Free printable vintage circus ephemera makes an amazing addition to any circus enthusiast’s antique printables collection! The artifacts are perfect for art/junk journals and numerous DIY projects.
Vintage circus ephemera artifacts are an iconic part of circus history. In an era where most tickets are digital, you won’t find anything quite like the items in this collection today. Additionally, while there are numerous vintage-inspired circus-themed items available on Etsy and elsewhere online, they don’t hold a candle to the aesthetic that you get from genuine antique scans.
This paper ephemera set is ideal for an extensive array of craft projects, including but not limited to, art/junk journals, physical and digital scrapbooks, decoupage, greeting cards, home decor, and Christmas ornaments.
The most unique items in the vintage circus ephemera collection are a Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus peanuts bag and a label for circus super-charged flashlight crackers, complete with a warning. The collection also includes colorful animal seals, perforated gift seals, and a wide variety of perforated and single tickets from multiple circuses in different styles and colors.
There are 19 vintage circus ephemera artifacts in the set. I’m also offering a set of three 8.5″ x 11″ pages that contain all of the artifacts for easy printing. Enjoy!
How to use vintage paper ephemera
When you’re searching for antique paper materials, most likely you already have one or more projects in mind. If you need a little inspiration or simply want a few additional options for your new circus printables, think about one or more of the following ideas.
- DIY wall decor. I love the concept of creating a collage of circus items to frame and hang on the wall. (You can see an example of such a collage under the printing section in this post.) Circus ephemera is perfect for living rooms, home offices, classrooms, circus gift shops, other retail stores, and much more.
- Tile coasters. The larger items in this collection work well for single coaster images. Alternatively, you can layer several smaller items. I have a vintage sheet music coasters tutorial that has everything you need to create your own coasters.
- Greeting cards. I love adding all sorts of antique paper ephemera into handmade greeting card designs.
- Pendant necklaces. For the right recipient, a circus-themed necklace will be so meaningful. My sheet music pendant necklaces tutorial works well with any sort of vintage paper.
- Glass or bottle cap magnets. I use the above technique but with magnets instead of bails to create sheet music magnets, which is another tutorial that is ideal for any paper.
- Scrapbooking. Vintage ephemera makes a wonderful addition to digital and physical scrapbooks. I especially love the idea of documenting a visit to the circus with antique ephemera components. Vintage artifacts are great for creating your own scrapbook embellishments, too.
- Junk journals and mixed media art. Antique paper materials are extremely popular for art/junk journals and other mixed media projects. You can use them as is or layer them with ink, paint, stamps, and more.
- Christmas ornaments. Design circus-themed holiday ornaments for your own tree, to sell online and/or at craft fairs, and to give as gifts to family and friends.
About the free printable vintage circus ephemera
You may use the vintage circus ephemera artifacts and 8.5″ x 11″ pages for as many personal projects as you wish, which includes classroom use. You may also use them for limited runs of commercial projects (5,000 items or less), both physical and digital. Commercial use DOES NOT include made-to-order sites, such as Redbubble and Society6. Commercial digital items must be finished, flat projects (i.e., not Adobe Illustrator files) consisting of your original content. You are not authorized to sell any of the items as is, either individually or as part of larger collections.
Finally, please don’t send any of the downloaded files directly to friends, family, or co-workers. If you know anyone who is interested in their own circus ephemera, please provide them with a link to this post where they can download their own files. Your support allows me to continue to offer free printables. Thank you!
Vintage circus ephemera artifacts
I’m offering 19 vintage circus ephemera artifacts. The rectangle-shaped artifacts are in JPG format. The perforated tickets and seals and peanuts bag are in PNG format. I’ve split the artifacts into multiple folders for easier downloading.
The vintage circus ephemera collection includes the following artifacts:
- Burling Bros Circus perforated tickets – a single ticket and a set of two tickets
- Circus gift seals – a set of five perforated seals with four different illustrations
- Circus supercharged flashlight crackers graphic with a multicolored illustration and warning message
- Coles Bros Circus tickets – two tickets with black lettering and one multicolored ticket
- Hunt Bros Circus tickets – two red tickets, two turquoise tickets, and three green tickets
- Punch out animal seals – an assorted set of six colorful animals
- Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey peanuts bag
- Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey ticket
- Silver Star Shows perforated tickets – a set of two tickets
- Von Bros Circus ticket – a single ticket
8.5″ x 11″ pages
I’m providing a set of three 8.5″ x 11″ pages that contain all of the artifacts in this circus collection for easy printing.
Please note: The above preview image contains a black border, as it gets confusing having tons of white space around images in blog posts. The 8.5″ x 11″ pages in the download below don’t have black borders.
[Vintage Circus Ephemera – 8.5″ x 11″ Pages]
Extracting and downloading the ZIP folders
I’ve created ZIP folders for all of the vintage downloads that I’m offering in this post. Zipped folders allow me to offer high-resolution files for crisp, vibrant printing and to protect said files from potential theft. Extracting and downloading the ZIP folders from Google Drive is pretty simple. It does take a little time for each folder to download in full.
- When you click on the download link, select Open with ZIP Extractor at the top of the page.
- The folder will open in a new window. The files will download.
- Once the files have downloaded, click Extract Now.
- When the files have extracted and uploaded, click View Extracted Files.
- Double click on the folder.
- To download, select the files you’d like to download. Click the three horizontal dots More Actions button. Choose Download.
- Follow the prompts on the download screen.
I highly recommend moving your downloaded files out of your downloads folder and into your main photos folder. I also recommend making a second copy on an external hard drive or cloud storage drive. Keep your files in a folder labeled “Vintage Circus Ephemera” or something similar, so you’re able to find them again with ease.
Now you’re ready to use your new antique artifacts for home decor and endless DIY projects!
Printing digital vintage ephemera
If you decide to print your circus artifacts as a collage or in another creative way, I recommend Finestra Art Paper for at-home printing. The paper boasts an acid-free, matte surface that dries ink quickly, producing clear, vivid images. I think that Finestra is worth the extra money for the results that it produces, which I like more than regular printer paper, card stock, and presentation paper for this sort of printing.
For all other projects, I use white card stock. When you’re using vintage components for scrapbook embellishments, mixed media art, and greeting cards, it’s not as important that the images are so vibrant. For crafts that involve several Mod Podge or diamond glaze coats, such as magnets, tile coasters, and pendant necklaces, you won’t be able to tell any difference in the finish of the paper. As such, card stock is a great option because it’s less expensive than art paper and still very durable and high quality.
[Disclaimer: There are a few affiliate links in this post. Thanks for your support!]
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