Ukranian and Russian Easter eggs are justly famous for their intricate designs, which often take many hours of work by the artists who make them. This Ukranian Easter card from from 1911 features a fancy Easter egg. I don’t know what the translation of the Ukranian is, though, as none was given for it. I found this image on Wikipedia Commons. Click to download / view it full-sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, 1911, color, daily public domain, DPD, Easter, egg, free, graphics, holiday, illustration, image, postcard, public domain, Spring, Ukraine, Ukranian, Wiki Commons, Wikipedia

Here a drawing of Lilium longiflorum, commonly called the ‘Easter Lily’. This is a Victorian engraving made from a drawing by Priscilla Susan Bury (1793-1869). Again, I chose this image for the Daily Public Domain image because I thought it would make a nice Easter card. Click to see it / download it full-sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, color, daily public domain, DPD, Easter, engraving, flower, flowers, free, holiday, illustration, image, lily, PD, public domain, Spring, Wiki Commons, Wikipedia

Speaking of chicks, here’s another cute onel He’s just hatched, and has been sent to give Easter greetings.

This postcard is from 1910, and reads ‘Easter Greetings’ in fancy gold lettering in the bottom right hand corner. The artist is unknown. I found this little gem on Wikipedia Commons. I think it would make a great image for the front of an Easter greeting card. Click to view it / download it full-sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, animal, birds, chick, chicken, color, daily public domain, DPD, Easter, egg, free, graphics, greeting card, hatching, holiday, illustration, PD, postcard, public domain, Spring, Victorian, Wiki Commons, Wikipedia

I know he’s not very big but he sure is cute, isn’t he? This is an illustration from the Victorian children’s magazine The Nursery: A Monthly Magazine for the Youngest Readers . This little fellow comes from the April 1873 issue. I found him on Project Gutenberg [eBook #24477.]

The Nursery was a magazine that contained poetry and prose aimed at children. The stories were short and basic, and were accompanied by some wonderful black and white illustrations. A lot of them depict Victorian children and families, or rural scenes. No specific author or illustrator is credited in the magazine, so I can’t give credit to whoever drew this proud little chick. He’s full-size, so click on him to save him.

This chick is really tiny, so I thought I would toss him out as well. He’s also as big as he gets, so just click on him to save him. He comes from a different issue of The Nursery. [August 1873, Project Gutenberg eBook #24939.]

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: birds, bw, chick, chicken, daily public domain, DPD, free, graphics, holiday, illustration, image, line drawing, PD, png, Project Gutenberg, public domain, Victorian

In the first few centuries of Christianity, Christian artists were hesitant to show the Crucifixion, but never hesitant to show the Resurrection. Because it was intimately connected to the hope that helped sustain the early Christian minority in the face of Roman persecution, the Resurrection became a common theme. By the turn of the first millenia, the way it was depicted was fairly standardized. The open tomb with Christ stepping out of it over the prone and sleeping bodies of the Roman soldiers. Often the tomb was a sarcophagus rather than the rock cut tomb it most likely actually was, and the soldiers are dressed in armor contemporary with the artwork rather than as Roman soldiers would have been. It wasn’t until the 18th c. and later that more ‘realistic’ depictions became common again.

This particular depiction is an enameled armlet – much like a large cuff bracelet. It was religious artwork meant to be worn. It follows the medieval pattern. Notice the soldiers are wearing chainmaille, like Normans. It was made in the late 12th c. and is a beautiful piece of work. I found it fascinating both as an artwork and as a piece of jewelry. I found it on Wikipedia Commons, where the photographer had released it to the public domain. Click to view it / download it full-sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, 1170, 1180, 12th c., angels, armlet, bracelet, Christ, Christianity, color, daily public domain, DPD, Easter, enameling, free, gold, graphics, holiday, image, Jesus, Jewelry, medieval, men, metalwork, PD, photograph, public domain, Resurrection, soldiers, tomb, Wiki Commons, Wikipedia

Going back to the Easter theme, here is a postcard greeting from 1907. It shows a rather realistic looking rabbit sitting on its hind legs and holding a branch of pussywillow blossoms. The caption reads ‘Loving Easter Greeting’. I think he’s a rather cute little rabbit. He’d make a great new Easter greeting for someone, I think. I found him on Wikipedia commons. Click to see him / download him full-sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, animal, bunny, color, daily public domain, Easter, free, graphics, greeting card, hare, holiday, illustration, image, postcard, public domain, pussywillow, rabbit, Spring, Victorian, Wiki Commons

I come from a family of recyclers. Thirty years ago, when it wasn’t fashionable, my family recycled what we could (newspapers, cardboard, glass bottles and metal cans). My parent’s recycling bin is still in the same place in the house I grew up in as it was when I was 10. Thanks to someone my husband knows at work, we are able to recycle much more than we would just with the regular pick up – his community recycles all plastics from codes 1 to 7 (ours only does a couple of numbers), cardboard (ours only does writing/printing paper and newspaper), and steel cans (ours only does aluminum). This means I find myself recycling the plastic trays our meat comes in, the styrofoam cartons our eggs come in, and the plastic wrapper from our toilet paper; in addition, of course, to our soda cans, newspapers, and no-longer-needed kids’ school papers.

I also like to ‘recycle’ things as found objects for assemblage. Some of the more interesting found objects end up in my collage grab boxes or embellishment treasure bags. But mostly I keep them for myself or my children to use in art (or, as is sometimes the case, transforming into a 1/12 scale miniature something.)

Well, now, I’m going to try and increase the ‘green-ness’ of Tidbits Trinkets. I already recycle print outs I don’t need, as well as print on both sides of the paper if it is not say, a packing slip or invoice for a customer. From today on, I am going to add reusing shipping boxes and packing materials that things I order from my suppliers come in. This means if you order something from me, you may get a box that has been used before. Please don’t be offended!. I’m trying to further their usefulness before they get sent to be recycled. It saves energy (even recycling uses energy to remake things into new items). Please reuse the box yourself if you have the means to do so, or recycle it properly if you don’t.

On the subject of recycling, another idea that has been floating around in my head is reusing junk mail reply envelopes. For personal correspondence with friends and family, consider collaging / decorating over the printing on them (make sure to cover the ‘no postage necessary’ notice if it has one, at least with a stamp). You would then be both recycling AND sending your friend or relative a little bit of art as well!

And finally, not on the subject of recycling, please feel free to leave comments on my blog! There will be a delay before they show up because I have to approve them. This is not for censorship, but rather to prevent spammers. I am still occasionally finding ‘Viagra’ advertisements masquerading as comments, in spite of my ‘WP-SpamFree’ widget. As long as you aren’t spamming me, or using foul language, it’ll show up within the next 24 hours.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: going green, recycling, Store News, Tidbits Trinkets

My children have discovered Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the (in)famous British comedy show. Perhaps you have seen it’s most recent decendent, Monty Python’s Spamalot!. My eldest daughter, Anastasia, who is 13, is particularly found of the show. [She also loved Spamalot!.]

One of the ‘hidden’ members of Monty Python was Terry Gilliam, who did the animations for the show. [He is also, for you trivia buffs, the only Python not born in Britain, though he became a British citizen in 1968.] He later went on to direct films like Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys, Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm. and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. You can read more about him in his Wikipedia bio.

I, however, am currently enamoured of his animation for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It usually involved taking old photographs and illustrations (often Victorian) and combining them with new things. It is hysterically irreverent. It makes me want to take a ton of old Victorian images and be equally irreverent!

For those of you unfamiliar with his animation, here is a YouTube clip of some of his animation from the first Monty Python episode:

In a word – funny!

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: animation, Design Hero, Monty Python, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Terry Gilliam, Victorian, video, YouTube

I was only going to have one lion for the beginning of March, but the regal one in this ad was too wonderful to pass up. So I am doing two and then tomorrow I will get back to all the Easter graphics, I promise.

This ad for Monarch bicycles, which states that ‘The King can do no wrong’ and ‘Monarch Bicycles Are Faultless’, appeared in the March 1897 issue of the magazine Birds Illustrated by Color Photography [Yes, there really was a magazine called that.] This graphic is from the Project Gutenberg etext.

Click on this royal lion to see him / download him full sized.

Peace,
Bekka

Tags: .jpg, 1897, ad, animal, bicycle, color, daily public domain, DPD, free, graphics, illustration, image, king, line drawing, lion, magazine, March, Monarch bicycles, PD, Project Gutenberg, public domain, Victorian