- Porch and Patio Visitors
- Nest and Nursery Moments
- Wild and Woodland Blooms
- Cottage Corners
- Table and Garden Gatherings
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
This hummingbird junk journal kit brings a whole sunny garden onto the page, tiny jewel-colored birds hovering at trumpet vines, fuchsia baskets and glass feeders catching the light. Inside you get 22 scene pages full of garden moments, 4 seamless background papers for covers and pockets, and 5 lined writing pages for the words that go with it all.
Print the set on matte cardstock heavy enough to hold glue and ink without curling, and set your printer to its best photo or highest quality mode so the watercolor stays crisp. Trim close to the edge of each sheet before you glue it in, and keep a small stack of plain filler paper nearby for extra notes.
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.
Porch and Patio Visitors
Hovering at a red trumpet vine wound around a porch post, wings a soft blur, with a watering can, a striped cushion and a curl of ivy filling the corners, and a warm afternoon sky painted behind the whole porch scene.
Pair this one with the mint trumpet vine background from this set: glue the feeder scene onto a strip of the pattern so the vines seem to climb right off the edge of the page.
Two hummingbirds meet at a glass feeder hanging among blooming phlox and daisies, one sipping from the red base while the other waits on a nearby stem, the whole garden bed glowing behind them in soft afternoon light.
Sipping from a hanging basket heavy with pink and purple fuchsias, a single hummingbird tilts its whole body sideways to reach the nearest bloom on a sunny porch corner.
The usual mistake on a resting page is leaving the bird looking stiff, so give the twig a slight bend and let one wing droop lower than the other for a believable pause.
Perched on a slender twig above a clump of red bee balm, the bird looks almost sleepy for a moment, with a few stray petals, a curious bee and tall garden grass painted in around the twig.
Nest and Nursery Moments
Two pea-sized eggs rest in a thimble-sized nest tucked into a leafy branch, with a scatter of lichen, a dangling spider thread and dappled light painted through the leaves above.
Write today’s weather or the first flower you noticed this week along the bottom edge before you glue this one in, so the page becomes a small dated record as well as a picture.
A hummingbird works along a border of tall blue salvia beside a stone birdbath, with a trailing bit of moss, a dragonfly and ripples on the water painted around the scene.
Two hummingbirds circle a honeysuckle arch above a garden gate, trumpet blooms spilling over the wood on both sides as a worn stone path leads off into the painted garden beyond.
This is the page to give a reader who keeps a pot of hibiscus by her own back door, something close enough to her own garden that she will reach for it first.
Hovering beside a large pink hibiscus bloom on a sunny patio, the bird shares the frame with a terra cotta pot, a watering can and a folded garden hat resting on the warm stone.
Wild and Woodland Blooms
Perched at wild columbine growing beside a mossy boulder, the bird dips toward one nodding bloom while ferns and a scatter of fallen leaves fill the shaded ground around the rock.
This page suits a grandmother or an aunt who taught the reader to garden, so leave a line underneath for the name of whoever first showed her how to sit still for the birds.
A woman holds out a small red hand feeder, palm steady, as a hummingbird lands right at the rim, with a straw sun hat, a basket of cut flowers and a garden bench painted behind her.
What single color of zinnia would the reader plant first, and does the hummingbird on this page agree, painted mid-dip among rows of orange, pink and yellow blooms with garden shears resting nearby.
Try tea-staining just the bottom edge of this one before gluing it in, a faint warm line under the grass gives the whole page the feel of a page that has sat in a garden shed a while.
Drinking straight from a fine garden sprinkler mist, the bird hangs in midair with droplets catching the light, a coiled green hose and a border of lavender painted along the lawn behind it.
Cottage Corners
Sitting on a clothesline beside a row of wooden pegs, the bird pauses between two fluttering linen squares while a basket of folded laundry waits below on the grass.
Place this page across from the hummingbird feeder scene earlier in this set, so the two visitors, bird and butterfly, seem to share one long garden step between them.
A hummingbird and a butterfly meet at a pot of orange and yellow lantana set on worn stone steps, with a watering can, a trailing vine and a weathered door painted in behind the pot.
Describe the view from this exact window: what sits past the geraniums, a lane, a hillside or a neighbour’s roof, and let that fill the lines under this hovering hummingbird scene.
For a five-minute version of this page, skip the glue entirely and just tuck the loose sheet behind the lined page before this one, held with a single paperclip at the corner.
Visiting a tall spike of red cardinal flower at the edge of a still pond, the bird hovers low over the water while a dragonfly and a lily pad float nearby in the painted scene.
Table and Garden Gatherings
Hovering just above a teacup of sugar water set on a garden table, the bird shares the spread with a saucer, a folded napkin and a small vase of cut sweet peas.
The common mistake with a wind chime page is making the chime the main subject, so keep it small and let the morning glories climbing the post take up most of the space instead.
Perched on a quiet wind chime, the bird sits among climbing morning glory vines wound around a garden post, with a few fallen petals and soft morning light painted across the whole corner.
Visiting a glass bottle feeder hung beneath a striped patio umbrella, the bird shares its shade with a stack of folded cushions and a half-finished glass of lemonade on the table below.
This page works well for the reader furnishing a garden junk journal set around a warmer climate, since penstemon and desert blooms rarely show up in the usual cottage spreads.
Visiting tall spikes of penstemon among a desert garden of agave and smooth river stones, the bird pauses between blooms while a terra cotta pot and a low adobe wall fill the background.
Catching the light at just the right angle, a hummingbird with a shimmering throat rests on a stem of coral bells, its colour flashing bright against the soft green foliage painted around it.
Give this last scene page to the reader who wants one big spring moment to close her garden section, since a whole flowering tree makes a natural final image before the backgrounds begin.
Several hummingbirds circle a crabapple tree heavy with pink blossoms, petals drifting down past a low garden bench while bees work the lower branches in the painted orchard light.
Background Papers
Small hummingbirds and trailing fuchsia blooms repeat in soft rows across cream paper, perfect under a photo of a real garden visit, as a pocket lining or wrapped around the front cover.
Trumpet vine blooms and curling leaves cover this mint paper edge to edge, suited to a journal cover, a pressed flower pocket, or a frame cut to sit behind a single garden photograph.
Tiny hummingbirds dart among small pink blossoms across this blush paper, a soft choice for lining an envelope pocket, backing a recipe card, or wrapping a small gift tucked into the journal.
Honeysuckle sprigs and small hummingbird silhouettes repeat across pale blue paper, good under a feeder photo, as a divider between garden sections, or folded into a simple envelope.
Lined Writing Pages
A trumpet vine curls across one corner of this page, leaving the ruled lines free for a garden to-do list, a note on which blooms opened first, or a short letter to next spring’s self.
A band of small hovering hummingbirds runs along the top edge of this page, leaving the lined space below ready for a weather note, a feeder refill log or a quick sketch caption.
A hanging fuchsia basket frames the top of this page on a short band, well suited to a gift list for a fellow gardener, a seed order, or a letter written to next year’s garden.
A row of small glass feeders lines the bottom edge of this page, leaving the ruled lines above free for a planting menu, a visitor count or a short note on the week’s garden chores.
Red bee balm blooms run down one side of this page in a narrow band, leaving the rest open for a flower identification note, a thank you letter or a simple daily garden entry.
What to Do Next
Print the full set, sort the pages into their garden sections, and start gluing from the first porch scene through to the last lined page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for a hummingbird junk journal?
Matte cardstock around 65 to 90 lb works best, since it holds glue and ink without curling or showing through. Lighter paper works too if you plan to glue each page onto a sturdier backing sheet first.
What printer settings keep the watercolor look sharp?
Set your printer to its highest quality or photo setting on matte or presentation paper. Lower quality modes can blur the fine ink outlines and dull the pastel colors, so always print a single test page first.
What size should I print these pages at?
Standard US Letter or A4 both work well, printed at full page size with no scaling. Trim a thin margin off each edge afterward so the pages sit neatly inside most journal covers.
What do I use to color or embellish the pages further?
Fine tip pens, colored pencils or light watercolor touch-ups all work well over the printed pages. Keep any added color pale and soft so it matches the existing palette instead of fighting it.
What glue is safe for assembling the journal?
An acid free glue stick works best for flat pages, since it avoids wrinkling the paper or yellowing it over time. Save liquid glue for pockets or layered elements where you need a stronger hold.