If you love collecting old book pages, handwritten letters, vintage sheet music, maps, greeting cards, and other forgotten paper treasures, there are countless creative ways to give them a new life. Vintage paper crafts can turn even the smallest scraps of vintage ephemera into meaningful artwork, handmade decor, mixed media pieces, and keepsakes filled with character and history.
In this guide, artist BJ Massa shares some of her favorite vintage paper craft ideas, along with tips for finding affordable vintage paper and creative ways to display what you make. From collage art and artist trading cards to framed book pages, banners, and sheet music projects, these ideas might have you looking at that stack of old paper in an entirely new way.
Paper… how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I don’t know why I love paper so much, especially vintage paper, but I do know I’m not alone. There’s something undeniably romantic about vintage paper. In our technology-driven world, where we communicate through emails, text messages, autocorrect, and predictive text, we’ve lost some of the feeling and emotion that comes from putting pen to paper. Nobody I know has clutched an email to their chest in anguish or unbridled passion.
When I left my hometown for college three states away, my high school boyfriend would mail me a handwritten letter every single day. Tucked into each envelope was a small piece of his heart- a quote, a card, an ink drawing- a small physical reminder he was thinking about me. Our relationship did not survive freshman year but I treasured those letters and saved them for a long time.
Vintage paper crafts are one of my favorite ways to create meaningful art from forgotten treasures. Whether it’s antique sheet music, old greeting cards, vintage maps, or worn book pages, these beautiful papers add texture, history, and character to every project.
Where to Find Vintage Paper and Ephemera
So where do you find vintage paper?
I find used vintage greeting cards often at the Goodwill Outlet. If I spy one or two cards while combing through the bins, I keep digging because I know there will always be more. I always imagine someone cleaned out an attic and donated all the greeting cards their loved one had saved over a lifetime. I almost always find antique and vintage sheet music in the bins also.
Flea markets are a good source for vintage magazines. I scored a huge stack of magazines from the 1930s and 1940s from a seller who just wanted them gone. I think I paid five dollars for the entire collection.
Old books can be found just about anywhere, but you have to be okay with pulling them apart. I’m not advocating for the destruction of rare books and first editions, but most old books don’t have much monetary value. Check your local library for book sales. My library has a book sale at least once a year, and they almost always have old books. Pro Tip: old dictionaries are a dime a dozen and are filled with beautiful paper!
Antique stores and multi-vendor malls are also a good source, but expect to pay a little more. I have a room in a vendor mall, and I stock vintage ephemera packs. Some of the packs are assembled from my own collection, while others are made with papers I source wholesale. My favorite papers are French documents, some of which date to the 1600s or 1700s.
Vintage Paper Craft Ideas You’ll Want to Try
Now that you’ve gathered your vintage paper, what should you make with it?
Let me give you some ideas.
1. Junk Journals
Junk Journals are wildly popular right now. I personally don’t make junk journals, but my sister-in-law does. She loves paper as much as I do, and she’s always collecting bits and pieces for use in her junk journals. This is a great way to use paper scraps and ephemera or even paper like junk mail.
This is a page from BJ’s sister-in-law’s junk journal.
2. Framed Book Pages
Framed book pages make for really easy and inexpensive home decor. Frames are readily available secondhand and on the cheap at thrift stores. Tear out a favorite poem or a funky image from a children’s book, trim it to size, and put it into your found frame. You now have art that costs just a few dollars and took you less than fifteen minutes.
If you want to be fancy, you could paint your frame. Make sure to disassemble it before painting. A gallery wall of different-sized frames all painted the same color with vintage paper art would be amazing!
3. Collage Art
Collage Art is a personal favorite of mine. I am currently working on a mixed media series where I am using vintage sewing patterns in conjunction with paint on canvas. I love the texture paper adds to mixed media art.
I adore surrealist collage work. I recently went on a girls’ trip to Montreal and stumbled across an artist who incorporates all vintage and antique papers into her work. I bought two pieces from her. I also recently discovered the artist Ray Johnson after purchasing an art book from The Art Institute of Chicago (on half-price clearance, of course). Johnson was an American collagist and correspondence artist who, in the 1950s, created small cardboard collages using found materials and magazine cutouts which he called “moticos”. His work reminds me that some of the most interesting art begins with ordinary scraps of paper.
4. Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)
Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are one of my favorite ways to use up vintage paper scraps and ephemera. They’re quick to make, endlessly creative, and the perfect excuse to rescue bits and pieces that might otherwise end up in the trash. I recently made a few and loved them so much that I framed them instead of trading them!
If you’re an artist, you probably have unfinished projects, paint-covered papers, or pieces that just didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I certainly do. Instead of tossing them into my reject pile, I look for the interesting sections and cut them down to the size of a playing card.
I love quotes and vintage typography, so I sift through old book pages, clipping words and phrases that speak to me. Then I arrange them into little sayings and glue them onto my cards. Each one becomes a tiny piece of art with its own personality.
Artist Trading Cards are wonderful as bookmarks, gift tags, handmade greeting cards, or even framed in a collection. They’re proof that even the smallest scraps of vintage paper can become something meaningful and beautiful.
5. Dictionary Page/Sheet Music/Map Art
This is another easy project. Search for vintage graphics online that suit your taste. Sites such as The Graphics Fairy or The Century Library are fantastic websites full of antique and vintage imagery. Simply download your graphic and print it onto the dictionary page, sheet music, or old map page. I find Canva to be helpful for making sure my image is centered and sized appropriately.
No printer? No problem. You can use decor transfers to embellish your dictionary page or sheet music. Iron Orchid Designs makes many smaller-scale transfers perfect for crafting. You can find IOD transfers here.
6. Banners and Pennants
Banners and Pennants are great for holidays or special events. I have made these for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. After determining what I want my banner to say, I use my printer to print one letter onto each piece of vintage paper, making sure the letter is placed on the paper, leaving enough room to cut it out into a triangle. After printing and cutting all my letters, I string them up onto ribbon, jute, fabric scrap, or old lace using wooden clothespins. If you can’t find clothespins, you could also fold over the top of the triangle and glue it, leaving space in between to string your ribbon.
Creative Ways to Display Vintage Paper Art
Let’s talk about creative ways to display your paper projects. Painting thrifted frames is one option, but there are plenty of other creative ways to display your vintage paper art. I love old clipboards, and the more beat up, the better. Instead of putting your new paper masterpiece into a frame, simply place it on a clipboard and hang it on the wall. I also like using trifold vintage brass frames, which I find at thrift stores for just a few dollars. Old wooden pant hangers are also a unique way to display vintage paper projects. These look great grouped together or as part of a gallery wall.
What is vintage ephemera?
If you’re new to vintage paper crafts, you may be wondering exactly what ephemera is. Vintage ephemera refers to paper items that were originally meant to be temporary but have become treasured collectibles over time. Think old greeting cards, postcards, letters, tickets, receipts, maps, advertisements, sheet music, book pages, and handwritten documents. These pieces add history, texture, and personality to all kinds of creative projects.
The possibilities for using vintage paper and ephemera are endless. Paint it, cut it, rip it, collage it, print on it…anything goes. My biggest piece of advice is don’t be afraid to tear your paper apart. It isn’t precious, and there is plenty of vintage paper out there right now for us to gather and use. I’d much rather see these beautiful papers turned into art than sent to a landfill. By giving them a second life, we’re preserving a little piece of history while creating something completely our own.
BJ snapped this photo in a bathroom when she visited Roundtop, and she loved to try this in her booth inside Logan Village Mall outside Indianapolis.
