Free Vintage Santa Claus Collage Sheets from Antique Relief Scraps
Inside This Post
These free vintage Santa Claus collage sheets are made from antique relief scraps which were embossed paper images popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Originally used for scrapbooking, card-making, and decorative crafts, relief scraps featured richly detailed illustrations with raised surfaces that added texture and dimension.
In this post, you’ll find four free printable collage sheets featuring charming vintage Santa images, along with ideas for using them in junk journals, Christmas crafts, and holiday paper projects.
Vintage Santa Claus imagery is instantly recognizable for rosy cheeks, flowing beards, old-world coats, and expressions that feel both nostalgic and warm. These Santa images come from antique relief scraps, a type of Victorian and early 20th-century paper ephemera that was designed to be cut out, collected, and reused in crafting projects.
For this printable giveaway, I’ve curated a collection of vintage Santa relief scrap illustrations and turned them into four printable collage sheets you can use in your holiday crafting. Whether you love junk journaling, art journaling, Christmas card making, or vintage-inspired gift wrap, these Santa sheets are designed to be versatile, easy to use, and full of character.
What Are Antique Relief Scraps?
Relief scraps were popular decorative paper items from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. Unlike flat printed images, relief scraps were embossed, meaning parts of the illustration were raised to create texture and dimension. Many were printed in rich colors with metallic accents or glossy finishes.
These scraps were often sold in sheets and meant to be:
Cut out and pasted into scrapbooks
Used to decorate greeting cards
Added to albums, letters, and keepsakes
Collected simply for their beauty
Santa Claus was an especially popular subject during the Christmas season. Victorian-era Santas often look quite different from modern depictions. They are sometimes more folkloric, sometimes whimsical, and often dressed in robes, cloaks, or fur-trimmed coats that reflect European influences.
About the Free Vintage Santa Claus Collage Sheets
This printable set includes four collage sheets made entirely from antique Santa relief scrap images. Each sheet features a mix of Santa illustrations, carefully arranged for easy cutting and layering. While we lose the embossed texture of the originals, these printables are still full of beautiful details and character.
What you’ll receive:
Four printable collage sheets, each with a different size and mix of Santa images (JPG & PDF formats available)
High-resolution vintage Santa images
Designs sized for junk journals, art journals, and paper crafts
You can print these sheets on regular paper for lightweight projects or on cardstock for tags, cards, and sturdy embellishments.
More Free Printables You Might Like
If you enjoy these vintage Santa collage sheets, you may also love these free printable collections from The Art Scavenger:
Free Christmas Angel Ephemera Printables – Beautiful vintage angel illustrations perfect for holiday journals and cards.
Free Vintage Christmas Sheet Music Printables – Ideal for backgrounds, layering, and festive collage work.
Free Old Fashioned Christmas Ephemera – Classic holiday images, including a gift tag printable you can use for wrapping, journals, and handmade gifts.
Free Vintage Winter Ephemera Printables – Snowy scenes, winter illustrations, and seasonal imagery for December projects.
How to Use Vintage Santa Collage Sheets
These Santa collage sheets were designed with flexibility in mind. Here are a few creative ways to use them in your holiday projects.
Junk Journals - Vintage Santa images are perfect for:
Christmas-themed journal spreads
December daily journals
Holiday memory books
Seasonal ephemera pockets
Try layering Santa images with old book pages, sheet music, or vintage labels for a cozy, collected look.
Art Journals - Use the Santa figures as focal points on mixed media pages. They work beautifully with:
Acrylic paint washes
Gessoed backgrounds
Stamped text or numbers
Collaged vintage typography
Christmas Cards
Cut out individual Santa images and mount them on folded cardstock for instant vintage-style Christmas cards. Add a simple greeting or handwritten note to keep the focus on the artwork.
Gift Tags and Wrapping
These Santas make charming gift tags. Punch a hole, add twine, and pair them with kraft paper or plain wrapping for a nostalgic holiday look.
Ornaments and Decor - Printed on heavier paper, these images can be used to create:
Paper ornaments
Garland pieces
Mini framed holiday decor
Why Vintage Santa Images Are So Popular in Paper Crafting
Vintage Santa Claus illustrations tap into a sense of tradition and storytelling. Unlike modern commercial designs, antique Santa images often feel:
Hand-illustrated and expressive
Rooted in folklore and early Christmas traditions
Less polished and more whimsical
For junk journalers and mixed media artists, this imperfection is part of the appeal. Relief scraps, in particular, were meant to be reused and reimagined, making them a perfect match for today’s creative reuse culture.
Printing Tips for Best Results
To get the most out of your printable collage sheets:
Use matte cardstock for tags and embellishments
Use lightweight paper for layering in collages
Print at 100% scale to preserve proportions
Lightly ink or distress edges after cutting for added age
Frequently Asked Questions
What size are the collage sheets?
The sheets are formatted to print on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper.
Can I resize the images?
Yes! You’re welcome to resize the images for your projects if you need smaller tags or elements.
What kind of paper works best?
Cardstock works well for tags and cards, while regular printer paper is great for journals and layered collage work.
Final Thoughts
These vintage Santa Claus relief scraps were originally created to be cut, shared, and enjoyed, and it feels especially fitting to bring them back into modern crafting and journaling. These free collage sheets are a small way to keep that tradition alive while giving today’s crafters something beautiful to work with.
Whether you’re creating a cozy junk journal, decorating holiday gifts, or simply collecting vintage imagery you love, I hope these Santa printables add a little old-fashioned Christmas magic to your projects.
Happy crafting and merry Christmas!
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.
