Two Great Alphabets to Clip & Save

I found these vintage alphabets and the scissors when I was looking at some of my old posts. My new template made it so easy for me to share these large photos without having to struggle so much to resize them for you and this makes me so happy. These alphabets would be great to print, clip and paste the individual letters for one-of-a-kind cards for any occasion. Click to enlarge the images.

Happy Friday

xo

N O E L

Old calligraphy alphabets are so beautiful and this one is no exception. This would make a beautiful Christmas Card. via

Bookish Christmas Card

I adore this custom Christmas Card designed for The London Library 2020. It's easy to see why it's sold out. Isn't it a perfect card for a library, librarian, or book lover? Perfect to send to your Book Club members too.

Happy Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving images from my blog. 

Safe travels if you are on the road or in the air.

Do you have VISION?

I think I do. Vision a gift for those of us who have it. via

Blue Beets Textile Design

I adore this fabric. I can think of a thousand places I could use these blue beets in my cottage. Have a great weekend! via 

Trees with Long Shadows

I love this wonderful linocut by Australian artist, Anita Laurence, entitled Winter II. I have always thought it would be fun to learn this craft but sadly I am not at all artistic in this way. Have a great weekend. xo

Beautiful Floral Wallpaper

Odessa Garden Damask wallpaper in white. A unique take on the classic damask, this contemporary wallpaper that features ornate flowers is a wonderful feature wall option. via

Available in black too. Details and ordering information here.

Einstein Quote with Bicycle

I added the text to this bicycle graphic and posted it on my blog in 2009. Albert Einstein was quite famous for riding his bicycle around Princeton.

via

Happy Thanksgiving to Each of You

I made this long ago from a crest in my Royal Book of Crests and I post it every year.

Perfect cookies for Thanksgiving.

See more of my old Thanksgiving posts here.

Beautiful Book Cover - Two Views

If you think this one is beautiful, you won't believe the next one.

There are so many talented and creative people out there that make moving gifs to delight me. Isn't this amazing? via

The technician will look at my car today and give me the news later. I'm fine at home today on a dreary day, far away from Hurricane Michael. Be safe if it's near you. I only watch BBC News America and they say the Gulf Coast and the Florida panhandle are in great danger from high winds and waves. All we can do is hope it is downgraded before hitting land and hope for a beautiful sunrise like this one soon.

xo

Pumpkin Season is Here

It's here. I see pumpkins on doorsteps already but few colors in the leaves in my area. via

Halloween decorations are starting to appear too. I made this greeting from an image I photographed from my Royal Book of Crests and added the seasonal text. I saved it to my phone so I can text it to friends later in the month. I really wouldn't want a bat on my family crest or coat of arms, would you? But this little bat has a very friendly face and is rather cute when all the other bats on the antiquarian book page were pretty scary. Happy Halloween! xo

September First

I designed this graphic and posted it one year ago today. Maybe it will be new to some of you. I have been distracted for the past two weeks. My PC computer running on Windows XP finally gave up the ghost and I was unable to get it up and running again. It had been giving me trouble for a long time and I put up with it because it had Microsoft Word, Photoshop, and was connected to a scanner and a printer. I disassembled everything and moved my iMac to the same spot where I have a very comfortable computer chair. 

I was able to connect a scanner and a printer quite easily and I am loving my new setup. I had the disc for Microsoft Word but it would not install on an Apple computer so I am learning Google Docs and can pretty much do what I did on Word. There is a workaround for almost everything, isn't there? I have been organizing my attic and it is an endless job but I have moved mountains. 

I don't have cable in my studio/computer room/sewing room/ and I've been missing it. It's nice to have a movie or the news on while I am sewing, ironing or organizing. I usually listen to a podcast or NPR on the radio and I will continue to do so. I'm very excited to report I found internet TV with movies, live news and so much more. It's called Pluto TV ( https://pluto.tv/ ) and it's wonderful. There is a yellow circle in lower right corner that will pull up the tv guide. The movies are amazing and there is a huge selection of shows. It works on any device....desktop computer, laptop, phone, or iPad. I found a blog post on cordcutting.com that explains it in detail HERE. There are commercials but I have found them to be entertaining as they are mostly about what else is playing on Pluto. Try it if you don't have cable in a room where you are working. There is no pause, repeat, or going back but it's totally free so that's fine with me. Let me know if this will be helpful for you as well.

Happy September. Enjoy the long weekend. xo

A Painting in My Collection

Lillian Cotton (1892–1962) was an American artist known for her portraits, especially of high-society figures and well-known actors, writers, and artists of her day.

She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was Nathaniel Hugh Cotton, a West Indies shipping merchant born in Barbados, and her mother was Harriet Emma Clapp. Cotton developed an interest in art as a young child, drawing detailed portraits in sketchbooks as early as age ten, and attended the Boston Museum School. Between 1915 and 1917, Cotton studied at the Art Students League of New York under Robert Henri and George Bellows. In 1924, Cotton moved to Paris and studied at the André Lhote Academy. While in Paris, she met Arthur Elia Impey, a British army officer, and married him in 1926. The couple lived between Paris and New York.

Artist Information found here.

I have always wondered who this adorable child is, ever since I bought this painting with a left bid at an auction. It is signed lower left: L.Cotton 1913 when she was still at the Art Students League studying under the famous artists mentioned above.

I just discovered the magnifying glass on my iPhone and decided to use it on the horse embroidered on my baby painting's smocked outfit. You can see the texture of the canvas and the brush strokes of the oil paint.

I adore babies in smocked garments, a trend that is long out of style here where today's babies are dressed as miniature adults. Why rush it? They have their whole lives to wear khaki pants and button-down shirts! England's Royalty dress their children in age-appropriate styles from an age gone by. I love the way Prince William and Duchess Catherine are dressing Prince George, Princess Charlotte and I can't wait to see more of baby Prince Louis' attire. xo

Support Farmers

Buy local, eat local, and support your local farmers by way of their farm stands, their store near the farm, or local farmers markets. via 

I had fresh tricolor corn tonight and it was delicious. I cook mine in the microwave. I wrapped two ears (that had been shucked and silks removed) in waxed paper and microwaved for 6 minutes. It was perfect. I have a small countertop microwave, not a huge one. I started out with 4 minutes and that didn't seem enough. After 2 more minutes, it smelled right and it was. The ears were pretty big. Try it, you'll like it!!!

Some of My iPhone Photos This Week

A beautiful sunset from my balcony two days ago. The full moon was shining brightly in my bedroom last night.

Storm clouds gathering five days ago.

I adore this phrenology head. I printed it last week and put it on a portfolio to cover the company name of the firm that gave it to me. I put a piece of heavy clear plastic on top and now I love it because it always makes me laugh. Click on the photo to enlarge for easier reading.

Those feet! They were the first thing I saw six days ago when I visited a Realtor Open House. The house was very contemporary and had a lot of modern art.

Here is back view of the feet sculptures from another wing of the house. I put these pics on Instagram and one lady was worried they would be left behind after the house was sold and how were the new owners going to get rid of them?😂

Easter Baskets for You

I made this for you on on my phone. It is a gloomy rainy day and I was feeling a little creative. 

Calligraphy Snowman

Walking in a Winter Wonderland via

Great Book Quote

We lose ourselves in books. 

We find ourselves there too.

via

Great Graphic.

Well Said!

Hello, August

August 1939

Good Housekeeping Magazine

I photographed this in a used book shop.

My photo.

HELLO, AUGUST!