Glimpse of Happiness

 "I caught a glimpse

of happiness, and saw it

was a bird on a branch,

fixing to take wing."

~ Richard Peck ~

 

I used a bird illustration found in a book:

The English Year. Autumn and Winter,

published in 1913. I imagine it perching

briefly, preparing to fly off again.

Typewriter font messages were added to some,

and some were kept blank. I like having the

option to write in another message or a name,

if using as a gift tag. They turned out nicely

as rustic mason jar ring Christmas ornaments.

 

Hope you're all staying well and

staying warm! There was a dusting of

snow here the day after Thanksgiving,

which made it feel like

Christmas Time's a-Comin'.

A final thought...

"The moments of happiness

we enjoy take us by surprise.

It is not that we seize them,

but that they seize us."

~ Ashley Montagu ~

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving poem

I found a shortened version of this poem in

an antique Reader (see page 94). A few of the

lines were familiar, but I really enjoyed finding

and reading through the original poem and

thought others might as well. The sleigh image

was scanned from my copy of the book.

Paper texture source: The Old Design Shop.

Thanks for stopping by, and

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joys of Christmas

"And, so, Christmas comes

to bless us! Comes to teach us how

to find the joy of giving happiness,

and the joy of being kind."

~ Gertrude Tooley Buckingham ~

 

It took time to gather so many images,

but I love the final collection. There are

snowy homes & a church, 2 "stained glass"

patterns, holly & mistletoe, brown birds,

and a child & angels with Christmas trees.

I'll be using them as gift tags.

They also fit inside a canning jar ring

(regular, not wide mouth) to make

ornaments. Below is an example:

Here are the free graphics

& sources used in my artwork:

*The Old Design Shop*
Snowy candlelit cottage
 
*TuckDB Postcards*

Silver angel & tree 

Angel holding pine tree

Cottage with sheep

Snowy church & water

 Many birds & blue pot

*The Feathered Nest*

Girl & Christmas tree

French ledger ephemera

*rawpixel*

Holly

Myrtle branch

Mistletoe

*Ephemeratopia*
Pair of birds

*NYPL - digital collections*
17th century wall tile

Earthenware panel

Thanks for stopping by!

Pictures in the Fire

"Winter is the time for comfort,

for good food and warmth, for the

touch of a friendly hand and for

a talk beside the fire: it is the 

time for home."

~ Edith Sitwell ~ 

 

8"x10"

8"x10"

5"x7"

5"x7"

8.5"x11"

Years ago, while antique shopping

with my mom, I bought a book:

"Dutton's Holiday Annual - 1890."

It was already brittle & falling apart.

This image has always been a personal

favorite. Happy to save it & share here.

Thanks for stopping by!