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Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Christmas Memories


"Each Christmas
finds me longing for
Christmases now past.
And I am back in
childhood - as long as
memories last."
 
Carice Williams





Do you save the ends from refrigerated cinnamon roll cans? I'd always thought they'd be good for some sort of crafting, and last year used them for stamping. Right now, I'm making them into ornaments. For this one, I used one of the smaller round images, a paper doily, clear glitter, and yarn around the outside.


The sweet Victorian illustration was from one of my books. You can see the entire image here. I also used an endpaper texture. The only other images used were free elements, available on Canva.

I don't like to waste space, so filled up some of the empty spots with rectangular labels and tags, as well as pretty medallions and lace...


Thank you for stopping by!

 

Sunday, November 28, 2021

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:
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 & staying warm!
It's definitely getting colder here in Ohio.
There was a dusting of snow the day after
Thanksgiving, which made it feel like
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



Thank you for stopping by!


Thursday, November 25, 2021

Thanksgiving poem






I recently found a shortened version of this poem in one of my antique Readers (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 book, and the paper texture I used can be found at The Old Design Shop.


Thanks for stopping by, and
Happy Thanksgiving!



Monday, November 22, 2021

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 awhile to gather so many different images, but I love the final collection. As you can see, there are snowy homes & a church, 2 "stained glass" patterns, holly & mistletoe, little brown birds, and a child & angels with Christmas trees. I'll be using them as gift tags - they would look beautiful accented with glitter or a gold/silver marker. Another suggestion would be fitting inside a canning jar ring (regular, not wide mouth) and giving as ornaments. Below is an example of one I made:


Here are the free graphics
& sources used in my artwork:


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

*The Feathered Nest*

*rawpixel*

*Ephemeratopia*
Pair of birds

*NYPL - digital collections*
17th century wall tile


Thank you for stopping by!

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

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 falling apart, so this and many other pages have already come out. This sweet image has always been a favorite. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have...

Thank you for stopping by!

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Blooming Beauty

"Spring is a whimsical wanderer,
blooming beauty along her path."
 
~ Angie Weiland-Crosby ~





This beautiful image of a young woman &
apple blossoms is on loan from my mom.
It's a yard long, antique framed print! The
frame itself wasn't sturdy, so I was able to
remove the image - very carefully - and
scan in sections. It was then digitally
pieced back together. Thankfully, my
dad's fixed and built many frames,
so I know he'll be able to restore it.


For the tags, I decided to focus on the young
woman's face, and then searched my Pinterest
images for apple blossoms. The postcard with a
fence in the background was what led to the
weathered white wood. I saw the endpaper
that reminded me of the lacy details in the
woman's clothing... you can see how
it gradually came together.


Here are the free graphics
& sources 
used in my artwork:


*The Graphics Fairy*

*The Old Design Shop*
Aged, stained endpaper
 
*TuckDB Ephemera*

*The Feathered Nest*

*rawpixel*

*Lilac & Lavender*
"Antiqued" lined notepaper

*Digital Two for Tuesday*

*Image Event*
(website no longer active, so
linked to image via Pinterest)


The blossoms & leaves in plenty
from the apple tree fall each day;
The merry breezes approach them,
and with them merrily play.
 
~ Heinrich Heine ~


Thank you for stopping by!

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

O Springtime Sweet!

 
O springtime sweet!
The whole earth smiles
thy coming to greet;


Our hearts to their
inmost depths are stirred
by the first spring flower
& the song of the bird...

~ James Freeman Clarke ~


Here are the free graphics
& sources 
used in my artwork:


*The Graphics Fairy*


*The Feathered Nest*

*rawpixel*

*Starsunflower Studio*
Round apothecary label


"Earth stirs herself from a long cold sleep,
To welcome the sun & warm gentle rain,
Gladdening the heart as a promise she keeps,
As we open the door to spring again."

~ Mildred L. Jarrell ~


Thank you for stopping by!