More to Show Off from the Design Team!

Here is another great piece from the DT! This one is a postcard created by Mandy Chilvers (featuring an image from Lunagirl digital collage sheet Marie).

Visit Mandy's blogs to see more of her work... and join her fun challenges!
TAG ALONG:
http://tagalongchallenge.blogspot.com/
and
MANDY'S MAGICAL WORLD OF ART:
http://mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com/

What We Wish Santa Would Bring....

One last inspiration for the St. Nick challenge, from Michele Storms. This has always been a favorite Santa image of mine. It is originally from a vintage holiday card with a sentiment in Dutch. I love how Michele has enhanced the natural feel of the image with her background and crocheted lace. And the color palette is just perfect. As we head into the last few days before Christmas, we wish you peace and joy and all the blessings the season can bring!

"The Best Present" by Michele Storms of ArtFromtheWell.blogspot.com:
"i love this vintage st nick image from lunagirl looking out over the world where he will soon deliver gifts. the scene was so peaceful that i added a stamped "peace on earth" sentiment from one of my creatiate stamps. as i was seeking embellishments for my piece i found the red bow and could not resist adding it below the stamped sentiment.  because to my thinking the best present of all would be peace on earth."

A Beautiful Vintage Christmas Freebie from Lunagirl

I thought I would share a freebie with you today, one that will work for the current Holiday Children challenge and also the next challenge starting on Monday (hint: the theme features a famous "jolly old elf").

This is a much-loved image and it's easy to see why! If you love Santa images, there are over 300 vintage Santa Claus pictures on my Victorian Holidays Volume One CD ... the best variety of Santa pictures I know of... or get 100 vintage Santas by instant download!

You have until Sunday to enter the challenge. We already have several charming entries and I want to see yours too. And don't miss the beautiful Holiday Children inspiration by the Design Team :-)

More New Digital Downloads: Vintage Postcards in Soft Antique Colors

More digital collage sheets created with vintage carte postale images and antique postcard backs!  The top one has an unusual feather quill pen design, and I added some garden butterflies to one.  They all have pretty typography.  I thought these came out really well in the soft colors: Original Shabby, Garden Green, Soft Blue, Vintage Pink.

Freebie Digital Background: French Postcard with Fancy Writing

Here is another digital image created from an antique French postcard (mailed from Brussels actually, in 1913) ~ this one with beautiful antique handwriting in French ~ my gift to my blog readers in hopes of inspiring you to enter the Digital Backgrounds blog challenge!

Enjoy! ~ Karen

Free Vintage Photo! Flapper Girl with Daisies

 

Here is an image from a pretty vintage postcard, early 1920s, of a flapper girl with daisies.  I love the flower crown, and the dark lipstick and sultry eyes, as well as the color of this tinted postcard (which I did enhance/alter just a little!) This was from a French "Carte Postale."  Hope you enjoy it! (Click to enlarge and save.)

I know this photo doesn't particularly relate to digital backgrounds, but there is also a lovely blank postcard image a few posts back which makes a great background image!

Free Vintage Image -- Post Card

I'm feeling oddly inspired to share more free images, so before the feeling passes here is a lovely blank postcard.  I've cleaned it up for you so it's ready to use and it's a nice large scan for good quality (you can resize it as small as you like, however!)  This makes a beautiful background for many types of projects.  Click to get to the full size image, then save to your computer.  If you do use it in a project that you share online or sell, I would very much appreciate the courtesy of a credit to Lunagirl Images!  Thanks!

Vintage Diva: Lina Cavalieri

Here is a short bio of another Victorian Edwardian diva.  This is a beautiful postcard of actress and singer Lina Cavalieri. I've restored it, removed scratches, and enhanced the color.

"La Cavalieri" had quite a colorful life! She was orphaned at age 15, and ran away from a convent orphanage to tour Italy with a theater troupe. She sang at cafes and music halls in Vienna and Paris, and by age 20 was famous across Europe.

Lina Cavalieri studied with the top singers of the day, but was known as much for her beauty, fiery temperament, and love of emeralds as for her pleasant voice. She boasted over 800 marriage proposals, of which she accepted four! She was also famously generous. She campaigned on behalf of orphans, performed for the troops during WWI, and worked as a nurse during WWII. She died in an air raid in Florence in 1944 at age 70.

Moonday Free Images

Four "weird sisters" having a tea party ~ actually I wouldn't be surprised if they had something a little stronger in those teacups.  Halloween vintage photos are rather hard to find, but a customer was kind enough to share this one with me and I'm glad to share it with you!  Enjoy for personal non-commercial cards, crafts, and art projects.

Joyeux Noel

Free Digital Images! Halloween Witch and Pretty Woman for Autumn

Why not share a free image today?  In fact, why not two!  One for Halloween, and one for the pensive mood of autumn (click for full size).

For more Halloween images that you can receive right away, visit our digital collage sheet download pages:  http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-Holidays.htm
For more lovely ladies...http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Vintage-Photos.htm

Bonne Année - 365 jours de bonheur!

Judging by the number of New Year cards we come across, sending greetings for the new year was very popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras -- maybe as popular as sending Christmas cards! We're developing a lovely collection of vintage photo postal cards originally sent to wish friends and family Happy New Year (or Bonne Année, a good year, in French).

And looking at the dates on the back, they sent them not only at January 1st, but throughout the season from after Christmas into the first weeks of January. We think that's a lovely custom that we should revive!

Cards usually carried wishes for happiness, prosperity, and sometimes health and friendship, and often featured pictures of good luck symbols such as four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, coins, even pigs (an old lucky symbol that has gone by the wayside). Many have charming photos of children, ladies, or romantic couples.

You'll find a nice selection of restored cards on our Christmas New Years Photos Postcards CD, and also on the New Years French Postcards collage sheet below. Heureuse Année!

MONDAY Free Image!

If it's Monday that means freebie! Here is one of the new photo postcards we have been working on, newly scanned, cleaned up, and embelllished just a little bit.

Yes, we know it's not even Halloween yet, and I hate it when the stores put up the Christmas decorations this early.... but many crafters start their Christmas projects now, so here is a charming little girl with her holiday gifts, from 1909.

Just click on the image above to open the full-size original and save. She will eventually be published on CD, but for today she is free for your use in personal non-commercial projects. Thanks for visiting ~ enjoy!

Moon-day FREE IMAGE DOWNLOAD Vintage Bellydancer

I love dance, especially bellydance, and we are proud of our Lunagirl collection of vintage bellydancer photo postcards. We would like to share this lovely photograph from the early 1900s Edwardian era, of a joyful dancer with her veil. I have restored the image and enhanced it with subtle shades of pink and violet and a little added sparkle.

You're welcome to use this lovely image in your personal crafts and altered art projects (no commercial use). This altered image is copyright 2007 by us. If you publish or display your work, include credit and a link to http://www.lunagirl.com/

For more vintage bellydancing images and other vintage ladies, check out our collections of Victorian Edwardian Vintage Ladies Photos on CD.