Free Vintage Butterfly Printables for Junk Journals, Art Journals & Scrapbooks
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Quick Summary
Download two free printable collage sheets featuring antique butterfly illustrations paired with delicate botanical elements.
Perfect for junk journaling, art journaling, scrapbooking, mixed media collage, card making, and DIY stationery.
Includes high-resolution vintage insect illustrations sourced from public domain natural history artwork.
Ideal for nature-themed journals, cottagecore projects, dark academia spreads, and botanical collage pages.
Print, cut, layer, and transform these butterflies into beautiful paper ephemera for creative projects.
Butterflies have been fluttering through art, science, and human imagination for centuries. Long before Pinterest boards and aesthetic hashtags, Victorian naturalists were painstakingly documenting every wing, vein, and speckle in exquisite hand-colored illustrations.
Today, those antique butterfly illustrations make incredible printable ephemera for modern creatives, especially if you love junk journals, art journals, scrapbooks, and mixed media collage.
To save you from falling down a museum archive rabbit hole at 2 a.m. (you’re welcome), I’ve put together two free vintage butterfly printable collage sheets using public domain natural history artwork. They’re ready to print, cut, and turn into beautiful paper embellishments.
Let’s talk butterflies, paper hoarding (affectionately), and creative possibilities.
What’s Included in These Free Vintage Butterfly Printables
This freebie includes two printable collage sheets filled with:
Antique butterfly illustrations
Natural history plate-style layouts
Butterflies paired with botanical florals
Softly aged backgrounds for easy layering
You’ll find a mix of wing shapes, colors, and compositions, from bold swallowtails to delicate smaller species, giving you plenty of visual variety without overwhelming your page.
These designs work beautifully as:
Junk journal ephemera
Art journal focal points
Scrapbook embellishments
Mixed media collage elements
Printable butterfly art for paper crafts
In other words: versatile, flexible, and dangerously easy to overuse (no regrets).
Why Vintage Butterfly Illustrations Are So Popular in Journaling & Collage
Butterflies sit at the perfect intersection of:
Nature
Transformation
Beauty
Nostalgia
From a purely visual standpoint, antique insect illustrations have a timeless elegance that modern clipart simply can’t touch. The hand-drawn quality, subtle imperfections, and scientific labeling give them a richness that feels both artistic and scholarly.
That makes them ideal for:
Nature-inspired junk journals
Botanical collage spreads
Dark academia ephemera collections
Cottagecore and goblincore aesthetics
Natural history-themed art journals
They feel intellectual without being stuffy and whimsical without being childish, a rare and magical balance. (Okay, not magical. We’re avoiding that word today. Let’s call it “deeply charming.”)
Ways to Use These Free Butterfly Printables in Junk Journals
Junk journals thrive on layered texture, storytelling, and found-paper vibes, and butterflies fit right in.
Try using the printable butterfly ephemera as:
Pocket & Tuck Spot Decor - Glue butterflies onto glassine envelopes, coin pockets, or library card holders to create instant focal points.
Journal Cards - Mount a butterfly on cardstock, add a tea-dyed background, and suddenly you have a journaling card that looks like it came from a 19th-century curiosity cabinet.
Belly Bands - Turn a butterfly strip into a belly band that holds tags, notes, or secret scribbles.
Flip-Ups & Hidden Panels - Attach a butterfly image as a flap that lifts to reveal journaling underneath.
Pro tip: Rough-cutting or tearing instead of perfectly trimming gives a more authentic vintage feel.
Download Your Free Vintage Butterfly Printables
Scroll down to download both printable collage sheets and start creating. Select either ‘Download JPG’ or ‘Download PDF’ under each preview image. No sign-up. No hoops. Just butterflies.
2” x 3”
Creative Uses in Art Journals & Mixed Media
If you enjoy paint-splattered fingers and questionable life choices involving gel medium, these printables are for you.
Use them as:
Collage focal points
Layered backgrounds with acrylic paint
Image transfers
Stencil inspiration
Starting points for stitched pages
Try pairing vintage butterfly illustrations with:
Handwritten quotes
Old book text
The contrast between scientific illustration and expressive mark-making is especially satisfying.
Scrapbooking with Vintage Butterfly Art
Butterflies aren’t just for journals. They’re wonderful in scrapbooks, too.
Ideas include:
Nature-themed layouts
Garden memories
Springtime spreads
Heritage or ancestry albums
Travel scrapbooks
Because these are printable butterfly art designs, you can scale them down depending on your layout needs.
They also work beautifully as:
Page corners
Photo mats
Borders
Title embellishments
Beyond Journals: Other Paper Craft Ideas
Let’s widen the creative net.
These butterfly collage sheets are also great for:
Handmade cards
DIY stationery
Gift tags
Planner dashboards
Specimen cards
Aesthetic Niches These Printables Fit Perfectly
If you enjoy aesthetic rabbit holes (don’t we all), these butterflies pair beautifully with:
Goblincore nature art
Vintage botanical decor
Natural history collage themes
Mentioning these aesthetics in your journaling spreads can also help your content get discovered on platforms like Pinterest and Instagram.
2.5” x 4.25”
More Free Printables You Might Like
If butterflies make your heart flutter, you may also enjoy:
(Each pairs beautifully with today’s butterfly set.)
Printing Tips for Best Results
A few small tweaks make a big difference:
Print at 100% scale for accurate sizing
For softer tones, slightly lower printer saturation
Inkjet? Let pages dry fully before cutting
Laser printer? You’re golden for transfers
Want extra aging? Lightly brush with tea, coffee, or diluted brown ink.
How to Store & Organize Your Butterfly Ephemera
Future-you will thank present-you.
Consider:
Clear sleeves in binders
Vintage envelopes
Label sections like:
Butterflies
Insects
Botanicals
Nature Ephemera
Congratulations, you now run a tiny paper museum.
Why I Love Natural History Illustrations for Collage
Old scientific illustrations were created to educate, but they accidentally became art.
They have:
Careful linework
Balanced composition
Harmonious color palettes
Built-in storytelling
Using them in modern collage feels like collaborating across centuries, which is pretty cool!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these vintage butterfly images public domain?
Yes. The source illustrations are from public domain natural history publications, making them safe for creative use.
Can I use these printables in physical items I sell?
You may use them in handmade physical projects (journals, cards, collage art). You may not redistribute or resell the digital files or printouts of them "as-is."
What size are the printables?
They’re formatted on standard letter-size pages and can be scaled during printing.
Are these suitable for beginners?
Absolutely. Print, cut, glue. No advanced skills required.
Can I use them for decor projects?
Yes! Try framing, decoupage, or creating mini gallery walls.
Do these work for card making?
They’re excellent for card fronts, accents, and layered designs.
Love These Printables? Support The Art Scavenger!
I love sharing free vintage printables, and if you enjoy them, there are easy ways to support my work so I can continue creating and offering more free designs:
You may also enjoy these free collage sheets.
Terms of use:
Free to use for personal or commercial projects. You may print the collage sheets as many times as you wish for your personal crafts or in your projects to sell, including: art journals, scrapbooks, junk journals, collage art, etc. You may not redistribute or sell the collage sheets “as is" in either print or digital form.
If you wish to share the files on your own website, please do not make the files available for download directly from your site. Instead, include an image with a link back to this site.
To the best of my knowledge, these are all royalty free images that are in the Public Domain in the US. However, you should always do your own research if you plan to use them commercially.
