Saturday, February 26, 2011
Vintage Clip Art + Movie Clip - Funny Gnome on Mushroom
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Isn't he cute?!! This is a funny green and red Gnome, sitting on a red and white Mushroom, and playing the Accordion. The sweet little birds seem to be enjoying his performance! This vintage image comes from an antique postcard.
Vintage Instant Art Printable- Early Rabbit Dictionary Page
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Click HERE for the Full Size Printable PDF
This is a page from a very early English Dictionary, circa 1754!!! Super old! I don't have the whole book, but I was lucky enough to acquire a few pages of it from a dealer in the U.K. This is from the "H" section, and shows a lovely Hare or Rabbit, along with a selection of odd looking horns. I've included a full size printable in case you would like to frame it. I've also included just the Bunny, perhaps you can use him for your Easter projects!
Vintage Nursery Rhyme Printable - Banbury Cross
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Click HERE for the Full Size Printable PDFThis is such a wonderful antique illustration!! This one comes from an old Mother Goose book, sent in by a reader named Gayle. Thank you again Gayle! This one features a sweet little girl riding a rocking horse. This is from the nursery rhyme "Banbury Cross". I thought this one would be so cute to frame and hang in a nursery or child's room, so I've included a full size printable for you.
Brag Monday - Beautiful Bird Dresser & Dream Valentine
It's time for Brag Monday #72 ! Once again I'm bragging about two more projects from the last Brag Monday party.
First I'm bragging about this truly amazing Bird Dresser handpainted and decoupaged by Lindy at Cottage Hill ! Is this seriously fabulous, or what?!!! Linday used several vintage bird images from HERE , for this stunning piece!
Next I'm bragging about this wonderful Paper Heart, from Audrey Petite at Audrey Petite's Weblog. Audrey used the Valentine Clown image found HERE for this pretty project. I love that she used a recycled paper grocery bag for this!
Now it's your turn! Have you made something from an image here at The Graphics Fairy that you would like to share? Or do you have a favorite image from here that you would like to share on your blog? Don't be shy, we want to see it!! It's time to brag! You might even be featured on a future Brag Monday post. Just add a link below in the McLinky box and make sure you link back, so everyone can play!
Vintage Valentine's Day Clip Art - Romantic Couple - Marie Antoinette-esque
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This is a very pretty antique postcard, showing a romantic couple! This one has the sentiment of "True Love" on it and could be used for Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Weddings etc.Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!
Vintage St Patricks Day Clip Art - Irish Toast
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Well here ya go... no sooner is Valentine's Day over, and I'm jumping into St Patrick's Day already! It will be here soon, so I thought I would get started! This is an interesting antique postcard, showing a group of men toasting the Shamrock. There's also a fun green shield with a harp on it.
Vintage Clip Art - Gorgeous Birds
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This is another one of those really beautiful Bird prints, that I've been sharing lately. You may recall a similar one from Here. I'm not sure if these guys are feeding or bathing, but either way they're gorgeous!!
Victorian Clip Art - Stunning Wild Rose Frame
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This is a really lovely little Victorian card! The original shows a cottage at dusk, surrounded by a stunning wild Rose Frame! I've included a second version, with out the cottage, so that you can frame what every you like with it. It could make a pretty label too!
Antique Image - Lina Cavalieri - with Crown
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This is such a stunning photograph!! This is another one of the famous Italian Opera Star, Lina Cavalieri. Such a beauty!! I was so happy to come across this postcard, showing her all decked out in a beautiful pink crown or tiara, and loads of jewels. This postcard has a tiny bit of glitter on her dress, you probably can't see it in the image, but you can of course add your own! This one is great for collage or mixed media!! I've included the original, with old handwriting on it, along with a cleaned up version.
Vintage Clip Art - Crystal Vase with Roses
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This is a really pretty Victorian card, showing a fancy Crystal vase, filled with flowers! I just love big droopy Cabbage Roses, and these pink ones are extra pretty!!In other news: Thank you to those of you that alerted me to the weird error code that has been going on today! Not all of you can see it thankfully, but for those of you that can, please know that my site is safe, and that this is a Microsoft glitch. This is happening to multiple blogs, not just mine, and hopefully it will be corrected soon.
Update: Microsoft has corrected the problem!
Vintage Label Image - Sewing Machine
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I know I have a lot of sewing people, quilters, embroiderers etc on here, so I'm always on the look out for some fun stuff for you guys! This is a super cute antique label for Sewing Machine oil! Perhaps you could adhere this to a jar or canister, and keep some sewing supplies inside of it. I hope you like it!
In other news: I've added a new version of my Roses Rustic background to my other blog, this one has soft muted tones, in pale pink and a blueish gray. You can find it HERE.
Printing Primer & Instant Art Project - Hummingbirds
Today's Crafty Project, is a super simple Instant Art printable, along with a beginners "How To" on printing my images in order to get the best quality print!
Click HERE for the Full Size Printable PDF
For those of you that are old pros at this stuff, you can simple print the PDF above of the beautiful Hummingbirds, frame it and carry on with your day!For my project, I used this antique frame that was in my garage. It's a beautiful filigree and black glass frame, that was kind of dusty and groady, so I cleaned it up a bit first.This is the before photo
Next: The Printing Primer!
Over the years, quite a few people have emailed me, asking about the best way to print, in order to get the best quality. So I thought I would put a few tips together here, and show you step by step how to get a good quality print.Step 1: The Paper - The best paper to use is Photo Paper. This type of paper is makes a huge difference in your print quality. I like to use "Matte" paper. Matte finished paper has no shine to it, and gives you and old fashioned looking print. There are loads of brands to choose from, including ones that are specific to your brand of computer.
Step 2: Printing - For the best quality you want to select a setting on your printer, that is made to give you the best quality. I've taken some screen shots of how it looks on my computer, yours may look a little different, but it should be pretty similar. After clicking on the "print" button, a little screen will pop up. Instead of hitting the "ok" button, like you normally do, this time hit "Properties".
Next: Here we have the Properties screen. Make sure you select "Best Photo" or whatever your screen offers, as the highest quality option. (Notice the reminder about using good quality paper!). Then hit the "ok" button.
Next: On my computer I end up back at the first screen again, then I hit the "ok" button.
And your image will start to print.
This is a photo of 2 printed images. The one at the top was printed on regular printer paper, with the standard print setting. The one at the bottom, was printed using "Matte Photo Paper" with the Best Quality setting on my computer. You can see the difference is like night and day!!Optional Step 1: You may want to protect your print from fading by using a sealer like the one by Krylon that you see above. Krylon also makes sealers that will make your ink more waterproof too.
Optional Step 2: Antiquing- To be honest, if you follow the printing steps above, you probably won't need to antique your paper, as the high quality print, includes the original ageing and really looks like an old print. But of course the back of the print will be white, and if for some reason, that just won't do... then you can take a tea bag and tea stain the back.
This is how the paper looks after tea staining it.
Just for fun, I decided to tea stain a plain piece of photo paper, and print on it (after it dries!). You can see it at the top of this photo. It was quite rumpled and my printer, didn't love printing on it, but it did work. Next time around I would probably iron it first, as it could jam up the printer! In the end I liked the print better with out the tea dye, but I thought I would include it so that you can decide for yourself.
Here's the after. An easy and pretty project that anyone can do!
I'm linking this one up to:
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Made by you Monday at Skip to My Lou
Get Your Craft On Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog
Brag Monday - Embroidered Hare & Madonna Soldered Piece
It's time for Brag Monday #73 ! Once again I'm bragging about two more projects from the last Brag Monday party.
First I'm bragging about this wonderful Embroidered piece by Cathy at Stitchfork Designs! Cathy used the Antique Hare image from HERE , for this fabulous piece! Be sure and check out her site to see more of her work, and to get a glimpse of her darling Dog too!
Next I'm bragging about this gorgeous Soldered Shadow Box, from Rita at Mamabellearte This was from a class that Rita taught, this was actually made by one of her students (Lisa Loria). I wish I could have taken that class!!! This project shows the Madonna image found HERE . She has a class schedule on her blog, if you live in Southern California, you might want to check it out!
Now it's your turn! Have you made something from an image here at The Graphics Fairy that you would like to share? Or do you have a favorite image from here that you would like to share on your blog? Don't be shy, we want to see it!! It's time to brag! You might even be featured on a future Brag Monday post. Just add a link below in the McLinky box and make sure you link back, so everyone can play!
Vintage Easter Image - Adorable Peep in Nest
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Isn't this adorable?!!! This is a Victorian Easter card, that shows a sweet yellow Peep, hatching out of an egg, inside of a bird's nest!! The nest is surrounded by 2 huge Yellow Iris. Such gorgeous color on this one!
Vintage Clip Art - Charming Parasol Ladies
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These charming ladies, were submitted by a very sweet reader named Mona! These are actually the covers to some old bridge score pads. I think the colors are absolutely dreamy, and their dresses and parasols are so lovely! Thank you Mona!
