Color of Winter

"The color of springtime is

in the flowers; the color of winter

is in the imagination."

- Terri Guillemets -

These gift card envelopes were made

based on a design first shared in 2012.

This time I went the extra step for you

and made 4 ready-to-print designs.

Plaid background - made by layering

stripes in 2 shades of slate gray:

Gift card envelope - how to make:

After cutting out, fold using the edge of your gift card, credit card, ruler, etc. as a guide. Glue with glue stick - read below for how I do it:

Place a piece of cardboard from a cereal box (about the size of a gift card) inside the envelope before you glue (so you don't glue the inside of the envelope together, and so it's not too tight to get a gift card inside when finished).

Here are the free graphics

& sources used in my artwork:

*Tuck Ephemera*

3 girls with flowers

Frances Brundage created

beautiful artwork, including 3 girls

holding "Christmas Roses" under an

umbrella on a snowy day.

*The Old Design Shop*

Grungy paper

Snowy village

Loved the cozy feeling

of this moonlit village scene.

*F.P.T.F.Y.*

Distressed wood background

*Shadowhouse Creations*

 "Beneath the Surface" texture

This texture overlay

helped soften the plaid.

*Canva*

Free design elements:

round frames

"Merry Christmas"

Thank you for stopping by!

Snowy Pine & Berries

These lined and plain printable

graphics are a good size for

writing a note, or maybe a family

recipe. I like displaying this size

on vintage clipboards.

This printable sheet of 4

graphics would be a great size

for teacher notes or labels.

These tags were made using a small

section of the original image. When

layering I like to keep something

simple. Here it's the color palette.

...

He knew at last that he had been a fool,
To think of breaking the forest rule,
And choosing a dress himself to please,
Because he envied the other trees.

But it couldn't be helped, it was now too late,
He must make up his mind to a leafless fate!

So he let himself sink in a slumber deep,
But he moaned and he tossed in his troubled sleep,
Till the morning touched him with joyful beam,
And he woke to find it was all a dream.

For there in his evergreen dress he stood,
A pointed fir in the midst of the wood!

His branches were sweet with the balsam smell,
His needles were green when the white snow fell.
And always contented and happy was he,
The very best kind of a Christmas tree."

- Henry Van Dyke -

Here are the free graphics

& sources used in my artwork:

*The Graphics Fairy*
Snowy pine & berry postcard
 
*Lilac & Lavender*

"Antiqued" lined paper

Postage stamps and cursive

Thank you for stopping by!

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!

 

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 & 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

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

Thank you for stopping by!

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*

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

Thank you for stopping by!

Winter Greens

"The wind lifted me up into the trees, where I danced to the rhythm of the evergreen, swaying to the tune of the northern breeze, frozen in timeless melody."
 
~ Christy Ann Martine ~ 

My childhood home had pine trees on one side. Some were pretty tall. While outside, probably bored, I got the idea to climb all the way to the tip top of the tallest one. Up I went, without telling my mom or little brother - who would obviously - tell my mom.

It didn't take long to figure out long hair didn't fare well in pine branches and sap. I tied it back & kept going. The further I climbed, the more I noticed the tree that once seemed still, was not. Before long, we were swaying side to side - far enough. Mom must've thought she should check on me. She yelled for me from the back deck. I stayed as still as possible, and watched her from above. She never saw me, and went back inside.

I stayed up there for what seemed like a long time after. There was only a light breeze, and it was so peaceful that time seemed to stop. All at once I realized it was starting to get dark, and I didn't want mom looking for me again, so back down I went. It's funny - I never thought as a kid that would be one of the memories I'd hold onto 30 years later...

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

*Tuck Ephemera*

3 girls with flowers

*The J. Paul Getty Museum*
Juniper
 
*Image Event*

German book cover, c. 1878

*Lilac & Lavender*

Sleigh Ride sheet music

*The Graphics Fairy*

French handwriting

*Boston Public Library*

White flowers

Thank you for stopping by!

Snowy Christmas Memories

"Like snowflakes, my

Christmas memories

gather & dance...

each beautiful, unique,

and too soon gone."

 Deborah Whipp

Some of my favorite childhood winter-time memories were made in the snow. Waking up to, "Honey, you can sleep in - it's a snow day," was the best! Going sledding, getting in snowball fights, coming in half frozen to hang (throw) snowy/wet clothes next to the stove (so we could go out and do it all over again!). And of course, hot cocoa with mini marshmallows (thanks Mom!). It never quite seemed to snow on Christmas, though. At least, not the deep, Christmas card kind. Except... one year.

It was Christmas morning, before presents, and I was already giddy. I remember jump-sitting on the couch, then reaching out to touch the cold window behind it. Looking out through our screened-in porch, I could just make out the backyard beyond. All I could see at first were shades of blue, from the early light. I kept watching... and then all at once I could tell everything was covered in a thick blanket! My little heart was surely beating fast, what with the extra excitement! There was a fire in the fireplace, and our Christmas tree was beautiful as ever. So thankful for that tiny spark of a memory that brings it all back to life!

This year, I'll still wish & hope for that kind of snow. For myself, my husband, and my own kids - excuse me, teens. But truly, I really just hope we're all healthy and warm, and content in our home, and I hope that for you as well. 2020 has been a rough year - one for unique, if not "ideal" memories. So, yes, I would always love to have that kind of snow again on Christmas. But more than that I want to make the most of what we've been given. I want to make the kind of Christmas memories that last.

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

*The Old Design Shop*
Snow-covered country church

*The Graphics Fairy*
 Angel on a cloud

I used Fotor to do my editing.

The snowflake element was free
on that site. I just added

a shadow effect to make it

stand out. Script font for

'Merry Christmas' is Arizonia. 


Thanks for stopping by, and
Merry Christmas!

Gift Idea ~ Booth Owner

These are my thoughts as I'm sitting here, cutting cardstock into tags for part of my dad's Christmas gift. My dad has a booth at a local antique mall. He enjoys hunting for good finds, the challenge of rebuilding and repurposing. He even enjoys loading up his truck to restock.

Least favorite part... pricing. Mom tells me they're always buying pre-made tags for $1, and are low on other materials like twine and string. So, I know dad loves his booth. He loves thrifting, and being thrifty. Just doesn't like making tags. Perfect, cause I can do that!

Ok, making a bunch of tags. What else?

After looking around in my own resale stash, I found a wooden carrier (well, a small shelf turned on it's side). Filled it with small metal buckets, and a tall metal box w/lid. They all fit!

Realistically, I know my practical, yet creative dad will sell or repurpose what I give him instead of keeping it to use for organization. It's great knowing he finds joy in painting or rebuilding, etc. so I just see this as part of the gift.

I'm also a booth owner. This is a short list of my commonly needed items, as well as a few things I'll add to personalize. His favorite color is green, so that may also become part of the theme:

~ bundles of similar sized tags (sm, med, lg, extra lg)

~ twine, crochet thread

~ fine black markers/pens
~ double-sided tape
~ paint brushes
~ scissors
~ safety pins
~ favorite snacks

~ cash for thrifting

There are so many ways to give! I hope you make or find just the right things for everyone on your heart this Christmas season!

Feel Like Christmas

 

I've heard quite a few people saying it just doesn't feel like Christmas. There's no motivation or time. Little joy or anticipation... "Christmas" is just another day this year. I was stubbornly refusing to admit it, but I felt the same. I was going about my daily routine, trying to make myself feel more, "in the Christmas spirit." It just wasn't really happening.

Music has always played a huge role in my Christmas. As a girl, we'd listen to Christmas albums on the record player, or on cassette in our minivan. Middle school through my senior year I played trumpet, and memorized all my favorite Christmas songs. For years, I played Christmas CD's starting in the fall as a backdrop for making homemade Christmas cards. This year, the same music I usually enjoyed just wasn't making me feel much different... why? Then in the beginning of December, my sister-in-law and I went on a Christmas tour of churches. It's a candlelit, evening event in downtown Lancaster. It was also my second time going, so I was expecting a beautiful evening... there was even a little snow. If anything would boost my spirits, it'd be this. We walked together on the slippery sidewalks, arm in arm, marveling at homes lit up for the holidays. Every church and it's music was different. Some felt very solemn and others very cheerful. We enjoyed it all, really. It's a tradition that I hope continues in this community and in our family for a very long time. In one of the churches, there was a folk/bluegrass group that played a cheerful song I hadn't heard for years. I didn't know who sang it, or exactly where I'd heard it... but knew it nearly by heart. It made an impression on me, and I felt uplifted. We went to other churches, and heard many more songs. The next day, I told my mom there was a song played that was familiar, but by then couldn't remember the name. So, everything got busy. That song was forgotten... but only until I began humming it while washing dishes. "Christmas time's a comin'!" One of those songs played on our record player more than 25 years ago. My mom said we'd listened to Emmylou Harris' version. I pulled up the song on YouTube... and there was a playlist. Childhood memories flooded in. It felt so different than when I'd heard the usual songs on the radio. These songs meant more to me. I couldn't listen to this music without hearing a crackle and occasional skip of the record (my brother and I... sometimes my dad... wound up dancing or doing somersaults). Memories so far away, yet still so real. Tears of joy welled up... my heart was changed, and then: "It just doesn't feel like Christmas at all this year, I'm sorry." Through the years, I haven't done a whole lot of baking. One reason being, our neighbor lady has always given us a tray loaded with cookies and fudge. This week, she called and said she didn't get around to baking, what with her and her husband's health issues. Today the kids and I will be baking Christmas cookies... probably while listening to Emmylou Harris' Christmas songs (they love them too, by the way). Of course, today I hope we make happy memories, and maybe even start a tradition. Really though, I hope we help one or two more hearts "feel like Christmas." Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Messages of Christmas Cheer

Carol singing,

church bells ringing,
Once more Christmastime

is here. Children laughing,

grownups beaming.

Hearts are warm

with Christmas cheer.

~ Ruby Lee Mitchell ~

Hope you're enjoying

this Christmas season!

These handwritten messages

were tucked into our tree.

Chalkboard texture was

added for another option.

I love their simplicity,
and hope you do to.

Merry Christmas!
Thank you for

stopping by!

Sleigh Bell Polka

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
in a one-horse open sleigh!

~ James L. Pierpont ~

Was looking through my stash

of sheet music, and came across

this gem, in a collection of c.1940's

polkas. Enjoy original and

black & white versions.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas...

 "Blessed is the season
which engages the whole world
in a conspiracy of love!"

~ Hamilton Wright Mabie ~

Here's a list of free graphics &
sources used in my artwork:

*TuckDB*
White clematis
Pink phlox
Scalloped border

*The Graphics Fairy*
Pink rose "La France"
Back of old photograph
Torn paper texture

*The Vintage Moth*
Antique ledger

*Free Vintage Digital Stamps*
Polka dot scrapbook paper

*Lost & Taken*
Book cover texture
Grungy wallpaper texture

*Antique Images*
Handwritten journal page

*Just Something I Made*
Handwritten letter, 1908

*Aquastock on DeviantART*
Gold glitter stock photo

*Lucky Palm*
Angel with pink wings

*Vintage Feedsacks*
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Calligraphy frame

*Vintage Images*
Light pink roses
 

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The Sleigh Bells

'Tis merry to hear, at evening time,
By the blazing hearth, the sleigh bells chime;

To know the bounding steeds bring near
The loved one to our bosom dear...

~ Susanna Moodie ~

This Victorian image depicting
a sleigh ride made for some lovely
wintry stationery ~ enjoy!


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


*Wordplay*
Victorian sleigh ride

*Boston Public Library on Flickr*
Cigarette trade card (back, frame)

*Old Design Shop*
Aged paper texture

*Lilac & Lavender*
"Antiqued" lined paper



Thanks for stopping by...
best wishes to you & yours
for a Happy New Year!