Introducing Lunagirl's Design Team & BIRDS projects

I am so pleased and excited to introduce three new members of my Design Team, and show their first pieces below.  Welcome to Vicki Romaine, Petra Berendsen, and Michele Storms.  The theme for this time was BIRDS ~ and as you'll see below the design team ladies have created some beautiful work!

Please be sure to visit the Design Team page to read more about them and please visit their blogs to see more of their work.  And watch for more fabulous projects coming soon!


Michele Storms  http://artfromthewell.blogspot.com

Vicki Romaine  http://cheerfulstamppad.blogspot.com

 

Petra Berendsen  http://kunterbuntcottage.blogspot.com

"Happy Together. The focal point for this card is a wonderful image from the Birds 1 digital collage sheet - two little birds who look so sweet and happy together. The image is slightly distressed with ink around the edges and layered on some coloured card. Before adding it to the card base with foam pads I covered the card with patterned paper, and stenciled and stamped it with Archival ink and musical and flower stamps. The card is adorned with lace, buttons, Mulberry flower and leaves, and a chipboard sentiment." ~ Petra

These lovely creations on the theme of BIRDS feature the following Lunagirl collage sheets:
BIRDS 1
LITTLE BIRDS WITH TEXT
BIRD EGGS CARDS
ORANGE

New CD: Lunagirl Vintage Nudes

Lunagirl is pleased to offer 360 classic, tasteful vintage nude photo French postcards on CD, restored and ready to browse and print for projects.  Brand new today ~  See it here!

Many artists and crafters appreciate these beautiful antique risque images and our customers have requested a collection to use in their card making, altered art work, and other projects.

You'll find a lovely collection of vintage women, most from the Edwardian era or the 1920s Flapper era, some from the earlier Victorian styles.  The poses range from serene to sassy!  Ladies with veils, big hats, corsets, petticoats, jewelry, costumes. Some post cards have two versions, in different color tints.


Why are they called French postcards?  Many early postcards originated in France, including photographs of actresses, children, romantic ladies, and other themes, in addition to the "naughty" ladies (who were very popular with WWI soldiers!).  But the term "French postcard" eventually became associated with risqué images (most early 20th century risqué postcards originated in Paris).  These images are rather tame by today's standards but were considered quite naughty and even scandalous in their day!

Instant Digital Downloads & Secret Sale

Great news over at etsy ~ they are now offering a system for instant delivery of digital downloads, so I am in the process of adding that service for all my digital collage sheets on etsy!

Just FYI, I offer instant downloading of all my digital collage sheets and download packs at LUNAGIRL.COM and have for over eight years now!

All 300+ Lunagirl collage sheets are available at Lunagirl.com.  Another big project on my "to do" list is to get all those on etsy.

To celebrate Monday :-)
here is a Secret Sale just for my blog readers.

Use discount code "helloflowers" for 15% off all digital collage sheet purchases at Lunagirl.com on Monday...

Other news:  I am so pleased to have a new Design Team, so watch for their first projects in the next couple of days!  

Vintage Photos on Sale

Hey ~ I've got all my Vintage Photos CDs on sale today 10% off!  
I love collecting, restoring, and embellishing these old photographs and photo postcards, to offer you the very best images for your projects, and this is a great chance to save a little on these lovely collections of children and ladies.  
 Have a beautiful day! 

New Collage Sheet: Paris 1920s Fantasy Showgirls

I love creating collage sheets ~ it's so easy to get inspired.  Here is the latest, just posted a few days ago, created with French postcards from the Casino de Paris featuring flapper showgirls in some pretty wild costumes (and a little nudity -- warning/blush)!  The actual digital collage sheet is designed to print as a full-size sheet, 8.5x11" when printed at 300 dpi (can be resized before printing as needed!)  Get it here.

Edwardian Beauty Miss Lily Elsie

You may recognize Lily Elsie as one of our very favorite "Lunagirl" ladies ~ in fact, the lady in our blog banner. She is certainly one of the most beautiful women in our photo postcard collection, and was a prolific and talented actress in Edwardian musical comedies.

She was born Elsie Hodder in 1886 in West Yorkshire, England, the daughter of a dress-maker who operated a lodging-house. When her mother married theater worker William Thomas Cotton in 1891, Elsie became Elsie Cotton.

Despite being painfully shy, "Little Elsie" was a star in the British theater from early childhood, landing title roles on the London stage by age 10. By age 20 she had,appeared in 14 shows. Her anxiety and stage fright combined with the heavy touring schedule she adopted from an early age would lead to bouts of exhaustion throughout her life. From about 1900, she adopted the stage name "Lily Elsie".

Elsie acted in several Edwardian musical comedies before her great success in "The Merry Widow," opening in 1907. "The Merry Widow" was a huge hit, making Miss Lily Elsie a star (and launching a fad for the plumed hats she wore in the play!) Elsie appeared in another 16 shows, garnering continuous praise. One critic wrote "...it gave great pleasure merely to see her walk across the stage."

Admired for her beauty and charm, Elsie became one of the most photographed women of Edwardian times. Her image was much in demand by advertisers and for postcards. An Atlanta newspaper wrote, "Everyone agrees that Lily Elsie has the most kissable mouth in all England." The famous costume designer Lucile described her as "a girl who had both beauty and intelligence."

Elsie married the son of a wealthy textile merchant and left the stage, exhausted. She returned in 1916 and 1917 but then retired again, this time to the English countryside. She was easily stressed by touring, but starred in new productions in the late 1920s, always to good reviews. She also had small roles in two early motion pictures.

Unfortunately her marriage was unhappy and ended in 1930. She became reclusive and suffered from various ailments both physical and psychological through much of the rest of her life, and died in 1962 at age 76 in London.  A lovely, talented, and sensitive lady with such pretty eyes ~ we hope she experienced joy as well as sadness in her life.

Collage Sheets for Mother's Day!

 Lunagirl collage sheets for Mother's Day cards, tags, and other projects.The design above incorporates old photos and frames combined and altered to lovely sepia tones.

More images of motherly love ~ taken from old postcards and photos. Below are some of our favorite images of mothers from paintings. You'll find all of these and more at LUNAGIRL.COM (digital downloads) and now also at COLLAGESHEET.COM (for printed AND digital!)