- Tree and Mantel Scenes
- Table and Parlour Scenes
- Grand Room Scenes
- Character and Costume Scenes
- Floral and Gift Scenes
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
Christmas junk journal pages built around one rich colour story give your whole book a sense of belonging together, even when the subjects jump from a nutcracker to a chandelier to a wreath. This kit sticks to burgundy velvet and antique gold throughout, so every sheet you print, whatever it shows, reads as part of the same winter evening.
Inside you get 24 scene pages, each a different corner of a burgundy and gold Christmas, then 5 seamless background papers for linings and covers, then 5 lined writing pages for your own words. Print the whole set on matte cardstock heavy enough to take glue without buckling, run your printer on its best photo or high quality setting, and trim to your journal size once the ink has fully dried.
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.
Tree and Mantel Scenes
Frost clings to every branch of a tall fir dressed in burgundy baubles and gold ribbon, with a scatter of pinecones and candles glowing underneath.
Pair this one with the frosted tree page a few leaves on: let the tree fill the left spread and the mantel glow on the right, so the room feels continuous across the opening.
Both pages share the same fireplace light and the same ribbon, which makes the join feel natural rather than two unrelated pictures pressed together. Leave a thin strip of plain margin on the inner edge of each so the gutter does not cut through a stocking or a bauble.
Glue in a dinner ticket, a carol programme or a small photo from an evening gathering, tucked just below the candle flames where the wax drips add natural cover.
A common slip with wreath pages is painting the greenery so dense it swallows the gold leaf accents, so keep a few gaps in the foliage where the metallic tone can shine through clearly.
Thin the paint slightly for the leaves nearest the ribbon bow, and let the darker berries sit toward the outer ring. That light-to-dark build keeps the wreath feeling full without feeling heavy.
Who is this page for in a gift journal: the friend who photographs every pretty doorway on her street walks, since this sheet gives her somewhere to keep that habit on paper.
Table and Parlour Scenes
Brass candlesticks stand among a holiday table set with dark plates, a pomegranate centrepiece and folded cream napkins, candlelight spilling across the whole spread.
Try tea-staining just the bottom edge of this page before gluing it in, a thin wash of cold coffee works as well, so the sheet looks like it has sat near the fire for years already.
Write a few lines about how you actually spend a quiet evening at this time of year, tucked onto the page as if the chair were waiting for you to sit down and finish the thought.
An upright piano holds open sheet music and a sprig of holly, candles on top casting a soft glow over the dark polished wood.
The five minute version here is simple: paint the open box with pearls and a gold chain spilling out, skip any extra detail, and let the plain dark background carry the rest of the page.
Grand Room Scenes
An ornate chandelier hangs heavy with candlelight above a shadowed room, its brass arms catching gold against the deep burgundy dark.
Place this one across from the chandelier page so the two face each other in the finished journal, as though the mirror were reflecting the candlelight from the opposite sheet.
Trace an old frame shape in gold, then fill it with a small pine branch and a few berries instead of a portrait, painted against a plain dark wall behind the frame.
Rows of empty red velvet seats face a half lit stage, gold trim along the balcony catching what light remains in the hall.
Leave this page fairly open rather than crowding every seat with detail, since the empty theatre before a show is really the quiet mood you are after. A single dropped programme or glove on a seat is plenty of extra interest.
Snow settles on the steps of a lit opera house at night, its windows glowing gold against the cold dark street.
The usual mistake on a carriage page is making the snow look flat white, so soften it with a faint blue grey wash first and let the carriage lamp throw a small warm patch of gold onto it.
Character and Costume Scenes
A nutcracker figure stands at attention in his burgundy coat trimmed with gold braid, a drum and a few painted toy soldiers arranged near his boots.
What would you tuck onto this page: a worn ticket stub, a programme corner or a note about a performance that stayed with you, slipped just beside the painted skirt.
An ornate glass perfume bottle sits tied with a thin red bow, a lace handkerchief and a few dried petals arranged beside it on a dressing table.
Stack three or four books bound in red leather with gold lettering, a pressed sprig of holly and a pair of reading glasses resting across the top one.
Floral and Gift Scenes
Pair this bouquet with the gold bell pattern paper later in the set, using the pattern as a backing sheet glued behind the flowers so the blooms sit on a quietly busy field of gold.
Gold baubles catch the light inside a glass bowl, a few pine sprigs and a ribbon trailing over the rim onto the table below.
Ask yourself before writing on this one: what is the best gift you ever gave or received, and let that answer sit right beside the painted ribbon.
Several wrapped boxes lean together in burgundy and gold paper, tied with ribbon and topped with sprigs of pine and a scatter of berries.
Keep the ribbons running in slightly different directions across the stack rather than all tied the same way, since that small variety is what keeps a pile of boxes from reading as one flat shape. A single fallen bow beside the stack adds a nice last touch.
Background Papers
A dark burgundy cake sits finished with edible gold leaf and a few berries, a cake server and a lit candle resting nearby.
Classic damask scrollwork repeats across the page in deep burgundy tones, well suited as a lining behind a photo of a formal dinner, a cover sheet for the whole journal, or a backing for the gold frame page.
Small gold stars scatter evenly across a deep red field, a pattern that reads well under a candid photo, as a liner behind the nutcracker scene, or as a quiet cover for the back of the journal.
Pomegranate halves and small pine sprigs repeat together across the sheet, a good match behind the dining table scene, as a pocket lining for recipe cards, or across the inside front cover.
Loose ribbon scrolls in gold curl and repeat across the page, useful behind the perfume bottle or jewelry box scenes, as a lining for a gift list page, or framing a photo corner.
Lined Writing Pages
A soft tartan check in burgundy and gold covers the page corner to corner, a warm choice behind a winter photo, as a cover sheet, or paired with the stocking page for a cosy feel.
Rule the centre of this sheet for a gift list, a menu for the big dinner, or a short letter to read again next year when the season comes back around.
Good for a fireside memory, a line about the carol that got you this year, or a short note tucked in for whoever reads the journal after you.
Use the space for a recipe you only make this time of year, a packing list for visiting family, or a few lines about how the evening actually went.
Fits a guest list for a gathering, a thank you note left half finished, or a short record of who sat where at the table this year.
What to Do Next
Print the set, trim each sheet to your journal size, and start layering: for more of this same deep winter mood in a different key, look at the red junk journal pages or the winter junk journal pages, and for ideas on arranging your scenes once they are in, the Christmas junk journal ideas page has more ways to put a spread together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for these christmas junk journal pages?
Matte cardstock around 65 to 100 lb gives the richest colour without buckling under glue. Thinner paper works for lined pages you plan to write on, but the deep burgundy scenes look best on heavier stock.
What printer settings give the truest burgundy and gold colour?
Set your printer to its highest quality or photo setting on matte or cardstock mode. This slows the print slightly but keeps the deep reds from looking faded or patchy once trimmed and glued in.
What size should I print the pages for a standard journal?
Most junk journals use A5 or a trimmed half letter size. Print at full letter or A4 first, then trim down, since this gives a small margin for uneven cutting without losing any part of the image.
Do I need to colour anything in or are the pages finished?
Every page prints fully finished in colour, so there is nothing left to paint or shade. You simply trim, glue them into your journal in whatever order you like, and write on the lined sheets.
What glue is safe for layering these pages without warping?
A thin acid free glue stick holds paper flat without the wrinkling that liquid glue can cause. Apply it in a thin even layer right to the edges, then press the page flat under a heavy book while it dries.