Collecting Twigs for the Fire: Beatrix Potter + Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter ‘Collecting Winter Fuel’ December illustration for Peter Rabbit’s Almanac for 1929. This illustration could also be used for the March 2019 weather almanac for New Jersey USA.

Beautiful Illustration of Chickens

Sophie’s Chickens by Jenny Crocker

© 2010–2019 Indigo Dreams

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Content in a Cottage

Lennart Helje Art w/ Elf, Cat, Bird

Lennart Helje is a painter and illustrator who born in 1940 in Lima, Sweden. He paints gnomes wearing red hats and animals in snowy landscapes. He has also illustrated books, stamps, and postal Christmas seals, with Nordic, nature, and plant motifs. The photo above was found on Google Images. Isn't his artwork delightful? I also found an article about him on a blog with a slideshow of some of his wonderful paintings. Read more here. You're welcome. xo

MLK Day 2019 The Dream of Reconciliation

I posted this New Yorker cover in 2015. MLK leading a peaceful march for racial equality. If only.

Kindness is Like Snow

"Kindness is like snow.

It beautifies everything it covers."

Khalil Gibran

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The Poisoned Apple 1938 Snow White

What you see: The Poisoned Apple, a study by Wanda Gág [pronounced ‘Gahg’] for an illustration in a 1938 edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Wold at Swann Auction Galleries in NYC for $5,000. I would love to see the other illustrations in this book. Her work is spellbinding!
UPDATE: I found a digital copy of this very book online HERE.

Christmas Card by Ernest Shepard

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS from Norah and Ernest Shepard: "This pen and ink drawing of Eeyore with holly, Pooh with a jar of honey and Piglet with a Christmas cracker comprises the original illustration for the only known Christmas card ever created by E.H. Shepard featuring the A.A. Milne characters." Offered for sale by Sotheby's in 1997. Sold for 30,000 GBP

What a treat it would have been to receive this Christmas card!

Beatrix Potter Rabbits Gathering Wood

Here is yet another Beatrix Potter image I haven't seen before. After gathering twigs for the fire, the rabbits are preparing to put the big log on the sled to drag it home in the snow. I wish I could see more artwork about this story. via Click photo to enlarge.

Winter Garden by Lucy Goldsmith

I love this charming "Winter Garden" illustration by Lucy Grossmith, a Suffolk UK based artist and illustrator. The outdoor activity comes alive when the lights go on inside our cottages. 

Appley Dappley: Beatrix Potter 18890

Appley Dapply - Beatrix Potter 1890 via

APPLEY DAPPLY, a little brown mouse,

Goes to the cupboard in somebody's house.

IN somebody's cupboard

⁠There's everything nice,

⁠Cake, cheese, jam, biscuits,

⁠—All charming for mice!

Click HERE to read all of APPLEY DAPPLY'S NURSERY RHYMES, all with Beatrix Potter illustrations.

Nursery Tales by Katharine Pyle 1918

Frontispiece: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

I love this sweet illustration by Katharine Pyle

1918 Book Cover

Title Page

This entire 1918 book has been uploaded as an ebook that you can read on a computer or mobile device. The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mother's Nursery Tales, by Katharine Pyle. Click HERE to get started reading this delightful book. I adore the illustrations. You're welcome. xo

November: Poem and Image 1889

Harvard's Houghton Library

Please click on the link and view this lovely poem by Beatrice Crane and the illustration by Walter Crane 1889. Have you ever read a more perfect description of the month of November? I have not! This is another image I want to print and keep forever.

Inga Moore Illustration for Wind in the Willows

Toad and his friends can now relax and enjoy a meal together.

A group of weasels had invaded toad's house and were having a party.

For many more Inga Moore illustrations of the 1908 classic story, Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame -- click here (each illustration can be enlarged by clicking on it). You have enough time to order this large story book as holiday gifts for your favorite children. You could keep a copy at your house so you can enjoy it too. xo

Halloween Love Story, Illustrated

I love this charming story and the illustrations are wonderful.

Original artwork by Bree Paulsen. View them full-size here.

Animal Illustrations by Chris Dunn

Everyone knows by now that I am fascinated by the interiors of animals. This Wise Old Owl by Chris Dunn is a fine example of the kind of detail that pleases me the most. I love how he has decorated his hollow tree and filled it with antiquarian books and scientific instruments. via

I dug a little deeper and found the artist's website and related immediately with this image of Mole's House Getting a Bit of TLC. It is from Wind in the Willows illustrated by Chris Dunn. Is fall cleaning on everyone's mind?

Washing Dishes: Jessie Willcox Smith

Thank God for dirty dishes;

they have a tale to tell.

While other folks go hungry,

we're eating pretty well.

With home and health and happiness,

we shouldn't want to fuss;

For by this stack of evidence,

God's very good to us.

~ Anonymous

I found this image and poem while searching on Pinterest. I love the beautiful blue and white Canton that this little girl is washing. Just look at the wear on the bottom. Maybe it wasn't valuable back in 1925 but now it's prized. I have quite a few pieces in my corner cupboard.

JWS is one of my favorite illustrators from the first quarter of the 20th century and this image is new to me. This little girl doesn't even have a step stool but has to balance precariously on a little ladder in old blue paint. I've been doing a lot of this lately but on a larger ladder, both outside and inside, dealing with my windows.

I have been a little distracted lately, since Sunday afternoon. I opened my car door for an errand and the car alarm started going off and I could not start my car. It completely shut down because it thought I was trying to steal it. I am still trying to figure out what to do. I stopped using my clicker about 10 years ago and never replaced it when the battery died. I have been using my key ever since. I am depending on friends for rides and will decide today what I should do. Will keep you posted. xo

Halloween Cats Escaping Ink Bottle

This is a very clever drawing. Black cats and kittens are in high demand with Halloween approaching. via

1917 Illustration from a Children's Book

Sweetest illustration by Janet Laura Scott 

Verse by John G. Bowman

The book, Happy All Through The Day, was published in 1917. I love the way the girls' room is decorated. I have always loved to study interior design in children's books.

There is a hole through almost every page in the book. It was presented to a boy named George for Christmas in 1924 by his mother. George must have gotten a compass too. He practiced drawing circles on the back cover and the sharp pointed thing made a hole like the one above. I was able to clone it out in the first photo using iPhoto on my Mac.

RBG MOVIE -- TONIGHT ON CNN 9PM

If you cannot see the YouTube video above click here.
I missed this movie when it played for a very short time near me. Several people who saw it said it was wonderful and I am excited about seeing it tonight on CNN at 9PM. Check your tv guide for times in your area.

Kalman visits with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"I think, move over Jane Austen as my imaginary best friend forever. Make room for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who would have gone to my high school for music, if her parents had let her. Whose favorite artist is Matisse. (I rest my case.) Who went on to study law because she wanted to combat the forces of injustice (McCarthyism) and graduated tied for first in her class at Columbia Law School, but could not get hired as a lawyer."

Maira Kalman loves Ruth. She wrote an article in the NYTimes called "And the Pursuit of Happiness" - The three illustrations above are from MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT.

H A P P Y   L A B O R   D A Y !

UPDATE: This movie is being repeated on Sunday 9/9/18 on CNN. Check your guide for times in your area. In my area (New York Metropolitan) it is being rebroadcast twice. At 8PM and 10PM. This information comes from Vickie H and it's on in her area at 9PM.

Yay. So many of you missed it and will have another opportunity to see it. Free is good. You will love. Thanks again Vickie ! ! !

Seaside Vacation: Jill Barklem

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I don't know this book but I love this seaside vacation scene. The children can play while the parents gather seagrass and make baskets. 

Sea Story: Primrose and Wilfred Sail to Sandy Bay (Brambly Hedge) The tale of Primrose and Wilfred's meeting with their seashore cousins.