Hearts: Gifts from the Sea

Happy Valentines Day!

My gift of hearts for you.

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Driftwood...

Sea Glass...

Stones...

Love and beauty are found everywhere!

Have a wonderful day!

Edwardian Postcards: Grete Reinwald

Hello to all and happy Tuesday!

Prior to the start of the holiday season, I was doing a search on Etsy for Edwardian seasonal postcards featuring children. I happened upon quite a few of one particular little girl who was just beautiful, and wondering who she was, I finally found some that were labeled with her name.

She was Grete Reinwald (May 25, 1902 – May 24, 1983), a famous German child model when she was young, who then went on to become a stage and film actress. She had the sweetest face when she posed for the postcards, so I couldn't resist buying a few, seen below, and will hopefully use them in some future art pieces. I think you will agree that they are so pretty, and you may even already own some postcards with her on them.

You may find additional information about her on the internet, but I found a one-time blog post particularly informative, and you can read it here.

I love these and thought that they will make

some lovely Valentine Day's and spring, or Easter,

greeting cards...

These Christmas cards are stunning, I think.

Of course, I love the sepia-toned variety...

...but the hand-tinted ones,

with just a trace of color,

are also so lovely...

A real collector of post cards probably wants those

of the mint variety, with no writing on the back,

but I am partial to ones where I can see the

postmark and stamp,

not to mention the beautiful handwriting of those

who lived so long ago...

Though in the past I have not been a fan of some of the

Edwardian postcards because I thought the children

looked too "posed" and the coloring too fake,

this season I revised my opinion of some of them,

and treated myself to these few as a Christmas present to myself.

Have you bought anything new lately for your self?

If so, what was it, and how will you use it?

As ever, thanks so much for stopping by to visit.

Antique French Letters and Documents

Hello dear friends.


In my quest for beautiful materials to use in paper collage I discovered a lovely Etsy shop in Canada and purchased some of the prettiest antique French letters and documents that I currently own. They were waiting for me when I got back last week, and I was so glad that they were!

First of all, I could barely bring myself to open up this beautiful

packaging.

The seller must have taken so much time to cover this 

standard shipping envelope with such gorgeous collage work.

Even the postage stamps were chosen with such care.

(Pardon me for covering up the seller's and my adresses

with ugly sticky notes,

but you know how it goes on the internet!)...

I tried to capture in my photo that these items were all

glued onto the scripted background paper.

I hope that you can see that the hat is dimensional...

Even the back of the envelope had more ledger

paper on it,

along with pretty coordinating black and 

white striped washi tape to hold it all together...

  I very carefully cut opened the envelope to

remove the contents.

As you can imagine, I saved the envelope! 

And inside was the most beautiful collage material wrapped 

together as shown below

and tied with delicate twine.

A freebie postcard copy was on top,

with a thank-you written on back...

Do I love this beautiful bird-themed beauty?...

I had ordered two different sets,

and each was tied up separately...

I love the stunning blues of this one...

And the creamy color of  this set, 

along with the stunning blue stamps and postmarks.

They were all unusual in that the envelopes were

the outside parts of the letters themselves. 

Don't you love the gorgeous handwriting on them?

If you are interested in checking out this shop,

the link is here.

Will I ever use the originals of these in any kind of art?

Nope!!!

But I will make copies of them!

Have you found anything stunning lately?

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We will be heading up to The Nest shortly,
so you may not hear from me for a bit.
One of these days I will master posting from my cell phone or iPad.

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PS. Is there anyone besides me that finds that spacing after paragraphs
in Blogger has gotten wonky lately?

Pieces of Old: Beautiful Cutter Crazy Quilts

Hello to all!

If you follow this blog, you know that I collect cutter quilts. You likely know that because there are so many old quilts out there that are beyond repair or stained in certain spots, they are cut down so that they can be reused in some other creation.

Imagine my excitement when recently I saw this batch of pieces of crazy quilts. They came from five different quilts, and the sections that I have show no problems. I hope that you love the beautiful stitching on these as much as I do, and appreciate the time that it must have taken to make them.

This was the first one, 

done all in the same color scheme.

I wonder who the people were

whose names appear on the quilt.

The stitching is wonderful...

There were two very large pieces of this second one.

The embroidery stitches are stunning, large and fairly thick.

The colors are gorgeous and the fabrics beautiful, 

mostly silks and satins...

This next one was done with more modern fabrics

and smaller embroidery stitches.

It is very bright and less subdued

than most vintage crazy quilts that I normally see,

but still beautiful...

This was a small piece with lovely fabrics, 

and again, beautiful stitching...

This last one is another lovely piece,

not yet completed, 

and still showing its basting stitches in some areas,

but the best part...

...is that the creator's needle and thread was still in it!

I find myself wondering what happened to this lady 

before she finished it...

Oh, the stories that these pieces could tell.

If only they could speak. 

Quite honestly,

I will have to give some careful thought

as to what I will do with them,

and how their creators' goals

can best be served.

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Many thanks for coming by!

A lovely cutter quilt: The Pontiac Star

Good morning friends!

I think that I mentioned a while back that I started collecting cutter quilt pieces. If you don't know what these are, they are old quilts that can no longer be used for their intended purpose, as they may have tears in them, be badly stained in some areas, have sections that are shattered due to the deterioration of the fabrics that were used, and so forth. Some of them are quite beautiful and crafters have been using them for a while for all sorts of things, from making stuffed toys to holiday decorations to pin cushions, and more. Folding them up and displaying them in baskets has also become another use for them.

If you read this blog you know that I love to decorate with neutrals along with a punch of black (who puts black ornaments on their Christmas tree, anyway?!), so imagine my excitement when I found a beautiful cutter quilt on eBay recently, one using only two colors, namely cream and black calico. The calico has a tiny print, and this was the only fabric used besides the solid cream. And there was only one other bidder (my heartfelt apologies to the other bidder). I'll let the pictures do the talking!

I gently washed it in my washing machine,

using plenty of Ultra Downy Infusions 

fabric softener,

the lavender serenity scent.

What beautiful piecing and hand-stitching

on this lovely old quilt...

I want to cry every time I 

envision it on a bed. 

But that is not meant to be. 

Even the borders are beautiful...

The defect on this one:

It seemed to have met a sad fate.

When folded in quarters

a torn out section is right through

all four sections.

Doesn't this look like a heart? 

This makes it all the more special,

as MY heart skipped a beat when

I first saw it...

Below you see it folded into quarters, 

with the hole completely through...

Here it is laid out on the bed in my studio,

folded in half...

There were no stains at all on this quilt.

Below you see the only other torn area, 

which is actually very small...

I bought this quilt for a very special purpose,

which I will reveal in the near future.

I want it to become a keepsake that

will honor the lady who put so much time

into this beautiful creation.

I cut off the pieces that I needed,

and below is the long and perfect piece 

that is left.

I also have a plan for this...

What would you do with this old beauty?

Can you guess what I will do with it?

You might find a small clue in one of the photos

above!

More to come in a future post.

What creations are you working on lately?