Antique Coffee Botanical Graphic

Coffee, anyone...?

Still really overloaded with things to take care of in my private life. Sorry I haven't been around here much lately.

Public Domain:
This one has had to be updated by me a fair amount, so please credit me for it if you use it in art that is to be published online whether for sale or for leisure. Thanks!

Happy coffee time creativity!

PPS™ Antique Coffee Botanical Graphic

Download HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

An 18th Century Coloring Page

A lady stays at home with her little bird.

In this quiet scene, a fairly affluent home is depicted, one refined in taste enough  for some fine furnishings. A lady sits alone with her bird. There is sun in the window, and we can almost make out the landscape painting that hangs on her wall.

She sits in her parlor, dressed rather informally for a quiet time alone. She is wearing a wrap of some sort over what appears to be a set of stays and a long skirt of some sort. It is hard to tell exactly how she is dressed here, but it hardly matters.

She is holding a very special and costly item on her lap, a music box of some sort. This lovely object is being used like a prompt in order to teach her little caged bird a tune to sing.

Despite a few quality issues, I've decided to offer this image for free and to keep it in the Public Domain. It seems to me that such an image might be hand tinted using watercolors. That is, once it's been adhered securely enough to watercolor paper first. Alternatively, colored pencils might be just the thing--or maybe pan pastels. Crayons of any sort might work nicely as well.

Happy Coloring Creativity!

PPSColorMe™: A French Lady 

Teaches Her Bird a Tune

Download Black and White version HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Sepia version HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

These 2 versions

of the same illustration

are free and in the Public Domain.

Enjoy!

:)

Irish Computer Wallpaper

The wearing of the green can include your computer with this new Computer Desktop Wallpaper.

Now, if this design looks somewhat familiar, that's because it is. The same design may be found in a previous Twitter background design--which, as far as I can tell, is no longer truly usable over at Twitter due to a change in their format. 

I've converted it and even updated it a little bit, changing its dimensions to match the average desktop or laptop computer screen. That would be 1280 pixels wide by 1024 pixels in height.

Please note that all digital brushes used for this design are from www.obsidiandawn.com. It's free for use, yet may never be sold, as per me, the creator of this design. Thank you for cooperating.

Some of my roots go way back, into several parts of Irish history. That would be on my mother's side. We're from literally all over the place there. The main branch that we so far have researched were among the Irish Quakers.

I like many shades of green, for green is literally my very best color. I also enjoy the rest of the color wheel, but green will always remain my main favorite for clothing, etc. I am actually wearing that color today!
:)

Thank you for stopping by with your
Happy Creativity!

PPS™ Irish Computer Desktop Wallpaper

Download HERE

Display version

(slightly lower quality than the download)

Spring Garden Goes French Country

Celebrate spring's arrival with frills, lace, French style fabric and a rare antique buckle !

Last time, I used a digital brush in order to create my chosen lacy look. This time, it was a Photoshop pattern, one made by babypink (name is a link) over at Brusheezy. The copyright for the Lace pattern (entitled, "Spetts") is as follows: "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. You may redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon this work even for commercial reasons, as long as you credit this artist by linking back."

Thank you for honoring those terms for both babypink and myself.
Please observe the red letter Guidelines at the base of this post. Thank you.

Other important credits include the trim for the brand new style of belt. The central daisy motif and scalloped trim are both from a pretty and useful digital brush collection that was created by MelsBrushes.

The new button design is a remake of an antique one from a free image that I found. The white silhouette on it was cut quite small, and is very fine in every detail, so of course it simply had to be used for the set! The buckle is actually a very old brooch made of special caned, dual colored striped glass and paste "diamonds." I just love how glitzy it looks, don't you? By all means, let's celebrate spring with a little bit of bling!
:)

I really enjoyed the design process of this set. It seems that for every single design project, I always do learn something more about what digital artwork can do.

I hope that you will enjoy this new set with your~
Happy Creativity!

PPS™ Spring Garden Collection: French 

Countryside in Green

Display Example:

Download Set HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Vertical Lace Background HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Horizontal Lace Background HERE

(Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Please see Credits in the first and third paragraphs above.

You are free to:

use the Photo Corners shown above

in art and crafting projects

that may be either given or sold.

If you sell, please give credit to 

www.plushpossumstudio.blogspot.com

You are not free to:

ever sell items from this set in sets of your own.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Hot Cocoa Cups for Coloring & Crafting

Hot Chocolate, Anyone?

Aren't these lovely old cups pretty? I like this graphic set of cups very much. It has been changed significantly to make it print ready. It really needed a fair amount of cleaning up. Please see the red letter Guidelines at the bottom of this post. Thank you.

I've added a second color choice for those who like brown tones. This might make a fun coloring project with clear colors or pencils.

Happy Colder Weather Creativity!

PPSColorMe™Hot Cocoa Cups

Download Black andWhite version HERE

Display

(lower quality than the download)

Download Cocoa Brown version HERE

Display

(lower quality than the download)

You are free to:

use either or both of

the above cocoa cup graphics

in art for either fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

ever sell these as they are here

either singly or in sets.

Thank you for helping me to 

keep free things free!

Book Artists Set #6

If the shoe won't fit....
....make art with it! Both shoes in today's set have matching marble collage pages, one of each color. You'll notice, of course, how their colors would also go nicely with yesterday's Tag Sets, found at this link HERE.

In other words, today's finishing post includes Digital PNG and Print JPG versions of the Accessory Set, plus one page each of the pretty marble paper in the matching color way. So now you may use any one of the components in this collection for either gift wrap purposes and/or for your book design.

Please read the red letter Guidelines below before use. Thank you.

Included here is also a link to a fun freebie site called Mirkwood Designs. At the site may be found a number of fun and pretty templates for making fancy and special paper boxes, etc. There are also Instructions there, and these are free as well.
You are allowed to sell whatever you make using Mirkwood Designs' template collection, although you may not sell the artist's templates as is. Ruthann Zaroff has been very generous with her gifts of many multi use templates there at her site, so let's be generous in return by being fair to her. (NOTE: You are not required to donate to the site, although perhaps a few dollars might help Ruthann's site to keep supplying the public with free, fun design ideas and items)

For a shortcut to her Template page, you may follow the link HERE. Personally, I like her little gift boxes best of all, although her envelope collection and her ATC templates are really quite nice, too.

Happy Gift-giving Creativity!

PPS™ Accessories for Book Artists No. 6

Download Digi PNG HERE

Download for Print JPG HERE

Display version 1

(lower quality than the download)

Display version 2

(lower quality than the download)

Download Green Marble Collage Page HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Red Marble Collage Page HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

You are free to:

use the above Accessory Set in art

that is to be sold or kept by you.

You are not free to:

ever sell the set or any of its items

for any reason as a set or as parts of a set.

The Marble Papers are to be treated in the same way.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Book Artist Accessory Set No. 5

Wintertime Accessories for Book Artists, Crafters, and Digi Scrappers!

I am dreaming of a warming fireside and a lovely, steaming cup of homemade hot chocolate. While I was assembling this set, my thoughts kept drifting towards a moment of enjoying just such a treat. I can't think why, other than that the wintry theme of the colors and the snow scene with the lady in her little private sled or sleigh took my thoughts toward chocolate.

Shown below will be two versions, one of the set itself, and the other with some suggested uses for the set. Provided are two different choices for my creative friends: Digital PNG and Print JPG. Both downloads are completely free, although I do request that these never be sold as a set or broken up for use in separate sets.
Thank you.

Happy Wintertime Creativity!

PPS™ Accessories for Book Artists Set No. 5

Download Digi PNG version HERE

Download For Print JPG HERE

Display version 1

(set as it comes)

Display version 2

(suggested use for items from the set)

You are free to:

use the above set in art for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

ever sell any of the elements from this set

in sets of your own

or as a whole set.

Thank you 

for helping me to

keep free things free!

Jane Austen Celebration: Regency On Ice!

3 Regency Era Illustrations in Color!

The Regency era lasted over many years, from 1795 to 1837. The more formal term for The Regency has other dates: from 1820 to 1837.

Let us be informal today! That would be my excuse for including a late 1700's item in this post. I do hope that no one will mind.
:)

The first of the 3 is a lively ice skating scene. Second is a silly one about icy roads, lanes and walkways, "Slippy Weather." (yes, you read that correctly--"slippy," and not slippery). Third and last is another, earlier illustration showing ice skating, likewise in color.

I've resized them as well as fixed a few flaws. They are fun to look at, so this was no chore.

Happy Regency Wintertime fun!--and mind the "slippy" conditions out there!

PPS™ Regency on Ice

Download Skaters 1 HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Slippy Weather HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download Skaters 2 HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

You are free to:

use the above images in art for fun or for profit.

They are all 3 in the Public Domain!

Free Accessories for Book Artists #4

More Free Images for Book Artists!

This time, the Studio's blog will be offering guests one more opportunity to use some of the previously found items for artwork, crafting, and so on. A number of the things you'll be seeing in months to come had been in the Studio's archives for years. 

Below, you'll see the first in a series of lace items, along with a new fan, some different buttons, and two examples of ways to use this little set. 

The set is available in both Digi PNG format and in for print JPG format. Please read our red letters below the following images for our guidelines as to free and fair use.

I'm mixing eras in our (2) examples this time, so that you'll see just how much fun such a mixing technique this can be. Eighteenth, nineteenth and even twentieth century things will be shown. I suppose we can liken it to mixed media artwork, in a way, can't we?
:)

Some of the buttons are from an old nineteenth century French map, one that I've used before in other work. I think that they turned out fairly well, all things considered. The other style of button, an eighteenth century one, needed just a bit of touch-up prior to being used, as it was looking a bit untidy and even rumpled. Once its looks had been restored, it seemed to make a nice contrasting color look to the cravat lace "pocket," which I've also cleaned up and altered for you.

As for the fan, can I just say that it was a case for me of love at first sight? This required several different types of cleaning and refurbishing, initially. I'm so glad that it was available for use today.

Once again, please read our red guidelines below. Thank you so much for stopping by with your
Happy Creativity!

PPS™ Accessory Set for Book Artists #4:

Lace Cravat, Fan & Buttons

Example A

(a lower resolution picture, unfit for printing, 

and also copyrighted by us)

Example B

Download the following Set in Digi PNG version HERE

Download JPG For Print version HERE

Here is what our new set looks like:

You are free to:

use any of the images in this set in art for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

sell any of these images as they are

in sets which you've made yourselves.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

Let's keep free things free!

Thank you.

Free Accessories for Book Artists #3

Book Artist Accessory Set #3: Buckles, Trim, Buttons & Ribbon

This new set is actually a combination of ideas, eras, and prior creations. The vintage trim was scanned in years ago; likewise our wee little buckle, now offered in more than one color way and more than one size. Both trim and buckle were found on various shopping trips here and there. I just can't resist a good flea market or antiques mall, can you?
:)

All of this is copyrighted, of course, so please read our red letter guidelines below.

The buckle is from the first part of the twentieth century. The embroidered buttons, as mentioned previously, are from the eighteenth century. The cloth is also from the eighteenth century. It's a favorite era of mine. The cloth buttons are all faux or fake, made using Photoshop processes. These were fun to make!

The pocket flap is actually the way most pockets did look at one point in the eighteenth century, when even shoulder seams were cut in a different way. I love the embroidery on the pocket flap, including all of the colors used. 

The lace in the Example (fist image below) is actually a digital brush. No credits may be added for that one, but it most likely came from the Brusheezy website. Simply go to Brusheezy.com and type into their search window the word, "lace." (I tried looking for it but without success) They have some lovely free things there. Obsidiandawn.com likewise has some refined lace brushes if you're into digital art making. That's a favorite place online for me personally, by the way.

Guidelines are listed in red below the following images.
Happy Creativity!
:)

PPS™ Accessory Set for Book Artists #3

Example Image

(lower resolution, not fit for print)

Download the following Set in Digi PNG version HERE

Download For JPG For Print version HERE

You are free to:

Use the images in this set for the purposes of art making

either for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

sell any one component of this set

in any sets of your own making.

Thank you

for helping me to

keep free things free!

More Free Accessories for Book Artists

When can a fan be a pocket?

The answer for any artist would have to be, "Anytime we want it to become one!"

Our new set actually has a history of having been started years ago, prior to our rather lengthy hiatus. It has been on hold for all of this time, but was found in the Studio archives only lately. The buttons, however, are a recent addition. The style of embroidery is similar in tone, and so they seemed to go very well together for the set. We do hope that our guests will agree.

Once again, the first image may be looked at for an example as to how our image set could be used in Collage, Decoupage, Book Arts, Scrapbooking (digital or with glue), and general crafting. It is a lower resolution image, intended for display purposes only, and therefore would not print very well. It is also copyrighted, as a design, by the Studio, although we really do not mind it being used to suggest new ideas for our friends and guests online.
:)

Quite frankly, I see scrapbookers making very fine, artist quality work all of the time. Some of the things I keep finding online in the scrapbook world amaze me with their beauty, refinement, and sheer tour de force artistry. So all of you scrappers out there--I see you as artists. I want you to know that many of your books are just as artistic and refined as many of the fine art books I've seen in some galleries.

But my first love would have to be book design and book altering, along with art journals, collage, and general art making. I used to yearn for higher quality images to add to my supplies, and would hunt them down everywhere that I could think of.

Please note that this set began with online images that are within the Public Domain. However, any work involved makes this our baby, as it were. 

Please read the red letters below for our guidelines for use.
Happy Creativity!
:)

One Example of How to Use Our Set

Single Fan with Buttons Set

Download Digi PNG version HERE

Download For Print JPG version HERE

Download Set with 3 Sizes and Buttons in Digi PNG version HERE

Download Same Set in For Print JPG version HERE

You are free to:

use the included images in your own art making for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

sell them in sets which you have made.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

We thank you for your cooperation.

Let's keep free things free!

Free Accessories for Book Artists #1

Create a Pocket for your altered book with our NEW set

This set is all about book altering, art journals and visual journals, although I suppose even some scrapbooking fans might find some fun uses for today's design.

Personally, I've played around with books for years. I've altered several, and enjoy art journals very much. I've built pockets, pullouts, doors, and altered page poems, and even once joined in altered book shows. Today's digital art crowd may find this set especially useful, as it's been offered in both digital PNG and for print JPG formats.

The shoe had to be significantly altered, but the most work was put into refurbishing the man's waistcoat front. But the embroidery! Just imagine, my friends, how many days, weeks, or perhaps months of work it took to make such garments! Even now, it sends a shiver right through me.We left out both upper and lower tabs on the waistcoat fronts, as adding any of significant size would have crowded out part of the margin we like to use. I suppose our guests might choose to add some of their own. I also like the idea of using lace or pretty tape or just plain glue in place of a tab at top and bottom. We'll leave that up to our guests this time.
:)

Shown below, first in our line up of pictures, is but one example as to how this set might be utilized in the addition of pockets and small tucking places for altered books, art journals, or scrapbooks.

You'll notice our set might have come straight from the old courts of Versailles in France of the eighteenth century. However, in the example, we chose to mix centuries, combining the eighteenth, nineteenth, and finally early twentieth centuries in one single example. This was to offer suggestions on how to combine centuries within the same design. To allow the colors to do all of the talking made best sense.

So here it is, and I do hope this will be of some use. Please note the beige colored tabs attached to the embroidered waistcoat portions of our set. For those of us with print capabilities, the fold line is obvious between the tab and the waistcoat.

As for the pretty little shoe, the Studio's version simply cut away the shoe's interior. I think it looks tiny enough to actually fit Cinderella's foot, wouldn't you agree?
:)

I love the hand embroidered shank style buttons on the waistcoat, and so there are several offered in the set for you to play with in your art.

We hope to soon expand our Altered Book Accessories line for you. Quite frankly, it is a favorite of this PPS artisan.

The following work was built with Public Domain material, yet it is now no longer copyright free. The design belongs to Plush Possum Studio.

Please see the red letters below for our guidelines. We prefer to keep it free for our artist friends around the world.
Happy Creativity!

One Example of Our Set's Use

(for display purposes only and at lower resolution)

PPS™ Accessory Set for Book Artists

Download Digi PNG version HERE

Download JPG Print Version HERE

When using the print version, it is suggested that any paper used be either card stock or else reinforced by something sturdier than mere paper.

You are free to:

use the above set in your own art making

for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

make new sets using the above images for any reason.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

Please respect all copyrights.

Let's keep free things free!

Thank you.

Free Frames: Steampunk or Regular

Free Diamond Encrusted Frames

Which do you prefer here, our Steampunk version, or the Diamond Frame on its own? 

I've said it before, that we here at PPS™ really enjoy pleasing our guests. We've had some of this stuff hanging around the Studio for quite some time, and only just now are getting around to bringing it out for you. Our cache of goodies isn't vast, yet it can be fun to search the Studio's archives for new free gifts for the public.

The base for this is an 18th century miniature portrait frame. We added a few touches here and there, and removed the king's portrait from it. In the upper righthand corner of our Steampunk version, you may see a gauge from Dezinaworld's June (see her button for Dezinaworld 15 to the left of this post--it is a truly fun place to find wonderful image sets). We here have been big fans of June's for years.

The lower left corner has the face of an antique stopwatch (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain and fixed to fit), while above that we have our own watch face from Plush Possum stock. 

Lower right is another form of face, one familiar to anyone into dirigibles, or airships. Whoever tells me first who he was will win a handshake from yours truly and top honors from this Possum affiliate.
:)

The original antique frame is all hand tooled leather, and exquisitely made, with diamonds everywhere. It already had too much decoration as it was, and so of course, one step further became even more fun. We offer it here 3 ways, one in ATC size and in PNG as well as JPG formats (ATC size in PNG format only--sorry--yet these should print for you just fine).

The center portion is an irregular shape, and far from perfectly symmetrical. Other flaws are in the way in which a few of its diamonds are now no longer as intended. It's semi irregular in shape, obviously, and even a little bit crooked. All the same, it's a fascinating slice of the past, and I love it. 

For those of you with no interest in Steampunk, included here is the frame without any gadgets.

We hope you'll enjoy these frames in either style with your
Happy Creativity!

Diamond Studded Frame (Steampunked)

Download HERE

Digi PNG Version  HERE

Diamond Encrusted Leather Frame

Download HERE

Digi PNG Version HERE

ATC Size

Download PNG HERE

You are free to:

Use our frames in artwork for fun or profit.

You are not free to:

repackage them for sale in any way.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

Thank you.

For Mother's Day

Here's a bit of fun old ephemera for one of the best holidays ever.
Mother's Day is just around the corner, so it's time for a good old fashioned ephemera set to jump start those creative projects for Mom. I've combined several different eras, along with a fun font phrase, to make a single page, in both Digi and Print formats.
Hope you'll all find plenty of uses for the imagery chosen for this one.
So here's to the Moms of America!
Happy creativity!

Old Fashioned Mother's Day Set

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download For Print Version HERE

You are free to:
Use this in the creating of art for sale or personal use.
You are not free to: 
repackage this grouping and sell it as same. 
You may, however, find the original images I chose to include and make your own sets using them. Why? because every one of them is copyright free!
:)

NEW Party Mask Blanks for Fancy Dress Style & Decor

Grab your stash, and add what you will, for this fun project!

The fun thing about these masks is how versatile some may turn out to be. I love them all. Quite frankly, I'm thinking of creating my own wall display of 4 of these designs right here in the Studio's main headquarters.

As before, you'll note these are in the 11" by 17" Ledger Size (in U.S. terms) format. For those of you without any image manipulation software to use, this might be a tricky thing to print. I'd like to suggest trying your local office print shop, where a variety of formats can be had.

The Digi crowd will find I am including their favorite PNG downloads, while the Hands-On crowd may choose to go with the JPG Print ones.

There are two sets here, both utilizing old textiles, marquetry inlay patterning, a bas relief design, and a few other dainties for sophisticated mask designing.

And, as printer styles vary, and paper qualities do differ, I'm recommending your smoothest papers and/or card stocks. Please refer to the suggested construction techniques listed in my first Mask Blank post, or perhaps the special post on how Dezinaworld 15's June created hers. 

Happy Creativity!

NOTE:

These masks are never to be repackaged for sale. You may use them, for free, but you may never sell them. I have exclusive copyrights to their final design. 

It's simply the LAW (that is a link).

In other words, some parts of my work, my Steampunk party accessories included, are not completely mine.

While parts of them come from copyright free sources, some come with Licenses to copy and use, but never to sell for any reason, in any way, shape or form.

I am free to use them, but would not abuse that privilege.
In this particular case, nobody would be offended but Plush Possum Studio. That's because it took many, many long hours of work to get this set just right so that others would find it of use.

Plush Possum Studio will ever strive to uphold the 
copyrights of others. 

Thank you for joining me in 
keeping free things free!

PPSPartyGear™: Further Fun With Mask Blanks

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download JPG PRint Version HERE

Set Two

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download JPG Print Version HERE

Credits: Antique basis for these images (prior to our fiddling) from

the New york Public Library at nypl.org

Also from Wiki Commons