Sweet Violets Stationery

"I smelt the violets

in her hand and asked,

half in words, half in signs,

a question which meant

Is love the sweetness

of flowers?"

~ Helen Keller ~

Violets are starting to pop

up through the grass. My daughter's

been gathering them in tiny bouquets.

We keep them in a special place, on a

sunny windowsill. Aren't those little

bouquets the best?

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

Back of an old photograph

*Vintage Images*

Violets

Violets in vase

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

*Shadowhouse Creations*

Softly aged sepia texture

Sweet Girl & Spring Flowers

"It often happens to children

and sometimes to gardeners

that they are given gifts of value

of which they do not perceive

until much later."

~ Wayne Winterrowd ~

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*Vintage Images*

Girl with wheelbarrow & flowers

*The Graphics Fairy*

Back of an old photograph

*Lilac & Lavender*

Antiqued lined paper

Green fabric - book cover

8"x8" image:

The little girl graphic may be from the 1930's

or later - and therefore not out of copyright.

Please use these for personal use only, thanks!

A Pretty Girl

“I believe in being

strong when everything

seems to be going wrong.

I believe that happy girls

are the prettiest girls.

I believe that tomorrow

is another day, and I

believe in miracles."

~ Audrey Hepburn ~

Was thinking of my sister-in-law April

as I created this aqua-themed collage &

and chose an Audrey Hepburn quote

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*The Graphics Fairy*

Back of an old photograph

Ornate frame

*Magic Moonlight Studio*

Victorian beauty

A Wonderfully Ordinary Day

Yesterday I woke up to sunshine and a sweet little girl curled up next to me. Time for us both to get up, since it was a Kindergarten day. She looked so peaceful. I waited a moment before giving her a nudge. She opened her eyes and focused on me, smiling. We stretched, yawned, and made our way downstairs. Soon my son was up too. Another happy child... it's so nice when they both wake up "on the right side of the bed."

Didn't take long before I had two kids chiming in for pancakes... how could I say no? I flipped as they ate. My daughter ran upstairs to put on school clothes and finish getting ready. As I cleaned the mess of dishes, my son came closer and asked, "Mom, what are we gonna do today?"

I thought for a moment and glanced outside. "Would you want to help me in the garden?" His grin and eagerly nodding head were my answer. Olivia came back downstairs, and we stood out on the porch as I finished doing her hair. We said our morning prayer and had a laugh when we thought a yellow cement truck was her school bus. Sure enough, the real one came, and we waved goodbye.

Soon after she'd left, we decided to make Jell-O. My little guy picked out strawberry. He handled it pretty well when I told him we couldn't eat it just yet. I'm sure it helped we were heading out.

Once in the flowerbed, I started digging and pulling... and noticed there was a growing number of toy dump trucks and tractors lining up. Zach stood beside me, a little winded, and said, "We're ready to help, mom!" As I pulled up clumps of grass and other weeds, he loaded them into his various little trucks and transported them to a designated dump site.

While working, we talked about grubs and worms and those noisy birds chirping in the crab apple tree. At one point, I heard, "Oh, I forgot something!" and looked up to see an excited little guy running inside. He returned - carefully balancing our Jello and 2 spoons.  "Is it ready now?" It was. So we took a break and he leaned against me, saying, "You know... I love helping you work in the garden, mom." One of the best moments of my day.

We went on to pick my daughter up from school, have supper and bath time... I tucked my son in to bed first. He said, "I can't wait for more weeds!" and thanked God for our garden in his prayer...

I gently shut his door and led my daughter to bed. We noticed the moon in the sky, and she shared how she loves to look up at it sometimes from her bedroom window... "even after Daddy tucks me in bed." Moved, I said I've always loved the moon too. I turned to face her, and said "You know, today has been one of the best days I've ever had." To which she responded, "Well, that's good... now just go to sleep."

I chuckled at her perfect timing, got up to leave and smiled while closing her door.  In fact, I smiled until finally drifting off... reluctantly closing the book on a wonderfully ordinary day.

Sweet Yellow Primroses

Voice of Spring

"Come, I come! ye have

called me long, I come o'er the

mountain with light and song:
Ye may trace my step o'er the

wakening earth, by the winds

which tell of the violet's birth,

by the primrose-stars in the

shadowy grass, by the green

leaves, opening as I pass."

~ Felicia D. Hemans ~

Here are the sources & free

graphics in my artwork:

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

*The Graphics Fairy*

Back of an old photograph

*Green Paper*

Green border from calling card

*Vintage ephemera*

French script, 1816

*Vintage Images*

Potted yellow primrose

1880's Pretty Advertisement Tags

And Spring arose on

the garden fair, like the

Spirit of Love felt everywhere.

and each flower and herb on

Earth's dark breast rose from

the dreams of its wintry rest.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~

These Victorian illustrations inspired

me to create within minutes of finding

them. The little girl illustration didn't

have any typography, so in keeping with

the clothing theme, I added part of an

advertisement for spool cotton.

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*Vintage Images*

Victorian illustrations: girl & woman

Trade card (back) J. & P. Coats' spool cotton

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

Textured book page

French Lace & White Roses

"The red rose whispers

of passion, and the white

rose breathes of love; O, the

red rose is a falcon, and

the white rose is a dove."

~ John Boyle O’Reilly ~

Below are individual tags & graphics:

French Lace Tags

*The Graphics Fairy*

French lace label

Back of an old photograph
 French sheet music

*Antique Images*

White roses on postcard

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

Round Rose graphic

*The Graphics Fairy*

French sheet music

*Antique Images*

White roses on postcard

Square Rose graphic

*MudBay Images*

1792 Farm Sale document

*Antique Images*

White roses on postcard 

Sweet Bunny & Chicks

April hath put

a spirit of youth

in everything

~ William Shakespeare ~

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*bumble button*

Bunny & chicks

*The Graphics Fairy*

Round frame

*Vintage Ephemera*

French script, 1816

Easter postcards

"For I remember it is Easter

morn, and life and love

and peace are all new born."

  

~ Alice Freeman Palmer ~

Enjoy these Easter postcards

from my personal collection

Layer by Layer

I wanted to do something a

little different this time. As you

scroll, you'll see the graphic

stripped layer by layer. Hope this

gives you a better visual of

how I pull together an image...

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*Vintage Images*

Pansies & English ivy, top

Pansies & English ivy, bottom

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

*Home and Heart*

Thurbers' Soap advertisement

*The Graphics Fairy*

Round border

I also use free software to

create my images: GIMP

"Antiqued" lined paper & stationery

"Antiqued" distressed lined paper:

I combined the lined paper

with 2 borders. They'd make

nice stationery, journal pages,

or place for a to-do list

 Spring Blossoms

Blue Floral

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*Shadowhouse Creations*
Softy aged sepia texture

*Altered Bits*
Grungy texture

*Vintage Images*

Cherry or apple blossoms

*bumble button*

1800's lush floral frame

(I've used this graphic before... here)

Vintage Spring Botanicals

"Little flower, but

if I could understand

what you are, root & all

in all, I should know

what God and man is."

 
~ Tennyson ~

  "Narrow-leaved Narcissus"

 "Elder-scented Iris"

 

 "Great-flowered Cornel"

"Garden Hyacinth"

"Crimson-flowered Peony"

"Common Lilac"

These botanical illustrations

were from: Vintage Images

Here are the sources

for the background textures:

textured book page

grungy texture

hand-penned letter

1917 Farmyard Favorites

 "Agriculture is our wisest

pursuit, because it will in the end

contribute most to real wealth,

good morals, and happiness."

Letter from Thomas Jefferson

to George Washington (1787)

My husband grew up on a farm.

We live just down the road from the

original homestead of Catherine &

Edward Berry - his (5 times)

great-grandparents, who settled

here in 1807.  Several generations

of farming families are the result

of what they started 200+ years ago.

Two tags using images from a c.1917

children's book title + back cover, combined

with a Farm Sale document from 1792:

 Original images were scanned,

then cleaned up a bit. The book is

13.5" by 9.5", so a fairly good size.

Irish Blessings

May your blessings

outnumber the Shamrocks

that grow. And may trouble

avoid you wherever you go.

Here are the sources & free

graphics used in my artwork:

*Magic Moonlight Free Images*

girl with dark wavy hair & bouquet

sweet little girl wearing bonnet 

girl with white roses

little girl wearing a big hat

girl with flowers in her hair

 beautiful woman, lace background

*The Graphics Fairy*

vanilla apothecary label

back of an old photograph

antique paper texture

*Vintage Images*

clover & forget-me-nots

*Green Paper*

green frame

May the raindrops
fall lightly on your brow.

May the soft winds
freshen your spirit.

May the sunshine
brighten your heart.

May the burdens of the day
rest lightly upon you.

And may God enfold you 
in the mantle of His love.