Last Updated on September 16, 2026 by Dee
Chalk dust, ink, old paper and the smell of well thumbed books. That is the whole mood of Back to School Vintage, my vintage schoolroom junk journal kit, and I have pulled six pages out of it as a free sample so you can print it today and make something this afternoon.
Pop your email in the box below and the six page PDF lands in your inbox straight away. No confirmation click, no waiting.
Get the free 6 page Back to School Vintage sample
Table of Contents
What Is in the Free Back to School Sample
The sample is six full pages from the kit, chosen so they work together as one small project rather than six loose sheets. Everything is A4 portrait at 300 DPI, and there is a cover page and a little what next page on the front and back.
- One atmospheric background: the fireside library, with the old map on the wall, a globe, an oil lamp and a wall of leather books. A full bleed page you can use as a base layer or a spread on its own.
- One pattern paper: satchels, slates, inkwells and globes scattered across warm cream. Lovely trimmed into pockets, strips and liners.
- One lined page: a proper vintage exercise book sheet with a Name, Date, Subject header bar, so it works as a real writing page.
- Journaling cards: six schoolroom cards, each with a little header banner (Lesson, Study, Notes, Memory, Schoolroom, Scholar) and space to write.
- Tags, labels and tickets: subject tags for Arithmetic, History, Geography, Latin, Botany and Penmanship, plus merit awards, a Student Pass and an Admit One ticket.
- Mini envelopes and postage: three fold and glue envelopes with wax seals, plus a sheet of vintage looking stamps and postmarks to go with them.
That is one background, one paper, one writing page and three ephemera sheets. Enough for a finished spread with pieces left over.
How to Print the Pages
Print at 100 percent, not fit to page. The pages are built at A4, and US printers will handle them fine on Letter if you tick fit to page there instead, but at 100 percent everything sits exactly where it was designed to sit.
Ordinary printer paper is perfectly good for the background and the pattern paper, especially if you like a thin, soft page that glues down flat. For the three ephemera sheets, the cards, the tags and the envelopes, 200 gsm is worth it. It cuts cleanly, it does not curl when you glue it, and the envelopes actually hold their shape instead of flopping open.
A slightly warm or cream toned paper suits the ink blue and leather tan palette better than bright white. A matte finish reads like old book pages.
Three Things to Make With These Six Pages
Here is what I would actually do with these six pages, in roughly the order I would do it.
1. A loaded envelope
Cut out one of the mini envelopes and fold it along the score lines. Glue the side flaps, leave the top open, and tuck a journaling card inside. Add a stamp from the postage sheet in the top right corner, and seal the flap with one of the wax seals. Glue the back of the envelope onto a page and you have a pocket that holds a secret.
2. A tag ring
Cut five or six of the subject tags, punch a hole in the top of each one, and thread them onto a loose binder ring or a length of waxed string. Write on the backs (a reading list, a plan for the week, a line you liked) and clip the bundle into the gutter of a spread so it swings out.
3. One pocket page
Trim the pattern paper into a rectangle about two thirds the height of the background page. Glue it down on the left, right and bottom edges only, leaving the top open. Slide the lined page in behind it as a writing sheet, and tuck the tag ring into the pocket. Add a fussy cut or two from the cards sheet along the bottom edge and the spread is finished.
Three makes, six pages, one afternoon. If you want to see the same moves on a bigger scale, I filmed myself making seven things from the full kit on my YouTube channel.
What Is in the Full 64 Page Kit
The six sample pages come out of a 64 page kit. Here is the whole thing:
- 12 atmospheric backgrounds: the chalkboard wall, a desk with exercise books and an inkwell, alphabet and map posters, a satchel on its peg, a wall of old textbooks, the brass bell and globe, a copperplate handwriting sheet, the schoolroom window.
- 14 pattern papers: exercise book grids and lines, vintage textbook diagrams, alphabet repeats, ink splatter texture, leather and brass toile, old map patterns.
- 12 seamless tileable papers for liners, pocket fronts and washi strips.
- 6 lined journal pages with true vintage exercise book ruling.
- 6 textured and tea stained pages: foxed parchment, ink wash, chalk dust watercolour.
- 9 core ephemera sheets: fussy cuts, four bookmarks, six journaling cards, mini envelopes and postage, hero motifs, ink blots and moths and a school cat, ornate frames, around twenty subject and term tags, banners and ribbons.
- 5 bonus ephemera sheets: sepia cabinet portraits, twelve vintage subject postage stamps, wax seal monograms A to Z, and faux washi tape strips in ink and leather tones.
It ships as a portrait PDF, a JPG zip, a landscape booklet PDF and a booklet JPG zip. All 300 DPI, all A4 portrait.
If you only want this one kit, you can buy Back to School Vintage on its own for £9 (about $11), yours to keep. Or read on, because it is also included in the Club along with every other kit I have made.
Where the Kit Lives: the Artsydee Creations Club
Back to School Vintage lives in the Artsydee Creations Club, which is where I put a brand new junk journal kit every single week. Somewhere between 50 and 64 printable pages each time, on a new theme, plus the whole back catalogue of everything I have already made.
It is £8 a month and you can cancel any time. You may sell what you make by hand with the pages: a journal you have built, a card you have assembled, pieces for a stall or a craft fair. That is your handiwork. The files themselves stay yours to use, never to resell.
If a monthly membership is not your thing, the Junk Journal Starter Vault is a one off bundle for £9 instead. Same kind of pages, no subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the sample really free?
Yes. Pop your email in the form on this page and the six page PDF arrives straight away. There is no confirmation email to click and no card details anywhere.
What size are the pages?
A4 portrait, 2480 by 3508 pixels at 300 DPI. If you are in the US, print with fit to page and they will sit happily on Letter with a small margin.
Can I sell what I make with them?
You can sell things you have made by hand with the pages, like a finished journal, a card or a tag bundle. Please do not sell or share the files themselves, or repackage them into a kit of your own.
What if the email does not arrive?
Check your promotions tab and your spam folder first, then add info@artsydee.com to your contacts. If it still has not turned up, email me at info@artsydee.com and I will send it over by hand.
Do I need the full kit to use the sample?
Not at all. The six pages were picked so they make a whole small project on their own. The full kit just gives you more to play with.
More Free Junk Journal Printables
Grab the free sample in the form below, then have a wander through these:
- Christmas Junk Journal Spreads + Free Printable Starter Pages
- Printable Junk Journal Sticker Sheets + Free Printable Set
- Aesthetic Printable Stickers + 20 Free Vintage Sticker Sheets
- 40+ Free Printable Gift Tags
Get the free 6 page Back to School Vintage sample
Pop your email in the box below and it is on its way.
Happy gluing. Dee x