- Meadow and Pasture Pages
- Foals and Family Pages
- Country Fairs and Festive Rides
- Farm and Working Horses
- Riding and Open Country
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
A horse junk journal gives every soft, romantic image you love about horses a place to live: mares in wildflower meadows, foals pressed close to their mothers, stable doors with a curious face looking out. This kit holds 25 scene pages, 5 seamless background papers and 6 lined writing pages, so the whole journal comes together from one set.
Print everything on a smooth matte cardstock, around 160 to 200gsm, so paint and ink sit well without bleeding through. Set the printer to its best or photo quality for richer colour, and trim each page to your journal size before gluing or tucking anything into it.
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.
Meadow and Pasture Pages
Stand a chestnut mare knee deep in a meadow thick with wildflowers, her head lowered to graze under a wide, soft sky.
Pair this one with the saddle leather background later in the set, using it as a lining behind the stable door so the wood grain peeks through the die cut shape of the opening.
A horse rests its chin on the lower half of a stable door, ears forward, with a lantern, a hay net and ivy climbing the wall beside it.
Tuck a torn ticket stub or a pressed grass stem under the saddle flap here, something small that says the ride already happened and this is just where the gear landed.
Foals and Family Pages
Give the foal a wobble in its stance and let it lean into its mother’s side, both of them standing in soft pasture light with a barn roof just visible behind them.
The usual mistake on a page like this is leaving too much empty space around the pair, so bring the grooming kit, a ribbon spool and a stool close in to fill the sheet properly.
A girl stands at a horse’s shoulder, fingers working through its mane, with ribbons, a brush and a low stool gathered near her feet.
Let a small band of horses gallop low along the shoreline, manes streaming, with gulls overhead and a line of surf painted along the sand.
Country Fairs and Festive Rides
This one suits the romantic or nostalgic reader in a gift journal, someone who still remembers a childhood fair, more than anyone drawn to sporting or working horses.
Place this page opposite the snowy paddock background further in the set, letting the pale blue of the snow carry across both sheets like one long winter spread.
A white horse stands beneath an apple tree heavy with fruit, a few apples fallen at its feet and orchard grass painted soft and uneven underneath.
Write the name of a favourite horse or pony, a show date, or a line about a ribbon once won, right across the rosette ribbons themselves.
Farm and Working Horses
Give the five minute version here: skip the wagon’s fine detail and focus on the Clydesdale’s feathered legs and the gold wash of a hayfield behind it.
Grazing beside a low stone wall, a horse lifts its head for a moment while green fields roll away behind, dotted with gorse and a few grey clouds.
Hang a small pressed flower or a scrap of ribbon from the horseshoe shape itself, so the page holds something real alongside the painted one.
A shaggy pony stands wrapped in a woolly winter blanket, breath visible in the cold air, with frost on the grass and a hedgerow painted behind it.
Ask a short question on this one for the entry written beside it: what does early morning feel like on the days you miss being outdoors with animals.
Riding and Open Country
Catch the horse and rider mid air over a low hedge jump, with a scatter of fence rails, a flag marker and open parkland painted around them.
Use this page as the quiet one in a spread, sitting it beside the Clydesdale page so the warm barn light balances the open hayfield on the facing sheet.
A little girl sits proudly atop a round Shetland pony, leading rein in an adult’s hand, with a paddock fence and a few grazing sheep painted nearby.
The usual mistake here is a flat, empty stream, so paint ripples, smooth stones and overhanging ferns to give the water some life beneath the horse’s lowered head.
A lone mustang stands on a rocky ledge above a desert canyon, dust rising faintly at its hooves and layered red rock painted falling away below.
For a five minute version, paint just the sunflower heads turned toward the horse and leave the rest of the field as loose washes of gold and green.
An Arabian horse rears gently on open ground, its mane and tail lifted by wind, with scattered desert grass and a wide pale sky filling the page.
Give this page to the confident painter in a shared journal, since the pale palette and soft edges reward someone willing to work slowly with thin washes.
Gather a basket of grooming brushes, a hoof pick, a mane comb and a folded cloth, all resting together on a stable bench with straw scattered underneath.
A black Friesian moves through a summer field at a slow trot, its feathered legs and long mane catching the light, with tall grass and poppies painted around it.
Background Papers
Small horseshoes and daisies repeat across the page in a soft scattered rhythm, perfect under a photo of a favourite pony, lining a gift pocket, or wrapping a journal cover.
A soft tartan check in muted stable colours makes a warm lining for a winter pocket, a backing behind a Clydesdale page, or a journal cover in its own right.
Loose strands of hay and small wildflowers drift across this page, good under a meadow photo, inside a seed packet pocket, or behind a lined page for contrast.
Small horse head silhouettes repeat in quiet rows, suited to a journal cover, a pocket lining behind rosette ribbons, or a backing sheet for the foal pages.
A worn leather texture with visible stitch lines runs edge to edge, ideal behind the stable door page, as a cover wrap, or lining a pocket for keepsake tickets.
Lined Writing Pages
Small horseshoes line the top and bottom edges of this page, leaving the ruled centre open for a riding log, a list of favourite trails, or a note to a horse you miss.
Wildflowers and a looped bridle fill one corner, leaving space below for a gift list, a packing list before a trip to the stables, or a letter to next year.
A narrow band of galloping horses runs along the top edge, with the ruled lines below left open for a diary entry, a favourite memory, or a short poem.
A soft twisted rope frames the whole page, leaving room inside for a menu from a country fair, a letter to a riding friend, or notes from a lesson.
A spray of oats and wheat stems arches along one side, suited to a feed and care log, a list of barn chores, or a short note about a quiet morning outside.
A daisy chain threaded with tiny horseshoes runs around the full border, framing open ruled lines for a wish list, a letter to a childhood pony, or a gratitude note.
What to Do Next
Print the pages in order, trim them to match your journal, and start gluing in the meadow and stable scenes first so the backgrounds and lined pages have somewhere to sit around them. For more themed sets to grow your journal shelf, browse the sunflower junk journal kit or the French junk journal ideas, and if you want the full method behind every page, the junk journaling handbook covers it from the beginning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for a horse junk journal kit like this?
Smooth matte cardstock around 160 to 200gsm works best, since it holds colour well without curling. Lighter paper is fine for lined pages meant only for writing, but heavier stock suits scene pages that get glued, folded or layered.
What printer settings give the best colour on these pages?
Set the printer to its highest quality or photo setting, which keeps the soft washes looking true rather than patchy. Choose the matte or cardstock paper type in the printer menu if that option is available.
What size should I print the pages for a handmade journal?
Most junk journals use A5 or a trimmed half letter size, so print at that size or print at full page and trim down. Trimming after printing also lets you round corners or tear edges for a softer look.
What should I use to colour in details or add journaling?
Fine tip pens in black or brown work well for journaling directly onto the lined pages and scene borders. Light colour pencils suit anyone who wants to deepen a shadow or warm up a mane without covering the printed wash.
How do I glue or attach the scene pages into a journal without wrinkling them?
A thin, even layer of acid free glue stick avoids wrinkling better than wet glue, especially on thinner paper. Press each page flat under a heavy book for a few minutes after gluing to keep the surface smooth.