Free Vintage Mushroom Ephemera: Printable Collage Sheet for Nature-Inspired Journals
Inside This Post
Download a free printable collage sheet featuring detailed mushroom illustrations from a 1908 encyclopedic dictionary.
Ideal for junk journals, mixed media projects, altered books, and scrapbooks.
Includes a variety of mushroom species, each with authentic vintage detail.
Perfect for botanical, nature study, and woodland-themed paper crafts.
At the turn of the 20th century, encyclopedic dictionaries were more than just reference books. They were windows into the natural world, filled with intricate illustrations designed to educate and inspire curiosity. Botanical and mycological imagery from this period often walked the line between science and art, capturing the delicate textures, structures, and forms of even the most humble organisms with exquisite precision.
The mushroom illustrations featured in this free printable collage sheet were originally published in a 1908 encyclopedic dictionary, where they served as visual aids to help readers identify and understand the diverse species of fungi that thrive in forests, meadows, and gardens. Over a century later, their beauty and detail remain as compelling as ever, and they make wonderful additions to the pages of a junk journal, art book, or mixed media project.
Whether you’re building a naturalist’s field journal, layering botanical imagery into a collage, or simply looking for illustrations to enrich your creative practice, these mushroom images bring an authentic historical touch to any project.
About the Free Printable
This free download includes:
One high-resolution printable collage sheet
A selection of vintage mushroom illustrations sourced from a 1908 encyclopedic dictionary
A wide variety of fungi species
Designed to print on standard 8.5” x 11” paper for easy cutting and collage work
How to Use The Printable
These mushroom illustrations are very versatile and can be used in countless ways across your creative projects. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Junk Journals: Cut out individual mushrooms and layer them with vintage book pages, field notes, or pressed leaves to create richly textured spreads.
Mixed Media Art: Combine them with watercolor washes, stenciling, or texture paste to build dimensional, nature-inspired pages.
Altered Books: Incorporate the images into the pages of an old book to create a faux field guide or nature study journal.
Scrapbooking: Use them to highlight nature walks, forest explorations, or seasonal stories.
Labels & Embellishments: Print them on cardstock to create tags, specimen labels, or small focal points for cards and handmade gifts.
Specimen Cards: Mount each cut-out mushroom on a small card with handwritten botanical names or field notes.
Nature Study Pages: Pair the illustrations with your own observations, pressed plants, or dried moss for a layered, naturalist-inspired journal page.
Shadow Box Collages: Use them as paper cutouts in a three-dimensional piece, alongside natural materials like twigs, bark, and seed pods.
Other Free Printables You Might Like
Free German Mushrooms Collage Sheets — Another fungi-themed set featuring field guide–style illustrations, perfect for pairing with these encyclopedic prints.
Free Bairei Gakan Japanese Woodblock Print Ephemera Sheets — Add graceful, natural elements to your botanical pages with these elegant 19th-century Japanese illustrations of animals, fruits & veggies, and plants.
Free Vintage Fern Printables — A lush collection of botanical illustrations that pairs beautifully with mushroom imagery for woodland or nature-themed journals.
Free Vintage French Postcard Labels — A contrasting set of printable labels and cards perfect for layering with your botanical pages.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I print these on regular printer paper?
Yes. Standard printer paper works fine, but for more durable results, especially if you plan to use them as tags or standalone cards, try printing on heavier cardstock or matte photo paper.
Can I resize the images?
Absolutely. You can scale them down before printing to create smaller embellishments.
Can I use them in projects I sell?
Yes — you’re welcome to use these printables in your handmade items for personal or small commercial projects. However, please don’t redistribute or sell the digital files themselves or printouts of them “as is.”
Final Thoughts
The beauty of vintage natural history illustrations lies in their blend of science, art, and storytelling. These mushroom images, drawn over a century ago to help readers understand the natural world, still carry that same sense of wonder today. Whether you’re working in a junk journal, scrapbook, or mixed media piece, they offer a timeless way to celebrate the artistry of nature and to root your creative work in a rich historical tradition.
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.
