~ANTIQUE GRAPHICS from THE HOME LIBRARY of USEFUL KNOWLEDGE~

     

I really didn't plan on being away from my blog for most of the week...just got sooo busy doing creating things for my new booth/shoppe at Serendipity Market I must have gotten lost in all the fun!

 

  Forgive Moi, will you????

 Today my Mr. AGPMan and I hit the thrift-store and tag sale circuit and we found several absolutely amazing things!

 I promise to share with you soon just what we uncovered, but today I just MUST show you my favorite find of the morning!

 I love estate sale hunting, but I don't like getting to a sale on day #2.

I've always believed the good stuff is pretty much gone if you wait to show up on the second day and I bemoan what I missed finding (even though I never really KNOW what I didn't get!).  :) :) :)

 Well...that wasn't true for me this time and I was over the moon to find everything was 1/2 off to boot!

 At our second stop of the day (in Bethany, OK) I found a simply incredible book from the 1880's called

THE HOME LIBRARY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE

 The entire cover of the book is missing, but that didn't keep me from grabbing it!

 I've been totally mesmerized by it for the past few hours and can't get enough of the fabulous vintage graphics and images packed inside!  Boy oh boy am I going to enjoy scanning in my favorite pictures...

 The book is fragile and oddly enough that kind of makes me happy.  No worries about dismantling it as lots of it's pages are already free from the antique binding!

Aren't the pics just beautiful?

 I already have plans for using many of them in upcoming pillows, towels and who know WHAT else! :)  As I scan some of my favorites I plan on sharing many of them with you in the days ahead!

Now...

Are you excited about Spring???  It's going to be almost 70 degrees here in Oklahoma tomorrow...can't wait to work in our suffering garden!

Hope your day was lovely!

Love to you...

SWEET PINK CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS and Timeless Trims

~VINTAGE EPHEMERA STOCKING~

(Sweet Graphics From The Graphics Fairy)

Well...how many of you have your Christmas Tree(s) up and are ready for the Season of Light to begin?  I'm just now getting started.  I'm super behind this year.  Normally I have our entire house decorated by now!  What is happening to me?  I think my "Get-Up-And-Get-Going" actually "Got-Up-And-Left" . :) Argh!

Still...I've been a busy bee!  I must say I'm excited to dig-in today!  Our Christmas Tree is going in a different place this year so that will definitely change things up a bit!

 ~SWEET and PETITE STOCKING~

Vintage Lace and Buttons

  Yesterday my guy worked our our house-lights just like he did last year!!!!  It's always so fun to see our La Chaumière de Briarwood 'Don her Merry Apparel'.

 ~ICY PINK STOCKING~

Vintage Ribbons and Old Jingle, too!

Last night I did A LITTLE Blog visiting and stopped in for a peek at one of my FAVORITE BLOGS!  You all know this fabulous gal, no doubt!  It is Karen from The Graphics Fairy and week after week this delightfully sweet blogger uploads endless vintage graphics and ephemera for FREE!

I snagged a charming French Cologne Label from her Sunday Post and used it to create the petite little Christmas Stocking you see at the top.  I really LOVE that old French Label and I'm going to use it in some other things as well!  That got me started and I ended up making two other petite stockings as well!   Isn't working with vintage and aging graphics fun?  Go check out Miss Karen's place!  You're sure to find something wonderful to use for your holiday decorating and gift-giving!

OK peeps...I'm back in the studio and then later today I'll be working on decorating my home.  Hoping this beautiful Monday morning finds you all happy and well.

Love to you...

VINTAGE GRAPHICS...New Ways to Honor the Old

VINTAGE IMAGE PILLOW

Over the past few weeks I've received at least twenty emails regarding the use of vintage graphics and just how they are transferred onto fabrics and made into note cards, hang tags and computer images for Backgrounds, Blog Mastheads (Headers), Banners, etc.

This Post won't be a tutorial because I don't know enough about what I am doing yet to tell you step by step what I've PAINSTAKINGLY figured out! But, I will share with you some ideas that will hopefully inspire you to dig deep into information out there on the world-wide-web! If my technically-challenged mind can figure things out then so can yours! Besides, I can't explain things nearly as well as the Instructive Tutorials on the Internet can.

Printing on fabric is not complicated. If you have only a basic home printer then it might be more of a challenge for you to get your colors clear and your images sharp. My Mr. AGPMan is a Computer Analyst for a MAJOR Copier Company so I fortunately have access to a premium printer if I need one. Still, I print MOST of my fabric images at home on my Color Printer and I've been VERY happy with the results.

I love vintage graphics and as I've shared with you before I've collected them for many years. I've spent the months since Christmas learning several different computer programs which in turn have helped me manipulate my favorite graphics. It seems once I learn how to do something in Photo Shop or Paint Shop Pro then a newer (and better) version comes out! I'm always yelling out for my guy to come and help me...if he's not around I call my son (he's a Programmer!).

I scanned in a single image of this beautiful vintage lady from an old picture book and I've already used her in LOTS of creative ways for both business and pleasure!

CANDY WRAPPER FRONT

The Pillow at the top showcases this same lovely painting which I printed directed onto pure white cotton. Above you can see the front of a chocolate candy bar wrapper I made as Thank You gifts for my non-summer customers. Below is the same graphic (re-colored and made a bit softer) used for the new LINK BANNER to my website.

LINK BANNER

I learn something new everyday and it's been so much fun and the possibilities to create works of art are endless! I especially love using vintage graphics of Victorian women because many of the copyrights have expired!

BUSINESS THANK YOU CARDS

If I rework this graphic just a bit I can make regular note cards, hang tags, greeting cards, birth and wedding announcements, etc. Not to mention special pillows, fragrant sachets and more...

I hope you are inspired to learn more about your computer and the many programs and tutorials you can find FREE by just clicking away! Also...my son bought me one of those yellow and black books "Photo Shop for DUMMIES" and it really helped me learn some faster and easier ways of doing things!

Blessings to you as you get your creative juices flowing...Rebecca

~MORE VICTORIAN DIE-CUTS...With Love To You~

LOVE TOKENS BOOK

On May 4th I did a Posting on a fabulous vintage inspired book I found at Tuesday Morning! Did any of you venture out and find a copy of that delightful book for yourself? I hope you did! I continue to me mesmerized by it...truly lovely!

Last Saturday my Mr.AGPMan and I did more running around (that is a nice way of saying we were out "JUNKIN'!")and while out and about I stopped into one of the Tuesday Morning Stores in Oklahoma City. I, of course, was looking for another one of the fabulous Die-Cut Books I'd found a couple of weeks before.

I was sad when one wasn't to be found! I was scanning the racks for a book in a specific color and nothing even came close to the book I'd snagged a few days before... It was then I noticed hiding on one of the jam-packed shelves another book that looked oddly familiar! I pulled it out and sure enough it was from the same manufacturer and showcased even more delightfully sweet, vintage inspired graphics and die-cuts!

Intended for a Grandmother, the book was equally as beautiful as the one I purchased on my last outing. I was in heaven...

ONE OF MANY BEAUTIFUL PAGES

DECORATIVE ENVELOPES OPEN UP...

SOME OF WHAT YOU'LL SEE INSIDE!

ONE OF MY FAVORITES

My Grandma passed away last November when she was almost 92. She would have loved this book and I purchased it in memory of her. I proudly display it in my little guestroom as a reminder of her love for me and my love for her! It's safe next to the bed her great-great granddaughter, our beautiful Miss K, sleeps in when she spends the night.

CHARMING DIE-CUTS...THE BEST!

PROMISE...THEY'LL WARM YOUR HEART!

AN AMAZING PRICE...LESS THAN $5 BUCKS!

I hope if you love this charming book as much as I do you'll be able to squeeze in some time to hunt one down!

Blessings to you as you venture out on another beautiful Saturday...Rebecca