Shabby Chic Stationary Paper

This set may be a little faded or wrinkled, but for anyone who enjoys antique pages, it might be fun to use for their handwritten correspondence.

This is just a suggestion for Mothers Day, but I think that it might make a fine birthday present for somebody who enjoys corresponding offline using the post or classic "snail mail." I began this process a while back - over 2 years ago, in fact. I wasn't impressed with my first results. You see, I tend to work more slowly nowadays than I used to do, and am also more choosy than before about what I am willing to publish here. I am still not as satisfied as I wanted to be, but I still enjoy how cute these pages look to me.

Please respect my copyrights and follow the red letter Guidelines located at the foot of this post. Thank you. All artists' rights do count, as do yours.

Notes are more fun if the paper is pretty, aren't they? This set of Pages began with an antique tissue paper page I'd found lying loose between the regular paper pages of an antique book about butterflies. I purchased my 1905 butterfly book years ago at a library book sale. 

That tissue page looked so charmingly crumpled and worn around the edges that I instantly fell in love with it! By using Photoshop processes, I slowly began to understand how to alter my scans of that tissue paper page so that it could be used by me in art for this blog.  This stationary or notepaper was the first thing that really made sense to me, although I have featured the crumpled bit of tissue here once before. (This was recent, during my ATC Background week that I featured earlier in April 2017.)

I'm offering all 3 colors in 2 styles: with lines and without. I'd like to encourage my visitors to customize whatever envelopes they might have around. The colors are soft and even old fashioned, but then so is the inspiration which got this whole project started. The shabby filigree pattern is one I've used previously in an older post which guests may find HERE. 

If this new set does well enough, I might be encouraged to make an accessory set for it of some kind. For more choices, I'd like to encourage guests to try looking through my Spring selections. My Spring Garden Collection is still growing. I've recently added a cheerful Rainy Day Set to it which you may find HERE.

It's possible to print your choices from home and then (of course) to make plenty of copies at your local Copy center. It might make a nice gift for someone who enjoys using something unusual for their correspondence. I could see a set of these pages bundled neatly with ribbons or lace, possibly in either a pretty basket or box. A unique little magnetic message board for an office might be customized using one of my designs. Moms might enjoy a handwritten letter using one of my pages as a part of their Mothers Day gift or card, too. 

Happy creative corresponding!

PPS™Shabby Chic Stationary Pages

All Six Displayed

Download Lilac HERE

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Download Dusty Rose HERE

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Download Faded Denim HERE

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Download Lilac with Lines HERE

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Download Dusty Rose with Lines HERE

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Download Faded Denim with Lines HERE

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You are free to:

Give or use or share these designs.

You are not free to

ever sell any of these designs for any reason

even if you've altered them first.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

#ATCAD2017 ATC Freebies Week Day 6

This week keeps on being fun for me!

This time, I have chosen for my inspiration some very old and distressed pages from antique documents. I have a passion for such things, and so this particular project has been especially fun for me.

Please respect all copyrights that are listed at this blog, including Digital Brush Credits and my red letter Guidelines. Thank you.

These have been sized to fit and cropped and altered by me via digital processes. 3 of the ATC backgrounds in this set are french in origin, while the other 3 are (I think) Italian. I thought that perhaps the torn and ragged look might inspire some new ideas in ATC making. I myself might try a little collage fun along these same lines. The ragged and torn or distressed look is one often favored among artists who enjoy using the "decollage" technique. These don't offer the same textural results, but given that it's such a small surface, that could well be advantageous to the artist.

For quicker access to my entire PPS ATC collection, you may follow this link HERE.

Happy Artist Trading Card Creativity!

PPS™ATC Sixpack: Distressed Antique Papers

Download HERE

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You are free to:

freely trade, give and collect

the ATC Backgrounds that are

included in this set.

You are not free to:

ever sell these designs

for any reason, 

even if you alter them first.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Antique Electric Advertising

It's shocking!~Everything's electric today!

To a Mr. J.M. Riley, I want to tip my hat today. He obviously used his own patented electric comb, although not only on his scalp. And, no, he is not wearing some fancy or weird collar under his chin. That is actually a beard growing out of his neck! Don't you pity his poor wife (if he even had one)?

Please see the red letter Guidelines below the image. Thank you.

Accompanying Mr. Riley and his strange contraption is a far more useful electrical apparatus: a Grafonola! 

Grafonola was the trademark name for a Graphophone record playing system invented at the turn of the last century. For more information about those machines, please follow the link HERE.

"A Precious Memory" 

by Bob Crosby and His Bobcats

on a genuine Grafonola.

(Bing Crosby's brother)

My grandmother had a somewhat more modern version of the record playing machine shown in the advertisement below. I only heard it play once or twice, as I recall. It used to sit on her old fashioned living room rug at the front of her house.

Happy Electric Creativity!

PPS™ Electric Ephemera Set

Download HERE

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You are free to:

use these 2 images in art

for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

sell them as they are here

in any way.

Otherwise, you'll be selling my time and effort.

Thank you

for helping me to 

keep free things free!

Free Paper Doll Shopping Outfit

An outing with some shopping for Victoria

A guest has come to stay for a while at Grandmother Lacey's stately home in London. It is Victoria's favorite aunt, Aunt Mattie. The two have just been shopping at their favorite Millinery shop, to buy some spools of lovely ribbon. The ribbon will soon be made by Aunt Mattie, Grandmother Lacey and Victoria into lengths of hair ribbon for the girls of a school for impoverished children. Other things will be given to each child, including small toiletry kits. There will  also be socks for the boys.

The kitten playing  with the length of bright ribbon in Victoria's hands is one of the new brood which the cook's cat is mothering. The little scamp must surely have escaped from the warmth and dull security of the comfortable box near the kitchen stove. Somehow, I do not think that Victoria minds having a little fur ball romping at her feet, do you?

Happy Shopping Creativity!

PPSPlaytime™: Shopping with Aunt Mattie

Download HERE

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You are free to:

play with this outfit or offer it as a gift

or in trade.

You are not free to:

ever sell it in any way.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Free Paper Doll Wedding Outfits

"Here comes the bride!"

"Marry on Monday for health,
Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all,
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses, and
Saturday for no luck at all."

[This is an old Victorian rhyme, based on the customs of that era.
My source is: http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article003.html ]

It is customary for weddings to take place between major church holidays in Victorian England. With the church season called Advent so close at hand, a late autumn wedding cannot be postponed without waiting until the following year.

Mercy's wedding is about to begin! --And on a Wednesday morning, no less! There is a flurry of activity just behind the scenes. This is to be a morning wedding, followed by a lovely wedding breakfast. This was quite common during the 1800's in Great Britain.

Victoria's cousin, Mercy has asked that her younger cousin be her Maid of Honor. For Victoria, this will be a very special day, indeed. For the occasion, she has been outfitted with a pretty dress of her own to wear. Notice how she is tending to the bride's bouquet for her. And what lovely roses Mercy has chosen for this event!

Victoria and Mercy each have their own download in this post.
There is a good bit of  what I call "fussy cutting" to both outfits this time. After all, their designs are loaded with little details meant to make the day more special. The assistance of either parents or older siblings may be required in order that all will turn out well enough. Tight spaces can be handled well with manicure scissors or detail scissors of some sort.

"Color of the gown was thought to influence one's future life.

White--chosen right
Blue--love will be true
Yellow--ashamed of her fellow
Red--wish herself dead
Black--wish herself back
Grey--travel far away
Pink--of you he'll always think
Green-ashamed to be seen."

BEFORE and AFTER pictures

Mercy's Wedding Gown Suggestions
The upper portion of the veil had to be redesigned 3 ways before it would finally function. The rest of her veil you will find is a part of the dress. In other words, all in one piece with her dress.

Step one (once the dress and veil tab parts have been carefully cut out):
Reinforce the shoulder tabs of the gown at the back using clear tape. It is recommended, as this will be a heavier and slightly larger dress than normal, that the tape continue down the back side of the dress for at least an inch. It is simpler to reinforce or bolster something weak rather than fixing it if ever were to tear. And I think that tearing of the delicate little tabs would be bound to occur.

Step two:
Dressing the doll begins this time with her gown, of course. The veil tab may be attached at the very tip-top area. This can be glued behind the doll's hair, which is decorated to match it.

I'd like to suggest that the glue be most carefully applied. Glue stick would actually be my first choice here. The very top white portion above the flowers should be the ideal place to begin. Simply allow the plain gray long parts of the veil tab to drape at the back for further stability.

It is always best (unless otherwise suggested) to begin with a very small amount of glue at the very top of every headdress and hat offered in this collection when attaching hat or hair tabs.

I can hear the music starting now! Victoria must hurry in order to be ready to lead the way to the altar! They certainly don't want to keep everybody waiting, least of all dear Tom De Haven, Mercy's groom, do they?

Note: This project was actually started back in 2011. It is gratifying to see it now at last fully finished.
:)

PPSPlaytime™: Victoria's Bridesmaid Dress

Download HERE

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PPSPlaytime™: Cousin Mercy's Wedding Gown

Download HERE

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Credits:

NewYork Public Library image archives

nypl.org

There are certain copyright laws governing

 the use of some images there.

Consequently--

You are free to:

play with or give or trade these outfits

and their dolls.

You are not free to:

ever sell them for any reason.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Paper Doll Dressing Gown, Colors 1, 2 and 3

Victoria's Dressing Gown has a New Look now, too!

Victoria had this dressing gown a few years ago. While it did appear to fit the older look doll, with the updated New Look dolls, there was cause for a remodel. Once that was accomplished, I then played with color, and have found several new, pretty colors from which Paper Doll enthusiasts can now choose.

Let's begin with the first 3 New Look colors today. Later on this month, I will try to add the rest of the colors here in a new post.
please check with me at G+ or here with a comment, if you happen to have any questions.

The story behind dressing gowns in general may be summed up simply. Young ladies faced challenges during dressing time each day. Sometimes, the wealthier women of the era were known to change clothes several times a day, which is way they needed maids for that purpose. Houses were often chilly then, so a dressing gown was worn over underclothes as one put one's hair in order for the occasion.

In Victoria's case, there is much less fuss. She will dress for the day, as well as for dinner, and then change one more time before bed. For formal occasions, she is often given a pretty dress to wear. Her grandmother may dress grandly for special outings, and she enjoys fashion quite well enough. All the same, she has chosen to allow Victoria to have a greater interest in how to make her way in the world over and ahead of simply being a fashionable young lady.

Before Victoria are numerous heirs to her grandmother's moderate fortune. This has meant that either becoming well educated or marrying the right man are the two choices available for our young Victoria Lacey, for she will stand to inherit very little.

She has been guided by her grandmother into becoming well educated prior to even thinking of getting married. This is natural, for at Grandfather Lacey's sudden departure from this world, his wife was left with the bulk of his estate to take care of, a task which she had never been trained to perform. She wants things for her orphaned granddaughter which she herself had never been able to have as a young person. 

"An independent woman of refinement," she tells Victoria, "can make a living of her own, but it must be done in the just right way."

I like this dressing gown, for it is both practical and pretty. It now will be shown in the first 3 colors: Sapphire, Garnet and Emerald (which was the color of the first dressing gown of 4 years ago).

Oh--and please be sure to see her very own page in the task bar below this blog's banner. There are things in there that are about to be removed due to quality issues, but those are few and may soon be replaced with better quality clothes and fit for the doll.

Happy Playtime Creativity!

PPSPlaytime™: Victoria's New Look Dressing Gown

Download Sapphire Gown HERE

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Download Garnet Gown HERE

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Download NEW Look Emerald gown HERE

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You are free to:

play with any one or all of the items shown above.

You may likewise give them 

to family, friends, and so forth.

You are not free to:

ever sell them for any reason.

Thank you for helping me

to keep free things free! 

Free Scrapping Set: "Brown Paper Packages"

"Favorite Things"

This offering is all about a few favorite things as a set, offered for both Digital Scrapbooking and Print purposes.

A thunderstorm might make one think of the wonderful song from the musical, "The Sound of Music," wherein the main character, Fräulein Maria sings about how to get over upset and fear by recalling favorite things. Our Studio experienced more than one such storm here recently, forcing a complete shut down of all computer functions. But this helped to inspire us!

"...Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things." I actually do love brown paper, twine, thread, and stitching. I also have been known to collect old sewing and thread notions. 

Favorite things used in our design this time:
Antique books
Sewing Notions
Brown Paper
Twine
Buttons
Things from foreign places (everywhere from London to the Netherlands to France to Italy to as far away as possibly old Russia of the early 1900s as well as Japan was used to make our designs).

Our idea is to prepackage sets from time to time in order to give freely a few items that our guests might enjoy. We really do hope that you'll be able to have fun with our ideas this time!

Digital collage was used as the main medium, as per usual. Add to that one of our own in-Studio "Pretty Papers" in sepia tone, along with a few surprises along the way, and our gathering of objects and ideas began to fit together nicely.

Most of the buttons were made digitally from images of old manuscripts, all found online at Wikimedia Commons in the Pubic Domain section. That being said, we attribute wherever possible. One button's design (see the "Le Secret" button) would include page edges from an interesting image we found online there. Please see Pergamentmakulatur at Wikimedia Commons or that person's lovely old book image, in its entirety, HERE. This is where we found page edges for our one button design. Please attribute that artist's name in your work, but never sell.

Our thread card, marked "Artsilk" is in the Public Domain worldwide, as far as we have been able to determine. The mother-of-pearl buttons used on the same frame we scanned ourselves quite a while ago. In fact, it is safe to say that we have been playing with buttons in our designs for years, but seldom have used any in offerings here at PPS. The lower left button in the same design was likewise scanned, and is an old celluloid button from my own private collection. It was a common enough button during the early part of the 20th century. The sheet music used for the flower is also of PPS origin.

The old map of London, often used by us here before, offered us yet another opportunity to use its beautiful look in this design. It, too, is in the Public Domain, as are the rest of the remaining documents being used here today.

In other words, Please attribute our Studio in your work, as well as that of the Wikimedia artist mentioned above with your
Happy Creativity!
:)

PPS™ Favorite Things Set

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download JPG Version HERE

Display Copy 

(at lower resolution for display purposes only)

Other Credits:

ObsidianDawn.com for French Handwriting digital brush

Dezinaworld for some inspiration

You are free to:

use the above set in artwork for fun 

or profit, except the "Le Secret" button included in the set.

That button may be given or traded, but never sold,

if we are to be fair to the person providing the main image for it.

You are not free to:

repackage our designs for sale in any way.

This is our gift to you.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

Thank you.

A Gem of an Antique Postcard for September

We love a good postcard here at the Studio! And isn't this a beauty? I found this one at the local Antiques & Collectibles hotspot I've mentioned here before. Sorry about the lateness! It got forgotten during recent weeks, and was only just dug out of the archives for you. You know what they say--better late than never! ;)
Anyway, here it is. The reverse is so simple, and yet quite messy, that it really cannot be improved upon well enough for posting. We apologize for that as well. Later on in the month, we hope to offer you the rose vine border on its own, in our jewel tone set for you. 
For the bejeweled  lower portion, you can go HERE. Till then, we hope you'll enjoy its look as is.
Happy Creativity!
Rose

Antique Postcard for September

Download 400dpi Version HERE

Scanned imagery courtesy PPS Archives

Free for Public Domain Use

You are free to:

make art with this image for either sale or personal use.

You are not free to:

repackage it for sale in any way.

Please respect our gift to the public.

Thank you.

Seeing Double: A Young Musicians Club Rehearses

Hi, all. This time, we thought there should be a departure from the past month's activity here at PPS, and so it has been decided to post our stereoscopic photo of our young gentlemen below. The details are so much fun!
This particular offering came by way of the local Antiques Mall where they offer loads of yummy, fun things crying out to be posted for your use. Despite its beat up condition, I love this one especially. I found the subject matter irresistible!
I know of not one young fellow their age today who'd be willing to wear those striped stockings with short trousers! LOL I think most of us would agree that had to be less than comfy, certainly less than fun to knock about the old schoolyard in. Dollars to donuts, their clothes were predominantly made of woolen fabric. In those days, often this would have been the case--for stockings as well!
Anyway, I hope you'll find this fun new doubletake easy to use in a wide variety of projects.
Happy Creativity!
Rose

Stereoscopic Photo: "The Band Rehearsal"

Downloadable 400dpi Version HERE

Primary Scanned Image

Courtesy PPS Archives

Free for Public Domain Use

PPS Collage Freebie: Tickets & Tonic

There are bits of flotsam here at the Studio, so it was decided that another Collage Sheet was overdue. This one includes every spot, acid paper burn and messy appeal of things old and gnarly. The tickets here caught my eye more than the rest. But the homework notes portion, all rusty brown and toasty after 100 years in a drawer, is also, I think, quite usable.

It is hoped our readers may find lots of uses for any of our freebies. I plan to get some use out of this one, believe me! ;)

Happy Creativity!

Be kind--and please don't copy us. We offer our stock for free and hope you will accept that as the final say on how our sheets and separate images are put up online. 

Thanks so much

Rose

PPS Collage Sheet: "Tickets & Tonic"

Downloadable Version HERE

Scanned Imagery courtesy PPS Archives

Free for Public Domain Use

Postcard from 1916 Iowa: Paddling Her Own Canoe

Isn't this a fun bit of ephemera?
Our story on the postage side is a bit comical, in that "Mollie" has a request that her mother should remember to fetch her some new stockings, " size 9 1/2." :)
I love old messages on postcards. They take me on a journey to the times and attitudes of another century, when life was less about machines and more about people.
The pansies on our illustrated side signify thoughtfulness, while our canoe paddler is ready to take on more fun.
As is our habit, we offer both the old and the refreshed looks to both sides of our quaint little postcard. We hope our readers may find more than one use for each of the 4 images we offer this time.
Happy Summer Creative Fun!
Rose

Old Time Vacation Postcard

Illustrated Side--Refreshed

Downloadable Version HERE

Old Look

Downloadable Version HERE

Postage Side--Messy Look

Downloadable Version HERE

Postage Side--Refreshed

Downloadable Version HERE

Scanned Imagery courtesy PPS Archives

You are free to:

use the above images in your artwork, for fun or profit.

You are not free to:

repackage them in any way for sale.

Thank you for respecting the rights of the public.

Victorian Photo: Young Woman with an Outrageously Wonderful Hat

She was obviously ready to show herself to best advantage at the time this picture was taken. The lacy ruffles of her shoulder garment (a pelerine, if I'm correct here) is finely decked with all the trimmings, while her hat--a confection if there ever was one!--is really quite precious. Her hair looks more in the mode of, say, 1875 to maybe 1880, maybe later. Perhaps we can date her portrait from the bustle dress era.
I love her pert pose, the way the bonnet sits on the back of her head, along with that straight laced collar ruff up under her chin. 
As usual, we offer both versions of this item, the first being the somewhat renewed look, and the second with warts and all.
This is a favorite of mine. We enjoy the look of both versions, and hope you will too.
Happy Creativity!
Rose

Antique Victorian Portrait Photo of a Young Woman

All Cleaned Up

Downloadable Version HERE

Original Look

Downloadable Version HERE

Scanned Imagery courtesy PPS Archives

Free for Public Domain Use

Antique Postcard from Wales (with postmark)

This postcard has a lot of charm and makes me smile. Here is a young officer, probably part of the British Royal Navy, romancing his sweetheart by the sea. The lovely view, with the seagulls floating above the water, is truly refreshing, as is the loveliness of our young lady's person.
On our postage side is evidence of where this postcard came from, as well as where it got sent. Note the somewhat unusual postmark! And the stamp is quite fresh looking, despite its 104 years of age.
We're offering two versions of the illustrated side, along with the same of the postage side. We hope you will find plenty of reasons to use our postcard collection to its best advantage.
Happy Creativity!
Rose

A 1907 Postcard from Wales

Illustrated Side--Refreshed 

Downloadable Version HERE

Original Look

Downloadable Version HERE

Postage Side-Some Cleanup

Downloadable Version HERE

Original Look

Downloadable Version HERE

Scanned Imagery courtesy PPS Archives

You are free to:

make artwork for fun or profit with the above images.

You are not free to:

repackage them in any way for sale.

Please respect our gift to the public.

Thank you.

Victorian Botanical Art c. 1888: a Pitcher Plant

Harper's Readers are among my favorites for a feel of old time learning. In many cases, I think they were very intelligently compiled. Our chosen outtake for today's post is a lovelier one than I can remember, for the artwork is tasteful and refined.
Such engravings are harder to come by nowadays, and if you find one, it's best to snap it up for keeps. We did this about a year and a half ago at a local book sale. So now we're able to share all that wonderful ephemera with our readers! That's even more fun than finding the books we often refer to as "The Stash" or "The Archives."
We are, as per our usual habit here on PPS, including both our Original and Upgraded Looks. We hope you'll find plenty of uses for both.
Happy Creative Weekend, all!
Rose


FYI: We only pull apart things that won't otherwise scan for you, and then only as our team determines there is more value in a picture's use than in the book's overall value in its entirety. The book we are using for this post was a "second" in that it had been misbound, was tattered and had some writing in some of its margins. As a book, it wouldn't fetch more than $5 or so. (I think we paid all of $1.50 for it at that sale--a nice deal for our collectibles stash) But, as an archive addition, it makes for invaluable usage, wouldn't you say? ;)

Harper's Third Reader Pitcher Plant Study c. 1888

First Two Page Section

Downloadable Version HERE

Second Two Page Section

Downloadable Version HERE

Original Patina First Section

Downloadable Version HERE

Original Patina Second Section

Downloadable Version HERE

Scanned Imagery courtesy PPS Archives

Free for Public Domain Use

Please do not repackage for sale.

This is a gift for the public.

Thank you.