37 of them built around one bold color story. You get 26 full scene pages, from a storm-lit poppy field to a velvet theatre curtain pulling back on an empty stage, then 5 seamless background patterns and 6 lined writing pages, all painted in the same family of cherry, poppy and deep velvet reds so nothing fights on the shelf.
Print the whole set on matte cardstock heavy enough to take glue without warping, run your printer on its best photo or presentation setting, and trim each sheet to your journal’s trim size before you start gluing anything in. Everything else about using the pages is answered below, so you can get straight to cutting and binding.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Field and Garden Reds
Give this one five minutes flat: wash the sky in grey behind the poppies, let it bleed, then move straight on without fussing over a single petal.
Tuck a real orchard memory here, a ticket from a pick-your-own farm, a pressed leaf, or a handwritten note of the date the cherries came ripe.
Pair this page with the gingham and strawberry pattern a few sheets ahead: use the pattern as a facing page so the climbing roses have something bold to lean against.
Journalers often paint the vegetables too neatly and the page goes flat. Let a few radish leaves droop over the basket rim and smudge one beet with dirt-brown for a page that feels pulled from the ground.
What made these tulips worth planting this year, and who tends the bed now.
Glue a seed packet or a scrap of garden twine onto the corner of this page before the paint fully sets, so it sits flush with the painted soil.
City and Street Reds
Skip color for this one and stay with the story, since it carries the page alone: a lone red phone booth stands on a wet pavement under a streetlamp, rain streaking its glass.
Most people paint the bus too large and crowd the street around it. Keep it small in the middle distance, leave room for the bus stop sign and a queue of tiny figures, and the whole page breathes.
A single red fire hydrant stands on a quiet street corner, with fallen autumn leaves gathered at its base and brick buildings painted behind it.
Write what this barn means to you in two lines at the bottom edge, then trim the page slightly short so the words show when it is glued into the journal.
Beside this page, lay the velvet curtain scene from the theatre section further on: the quiet street and the dramatic stage make a good contrast spread.
Someone is waiting on a letter here, so use the space to write who it is and what you hope the post will bring this week.
Theatre and Interior Reds
Deep folds of red velvet pull back from an empty lit stage, with the house lights still low and a single spotlight waiting for the first act to begin.
This page rewards a light hand. Keep the balcony rail loose and the seats suggested rather than drawn in detail, and let the red upholstery do the talking.
Note the book, the blanket or the cup that belongs in this chair, and leave a line for the evening you last sat in one just like it.
Old correspondence belongs near old machines. A vintage red typewriter sits beside a stack of handwritten letters tied with string, on a worn wooden desk.
An open red velvet jewelry box reveals a string of pearls and a single ring resting on its lining, with a hand mirror and a lace handkerchief nearby.
Anyone building a cookbook junk journal alongside this one can borrow this page for the tea chapter without it clashing, since the red stays warm rather than bright.
Creatures in Red
A single cardinal perches on a snow-dusted branch, its red feathers bright against the white, with a few pine needles and soft falling snow painted around it.
Most painters make the ladybird too large for the leaf it sits on. Keep it small, let the leaf fill most of the page, and the scale reads as true to life.
A red and white koi fish circles slow water, its reflection broken by ripples, with lily pads and a stone edge painted around the pond.
Write the prompt at the bottom in pencil first: what is this fox running toward, or away from, and answer it once the page has dried.
A scarlet macaw rests on a jungle branch, its tail feathers trailing below, with broad green leaves and a few hanging vines painted around it.
Tear the edge of this page roughly before gluing it in, so the shoreline looks like it was pulled straight off the beach rather than cut with scissors.
Still Life in Red
Window this page by cutting a small flap into a facing sheet, so the chilies peek through from the page beneath when the journal is closed.
A glass of red wine stands beside a small bowl of fresh cherries, with a folded napkin and a few loose cherry stems painted across the tablecloth.
Background Papers
Use this one under a strawberry-patch photo, as a backing sheet behind the harvest pages, or as a quiet facing page across from the fire hydrant scene.
Good behind a pressed flower, as a liner for the back cover, or facing the cherry orchard scene so the two cherry pages sit side by side.
Works well under a garden photo, as a lining behind the poppy field scene, or cut into a narrow strip for a spine wrap.
Best behind a formal photo or ticket stub, as a backing for the theatre pages, or as the opening page facing the title of the journal.
Use it under a winter photo, as a pocket-free liner behind the cardinal page, or anywhere the journal needs a quieter red than the gingham sheet.
Lined Writing Pages
Write a short wish list, a cherry pie recipe, or a note to read again next harvest season, inside the ruled lines bordered by the branch.
Good for a garden journal entry, a packing list for a spring trip, or a letter to next year’s self about what grew well this season.
Suits a birthday wish list, a gift log, or a short letter tucked beside a page from your birthday junk journal if the two kits share a shelf.
Write a kitchen memory, a jam recipe, or a short note about the last time you picked strawberries with someone you love.
A band of velvet curtain folds runs down the left edge of the page, leaving the rest of the sheet ruled and open for a theatre ticket note or a quiet evening’s thoughts.
Use this page for a love note, a list of small gratitudes, or a few lines about the garden outside your window this week.
What to Do Next
Print the set, trim every page to match your journal, and start with the poppy field or the velvet curtain, whichever red pulls you in first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for printing these red junk journal pages?
Matte cardstock around 65 to 80 pound weight holds the colors well and takes glue without buckling or showing through. Avoid glossy photo paper, since it resists glue and pens alike. If your printer struggles with thicker stock, a heavier matte inkjet paper is a fine substitute.
What printer settings give the truest reds?
Choose your printer’s best photo or presentation quality setting rather than draft or normal, since reds shift toward orange or pink at lower quality. If color looks washed out, check that the paper type is set to match your actual stock, as a mismatch often causes faded output.
What size should I trim the pages to?
Most junk journals run A5 or a similar compact size, so trim each printed sheet down to match your journal’s covers before gluing anything in. A paper trimmer gives cleaner, straighter edges than scissors and keeps every page the same size across the set.
Can I color or add detail to these pages myself?
Yes. The pages print fully finished, but a fine tip pen works well for adding a date, a short caption, or extra line detail over the dried paint. Colored pencils can deepen a shadow or add a highlight if you want a page to feel more personal.
Do I need anything beyond glue and scissors to assemble the journal?
No special tools are required. A glue stick or craft glue, a trimmer or scissors, and the printed pages themselves are enough to build a full journal, since this kit covers pages only and no pockets or folders need assembling.
Have any thoughts?
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