Grunge up Your Junk Journals: 10 Distressed Printables
If you’ve ever tried distressing paper at home using coffee or tea, you’ve probably noticed it doesn’t always come out the way you hoped. The effect might not be as strong as you want it to be, and the stains can be unpredictable or downright disappointing.
It’s fun to DIY, but sometimes you just want that distressed look in your junk journals without all of the extra trouble and mess. If that’s the case, we’ve got you covered with these grungy and distressed printables!
You can find the entire range of grunge printables here. Or keep scrolling to see each kit individually. You’ll also find some ideas for how to use them below.
Filler Pages
These pages can be used to bulk up your junk journals and handmade notebooks. They’re designed with two pages on each sheet, so you can print them double sided and fold them into booklets. You can also slice the sheets in two to use the papers separately.
Most of our junk journaling sets come with plenty of pages to create multiple signatures out of. Personally, I’m not a big fan of using 3-4 of the same junk journal pages over and over again. I like each page I flip to to be unique!
These ones don’t have much extra decoration, so they make great neutral base layers to paste ephemera onto (or go on a writing spree!)
Aged to Perfection – Printable Aged Papers
These pages make a lovely starting point for any junk journal or even paper collage. With hints of faint handwriting in the background, they add just a touch of visual interest without imposing too much on the structure or theme of your project. The neutral-toned pages come with different levels of stains and distressing.
Stains of Time
These pages are similar to Aged to Perfection, but without handwriting. They’re the perfect blank slate for your personal memoirs, bullet journals, planners, and collage spreads.
With just a touch of grunge around the edges, they add just the right amount of interest to your page to give you lots of room for your own creativity.
This set comes with several varieties and shades of time worn pages. Some are closer to white, some more cream, and a few more heavily yellowed pages are included too.
Grit and Grime
With a grey tone, these pages are closer to truly neutral. Some feature gibberish writing and strange symbols, while others have more empty patches. They almost look like they’ve been recovered from a flood, with some washed out and dirty looking spots.
Industrial Grunge
This set has a weathered, aged concrete feel. Most pages have a gray tone, with a few more heavily dirtied and warm-toned pages to complete the set. This set has a few pages with writing on them, but for the most part they’re empty to accommodate whatever you have in mind.
Grunge Papers – Printable Stained Pages
This set introduces some black ink stains, but nothing too intense! Each page has a different amount of grunginess and yellowing.
Decorative Grungy Pages
These pages are more like a true junk journal kit, with some decorative pages and some emptier pages for writing on and adding things to.
Beauty in Decay – Autumn Junk Journaling Kit
This set was inspired by a walk down my back lane! One of our neighbours has sunflowers in their back yard, and I was amazed by the way they hold onto their beauty well into the chilly season.
Autumn has always been my favorite time of the year. You can feel everything winding down for winter, but the colors are still so beautiful and vivid. This set can remind us that even in decay and compost, there is beauty to be found.
Crypts and Crawlies – Spooky Junk Journal Kit
What was meant to be part of the Beauty in Decay set ended up taking a spookier turn, so I separated it into its own set. This printable paper pack contains creepier motifs like spiders, webs, skulls, and old abandoned houses.
It would be perfect for Halloween, or a book of shadows! (I definitely had shivers down my back while I was working on the spider pages! 🕷️)
Grunge Texture Overlays
Still not grungy enough for you? These texture overlays can be used to make any printables you already have even grungier! Just print your base layer first, feed it back into the printer, and print your overlays on top.
Most of our other journal pages work well with this technique. You’re welcome to use pages from other creators too, but you might want to check their terms of use first to make sure they allow it.
Ink Stain Grunge Overlays – Part I & II
We separated this ink stain series into two parts so you can download them separately. With 30 different 8.5 x 5.5″ pages each, you get a total of 60 pages on 30 sheets.
Both kits include some heavily ink stained pages, and some with more room in the center. Some pages are stark white, while others have a grey cast, and some are a tiny bit warmer in tone. You’ll find all manner of ink splashes, splatters, drips, streaks and smears here!
I hope you have lots of fun experimenting with these ink stain sets! They can easily add that extra touch of drama and intrigue to any junk journal spread. Here’s an example of how the stains look when printed on top of our Shabby Floral pages (sold separately):
Make these grungy printables your own!
Grunge and distressed printables put a rustic touch on your junk journals, planners, and other paper crafts. Things always gain more character over time as they age, and that’s a fact worth recognizing in our crafting!
I hope these printables give you that extra touch you were looking for in your next project. Happy crafting!
