- Pond Edge Keepsakes
- Village And Park Rinks
- Winter Treasures
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
An ice skating junk journal gathers up everything cold weather does best: white lace-up skates on a fence post, a bonfire by the pond, a village rink strung with lights. This kit holds 22 scene pages, 5 seamless background papers and 5 lined writing pages, enough to build a full journal of frozen ponds and fur muffs without repeating a single picture.
Print everything on matte cardstock heavy enough to take glue without curling, and run your printer on its best photo or quality setting so the pale winter colours stay soft rather than grainy. Trim with scissors or a paper cutter close to the edge, since every sheet is filled corner to corner with colour and leaves no white border to hide behind.
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.
Pond Edge Keepsakes
White lace-up skates hang from a snowy fence post with a striped scarf looped beside them, waiting for the ice to open for the season.
Pair this one with the frozen pond swirl background a few pages on, trimming a strip of it to run along the bottom of the spread as a painted ice shelf under the couple’s skates.
The swirl lines will carry the motion of their gliding right off the edge of the scene page, so the two sheets read as one continuous rink rather than two separate pictures glued side by side.
A girl in a fur muff glides across a pond ringed by white birch trunks, her breath showing pale against the cold afternoon air.
Village And Park Rinks
The usual mistake with a village rink page is cramming in too many skaters until the gazebo and the lights get lost behind them.
Keep three or four figures in bright coats near the front of the ice and let the gazebo and the looping string lights hold the rest of the page, so the eye has somewhere restful to land.
Give this page to a granddaughter’s page in a gift journal: a little girl bent over tying her own laces for the first time, log bench and ice close behind her.
Tuck a real recipe card for hot cocoa or spiced cider into the fold of this one, since the thermos and blanket make a natural pocket page for it.
A figure skater spins on a frozen lake under a pink dusk sky, her coat flaring out while the last light catches the ice around her.
Write the entry on this page as a question: who taught you to skate, and did they hold a chair steady the way these children do for each other.
Smoke curls from a little warming hut beside the skating pond, with a row of skates left drying by its door after a long afternoon outside.
Tea-stain just the bottom corner of this page before printing is not possible at home, but a light wash of weak tea brushed along the edge after printing gives the same soft, worn look to a tender first-lesson scene.
A vintage skate key rests on a quilt beside a pair of mittens and a pom pom hat, small relics of skating seasons long past.
For the five-minute version of this page, skip the brick houses in pencil first and just glue it straight in: the canal and its bare trees carry the whole scene on their own.
A bonfire crackles beside the pond while skaters gather close to warm their hands, cups of cider passed between mittened fingers.
This one suits a daughter or granddaughter’s page in a gift journal, the pink skating dress and white skates laid out like a costume waiting for its first competition.
An old wooden push sled carries a child bundled deep in blankets across the ice, someone just out of frame steering from behind.
Pair this page with the silver grey swirl background later in the set, cutting a thin strip of it to frame the bottom edge so the painted ice marks seem to continue past the picture’s border.
A city park rink spreads out beneath a carousel and evergreen wreaths, skaters circling while the painted lights of the park glow behind them.
Winter Treasures
Glue in a scorecard or a list of names for a family pond hockey game here, the sticks and puck leaning against the snowbank leaving plenty of quiet space around the edge for it.
A small skater figurine stands on a mirror tray scattered with tinsel and glass ornaments, catching the light like a tiny frozen dancer.
Hung by the laces from a cabin peg, these skates share their hook with a lantern and a pair of snowshoes, three seasons of winter gear waiting by the door.
Give this page to grandparents in a gift journal, hand in hand on a frozen farm pond while the sun drops low and gold behind the barn roofline.
Fold this page shut like a real box lid before gluing it in, with the velvet ribbon left loose enough to tie down over the tissue paper each time the journal closes.
Background Papers
White ice skates and small snowflakes repeat across a blush pink ground, made for a journal cover, a pocket lining or a mat behind a skating photo.
Tiny skater silhouettes and looping swirls scatter across pale blue, light enough to sit behind a photo, line a pocket or wrap a small gift tag.
Pom pom hats and small skates repeat across soft mint green, useful under a photo mat, inside a pocket or wrapped around a journal spine.
Swirl lines and small stars cover a silver grey ground like marks left on fresh ice, suited to a cover wrap, a pocket lining or a frame around a winter photo.
Skate laces tied into small bows alternate with sprigs of holly across cream paper, good for a cover, a pocket lining or backing a cluster of small photos.
Lined Writing Pages
A row of skates hung by their laces runs along the top of this page, leaving the ruled lines below free for a gift list, a packing list for a skating trip or notes on who taught you first.
Skating swirl lines trace along the bottom edge like marks left on the ice, good for a short letter to next winter, a cocoa recipe or a list of favourite rinks.
A small vintage skater couple tucks into one corner of the page, leaving the ruled lines open for a menu for a winter gathering, a wish list or a letter to next year.
A fur muff and a knit scarf frame the edges of this page, leaving room in the middle for a packing list, a weekend plan or a note tucked in for a daughter.
A string of lights loops along one side of the page the way they do over a village rink, leaving space below for a guest list, a gift list or a few lines about the season so far.
What to Do Next
Print the pages, let the ink dry fully, then start sorting the scenes into sections before any glue comes out, so the ponds, rinks and keepsakes find their place in the journal first. For more winter pages to mix in, see the winter junk journal and Christmas junk journal kits, and for painting inspiration beyond the page try the ice skating painting ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for an ice skating junk journal?
Matte cardstock around 65 to 110 lb holds up best, since it takes glue and ink without curling or showing through. Plain printer paper works for a test run but tears and buckles once the pages are handled and glued into a journal.
What printer settings keep the pale colours looking right?
Set the printer to its best or photo quality mode on matte or heavyweight paper, which keeps the pale pinks and blues from printing grainy or washed out. Draft mode tends to flatten the soft shading on the skates and ice.
What size should I print the pages?
Standard letter or A4 size suits most home printers and fits common junk journal covers without extra trimming. Trim close to the painted edge after printing, since every sheet is filled with colour right to the border.
What glue and tools do I need to assemble the pages?
A glue stick or thin craft glue works for most pages, holding the paper flat without bubbling or wrinkling. Small detail scissors help trim close to curved edges like the skate blades and pine branches without cutting into the picture.
Can I colour or alter the pages by hand?
Yes, fine tip pens or coloured pencils add journaling, extra shading or small details over the printed pages. A light wash of weak tea along the edges after printing also gives individual sheets a softer, more worn look.