Garden Girl Antique Postcard for free-use

I'm overdue for an antique postcard post, so here is one for your free use in collage or what-not.  If you need a better resolution, just drop me a note.

I always enjoy sharing bits of my haphazard collection. This one seems to be postmarked 1910 but the last number is stamped too lightly to tell. Addressed to Mister Robert Kase of Lewiston, Pa - the text reads:

Dear Cousin,
I am picking tomatoes, and wish you could have been here to help me. Mother is cleaning house and says she will write later. How are you all. Love to all and lots of kisses. 
Ruth.

If you make something fun, please share; I'll be happy to post it here.

Oh - I almost forgot to mention my new giveaway for a framed print of "Secrets".  To enter just leave a comment before 1 a.m. (EST) on 11/18. Please leave an email if it is not in your profile. This random drawing is open worldwide with free shipping to winner. Click Here to see the prize

Free images for you - Antique Springtime Postcards

Rollicking Times - postmark 1908

R.T. card back

Wishing everyone Rollicking Times today!

Came across some more antique postcards during the never-ending cleanup. I purchased these from MFvintage.etsy.com last year. (If you collect old postcards, be sure to check the shop out.)

Feel free to use these images for your projects. If you need a better resolution, let me know & I'll email to you. If you make anything with them, I'd love to see what you come up with.


This little lady has before & after shots. The left is the original postcard & the other is cleaned up in Photoshop elements.

The gorgeous weather & sugared up 6 yr old are calling, so I'll be running around in the backyard today instead of finishing my piece for the Steampunk Wonderland contest.

By the way, this competition will be up for public voting. I'll post a link once it is available. I've seen a few of the entries & they are fantastic!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Free-use vintage photos

Ruth Mullin, Helen Crozier, Juliet Rice, Elizabeth Reach, Elinor Robinson, Bessie Wilson

Oops almost forgot to share these today. Here are some of the photos I bought from Bohemian Vintage yesterday. If you missed yesterday's post on this fun neighborhood shop, click here.

1912 'Jacks'

These photos for anyone to use. If you need a better resolution, drop me a line with your email & I'll send it over. If you make something cool, I'll be happy to show off your creation on this blog. I've included the text off the back of each photo.

1912 Jed

Edward Phillips Greene age 8 months

Brady J Evans Rison (or Bison?) Ark.

I hope you enjoy the photos. If you are in the bloggy neighborhood tomorrow, please stop by - I'll be sharing the part 1 photos of a 2 part tour.

Thursday Giveaway #1 - Free Custom Printed Poster -1st of 2 prizes

Lucky You!
This week you can enter 2 great giveaways on this blog.

Looking for the winner of today's craft supplies random drawing? Click here.

Prize #1 is a custom printed poster!

Ever wanted to design your own poster? Or enlarge that special photo? Now you can!

The generous folks at Uprinting.com have asked me to giveaway one 18" x 24" Custom Rolled Poster Print to 1 very lucky winner. Enter this random drawing before noon (EST) on Thursday 9/25/09 and it could be you! To enter, just leave a comment stating what you would do with this prize if you win. It is that easy! Poster ships free via UPS Ground within the USA. This contest is open within the USA only.

Click link for more info about Poster Printing. By the way, they also do all sorts of online printing. (I love the big sticker labels they printed for me a few months ago)

I'm trying to decide what poster I will make. I've been meaning to enlarge this angel for a while.

May You Find Comfort

But I'm also working on a couple new pieces this week .... May have to see how they come out before I make a final decision.

One more thing about Uprinting.com:

I'm going to sound like a cheerleader here, but I love these guys!

I recently placed an order for a 16" x 20" wrapped canvas print. Their website was easy to use. I'm not as computer savvy as I'd like to be, so I used their Live Chat to ask a question. The customer service person was fast & friendly. I uploaded my info at noon & requested a free online proof. A few hours later I approved the proof & the order was placed. Easy Peasy.

Last Friday I received the canvas print - an enlarged photo; it came out great! Rich colors & a clean image. Here it is on the wall.

This double exposure photo was taken on my birthday last year. It was a wonderful day & just looking at the image makes me smile. I 'd been debating where to hang it while running some errands. When I got home, I found that the little dude staked a claim & had his Dad hang it in his bedroom - seems he loves it too.

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SO...c'mon, readers. Take a chance - You could be the next winner! Again, just leave a comment stating what you will do with your custom printed rolled poster if you win. You'll then be entered in next Thursday's random drawing for one!

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Also, please stop back later today. I'll be posting an interview with a talented artist & etsy seller who has generously donated Prize #2 for the next Thursday Giveaway. That drawing will be open to international winners.

Musical Monday's Muse - Pay It Forward

If you've got the time, click the button & play along. It'll teleport you over to Good Mourning Glory for more Musical Monday goodness. If you're having a manic Monday, open this tune & enjoy a mellow minute or 3.

Over at Maternal Spark, their asking What inspires you this week?

I'm going with PIF's this week... Without going into details, someone gave me a hand today and asked me to pay it forward. Today, I've got this totally free ACEO, Reflection, in my etsy shop, ArtSnark. 1st come 1st serve:

Reflection ACEO

Check back for more freebies this week, I'll have something going on each day. And don't forget to enter Thursday's Giveaway. Just leave a comment on this blog before noon (EST) 8/13 to be entered in this Thursday's random drawing. Click HERE to see the week's prize, Alice With Tulips (a piece of original art). Drawing is open worldwide with free shipping.

We Have 2 winners & 1 studio pic

And we're off....

Last Thursday you got to meet Melanie of Studio27.etsy.com. She's created 6 fabulous ACEOs which will be going to 2 lucky winners today. Winners have been randomly selected by random.org.

The Set of 4 Family Portrait ACEOs goes to K Spoering!

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And the set of 2 Goddess ACEOs goes to PamperingBeki !

Congrats to you both!! I'll be in touch later today so I can forward your info to Melanie.

Thank You to everyone who entered!! Check back later today for the next prize. Remember to leave a comment once the prize is posted to be entered in the new giveaway.

And Special Thanks to the talented artist Melanie of Studio27 for generously donating today's unique prizes!!

She has also share a pic of her studio. I apologize for not posting sooner. My 5 yr old & I were fighting a summer bug this week & it has interfered with art, life & even blogging (Eek!)

I know I said before but I love peeking into artists studios & seeing where they make their magic. Here's Melanie's:

Photo courtesy of Studio27

She says "I live in the world's smallest house - a cabin that we turned into a year-round house. My studio is one half of a room and it is about 10 x 13 feet, with sloped ceilings. It is hard to believe that so much art comes out of such a small space!"

You know what "they" say, it isn't the size, it's how you use it ! Sorry couldn't resist - thanks for popping by. Remember to check back later today for the newest prize.

Thursday Giveaways part 1 - We Have 2 Winners!!

Woo Hoo!

It is that time of the week again. Never paid much attention to Thursdays before. Now I love 'em! I love the idea of putting a smile on some one's face each week. And this week we have 2 smiles!

Winner #1 is Whyte

Whyte gets a $20 Gift Certificate to get some goodies at any of my 3 etsy shops
ArtSnark.etsy.com
ColorTheSky.etsy.com
SteamDreams.etsy.com

Winner #2 is Vmichelle
Vmichelle gets to choose 1 free ACEO from my ArtSnark shop

A hearty Congrats to you both! I will be in touch today with instructions for collecting your prizes.

To everyone else: Thank you for playing! Pop back later today & I'll have the next giveaway posted. Running a bit behind today (seems to be an ongoing theme around here...)

I'll give you a hint - I was lucky enough to win something this past week & am going to pass it on.

See you later today! Thanks again for visiting

Monday's Muse - Free Use Images

I love free stuff! Especially images. Sometimes having that little jump-start can make all the difference between making a new piece & slacking off. Couldn't sleep in the wee hours today & in a bit of a dark mood, so I popped over to Outsider-artists.net. A great site, it features the work of some of my favorite artists & much has a lightly-dark edge (I'm such an oxymoron - ha). I "met" some of these creative ladies online last year through zne & have the good fortune to own a few pieces (for daily inspiration).

They also have a page of vintage images for anyone to use here. As well as a visitors' gallery page to display your creations that they've inspired. So, I found a lovely vintage lady & twisted her to suit my dark needs....muhahaha....

The Priestess ACEO is in my etsy shop .

Continuing on the theme of free images, I received a message from the talented artist Barbara Moustafa (also 1st encountered thru zne). She transformed the watches I posted last week into the wonderful digital collage Time Fractured. You can view it in her deviantART gallery here. Enjoy more of Barbara's art at her blog & etsy shop. She also has pieces on the Outsider-Artists visitor gallery.

And here is my image to share with all who want it. An old London postcard from my collection:

Hope you find your muse today!