Pickwick Papers: Public Domain Images from Dickens

Since the holidays are fast approaching, I decided to look for some wonderful happy people illustrations to share.  The copyright free images I chose this week are from vintage Charles Dickens.  I have a set of books that are a collection of Dickens works.  The books are “The Anniversary Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens, February 7, 1812″.  They were published in 1911 by P.F. Collier & Son of New York.

All of the illustrations I’m showing here are from Pickwick Papers Part I.  Because this is a collection,  the illustrations are done by a variety of  artists.  I’m going to present them in the order that they appear in the book.

 

The style in this illustration is distinctly different from the first.  I am not familiar enough with the history of the illustrations or illustrating in general to  state any facts.  I can share my observations.  It is unsigned by the artist and appears, with the cross-hatching, to be specifically designed for printing.

 

 When I saw the illustration above of Mr. Pickwick, I immediately pulled this book out.  I was specifically looking for some characters that made me happy.   With the demolished picnic set in front of him and his hand resting on a jug of spirits(?), he is the picture of contentment.

  The previous 3 illustrations are from a pre-1923 copyright book.  They should be copyright-free.  All the images have been uploaded to my flickr page.  They have been attributed to Creative Commons.  If you click on the image, you will be taken to the image on my flickr page where you can chose the size of image to download for free.

A New Challenge ~ Creating a Farkle Champ Bracelet

I’m always up for a new challenge especially if it involves game pieces.  Last night someone, we’ll call her Katie, suggested I make a bracelet for that can be passed from one Farkle champion to the next.  Every Thursday a group of crazy Farkle players gathers at the pool for 1 1/2 hours to take their chances at the dice.

I’m always up for a challenge.  I was given one day to create an adjustable (Farkle players come in a variety of sizes) bracelet with appropriate dice and various other doodads.   Now it may not be perfect or overly elaborate, but I think it is heavy and gaudy enough to meet the requirements.

Since the timeframe was short and I neither wanted to go out to buy materials or spend a lot of money, I chose to use materials I had on hand.  I have a jar full of letter dice that I really wanted to use.  I also had a set of 4 black and white dice and a set of 5 black and white dice.  Since Farkle uses 6 dice, I decided to use 3 dice from each set.

I drilled the holes in all the dice so that I could make some wire-wrap head pin charms.  I added some red glass beads, some silver metal beads and some glass pearls.  Since I know how wild those Farkle players can get, I attached all my charms to the silver chain with split rings.  HAH!  Try getting those charms off the bracelet.

I decided to put a hook and eye clasp on the bracelet.  The hook can be attached to any ring along the chain.  Big (not gigantic) or small anyone should be able to wear this bracelet!  Personally I’m waiting for one of the few men to win the opportunity to wear this one.

Colors of the Southwest ~ A New Button Necklace

For some reason I’ve been stuck on turquoise and red, a great southwest color combination. I’ve been collecting buttons, beads and other findings in those colors for months.  Until recently I haven’t had the time to do anything with them.  I would wander into my studio to stare at some pretty turquoise and coral.  I decided I needed a bit of discipline.  Instead of starting with the stones and coral, I decided to begin with some ceramic turquoise beads I bought and some red plastic buttons I found at an estate sale. 

I formed a chain by wire wrapping my ceramic tube beads onto copper wire.

 

I found a wonderful vintage metal button in my collection.  The patina on the button goes well with the copper wire I used for wire-wrapping.  I wanted a little fringe on my pendant.  I decided to reuse some wonderful brass tube beads.  I put red glass seed beads on the end of copper head pins added the brass tubes, did a bit of wire-wrapping, connected them to a reused round glass bead (turquoise too!). Viola!   I had fringed pendant.

To each side of my re-purposed vintage metal button, I added a wire-wrapped head pin with a pretty red glass bead and a little turquoise Howlite bead.

 

My vintage button has a shank.  I didn’t want to remove the shank, so I slipped a copper head pin through the shank, added a couple reused glass turquoise beads and put in a wire-wrapped loop.  The beads in this case are used as spacers to make sure the wire loop is below the button.

 

I thought that this necklace should sit a little closer to the neck, so I added a minimal amount of copper chain to each side of the necklace.  The clasp is a copper-colored metal toggle.

I have so many components that are red, turquoise and copper that I think I may have to create a Southwest-inspired recycle jewelry video soon.

The Harvest Isn’t Over Until the Last Fruit Is Picked

It is the middle of November and we still have fuzzy kiwi hanging from vines in our garden.  Normally we pick harvest our large fuzzy kiwi by October.  After talking with a gardener who has been growing this fuzzy variety for many years longer than we have, we have decided to leave this fruit hanging until we either want to eat it or the end of November.

 

We live in the Northwest United States, more specifically Northwest Oregon.  Our fuzzy kiwi never gets ripe on the vine.  Today I went out and picked a bucket full of kiwi to ripen up in the next couple of weeks.

 

Our gardening friend claims that he picks his fuzzies in late November and that they ripen up in the fridge.  We have another technique for ripen our kiwi.  We seal an apple in a bowl with a few kiwi and wait for them to ripen.  I know our method works. 

 

I just ate the last of the kiwi  started ripening  in a bowl with an apple a couple of weeks ago.  Since we have an over-abundance of kiwi this year, I think we may be picking the kiwi we have left at the end of the month.  With so many fuzzies we can try ripening them in the fruit bin in the fridge.

I think I may have to collect a few kiwi recipes for our Thanksgiving dinner this year.  My husband has already frozen a bunch of the small non-fuzzy kiwi.

Public Domain Images from Webster ~ Fruits, Flags & Coats of Arms

 

Again this week, I’m uploading colored illustrations from my shabby Webster’s.   Actually with the number of illustrations in this book, I could be uploading for several more weeks.   Like last week,  all the illustrations are in color.  The illustrations this week  are even larger.  They are full-pagers.   Since they take forever to upload, I’m only uploading 3 freebie images this week.

 The public domain book is Webster’s New Illustrated Dictionary Based on Noah Webster’s dictionary, revised and edited by Edward T. Roe and Charles Leonard-Stuart.  The book was published by Syndicate Publishing Company of New York in 1911.

The first color illustration, at top, is titled Flags of All Nations.  It has a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.  You can count the number of stars on the United States flag in the middle to see how many state were part of the U.S. at the time.  Looking at the flags from different countries in 1910 really illustrates the dynamic world boundaries.

 

The second image is titled Fruits and Their Blossoms.  The image has a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.

 

The third image is titled Coats of Arms of the States of the American Union.  It has a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.  If you couldn’t figure out what states were in the union at the time, you will know by looking at this illustration.

The illustrations are from a pre-1923 copyright book.  The images should be copyright-free.  All the images have been uploaded to my flickr page.  They have been attributed to Creative Commons.  If you click on the image, you will be taken to the image on my flickr page where you can chose the size of image to download for free.

Bee & Button Flower Necklace ~ Vintage Inspirations

 

I found a wonderful seller at the recent Art & Soul Vendor’s Fair in Portland, Oregon.  I bought a few brass bees and frogs from them.  I already had a lot of vintage gold metal and wonderful brown plastic floral vintage buttons that I wanted to use.  The combo was irresistable.  I knew I had to make a necklace using these components.

 

I wanted to give you a (very) small window into the design process for one of my recycle, reuse, recycle pieces of  jewelry.  Before I every pick up a tool, wire or connectors, I begin by selecting pieces I think go well together.

I have a lot of vintage buttons.  I was particular fond of the little brown floral buttons toward the bottom of the screen.  I knew I wanted to use all of the large gold metal buttons with the floral motif.  Because I had 3 of them I decided to put one in the center and the other two over to the side.

 

I tried several arrangements of the buttons.  Above you can see one arrangement.  Once I’ve sort of decided on an arrangement, I have to decide how to connect all the pieces together.  It isn’t uncommon for me to start connecting components only to decide I don’t like the connections.  Also, I often change my mind on the arrangement as I put the necklace together.

 

Once I finished my wire-wrapped chain of buttons, I decided that the arrangement of the bee and flowers at the end of the necklace needed to be simplified.  I spent several hours deciding exactly how to hang the bee before drilling holes to connect the brass bee to the button flower.

 

Until I put the necklace on a mannequin, I really don’t have any idea how long the necklace will be or how the ends will be connected.  When I finished my wire-wrap and my bee pendant, I decided I wanted to use a bit of leather at the back of the necklace.  I think leather is more comfortable on the back of the neck than chain or wire.  I chose to use a simple lobster clasp as a closure.

 

Betsy looks mighty fine in my newest creation.  I love that little brass bee and I’m so happy to find a wonderful use for my vintage metal and plastic buttons.

Illustration Friday’s Gone to the Animals

 

This week I’ve decided to upload a few more from Webster.  The copyright free this week are animals.  Like last week,  all the illustrations are in color.  They are large (I hate waiting for uploads!), so I’m only uploading 3 freebie images this week.

 The public domain book is Webster’s New Illustrated Dictionary Based on Noah Webster’s dictionary, revised and edited by Edward T. Roe and Charles Leonard-Stuart.  The book was published by Syndicate Publishing Company of New York in 1911.

The first image illustrates breeds of cats.  It is titled “Cute Kittens”.  The copyright is 1911 by F.E. Wright.

 

The second image illustrates breeds of dogs.  Titled “Leading Breeds of Dogs”, this is a two page spread with a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.

 

The last image illustrates the breeds of cows.  The illustration is titled “Standard Cattle.  The copyright is 1910 by F.E. Wright.

The illustrations are from a pre-1923 copyright book.  The images should be copyright-free.  All the images have been uploaded to my flickr page.  They have been attributed to Creative Commons.   They are a freebie.  If you click on the image, you will be taken to the image on my flickr page where you can chose the size of image to download for free.

Slowly Putting Together Some Altered Domino Necklaces

I’ve been so busy lately. I really felt like I needed to get a little more art into my routine. I had created some altered dominoes for a “how to” demo on this blog. I really wanted to get some of the necklaces finished.

When I pulled out scraps of mulberry paper and I saw the light blue, I went ahead and pulled out some delicate blue beads. The beads were a pleasant surprise I discovered in a sewing basket filled with buttons. Someone else had already taken a necklace apart and saved these little blue beads. How do I know that they came from a recycled necklace? They had little bits of string inside a few of them.

I liked this little green parrot and I thought he would do well on the blue background. I saw some of this birds while I was in Central America. Although they were often among the trees, the skies were so blue and clear…when it wasn’t raining. Close-up you can see the fibers inside the paper.  You can also see how closely the parrot is cut out of the paper.  I like my images to blend right into the background.

Wire-wrapping is a very time-consuming activity. Usually when I use such fine wire, I don’t wire-wrap an entire necklace. The blue was such a delicate color that I thought it was appropriate to make a very simple and fine necklace to go with the beads and green parrot domino pendant.

You get a very intimate view of your beads when you wire-wrap.  It’s sort of “Zen” experience.  I really fell in love with these delicate light blue re-purposed glass beads.  The color is really quite lovely.  What a wonderful frame for this beautiful green parrot!

Wishing You A Very Spooky Halloween

I wish you a very wonderful Halloween filled with plenty of ghosts and goblins!

Illustration Friday ~ Salvaging Beautiful Images from a Dilapidated Public Domain Book

 

This week I looked over in my bookcase and saw a deteriorating vintage book.   I knew the book would not last long.  It is hard to hold all the pages in place, so this week I’m going to publish some copyright free images without the page numbers.  All the illustrations are in color.  They are large, so I’m only uploading 4 freebie images this week.

 The public domain book is Webster’s New Illustrated Dictionary Based on Noah Webster’s dictionary, revised and edited by Edward T. Roe and Charles Leonard-Stuart.  The book was published by Syndicate Publishing Company of New York in 1911.

The top image is titled Badges and Decorations of Honor, Plate I.  The illustration has a copyright date of 1910 by F.E. Wright.

 

The image above is another illustration with a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.  The birds are “1. Blue and Red Macaw; 2. Incomparable Bird of Paradise; 3.  Golden Bird of Paradise; 4. Resplendent Trogon; 5.  King Bird of Paradise; 6.  Fire Weaver; 7. Paradise Flycatcher; 8. Broad-Shafted Whidah-Bird; 9.  Marsh Hawk; 10. Bald Eagle; 11. Barred Owl; 12. Golden Pheasant.”

 

The image above is another color bird  illustration.  This time it’s chickens.  The title is Types of Leading Breeds of American Pure Bred Fowl.  The image has a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.

 

The last illustration also has a copyright of 1910 by F.E. Wright.  The title is Ceramic and Decorative Art.

The illustrations are from a pre-1923 copyright book.  The images should be copyright-free.  All the images have been uploaded to my flickr page.  They have been attributed to Creative Commons.   They are a freebie.  If you click on the image, you will be taken to the image on my flickr page where you can chose the size of image to download for free.