Dancing Pansy Flowers

I love pansies!  They've been my favorite flower for five decades.  Who can resist their cheerful "faces," luscious purple, copper and amber hues and soft, velvety petals?  I know as a toddler, I couldn't!  I was so excited to see these sweet garden beauties in grandma's garden that I pulled up several fists-full.  I ran to her grinning and squealing, proudly holding up my contraband bouquet.  I still remember that day - the day I discovered the beauty of pansies and shared that joy with my grandma!

The original lithographs were produced by L. Prang & Co. between 1861-1897.   These images have been made available to the general public by the Boston Public Library, free of charge and under a Creative Commons license with no copyright restrictions. To access the library's extensive online collection of vintage images, click here.

Music with Canary artwork

Beautiful music score cover sheet from the archives of the Boston Public Library: My Pet Canary ballad by H. Avery.  The original artwork was produced by L. Prang & Co. between 1861-1897.   I wonder if H. Avery's lovely canaries sang along with this ballad?

These images have been made available to the general public by the Boston Public Library, free of charge and under a Creative Commons license with no copyright restrictions. To access the library's extensive online collection of vintage images, click here.

Dog and Cat Portraits

Aren't these portraits sweet? The ultimate in Pet Couture!  These beautiful images were produced by L. Prang & Co. between 1861-1897. These images have been made available to the general public by the Boston Public Library, free of charge and under a Creative Commons license with no copyright restrictions. To access the library's extensive online collection of vintage images, click here.

"Louis Prang (1824-1909), a German immigrant, ran a highly successful printing firm in Boston during the late nineteenth century. His company produced high quality reproductions of major art work and greeting cards using the complex technique of chromolithography. Prang is often referred to as the “Father of the American Christmas Card” because holiday cards were rarely exchanged in America until his factory began producing them in the 1870s.


The Boston Public Library’s Print Department is fortunate to have more than 1,500 chromolithographs and dozens of sample books of greeting cards produced by Louis Prang & Company. Along with the Hallmark Historical Collection in Kansas City, Missouri, the BPL’s Louis Prang & Company Collection is one of the two major sources of information on Prang's lithographs."

Lucite Bow

The original lucite and rhinestone brooch has mellowed to the lovely amber color you see at the top of the post.  Such a sweet bow, and even sweeter with digitally replaced rhinestones!

Vintage Millinery Leaves

The first photo shows the original color of these striking, dimensional vintage velvet leaves.

Fancy Millinery Leaves

One of my favorite millinery leaves!  (Originally in bright shades of fuscia not shown here.)

Vintage Beaded Flower

Another favorite from my studio cabinets are lovely beaded flower components from the 1960s.  The seed beads are strung on thin wire and wrapped around each petal of the metal finding.  The petals have serrated edges that help hold the wire in place.  Similar components can easily be created from the many gorgeous findings available today.  The original color of this flower is the lovely blue opal color in the bottom picture.

Dreaming of Spring Flowers



 Don't you love ribbon flowers?  This is one of my favorite flowers to make because of its vintage appearance, especially when the middle is "squashed down."  This particular flower was very popular a century ago.  It's also made in an 8-petal version with three additional petals used on an inner layer.  Adding stamens or antique buttons in the center can dramatically change the look.  I wish I had ribbon in these mouth-watering colors, but that's part of the magic of photo editing software - your flowers can be any color you imagine them to be!

"Eggsquisite"

It's Winter where we live in the USA, and for us that means a lot of rain.  Days, weeks and months of rain.  But soon, it will be Spring!  We have been cleaning up our birdhouses and reading up on what nesting materials to provide for our lovely feathered friends.  In celebration of Spring-to-come, I'm so happy to share this vintage print - aren't the colors of these eggs gorgeous?

Millinery Leaves - Philodendron

Another favorite - vintage velvet millinery leaves!  The original color of these simple philodendron-style leaves is the pretty antique rose shade in the bottom picture.

ABCs and Flowers

A bit brighter in hue than the usual post, but I just love this vintage stencil.  It was tossed in with a box of my father's old drafting supplies; he is an engineer like his father.  The stencil measures about 4 inches wide and is made out of thick, transparent plastic that has yellowed with age into this lovely amber color.

The flatback glass flowers are 1930s vintage, also in a lovely amber hue.  But, as always, I just can't seem to keep from experimenting... and thought you might enjoy a nice olivine color as well!

Chadbourne & Co. Advertisement

I love the rich colors in this elegant antique advertising card.  The original is a bit smaller than a postcard.