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Vintage Laundry Drying Rack

I love vintage.

But I don't love laundry.

However, I do love my new vintage laundry drying rack.

 
...just think of all the things you could display on this sweet thang...

 
 
 
Endless possibilities...

...balloons for a celebration, little doll dresses, drying artwork, hangtags, if your children are little-their artwork, inspirational quotes, drying flowers, or I guess you could even use it for its intended purpose.

If I were wise, I would clip matching envelopes to each clothespin. Inside each envelope would be "something" I've been putting off for too long. Each day I would force myself choose one envelope and force myself happily complete that task.

 
 These are the kinds of finds that I love to drag home with me.

 
Not something I was looking for necessarily...it just caught my eye. Something nostalgic about it...a throw back to the times when people actually {gasp!} washed lingerie by hand. Can you imagine?!

Xo, Sue

p.s. On a more somber note, my heart and prayers go out to all who have suffered loss during this latest rash of deadly storms here in the U.S. May their be an outpouring of love and support...  

Lonely Girl: Art Journal Pages

{{{please feel free to use this image for your own personal use}}}

This little photo tucked away in my stash has always intrigued me. Maybe it's those mothering instincts, but every time I see this photo I want to gather this little girl in my arms and love away the sadness I sense in her. Maybe remind her that better days lie ahead...get her a puppy...something!

She was destined to end up in at least one of my creative endeavors...

...and that day has arrived...

For my journal pages she was named the lonely girl...

Loneliness and feeling alone in this big world are probably things we all experience to some degree during our journey here on earth. Those can be difficult seasons. I know I've gone through plenty of these times due to relocation, loss, change, and a host of other circumstances. But the antidote is always the same...

....choosing love and friendship....

{oops! i felt my journaling spots were a bit too personal and purposely smudged them up...sorry for the quick scare if you thought your eyes were getting bad!}

Also wanted to call your attention quick to the new sidebar item I posted. Karla is having a Wizard of Oz celebration and is hosting a tag swap if anyone is interested. And don't forget to throw your name in the hat for my giveaway {previous post}!

As always, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit! And above all else...choose love and friendship!

Xo, Sue

Credits: Karen at Graphics Fairy for the moon; library card from rubyfloy.etsy.com

Digital Collage and Free Images

Playing around in my photos again...I could get lost for hours manipulating photos. The inspiration began as I walked along the beach and spotted these sorts of shells everywhere. Don't they look like little wings?

I thought so and decided to digitally extract them. Here's a copy if you'd like them for your own personal use as well.

As long as we're sharing, here's the little girl I borrowed from here...

Starting with a background of clouds from my own photos I began adding and adding layer after layer. Many thanks and credit given to Karen at the Graphics Fairy for the use of the dove {extracted from a postcard she shared} as well as using the vintage ledger page from her collection.

Peace... xo, Sue

A Free Image...Oh, Sweet Baby!

Not long ago while meandering through an antique store, the owner, a darling lady with not only grandchildren but great-grandchildren, made a casual statement about old photographs. She mentioned she recently gave away a large box of old family photos....to someone she just met.

Seriously. I was stunned. Here was a lady who had exquisite antiques mostly gathered in England and France...someone who loved old things. Many times I have wondered how these beautiful old photos happened to end up in the marketplace instead of being cherished by family members. Never would I have suspected that someone like this, a person who loved antiques, would {{{gasp}}} give away her relatives.

On the flip side, how wonderful that so many of us have adopted these old photos and welcomed them into our homes and hearts. 

[credit: chippy pink paint background free textures flickr: stevetoearth] 

We enjoy gazing upon them, imagining what their life was like, using them in our creations....

 
 I printed a few of these yesterday and transferred them to old linen hankies...still not sure exactly what I'll do with them...just playing for now...

Another thing we all love to do with old photos is share them...so if these appeal to you, please feel free to grab the prints and use them for your own personal use. I'm perfectly fine with someone selling something they've made using any of my free images, but I would ask that you not sell the image in a CD, clip art sheet, etc.

My extracting skills leave a little to be desired, but WHEN I learn, and I WILL LEARN photoshop, watch out stash of photos....

Sweet little blessings on your day,

xo, Sue 

Free Vintage Image

The more time I spend sorting through my stash, the more I keep thinking, I MUST start scanning some of these to share...
Is he adorable or what? Love the little pocketwatch attached to his jacket.

The photo is dated 1911. The actual photo is pretty scuffed up with lots of little ickies that I digitally erased to the best of my photo-editing software's ability --it's not Photoshop. One day, she says with a hopeful attitude, I WILL LEARN the ins and outs of Photoshop.

Please feel free to save and use any of these images for your own personal use!

Now it's back to more sorting...trying to be ready for Karen's big event: Where Bloggers Create on June 19th. 
 
 

Party, Celebrate, and a Giveaway!

There's a two year birthday celebration going on in the land of Pink Saturday!

In fact, our dear hostess of this event, Beverly, was recently interviewed and a feature article on Pink Saturday appeared in the latest issue of ARTFUL BLOGGING. Squeals and clapping could be heard throughout the land of Pink Saturday participants. It is always fun to see wonderful things happen to nice people!

In honor of this big day, I made the digital card above combining a photo of flowers from my garden, several layers of digital onlays, a favorite old photograph, and a little bit of digital manipulation.

In addition, I've come to this birthday celebration with a present in hand and will be sending it to someone!

 
All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing for this giveaway gift. Pink Saturday gals {and the occasional gent} are a very inclusive group, therefore, you need not be a participant of Pink Saturday to throw your name in for the drawing. All comments rec'd before 11 PM, EST, on Wed., June 2nd will be entered in the drawing.

I love this book! Jo Packham and Jenny Doh did an amazing job...beautiful photography...a more personal glimpse into the lives {and studios!} of many artists I have long admired...and so much more!

A complete listing of all today's participants can be found on Beverly's blog. I'm looking forward to visiting as many as possible over the next few days to see how the rest of you will be celebrating this joyous occasion!

p.s. Wanted to mention an online class I spotted in learning the basics of Photoshop Elements for anyone who might want to check it out. Gail has a short video clip you can watch which gives a highlight of how she will be teaching. There's also a description listed here and she's offering a huge discount but the offer ends May 31st. It looks very interesting. I'm tempted....!  

Happy Mother's Day

   (my mother taken in the 1940's) 

Mother's Day is one of those days that can stir the emotions like no other day...At different times in my life, those emotions varied. During seven+ years of infertility, or following a miscarriage, the day stirred an emotion of deep longing. But the one consistent theme year after year was a deep sense of love and appreciation for my own mother.

Now at age 87, she is mother to six, grandmother to 18, great-grandmother to 22, and even a couple  of great-great grandchildren! No doubt those numbers will continue to increase as there are still 7 grandchildren {our 3 children and my baby sister's 4 who have yet to either get married and/or start their own families}.

One consistent theme in my mother's life next to having her family visit in person, are the piles of photos she loves to receive and sort through often.

 

She also loves to receive my handmade cards. Despite the fact that my creative muse seems to have taken a long vacation and refuses to return to me, I knew I had to try to come up with something. Recently I stitched the little verse that I blogged about here and decided it would be perfect to use in my card.

{front} 

 

{back}

Starting with an 8.5 x 11" piece of heavy chipboard I covered the front with an old piece of drapery and began layering different elements. The back was covered with a piece of vintage wallpaper with a photo added of my mom from days gone by. It always tickles her to see one of these forgotten photos included in my cards. [the little fragments of green glittered lace on the two corners were from Patty and now shared with my mum...]

 Despite the fact that my mother lives 1200 miles away and I won't be able to share this day in person, I know how blessed I am to still have her. 

Here's wishing all my bloggy friends a most blessed Mother's Day.

 [And huge hugs to the hearts of those for whom this day stirs the sadness emotion for any number of reasons.]   

A Winter's Day...and Free Images!

I don't think of all the misery but of all the beauty that remains.

~anne frank

OKAY. There is a certain beauty to it. But it's making me miserable. There. I said it. I am so done with winter.

Trick question for the day: Can you identify someone who needs to LIVE the words so eloquently penned by Anne Frank and not just quote them? 

The photo above was snapped from my family room windows this morning. Our hot tub water is gurgling because the freeze mode protection has kicked in. More accurately stated, it's been running all winter long. Typically it only kicks on a few times each winter.

However, I received a pass on having to show up for jury duty today. Tomorrow might be a different story. But yesterday was an emotionally tough day. I didn't get chosen for a particular case. It was a gut wrenching case. The kind that made me physically ill just listening to the allegations leveled against the defendent. Yet, I am grateful to live in a country that affords its citizens the right to a trial by jury.

Wanting to focus on something else to stop dwelling on the sadness I feel, I started sorting through some of my old Victorian cards. There is a certain innocence captured in the art from this era that appeals to many of us. These four little beauties could be used for so many projects...bookplates, placecard holders, address labels, cut out the girls and use their images in your art journal, etc.....

Please feel free to save these to your computer for your own personal use. They are only about 2.5" x 3.5". But just for fun I printed one that was 5.5" x 8.5" and the image was still quite crisp. I've also had good luck with enlarging images on my copier/scanner/printer that I eventually use in my journals.

  

I'm off to finishing up my wild rice soup for dinner. There's nothing like a pot of homemade soup on a wintry weather day.

But still dreaming of Spring,

xo

Sue 

Vintage photos

How sweet is this? Notice the mother's hand resting on the baby's lap "just in case"... Is that her beautiful hat lying on the ground?

The original size of this tintype is 3.5" x 2.5", which is considered one of the larger sizes of this type of photography. Tintypes, which actually aren't made of tin at all {some other form of metal}, were first introduced around 1850 and became wildly popular. Mostly because the process was cheap, fast, and did not require a negative being made. They are often referred to as the first version of the instant Polaroid photo, if you will. Hence, many amateur photographers entered the marketplace setting up their businesses on street corners and such. During the Civil War these itinerant photographers were known to visit the soldiers' encampments and take photos for the soldiers to send home to their loved ones. One can only imagine how it felt to open that letter and find one of these photos tucked inside.

Additionally, given that little skill was needed to produce these as well as being very cheap to make, tintypes opened up photography to the "common man." No longer was photography something that only rich people could afford.

For some reason, I include myself in the company of collectors who are drawn to these photos. While some have not withstood the test of time and have almost faded into oblivion, others have held up remarkably well. {Please feel free to copy these tintype photos and save them to your computer for your own personal use!}

I've scanned in a few more for your viewing pleasure. As shown in two of the scans below, the little cardboard frames, with their ornate embossing were often used to showcase the photo.

 

Notice the little rosy cheeks on the photo above and below. I imagine they were handtinted in order to add some color to the portraits.

  Look at the detail work in this dress. Don't you wonder if she sewed this herself? How long did it take? Was it her plan as she sewed by candlelight or a kerosene lamp to one day have her portrait taken in it?

  

Again, another classic example of the ornate embossing on the paper matting. No doubt she's wearing her finest hat and clothes.

One day I hope to use these in a few projects that have been percolating in my imagination. Finding the time is all that is standing between me and those projects. The age old story, isn't it?

Which brings me to my last photo...a little side excursion of something I'm just starting to put together. I've found that as I continue to sort items, paint furniture, and all the other tasks of getting my art room put together, if I allow myself a little time to "play" now and then, it renews my motivation to continue with this overwhelming task.

 

I hope your day includes some time to devote to the things that matter most to you.

Vintage Finds

 

There she sat high on a display case, hidden from view. Stuffed in a box no less with an assortment of other broken dolls. I smiled at her and said dolly, today is your lucky day. You're coming home with me. And don't you worry...I'll put you where the puppy can't touch you!

  

Just look at your sweet little eyelashes and those two little front teeth. Despite your signs of aging, it is evident that someone took very good care of you at one time.

 

Is this not the sweetest little shoe, or what?

 

In the same antique store, in another booth, I spied this little baby bonnet. Love at first sight. It was exquisite in its day...and still is, but in a different sort of way.

 

A view of the back of the hat...

 

 

   Another sweet find this weekend was this adorable photo of Evelyn Lyke. Like so many of you, I adore these old vintage photos. Don't you wonder WHY they ever ended up in the hands of strangers? Didn't someone in the family want them?

  Please feel free to adopt Evelyn for  yourself. Save her to a file in your computer and perhaps she'll find a use in your future creations.

 Speaking of futures, I better go tend to mine. After being away for the weekend, I have lots of catch up to tend to if I hope to have an immdediate  future that runs more smoothly.

Until next time...