- The Parlor Tree
- Dining And Festive Tables
- Fireside Portraits
- Tea And Carolers
- Keepsakes And Treasures
- Outdoor And Travel
- Writing And Music
- Background Papers
- Lined Writing Pages
- Frequently Asked Questions
A victorian christmas junk journal calls for the kind of detail that modern Christmas pages skip altogether: gilded mirrors, velvet skirts on the tree, lace trimmed cards propped against pressed violets. This kit gives you 22 scene pages, 5 seamless background papers and 5 lined writing pages, built to carry a Victorian parlor from the tree in the corner right through to the nursery shelf.
Print the whole set on smooth matte cardstock, at the highest quality your printer offers, so the fine ink lines and the gold trims stay crisp. Trim close to the edge where you want a page to butt right up against another, and leave a narrow white margin anywhere you plan to tuck it into a pocket.
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.
The Parlor Tree
Centre the page on a Victorian parlor tree hung with glass baubles, paper fans and a velvet skirt pooling at its base, with lit candles clipped to the lower boughs.
Pair this page with the burgundy velvet Christmas set if you want the whole journal to lean dark and rich rather than pastel, gluing a swatch of lace or ribbon beside the trunk to echo the tree’s own trims.
Write the date of a winter walk, a favourite coat you remember, or a line about the cold air right onto the snow beside the lady in her velvet coat and muff, walking past the iron fence.
This page suits a grandchild’s journal page or a note about childhood Christmases best, with the bonneted children peeking around the tree at the rocking horse and drum beneath it.
Give a younger crafter the simple version: glue the page in flat and colour one bonnet ribbon by hand. A more confident journaler can tea stain the corner first, then layer a torn scrap of wrapping paper half behind the tree before gluing the whole page down.
Dining And Festive Tables
a mahogany sideboard holds a plum pudding, a sprig of holly and a silver punch bowl, with a lace runner, candlesticks and a stack of fine china plates arranged along its length.
Tuck a real pressed flower, a scrap of ribbon or a tiny handwritten note under the lace card’s edge before gluing this page in, so it holds something small the way the card itself does.
The usual mistake here is gluing the whole card flat so nothing can slide behind it. Leave the top edge of the card free and just glue the three sides, and it becomes a little pocket for whatever you tuck there next.
The grand staircase wraps in garland from top to bottom, red velvet bows marking each post and candles glowing along the bannister rail into the hall below.
Fireside Portraits
Write the kind of letter a Victorian child might send to Father Christmas across the bottom third of this page, or leave it blank for a quiet caption instead.
The girl sits by the fireplace with her china doll in her lap, stockings hung above her on the mantel and the firelight catching the doll’s painted face.
a carriage waits in the snow outside a brick townhouse hung with a wreath on its door, the horse’s breath visible and warm window light spilling onto the street.
Pair this page with the gilded scroll frame lined page later in this set, writing the names of everyone gathered that year just beneath the mantel’s reflection.
Holly, candlesticks and small porcelain figurines line the mantel under the gilded mirror, their shapes doubled faintly in the glass above them.
Tea And Carolers
Glue a real paper doily or a torn lace scrap over the corner of the tea table’s cloth before adding this page, so the texture of the table reaches off the page itself.
A five minute version of this page works just as well: print it, trim the edge straight and glue it in without any extra layering at all.
The family of carolers stand in top hats and capes beside the gas lamp, their song sheets held open and their breath showing faintly in the cold.
Pair the cornucopia ornament with the tiny glass ornament and bow background from this same set, laying the scene page over a strip of the pattern peeking out from one side.
Keepsakes And Treasures
List what the hatbox holds across the top of the page: the feathered hat, a pair of gloves, a sprig of mistletoe tied with ribbon, each item named in your own hand.
Keep the box lid half open on the page so the gloves and mistletoe seem to spill from it onto the surface the box sits on.
a Victorian sleigh piled with fur rugs waits in the snow, its sleigh bells catching the light and a dappled gray horse harnessed at the front.
Write the menu for your own Christmas dinner down the side of this page, or borrow the Victorian one shown: roast goose, plum pudding, mince pies and punch.
Crystal glasses and silver candelabras line the dining table on either side of the roast goose, the whole spread lit by candlelight.
The usual mistake with a conservatory page is leaving too much pale glass behind the plants empty. Paint or stamp a faint garden visible through the panes so the wicker chair and potted palms feel truly indoors.
Outdoor And Travel
a boy in a winter coat runs with a hoop and stick through a snowy park, bare trees reaching overhead and his footprints trailing behind him in the snow.
This page suits a gift journal made for a mother or grandmother, the pearls, cameo and red ribbon on velvet standing in for a keepsake she already owns.
Keep the lid of the jewelry box open on the page and let the ribbon trail slightly past its edge, so the page reads as a box caught mid open rather than a flat drawing of one.
Question for the entry written beside this page: whose coat hung by this door first each winter, and who last locked it behind them.
Writing And Music
Place this page beside the lace trimmed card page from earlier in a spread, so the letter being sealed here seems to be the very card propped there.
A lady sits at a writing desk sealing her letter with red wax, a lamp casting warm light over the paper and a small stack of finished envelopes beside her hand.
a harp stands beside a garlanded piano in the music room, tall candles lit along the piano’s top and sheet music open on its stand.
Tear the bottom edge of this page roughly before gluing it in, so the nursery shelf’s row of tin soldiers, jack in the box and worn teddy bear looks pulled straight from an old toy chest.
Background Papers
Use this damask of holly and ivy under a photo corner, as the lining inside a pocket page, or wrapped around a small journal cover for a formal, old fashioned finish.
Burgundy and gold brocade works well behind the sleigh or dining table scenes, as a cover for the whole journal, or cut into strips for a spine wrap along the binding.
Small glass ornaments and bows scatter across this sheet, suited to a pocket lining behind the parlor tree page, a gift tag backing, or a light wrap for a small box insert.
Cream roses and lace motifs make a soft lining for the jewelry box or hatbox pages, a cover for a keepsake pocket, or backing paper behind a pressed flower.
Deep green velvet stripes with gold sprigs between them suit a journal cover, a divider page between sections, or the backing behind the music room scene.
Lined Writing Pages
Write a guest list for Christmas dinner, a note tucked for next year’s self, or the words exchanged under the mistletoe inside this gilded scroll frame.
Use this page for a letter to next year’s self, a record of the carols sung this season, or a short list of gifts given and received, framed by garland and cherub corners.
Write a recipe for the plum pudding or roast goose, a toast for the table, or a note about the candles lit that evening along this parlor candle and velvet bow band.
Record a snowy walk, the weather on Christmas morning, or a short description of the street outside, framed along the bottom by this ornate wrought iron fence footer.
Write a tea time menu, a thank you note for a gift, or a short memory of a Victorian Christmas card received, bordered by this lace doily edge.
What to Do Next
Print the full set, sort the scene pages into your favourite order, and start gluing from the parlor tree outward. For more Victorian pages beyond Christmas, the Victorian junk journal set makes a natural companion kit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for a Victorian Christmas junk journal?
Smooth matte cardstock around 110gsm holds the fine ink lines and gold trims best without curling. Lighter paper works fine for lined pages meant purely for writing, but the scene pages look sharper on something closer to cardstock weight.
What printer settings should I use?
Set your printer to its highest quality or photo setting and choose the actual paper type you loaded, not a plain paper default. This keeps the sepia outlines crisp and stops the deeper burgundy and gold tones from looking washed out.
What size should I print these pages at?
Standard US letter or A4 suits most home printed junk journals and fits inside a regular binder or cover. Scale down on a copy shop printer if you want a smaller, more pocket sized book instead.
What should I use to colour or glue the pages?
Nothing needs colouring since every page prints in full colour already, so you only need scissors and a trimmer for cutting and an acid free glue stick for mounting. Fine tip pens work well for any writing added by hand afterward.
Can I mix these pages with other Christmas junk journal kits?
Yes, the burgundy and gold palette here pairs naturally with other richly coloured Christmas sets. Try combining a few pages with the burgundy velvet and antique gold set or the gothic Christmas set for a deeper, more layered journal.