New Red Book Arts Set

A set with a background 2 ways

I've been playing around using Photoshop for years, and it's always an interesting experience for me. This time, I've created something just a touch different, and all for those who enjoy the paper arts of art journaling, book altering, crafting, scrapbooking, and so forth.

Presented in this post will be some different ways in which to use this set. For one thing, I've added a plain background that is altered from a photo I've taken of some fabric. This comes 2 ways, one for home printers that will print with no borders at all, and the other for a border of 1/4 of an inch all the way around the outside edge. 

This plain background is intended to color coordinate to the pattern in the antique red floral of the pockets and belts. This is shown on display with the rest of the set. The downloads for this plain background may be found below. Please select carefully prior to downloading.

The buckles (in 2 sizes this time) also have been coordinated to work within the same color theme.

I hope that you'll enjoy this new set with your
Happy Creativity!
:)

PPS™ Book Arts Set No. 7: Red Floral

Display

(download links below)

Download the Set HERE

Display version

(lower quality than the download)

Download the Background shown in the top display

With the Border HERE

and Without the Border HERE

You are free to:

use the items in this set

in art for fun or which is intended for sale.

You are not free to:

sell anything from this set in 

sets of your own.

Thank you

for respecting my free gifts

for the public's use.

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!

For the Harvest: a Free Illustration

A Free Harvest Graphic of Old Alsace

Isn't this an interesting taste of the world's past? Most people were farmers only a century or two ago. Then heavy industry was introduced, and mining became more of a concern so that metals could be had for the use of industrial machines. (This led to more coal mining, as well)

We have mainly forgotten some of the simpler joys of bringing our harvest in from the fields, as a personal "harvest" would appear to happen nearly every time that there is a new paycheck.

I respect the farming peoples of the world, as I do all working men and women. This old print will hopefully teach us a little history about the region of Alsace, along with their harvesting season. The woman with the rake is a favorite of mine, yet they all look interesting to me.

Alsace would later become a hotly contested area during two World Wars, during which times much history was lost due to the vagaries and ugliness of war.

Let's bring our Harvest in today with love and concern for our neighbors! And let's share the bounty with those less fortunate than ourselves as well.

Happy Harvest Creativity everybody!

PPS™Harvest Ephemera: Old Alsace

Download HERE

Display Copy 

(lower resolution than the download, unsuitable for printing)

You are free to:

use this graphic or illustration in art 

for either fun or for profit.

Let's allow free things to remain free!

Thank you.

Free Silk Floral Frames

Silk, Stone & Cinnabar Frames

From photo ephemera to finished product can take hours, days, or even weeks to accomplish. This one has taken a little time each day for several days in order to make a finished or at least somewhat useable product.

All items used were in the Public Domain, meaning copyright free. However, if my work is to maintain its integrity, I would very much like to keep this free for the public. 

Both online and off, a decent free image can be a very difficult item to either find or be able to use. (Most of the ones offered via download here at PPS are 300dpi or 300px. That's a setting of 300 pixels per square inch.) 

Below, you will see how I have offered the basis of lovely floral and butterfly silk embroidery, along with jade dragon "buckles," turned now into buttons, a cinnabar or lacquerware plate, and a carved ivory chrysanthemum flower. The frames may be freely decorated using the accessories I've added, or with anything else that might suit a person's fancy. All of it has a refined Asian flavor which I personally really do enjoy. The satin stitch can be quite a challenge for me, and so I view each embroidery stitch involved with a keen eye and a healthy amount of respect.

The colors have been refreshed a little bit on each item in this little set, and then made to fit the color scheme as a whole. This should print well enough as a JPG, yet also offered is a set in traditional Digital PNG format for the Digi Scrapping crowd. (Please see the links below)

I do hope that you will enjoy this Chinese journey with your
Happy Creativity!

NOTE: As usual, I have used half inch borders on all four sides. An even narrower margin could work even better for you.

PPSDigiScrap™ Set: Silk and Cinnabar

Download Digi PNG HERE

Download JPG Print Version HERE

Display Copy Below (Not for print)

You are free to:

use any of the above frames or accessories

in artwork for fun or for profit.

You are not free to:

repackage or redistribute items from this set as offered here

for the purposes of selling them.

Please respect our gifts for the public's private use.

Thank you.

Free Swimming Graphic

Let's go swimming today!

Here is an old swimming graphic from 1890's France. It's been altered somewhat in order to make it hopefully a little more usable than before. The original was a bit messy, and so needed cleaning up and freshening.

It may well be that this was considered a slightly bawdy cartoon in its day, but we will never know, as jokes do change through time.

I love to look at all of the fashions that they wore! But would we be comfortable wearing such outfits today? Believe it or not, they were mostly made of knitted worsted wool. That must have been an itchy and very warm experience indeed. I actually was once able to closely observe a man's swimming suit from the very early 1900's and, while it had been cleverly constructed, it looked very uncomfortable to my modern eyes. But then, most modern day clothing frees our bodies and most nineteenth century clothing was extremely confining.

I think that today we'd all much prefer our modern cottons with stretchy spandex or latex to those old "bathing costumes," don't you?

But no matter. Let's all enjoy today's swimming lesson with our

Happy Creativity!

1890's French Swimming Graphic

Download HERE

You are free to:

Use the above graphic in artwork for fun or for profit.

You are not free to take the credit for our processing of this item

by repackaging it for sale in any way.

Please respect our copyrights and those of others.

Likewise

please respect our gifts for the public's use.

Thank you.

Plush Possum Studio

Travels Abroad with Twitter! 

CORRECTION: We will need to re-vamp this design and post it in a corrected and usable form, for Twitter's new ideal is to have everybody's main page look very much the same. As we hadn't been blogging, much less Tweeting, for years and therefore had not heard of this before, I want to apologize on behalf of the Studio for any confusion that may have been caused.
We will test via trial and error means, any and all options with Twitter prior to posting any further items in this category.

For those of you who are about to travel this summer, we thought it might be fun for you if you would be able to Tweet in a themed way about your travels.

In our first Twitter series for quite some time, we've chosen to use that as our theme. Our first destination today will be Ireland, offered here for your use while Tweeting. (Note: None of our work may be sold anywhere for any reason without our express written permission. Just thought it might need saying again.)

Most, if not all, of our work has parts to it that have been offered for free use to anybody, although not for sale. This offering is no different. Credits will be listed with links below.

Choosing just the right background color to surround one's Twitter page can be a tricky problem. Not to worry. We've already figured all of that out for you.

This Twitter background was based in the following RGB color: #196c1B
Anything lighter might look funny.

Please follow the link below, then choose the Download arrow icon.

Enjoy your Tweets and travels with your
Happy Creativity!

HERE

Credits

Digital Brushes: (SSCeltic Vectors) from www.obsidiandawn.com

Wikimedia Images:

"Eire" Stamp: Uploaded by: Ww2censor - (scan by Heinz Günter Grünz with permission to use as copyright has expired) to be found HERE

Old Danegeld Coin: Scanned from the german history magazine Der Spiegel Geschichte (6/2010): Die Wikinger - Krieger mit Kultur: Das Leben der Nordmänner. Spiegel-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg 2010, p.71 to be found HERE

Irish 9 Shilling Postal Order: author is Minister for Posts and Telegraphs found HERE

Irish Clover: (this has a Wikimedia GNU License, free but with a few rules to follow--so please scroll down from that image to read the license there) HERE

Harp (altered by us): Image created by en: User:Djegan, based on Image:Ireland coa.png, using the official harp of the Republic of Ireland. HERE

The embossed scene (which we altered), lower left, was in a file of old freebies, the copyrights to which have long ago expired.

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you a boundlessly blissful and peaceful 2012 with health and good cheer from beginning to end.
Today's offering comes two ways, one with a greeting, and the other that is blank for your own greetings and good wishes.

This is not a raw image. 
By that I mean that I have not simply found it and then changed the banner that hangs from the horn. This took hours for me to clean and make ready so that you might have a better version of it. Please see the Guidelines that are written in red that are located beneath the pictures. Thank you.

Victorian Lady Dressed as a Fairy

With the Greeting

Download 300dpi Version HERE

Without the Greeting

Download 300dpi Version HERE

Credits: Original 1890's image (prior to our fiddling) from

the New York Public Library at nypl.org

You are free to: 
Use these items in your artwork that is either 
for giving or to be sold. 
You are not free to:
repackage this item and sell it on its own or as a part of a set.
This is not a raw image.
It took many hours for me to make it as usable as it is now.
Thank you 
for helping me to 
keep free things free!

ColorMe™Page: A Princess of India

It's fun to think of the holidays ahead as working with Mom's schedule and allowing more family fun time, but we all know how that can sometimes not work out as we'd hoped. ;)

From now, through the rest of our holiday season, we at PPS hope to offer moms a break or two in the way of activities, and which kids can do on their own or with little, if any, help.

The first of these offerings is today's ColorMe™Page. It is out of an old volume of childrens' stories of India.

While I don't pretend to know just what her story is, she is rather special, seated on her lovely elephant throne overlooking her palace, isn't she? I find her charming. She looks a little wistful, somehow, sad and quiet. Yet the night sky is showing such a lovely display. The crescent moon is on the rise, and her seat overlooks the water where she can see it reflected.

We hope your kids find plenty of reasons to go out and play during wintry weather, but if they won't always be able to, perhaps a few freebies here may help ease their boredom.
For more fun posts like this one, check out the offerings in this category HERE, and in our Family Fun category HERE.

Happy Holiday Creativity, all!

Rose

A Princess of India ColorMe™Page

Downloadable Version HERE

You are free to:
Use this item however you choose, just not for sale. It belongs to the public and should remain so.
With one exception: You may choose to use this in some genuine artwork for sale on the web and/or in public. 
Thanks.

Steampunk Mask Blanks

Well, you can never have too much Steampunk--not if you're this possum, anyway! Our thoughts have turned to travel lately, from a standpoint of our favorite theme. To add to our selection of masks for your use this time (or anytime) of year, the obvious conclusion was to think in terms of travels abroad, especially by air. 
For what Steampunker would be without her or his own flash airship? One certainly must be able to gauge where one is headed if aloft, then. And to add to the experience, we began to explore antique maps online for more inspiration.
Not only that, but one of our marble paper colors, sepia to be exact, looked so right in with these two sets, it was almost a given it belonged.
You'll note how, once again, we are relying on a large scale sheet as printing surface, that of 11" by 17", or standard Ledger Size in U.S. terms. Most U.S. printers may handle almost any format no broader than 11", so most of our visitors will find it easily printable, given the correct sheets of paper.
We also recommend that these be backed by either a stronger paper such as a semi flexible card stock, or with fabric of a smooth texture and fine grain prior to threading string/ribbons/yarn/what have you through the holes at either temple.
The possibilities here strike me. One might add, perhaps,  paper cogs or rusty metal machine parts , watch parts, little bits of ephemera or music box parts, then maybe add a few details from our cogged gems set, all to make a unique display of one's own.
Anyway, you get the intent with your--
Happy Creativity!
Rose

NOTE:

These masks are never to be repackaged for sale. 
You may use them, for free, but you must never sell 
any of them for any reason. 
I have exclusive copyrights to their final design. 
The same applies to all of my party accessories.

It's simply the LAW (that is a link).

In other words, my pre-packaged work, my Steampunk party accessories included, is not for sale, and is never meant to be, and this carries over into the choices which you, 
my guests here at PPS, are allowed to make by law.
All of the party accessories took many, many hours of painstaking work, so I would like it if you would only share and attribute 
(with links, please, back to the source, which is right here), 
and never repackage for sale, any of my work.

While parts of my work still come from copyright free sources, some do come with Licenses to copy and use, 
but never to sell for any reason, in any way, shape or form. 
I may be free to use them, but would never abuse that privilege.

Plush Possum Studio will continue 
to uphold the copyrights of others.

Thank you for joining me in doing so.

Steampunk Mask Blanks

Set One

Download JPG Print Version HERE

Set Two


Download JPG Print Version HERE

Credits: Original Antique imagery from
the New York Public Library digiatl collections
at nypl.org
Also, Wiki commons

Steampunk Party Mask for Ladies

Well, it's about time, if you ask this possum, for our ladies to enjoy their first Steampunked mask. We took great pains to differentiate this one from her counterpart from two posts ago. In doing so, we gave our gal some special decorative touches with a bit of feminine flair.
We hope you like her veiled top hat and winged clock, along with the French map which frames her eyes.
You'll notice her format is the same as for her heart's desire, 11" by 17", otherwise known in the states as "Ledger Sized." Once again, there is a 1/2" margin at both side edges. Do bear that in mind if you choose to print this one.
As for me, I guess I cannot choose which one of the two to favor.
Please recall how it's better to back anything made with paper with at least one layer of heavier yet flexible material such as card stock. To reinforce those string holes on the face portion is also best.
While you're at it, you may want to check into the rest of our Steampunk Category. 
We're adding some geared-up gramophone music at the end of this post for your listening pleasure.
Thanks for stopping by and--
Happy Creativity!
Rose

NOTE:

These masks are never to be repackaged for sale. You may use them, for free, and even embellish them your way, but you may never sell them. We have exclusive copyrights to their final design. However, their design includes certain elements and Digital Brushes (not owned by us) that we have pledged never to sell in any form, no matter how updated, re-made or altered our design team may make them.

It's simply the LAW (that is a link).

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

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.

We are free to use them, but would not abuse that privilege.

We at Plush Possum Studio will uphold the copyrights of others to the best of our ability.

Thank you for joining us in doing so.

Printable Steampunked Mask for Ladies

Download 11" by 17" Legal Document Sized Printable Version HERE

CREDITS
Digital Brushes used in the design process of this mask are from
Obsidian Dawn and nelchee.

Credits: Original Antique imagery (prior to our fiddling) from
the New york Public Library at nypl.org
Also, WIki Commons

Steampunk Party Mask for Gents

Isn't he a dapper fellow, this top hat wearing Steampunked man? He's obviously been seeing the sights of both London (after all, the facial part of his mask is cut from an antique map of London, England) and Paris--even to a hot air balloon ride high above the Tuileries, and perhaps to a rendezvous at Maxim's or for midnight cocktails at the Moulin Rouge.
I can imagine him spending an evening with friends at London's Savoy Theatre, then donning his goggles and greatcoat, and climbing aboard his very own dirigible the next day to cross the Channel. 
As a last minute choice for a costume, gents might consider wearing the cutaway coat or tails and tie from their wedding, along with this mask. With a few added details, such as a watch and chain or facsimile, a pair of gloves, and perhaps a different necktie reminiscent of the era, and any gent would have his costume locked, loaded, and ready! A walking stick might complete the outfit, giving it some added dash. 
And for those of you really into some flash wear, HERE is a nice tutorial on how to make some spats to really Steampunk yourself! 
It might be suggestible here to note that I offer collage sheets in the Steampunk Category which might  do well for a little added flair via iron-on print-outs of any of the collage sheets we offer. These could then be assembled as per the Wiki How tutorial, for a real knock-out of an outfit!
I'd like to remind any of you interested that this offering is sized much as some of the previously offered masks are, for an 11" by 17" sized sheet of printer paper. That's Ledger size here in the states. It has a 1/2" border at its narrowest margin, so your settings for print should include this factor.
Also, it is obviously best to reinforce any paper mask before adding your strings to their holes at both edges. I'd like to recommend card stock or any other lightweight card, but some of you may wish to back it with stiff fabric, or even iron it onto some smooth finished cloth with backing for stiffener. OR ironing it onto cloth (as in a printable iron on transfer process), followed by your choice of stiffened backing. Buckram might do nicely for either cloth or paper, as it's often used in mask making.
For more ways to make party fun more affordably unique in style, you can view the rest of the PPSPartyGear™category HERE.

Happy Creativity!
Rose

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. However, their design includes certain elements and Digital Brushes (not owned by me) that I have pledged never to sell in any form, no matter how updated, re-made or altered our design team may make them.

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 are free to use them, but would not abuse that privilege.

Plush Possum Studio will uphold the copyrights of others 
wherever possible.

Thank you for joining me in doing so.

Printable Party Mask for Steampunked Gentlemen

Download our 300dpi 11" by 17" Version HERE

CREDITS
All brushes used in the production of this item come from
Obsidian Dawn

Credits: Original Antique imagery (prior to my work) from
the New York Public Library at nypl.org
Also, Wikimedia Commons

Steampunk ATC Backgrounds: Town & Country

Who can ever have too much Steampunk? Not this possum! 
Included in our post for you today there are several city scenes, along with two country views. For our visitors with a yen for things French, you'll find two views on Paris. We also include one view on Berlin, along with two USA views.
These will hopefully lend themselves well to creating ATCs for trade or for keeps.
More than once, I've found myself wishing I had just the right outdoor view to build on, and I know I'm not alone in this. The Berlin one looks to me as if it might lend itself well to an aerial view, as in a dirigible or two, while our lovely view of the Rhein at Mainz in Germany gives oodles of room to play around in.
And I love the old Brownstone mansion with its wide boulevard--obviously in its brand new setting of Victorian elegance (a then new suburb of NYC, perhaps?). The Paris view above it is of a street scene adjacent to the Comédie Française. Perhaps they have a stage play by famous playwright Moliére running?
For more in our Steampunk Category, you can go HERE.
I love all these scenes, actually, and I hope you will too. Enjoy your weekend ahead and--
Happy Creativity!
Rose

Steampunk Town & Country ATC Six Pack

Downloadable Version HERE

CREDITS
All digital brushes used in the production of
this post come from Obsidian Dawn.


Credits: Original Antique imagery (prior to our fixing) from
the New york Public Library at nypl.org
Alos, WIki Commons

Primary Color Fun With Ethnic Flavor!

We're following the Gingersnap Creations team's Primary Colors Challenge again today--and in a whole new way. This time, we're headed for a spicier part of the globe, India, for our design patterning, using digital brushes made by Obsidian Dawn as well as our main theme's brushes by iNDOdREAMIN. The latter has some amazing design concepts working for him, so be sure to follow his link for a quick look around. Obsidian Dawn's work you may have visited already, but it doesn't hurt to check into the latest there as well. They offer some of the best brushes our Studio uses. So do check them out.
I love Indian clothing, food and architecture, and so this was a true labor of love. Bring on the color!

This will be a lengthier post than some, comprised of two different posts in one. There are three ways you can go with our 8.5" by 11"collage background sheets, plus we have a set of ATC mini frames with our block print style patterning, but in the same triad of primaries, that of red, yellow, and true blue. These have been given a grey toned backing in the Print JPG for ease with cutting.

You'll notice we also provide our DigiScrap crowd with a PNG version to our ATC frames this time. Hands-On artisans can go for the same frames in our JPG Print version.

For more possibilities in this same color combo, you can go HERE and HERE.

Also, if you're new to us, and haven't had the time before to try out other areas of this blog, you'll find that we are equipped to handle a whole variety of your imagery needs. Our Categories List has grown over the last several months to include many different ideas, along with lots of unusual images for your use. You'll find that list in our Top Tool Bar, just under the Banner, but likewise in the left hand sidebar. We hope you'll find what you're looking for, but if not, give us a shout and we'll see what we can find for you.

And thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Happy Creativity!

Rose

Primary Ethnic Flavor

PPSCollageMeAColor™ Backgrounds

"Lal Mirchi" Flavor

Download 300dpi Version HERE

"Garam Masala" Flavor

Download 300dpi Version HERE

"Zaafraan" Flavor

Download 300dpi Version HERE

PPSATC™ Frame Set

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download JPG Print Version HERE

You are free to:
make art with these images for your personal use.
You are not free to:
sell them either in artwork made by you or as a repackaged set.
The brushes used in the making of these items do not belong to us.For your own license to use any of the brushes included in our designs here for the purpose of turning a profit, follow the links and communicate with the author of each brush.
Thank you for respecting others' work and rights.

Final Post for Steampunk Month!

Hi, all. It's about 11:30 here on a Sunday morning, and I'm relaxing and thinking about our new month just around the corner.
In our final tribute to this month's theme over at Gingersnap Creations, we offer 3 different sets with an edge on travel, steam style.
It's been a lot of fun, following along and keeping with our theme. I'm almost sad to let it go for a while. But, with so many new ideas, themes and fun projects to inspire me always coming to the fore in our blogosphere, I'm guaranteed of a good time year round even without Steampunking it up.
Time to bid adieu to Mona and her fab getup. We may see her lurking here a time or three before the year's end, just maybe not attired in so steam powered a manner. I love goofing on Mona! Hope you do too. ;)
Below, you'll note that, as before in our series, we've included more than one format to choose from. Our PNG sets are for strictly digital use (although they may still print, who can say), while our JPG Downloads are more easily accessed for hands-on style uses. 
Those of you who are new to us may wish to note here how our display versions (the ones you see here) are not only inferior to those Downloads available, but they aren't even print-worthy. We like to urge our readers always to choose for the higher quality versions we offer. This means you'll not only get the clarity of our best versions, but you hopefully won't be disappointed, either.
We generally set to scan at 300dpi, while the display versions on our blog are generally set at 96dpi (or our shorthand for it, "96PX"). This is calculated to make certain we aren't using too many KBs of our online storage.  Just a general heads-up so everyone will be on the same page.
Hope you're having a grand time Steampunking it with us. I've personally had enough fun to want to play with our Steampunk style all year long.
Happy Creativity!
Rose

NOTE:
These sets was not pre-packaged when we found them. In fact, it took weeks of searching and then processing and cleaning up to make of these sets our finished products.
We would never sell anything which you, our guests, had not given us permission to sell, and we ask that that same courtesy be given to us in return.
Otherwise, a theft would occur, or friends part ways. These sets may not seem all that valuable, but they do belong to our Studio, in that they were processed for months before being offered here for your use.
Free of charge.
Please be mindful of others' copyrights.
Thank you.


Steampunk Travel Sets

Set One

Download PPSDigiScrap™ 12" by 12" PNG Version HERE

Download Regular Set in JPG format HERE

Set 2

Download Digital PNG Format Version HERE

Download Print Version JPG HERE

Set Three

Download Digi PNG Version HERE

Download Print Version JPG HERE

Credits: Images--Public Domain
Altering of same--PPS



Credits: Original Antique imagery (prior to our fiddling) from
the New york Public Library at nypl.org
Also, Wikimedia Commons

Steampunk ATC Background Freebies

Here's more Steampunk for you today!
This time, we did a shrink-to-fit job with our earlier post's image to make a set of 4 ATC Backgrounds.
Time to have some fun arting them up for trading!
Happy Creativity!
Rose

Steamy ATC Background Set

Downloadable Print Format Version HERE

All Digital Brushes this post: Obsidian Dawn

Map image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Fiddling Courtesy PPS

You are free to:

make art for fun with our ATC backgrounds

You are not free to:

repackage them for sale in any way.

Please respect our gifts for the public's use.

(Also, with ATCs, there are no sales, as they are meant to be traded, and never sold)

Thank you