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*

"Presented to" title page

Back of an old photograph

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

Beautiful girl with primroses

*The Feathered Nest*

French ledger ephemera

*rawpixel*

Watercolor leaves

*Starsunflower Studio*

Round apothecary label

*Internet Archive*

Bird eggs illustration

*Flickr*

Sheet music c. 1728

*F.P.T.F.Y.*
Chippy wood background
 

*Canva*
Free element: 

ripped masking tape
 

"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 ~

Thanks 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 first childhood home had pine trees on one side. Some were pretty tall. While outside, 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... definitely was not. Before long, we were swaying side to side. So I stopped and sat in silence. Mom yelled for me from the back deck. I kept 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 - as a kid I never thought that would be one of the memories I'd hold onto 30 years later...

Here are the sources & free

graphics 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

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!

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!

Those Who Wish to Sing

Those who wish to sing
always find a song.

~ Swedish Proverb ~

How Birds Learn to Sing

   How do birds first learn to sing?

   From the whistling wind so fleet,

   From the waving of the wheat,

   From the rustling of the leaves,

   From the raindrop on the eaves,

   From the children's laughter sweet,

   From the splash when brooklets meet.

   Little birds begin their trill

   As they gayly float at will

   In the gladness of the sky,

   When the clouds are white and high;

   In the beauty of the day

   Speeding on their sunny way,

   Light of heart and fleet of wing...

   That's how birds first learn to sing.

         ~ Mary Mapes Dodge ~

Facebook cover photo

*New York Public Library*
Song thrush
Robin
Nightingale

The sheet music is from my
personal collection, circa 1940's.

Thank you 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!

Flag of the Free

"Flag of the free,

fairest to see! Borne

thro' the strife and the

thunder of war; Banner

so bright with starry light,

float ever proudly from

mountain to shore."

~ Unknown Author ~

Printable set of patriotic gift tags

or bookmarks, and printable sheet

of 10 tags, 2 x 4" each, below.

Printable sheet of tags featuring lyrics to

"America the Beautiful," and 8.5 x 11" sheet

music I've scanned and partially restored,

from my personal collection of ephemera.

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

*clkr.com Free Clipart*
United States flag
 
*imagesbykim*
Flag of the Free sheet music
 
*The Vintage Moth*
America the Beautiful sheet music 

*Lilac & Lavender*
Fabric texture


Thanks for stopping by!
Have a safe & fun holiday weekend!

Sweetest of the Flowers

"Sweetest of the

flowers a-blooming in

the fragrant vernal days

is the lily of the valley

with its soft, retiring ways."

~ Paul Laurence Dunbar ~

Tags above are 3.2" x 5.2" and

in the printable sheet below 2.5" x 4"

Round graphics above are 4".
In the printable sheet below they are 2.5"

Happy to offer a pennant/banner for the

first time! The pennant is approx. 7" x 7.5".

I decreased the size to 3.7" x 3.8" and fit 10 to a

sheet for the instant printable banner, below.

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

*TuckDB*
1908 lily of the valley
Lily of the valley bouquet

*The Vintage Moth*
"Royal Beauty Waltzes"

The sheet music used in the

pennant/banner is from my

personal collection, c. 1940.


Thank you for stopping by today!

Spring Lilacs & Music

It's happiness for me

to hear a songbird's sweet

refrain or smell the lilac's

fragrant blooms after

a soft spring rain.

~ Carice Williams ~

Printable lilac stationery above,

and notepaper below:

Lined notepaper:

Below are 2 printable pages

of lined notepaper and tags:

Lilac & French music cover photo:

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

*Flickr*
Lilac image, c. 1909

*The Graphics Fairy*
French sheet music

*Lilac & Lavender*
"Antiqued" lined paper
Botanical lilac tag

We search afar for happiness
When it's just outside our door.

~ Carice Williams ~


Thanks for stopping by!

1902 Music & Pink Roses

Because

Because you come to me with naught save love,

And hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,

A wider world of hope and joy I see,

Because you come to me.

Because you speak to me in accents sweet,

I find the roses waking round my feet,

And I am led through tears and joy to thee,

Because you speak to me.

Because God made thee mine,

I'll cherish thee, through light and darkness,

Through all time to be, And pray His love

May make our love divine,

Because God made thee mine.

~ Edward Teschemacher ~

The "Because" sheet music title page

(copyright 1902) as well as rose postcard

are images from my personal collection

of ephemera.  Feel free to incorporate

them into your artwork!

Thank you for stopping by!

Angels Among Us

Oh I believe there are

angels among us. Sent

down to us from somewhere

up above. They come down

to us in our darkest hours.

They show us how to live, to

teach us how to give.

To guide us with the

light of love.

~ Don Goodman & Becky Hobbs ~

Snow angel ~ 5 x 8" graphic, and
printable sheet of tags ~ 3 sizes.
Enjoy!

Do not neglect hospitality,
for through it some have unknowingly
entertained angels.

~ Hebrews 13:2 ~


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

*Vintage Images*
Angel holding white lilies

*Vintage Feedsacks*
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

*Shadowhouse Creations*
Softly aged sepia texture

*Dafont.com*
Faux Snow


Thanks for stopping by!

Bright-eyed Daisies...

Where innocent,

bright-eyed daisies are,

with blades of grass between,

each daisy stands up like a

star, out of a sea of green.

~ Christina Rossetti ~

Buttercups have honeyed

hearts, bees they love the

clover, but I love the daisies'

dance, all the meadow over.

~ Marjorie Pickthall ~


Here are the free graphics
sources used in my artwork:

*The Graphics Fairy*
French sheet music

*TuckDB Ephemera*
Daisies with greenery
Daisy border

*TuckDB*
Scalloped border
Catherine Klein daisies

*Vintage Images*
Pretty girl with daisies

*Antique Images*
Pink daisies

Isn't the daisy a perfect
example of beauty in simplicity?
Thanks for stopping by!

You Love the Roses...

You love the roses... so do

I. I wish the sky would rain

down roses, as they rain from

off the shaken bush. Why will

it not? Then all the valley would

be pink and white and soft to

tread on. They would fall as

light as feathers, smelling sweet;

and it would be like sleeping

and like waking, all at once!

~ George Eliot ~

Isn't that poem beautiful?

Don't be fooled by the name...

George Eliot was a pen name

for Mary Anne Evans, an

Englishwoman.  She is considered

by many to be one of the finest

authors of the Victorian era.

Here are the free graphics 

sources used in my artwork:

*The Graphics Fairy*

Victorian roses

Fancy oval frame

French sheet music

Back of an old photograph

*Altered Bits*

Grungy texture

There's a new tab at the top of this

blog ~ More Free Graphics ~ listing many

resources I visit for free images, textures, and

inspiration!  Have fun checking them out! 

Thank you for stopping by!