- Garden Butterflies
- Moths At Night
- Specimen And Study
- Keepsakes And Letters
- Windows And Light
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
This junk journal butterflies kit gives you 28 full sheets built around one wing-shaped theme: monarchs on milkweed, luna moths at dusk, specimen boxes and gardens heavy with lavender. The set runs 20 full scene pages first, then 4 seamless background patterns, then 4 lined writing pages, so you can print the whole thing in order and start cutting right away.
Print on matte cardstock around 90 to 110 lb so the washes stay crisp and the paper does not curl or show through when you glue pages back to back. Set your printer to its best or photo quality and let each sheet sit for a minute before handling, then trim to your journal size with scissors or a paper trimmer.
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.
Garden Butterflies
Settle a monarch mid-wing on a milkweed bloom, its orange and black panels open wide against a soft green field.
Give this one to the reader who keeps a cutting garden: a swallowtail pauses on a lilac branch, wings dusted with lavender and black, while two smaller moths drift near a painted fence in the background, the whole scene lit like late afternoon.
Leave room at the bottom edge where a pressed lilac sprig can be glued once it is fully dried.
Fill this page with a whole row of lavender stalks and let five or six small butterflies in different colors scatter above them, bees tucked between the blooms, a low stone wall closing off the back of the scene.
Tear the top edge by hand before gluing it in for a softer line than a scissor cut gives.
Pair a plain cabbage white butterfly resting on white clover with a scatter of dandelions and low grass behind it, keeping the whole page quiet and pale on purpose.
Place a blue morpho on a broad leaf just after rain, droplets beaded along the leaf edge and two smaller tropical blooms tucked beside it, damp jungle greens washed in behind everything.
This page pairs well with the wings and florals pattern later in the set: use that background as a facing page so the blue of the morpho echoes across the spread.
Moths At Night
Set a pale green luna moth against a porch light at dusk, its long tails trailing down over a railing while a crescent moon and a few stars fill the darkening sky behind it.
The usual mistake with a moth page is painting it too bright, since moths read as night creatures and need a dim background to feel right.
Here a sphinx moth hovers at a trumpet-shaped flower in low evening light, wings blurred slightly as if caught mid-hover, with a hedge and a darkening sky washed in soft blues behind it.
Rest a large polyphemus moth flat against tree bark, its eyespots fully visible, with a few curls of peeling bark and a dim woodland background painted around it.
This spread works for the reader keeping a quiet evening journal, someone who writes best by lamplight.
Three small moths circle a lit candle on a wooden table, melted wax pooling at its base, a dark window and curtain painted behind, the whole page dim except for the candle’s glow.
Specimen And Study
Fill a wooden specimen box with six pinned butterflies of different sizes and colors, each labeled with a tiny faded tag, glass lid reflecting a hint of light, the whole box set on a worn desk.
Write a short field note across the open page itself: date, weather, where the butterfly was seen.
Spread an open sketchbook across the page with three pencil studies of wings, a dried leaf pressed between the pages and an inkwell with a feather pen resting beside it on a wooden table.
Line up a small shelf with a magnifying glass, a glass jar holding a folded net, two labeled specimen jars and a stack of old field guides, everything dusted in soft afternoon light.
Hang a jade green chrysalis from a bare twig, a few curled dry leaves nearby and a soft blurred garden wash behind it, the page otherwise left quiet to let the subject stand out.
Keepsakes And Letters
Tuck a small pressed butterfly wing beside a half-written letter on faded paper, a wax seal and a dip pen resting across the page, ink slightly smudged at one corner.
Glue in a small ticket stub or postmark here if a real one survives from a garden visit or nature walk.
Arrange six small vintage-style postage stamps across the page, each printed with a different butterfly, slightly overlapping at the edges and set against a faint postmarked envelope background.
Arrange a small oval frame holding a pressed pansy and two tiny painted wings, ribbon trailing from the top of the frame, a muted floral wallpaper washed in behind it.
A low wooden garden gate stands half open with ivy climbing one post and three moths rising past it into a lavender evening sky, the path beyond fading into soft shadow.
Windows And Light
Set a wooden window box overflowing with zinnias and marigolds along a sill, two butterflies landing among the blooms and a pane of glass reflecting a soft sky behind it all.
For the five-minute version, skip the dust and cobweb details and keep just the window, the moth and the light.
An old attic window lets in late sun across a dusty sill, a single moth resting on the glass, cobwebs strung in one corner and a stack of forgotten boxes shadowed below.
Fill a glass greenhouse with potted ferns and trailing vines, four butterflies drifting between the plants and condensation beading faintly on the panes behind them.
Background Papers
An open glass jar sits on a windowsill with a caterpillar crawling along a milkweed leaf inside it, a second leaf and a small stone resting beside the jar, soft daylight washed behind.
Small moth and butterfly wings scatter edge to edge among tiny lavender sprigs, each motif repeating on the diagonal. Use it behind a photo of a garden walk, as a cover sheet, or trimmed down as a lining for the inside of a journal cover.
A faded damask swirl carries small moth silhouettes within each curl, repeating steadily across the page. Works well behind a formal portrait, as a journal cover, or cut into strips for a border along another page.
Tiny monarch butterflies repeat in loose rows across a soft field wash, wings angled differently in each row. Good under a sunlit photo, as a cover for a nature journal, or lining the back of a pocket page elsewhere in the set.
Lined Writing Pages
Narrow stripes in muted tones alternate with a thin vine of tiny leaves and buds running the length of each line. Suits a recipe page backing, a plain cover, or a strip cut for a spine wrap.
A corner spray of lavender and a single monarch frame the top of this page. Use it for a garden log, a list of flowers that drew the most butterflies this season, or a short note to next year’s garden.
A thin band of moths and crescent moons runs down the left side of this page. Write a late-night thought here, a dream, or a few lines about the last moth seen at the porch light.
A delicate frame of pinned wings and faded labels borders all four edges here. Use it for a list of butterflies spotted this year, a field note, or a letter describing the best one you never managed to photograph.
What to Do Next
Print the set, trim it to your journal’s size, and start with whichever page pulls you in first: the monarch, the luna moth, or the quiet specimen box. For more on putting a whole journal together, the junk journaling handbook and the vintage junk journal ideas are good next stops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for these pages?
Matte cardstock between 90 and 110 lb holds the washes well without curling or letting ink show through on the back. Plain printer paper works for a test print but feels thin once glued into a journal and may buckle slightly when trimmed.
What printer settings give the best color?
Choose your printer’s best or photo quality setting and select matte or heavyweight paper in the print dialog if that option appears. This slows the print slightly but keeps the washes smooth instead of streaky, especially on the darker moth pages.
Can I resize the pages for a smaller journal?
Yes, scale the PDF down to 85 or 90 percent before printing, or use your printer’s fit to page setting. The pages stay sharp at smaller sizes since they are full washes rather than fine line drawings.
Do I need to color or finish these pages at all?
No coloring is needed since every page prints in full color and edge to edge. You can add journaling, a pressed flower, or a light tea stain along an edge if you want extra texture, but the pages work straight from the printer.
How do I fit these into a journal I already started?
Trim each page to match your journal’s trim size, then glue it in as a full page using a glue stick along the edges and center to avoid bubbling. The lined pages and backgrounds work well tucked between existing pages wherever you need a change of pace.