Wishing You a Safe & Joyful New Year's Eve!

New Year's collage sheets... because 2010 is coming to an end and it's time to greet 2011!

Digital collage sheets available for instant downloading at Lunagirl.com and CollageSheet.com

Joyeux Noel

Free Christmas Images for Last Minute Projects

I know many crafters are already in the back of their minds thinking of Valentine's Day (always a season ahead!), but as we're in the midst of this beautiful Christmas winter holiday season, here are a couple of free images for last minute tags, place cards, etc.  And don't forget we have many holiday collage sheets available for instant downloading at Lunagirl.com http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-Holidays.htm (plus lovely cupids and hearts and romantic kisses and sweet girls in pink and red if you simply MUST think ahead!)

Send New Year Greetings: Revive This Edwardian Tradition!

Sending Happy New Year postcards to family and friends was a very popular tradition with the Victorians and Edwardians (and French ladies of the time) ~ as popular as sending Christmas cards, judging by the great number and variety of New Year cards we find!

 

These charming cards often showed illustrations of children, cherubs, Old Father Time, happy couples, benevolent angels, lucky horseshoes and shamrocks and pigs (yes, a symbol of luck and prosperity), even New Year gnomes who bring wealth and happiness to your home.  

Other New Year cards, especially the French ones, featured photographs and the wish for Bonne Annee (a good year) or Heureuse Annee (a happy year), like these from our collection.

You will find a lovely selection of illustrated cards on our Victorian Holidays Volume One CD and beautiful photo cards of children, ladies, and couples on our Christmas New Years Photos CD.

We altered some of the photographs into Christmas cards on the CD, but we left many with new year greetings in French. 

 I think New Year postcards should make a comeback! They would be a wonderful tradition to revive, especially in these anxious times. 

 

  

Just print onto cardstock, embellish if you like, and send to wish your loved ones a happy 2011.  The best wishes of a friend mean just as much now as they did a hundred years ago in 1911!

Vintage Christmas: New Digital Collage Sheet

Another new collage sheet! Here are some "new" Christmas images taken from old postcards recently acquired from my uncle's attic. These aren't included on our Christmas CD, and I thought I would create a collage sheet just in time for holiday crafts. There are some really sweet images of children and animals, a pretty nativity card with nice colors, and I love the blue birds. I've also included a little Christmas stamp with Santa in the snow!  Available at Lunagirl.com and CollageSheet.com.

Free Santa Picture ... and a little history

A nice old Santa Claus!  This card is interesting because of its greeting: "All Xmas Joys Be Thine."

You might be surprised to see "Xmas" on an antique Victorian-era card, but actually the use of Xmas as an abbreviation for Christmas goes back to the Middle Ages.

The "X" is a cross and stands for "Christ."  It's not modern, and it's not an attempt to "take religion out of Christmas" as some seem to believe.  It's just an old abbreviation.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this lovely old image of Santa!

Shirts, Journals, Bags, Mugs & More in Lunagirl Gift Shop

Did you know?.... You can buy Lunagirl Images shirts, sweatshirts, magnets, tote bags, baby items, mugs, journals and more by visiting our Lunagirl Print-on-Demand Shop. 

Featuring a variety of Edwardian, 1920s and Victorian pictures: vintage bellydancers, antique trains, Victorian flowers, stylish ladies and flirty showgirls, dogs and cats and horses, vintage Santas and Victorian angels, fairies and fairy tales, French Art Nouveau posters and antique labels, women, men, funky ephemera, Japanese prints, beautiful paintings by Van Gogh, Bouguereau and Waterhouse ...

If you don't see the image you want when you visit the shop, email us and we'll put it on a shirt or bag or magnet or .... you get the idea!

Lunagirl in Just Cards Magazine: Featured Artist Beverly Sizemore

Victorian Thanksgiving Card for you to download

I walked outside last night to discover a beautiful bright full moon.  Don't you love moon shadows?  The world was quiet, except for the occasional rustling of dry leaves by the wind.  This morning, from the window over my desk I can see a brilliant maple tree, glowing red and orange in the grey light.  Autumn is so lovely. 

Thanksgiving is coming up!  Just for our 10-year-old, we bought what I believe was the biggest turkey in the supermarket yesterday.  Good thing we like turkey sandwiches as we may be eating them for three days afterward. :-)  I like leftovers and rented movies on "Black Friday," no shopping for me (except online)!

Here is a free download for your last-minute Thanksgiving crafts (click to enlarge to full size).  Let's all remind each other that this weekend is not just about food and shopping.  I hope I will remember to be thankful every day!

Christmas Children Photo Collage Sheet: Brand New & Just in Time for Holiday Cards and Crafts

I'm feeling inspired to create some new collage sheets lately. I created this one yesterday using some of the charming postcards from our Christmas New Years Photo Postcards CD.  Lane (our fabulous shipping clerk) has suggested nativity scenes, so maybe that will be next!  Click on the sample to go to CollageSheet.com to purchase and download this design.

Blue Christmas! Digital Collage Sheets

Two new digital collage sheets to download... I'll have a blue Christmas without you.... something different, pretty holiday in images in shades of blue!  BLUE CHRISTMAS featuring Santa Claus and Christmas angels, and BLUE NOEL with lovely madonnas/nativities, little girls, wreaths and flowers.  Enjoy them for beautiful, unique holiday cards, tags, invitations...

Free Digital Images! Halloween Witch and Pretty Woman for Autumn

Why not share a free image today?  In fact, why not two!  One for Halloween, and one for the pensive mood of autumn (click for full size).

For more Halloween images that you can receive right away, visit our digital collage sheet download pages:  http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-Holidays.htm
For more lovely ladies...http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Vintage-Photos.htm

Artful Vintage-Inspired Dress Forms from White Rabbit

Looking for something truly unique for your home decor or perhaps to give as a special gift?  Kimberly Salter creates these gorgeous vintage-style dress forms.

They are lovingly painted and decoupaged with vintage images and ephemera, and I think they would be perfect for cottage chic or romantic Paris apartment style decorating.

You'll find them in her etsy shop thewhiterabbitstudio (along with her sister's lovely crocheted scarves and eclectic vintage findings).

Click here to visit our featured artist Kimberly Salter at The White Rabbit! 

Victorian Halloween

If you have ever wondered about the origins of Halloween and our Halloween customs, I hope you will check out my exclusive feature article

"BETWEEN THE WORLDS:
The Origins of Halloween & Its Customs."

 This special feature article is based on extensive folklore research and of course illustrated with our collection of wonderful antique Victorian vintage greeting cards!  CLICK HERE to see the article. (Click on the lovely witch at left to see our Victorian Holidays Volume Three CD featuring Halloween, Thanksgiving, Patriotic and Birthdays/Best Wishes!)

Digital Collage Sheet of Charm Photos: Women Ladies Photos NEW!

Another new digital collage sheet for instant download from Lunagirl!  A beautiful selection of some our favorite photos of women, in 1-inch and 2-inch squares perfect for charm jewelry but also lovely to embellish cards and all sorts of altered art projects.










 


Available from Lunagirl http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-NEW.htm

and also at CollageSheet.com http://www.collagesheet.com/details.php?gid=57&pid=612 .

Feature in Elements Magazine

We are pleased that images from our Lunagirl Vintage Women & Men CD are featured in this month's issue of Adobe Photoshop Elements Techniques.  Diana Day created a fun tutorial for inserting your friends' photos into vintage artwork to create unique portraits!  http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/

New Collage Sheet: Maps!

Yet another brand new Lunagirl collage sheet design!  This one is created with fabulous fascinating maps adapted from antique books.  There are maps of the Eastern and Western hemispheres with illustrations of the signs of the zodiac and angels in the corners, a map of the ancient Mediterranean world, an ancient map of the ocean currents with Latin text, an 18th-century map of Nova Scotia and the St. Lawrence River with lovely calligraphic writing, plus "London and the Suburbs, Seventeenth Century". These are carefully restored and enhanced to be just right. Fascinating images and aged paper make beautiful backgrounds for altered art projects of all kinds!  Click on this link to be taken to a page to purchase and download: http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-NEW.htm

New Collage Sheet: Cleo de Merode

Another new collage sheet just created, this one featuring altered photos of the lovely dancer Cleo de Merode.  She is certainly one of the most memorable beauties of the Edwardian stage, and we thought she deserved a collection all by herself.  Beautiful old images published in Paris long ago, enhanced and embellished for you to enjoy. To go to a page to purchase and download, click here! http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-NEW.htm

New Collage Sheet: Mucha Domino Size

We been creating quite a few new collage sheets recently, so I thought I would feature some of them.  Here is a beautiful collection of Mucha women in 1x2 size perfect for domino pendants and other jewelry.  You can also clip them to 1x1 for square charms.  If you love Mucha's sensuous Art Nouveau style, you'll want to enjoy these in your projects!  To be taken to a page to purchase and download, click here: http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-NEW.htm

Great Idea: Mini Quilts

In the etsy blog I came across this article about how to make "mini-quilts" and wanted to share!  What a great idea for a quick project:  http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-tuesday-grannys-delight-mini-quilt-9399/

Current Special: Free U.S. Shipping on Orders over $40

Attention, shoppers.  We often run specials on Lunagirl.com.  Currently you can get free shipping within the U.S. on all orders over $40!

Shop awhile, buy a few CDs chock full of beautiful images, and have them sent to your doorstep for free!  LUNAGIRL.COM

Summer Fashions for the Ladies

How about these fashions for July, circa 1853? I don't think so!

Or perhaps these Paris ensembles for the summer season?

I do think I could enjoy these lovely ball gowns circa 1810...

lunagirl.com

Victorian Scrapbook Pages Part Two

 The word ephemera is related to ephemeral, meaning temporary or transitory and not meant to last. Antique scrapbooks preserved bits of paper that otherwise would be lost to time ~ thereby preserving memories as well and giving us a window into the life of women and girls long ago. And sometimes men, too ~ for example, Mark Twain loved scrapbooking!
 

Antique scrapbooks often contained trade cards, which were printed by companies to advertise their products and were often collected for their colorful sentimental or humorous illustrations. Calling cards (or "visiting cards") were often saved in scrapbooks.   A child's scrapbook might include Reward of Merit cards received at Sunday School or school, to be shared at family gatherings.
 

As scrapbooking became more popular, one could buy sheets of "scraps" with die-cuts, chromos, or embossed reliefs created especially for scrap albums. Newspaper clippings, tickets, letters, greeting cards, any little bits of paper ephemera might find their way into a Victorian scrapbook.

Victorian Scrapbook Pages

The popularity of scrapbooking is nothing new ~ the word "scrap-book" appears in print as early as 1854, and people were pasting mementos into albums at least a hundred years before that.

Victorian young ladies often kept "memory books" that might be filled with cards, scraps, signatures, poetry, sketches, quotes, photographs, dried flowers, even locks of hair.  They collected calling cards to show their popularity and created friendship albums to give as gifts.

Scrapbooks were sometimes used to teach children at home and in Sunday school, or just as a "rainy day" activity for mother and children.  Ladies' magazines gave tips for scrapbooking supplies to be kept on hand.

Victorians created scrapbooks as a way to preserve mementos and memories of special events, to celebrate family and friends, to show off achievements, to document personal interests and tastes, to remember childhood, and of course as an enjoyable hobby.  Just like we do today!  More on antique scrapbooks on Monday...

Back to School Mid-Century Style

This young lady is ready for Back to School circa 1965.  Crisp yellow dress, matching headband and socks, saddle oxfords and a carton of whole milk.  And school started in September, not early August!

Or maybe she's dressed for the return of "Mad Men" this week!  We are mad for mid-century.  I am on a mission to find some ladies' fashions images from this era that are OK to use, but for today here is little Linda in honor of the first day of school.

Freebie Pic: Flapper Girl by a Painted Ocean

So my free image day seems to have migrated from Monday to Thursday. Maybe I can get it back to "Moon-day" but for now here is a cute flapper bathing beauty!

The Day We Celebrate... Happy July 4th, er 2nd?

Did you know that the Continental Congress actually declared independence on JULY SECOND 1776?
John Adams predicted that the 2nd of July would be celebrated by Americans forever after!

July 4th, 1776, is the date that the Declaration of Independence was officially approved by the Congress, and the dates just got combined over time. The Fourth of July became a popular American holiday after the War of 1812, when patriotism swept the young nation. (I've been reading early American History lately!)

In times past, communities would read the Declaration of Independence in the town square, in addition to celebrating with fireworks and parades.

Here are a couple of our favorite Fourth of July postcards. Click on them to see details of our Victorian Holidays Volume Three collection on CD, with pictures for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Birthdays as well as patriotic occasions (even some French patriotic cards for Bastille Day!)

Oh-la-la, what a swimsuit!

Yes, we have been neglecting the blog terribly as of late. I'm so sorry about that. In between summer classes and trips to the beach, it has been hard to find time and focus! Summer does that to me. I'll try to get back in the swing with some new posts and features, but for now I thought I would at least come by and offer a fun free summertime image of this saucy bathing beauty!