Book and Paper Arts Archives - Page 6 of 15

Mother of Pearl Vintage French Rosary 1890s

February 2, 2021 / by Kelly

This is a mother-of-pearl rosary from France. It has silver bead caps on the Pater beads. The Christ figure on the crucifix is also silver. This is an old piece, from the 1890s. White rosaries like this were often given as gifts for a first communion or on a wedding day. While this, of course, makes a unique and lovely devotional object, it is also makes a lovely piece for someone who just loves old French antiques, and it can also be worn as a necklace. Please note, there is tiny nick (chip) in the MOP in the crucifix. It is not noticeable and in fact I bought it without noticing it but it is there.

It measures 18″ (45cm) and the crucifix alone measures 1.5″ (4cm). To see larger images just click on any photo below.

Comes with a vintage French postcard of an old-timey nun circa 1910s and a vintage French tin as a presentation box. Please note that tin is distressed but that is meant to be part of its charm. If you prefer something a little less eccentric, I can switch it out for one of my hand, faux-rusted tins that you can see in my other listings [read more]

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Vintage French Rosary Blue Crystal

February 2, 2021 / by Kelly

This is an outstanding piece. A vintage French rosary (1910s). The beads are multi-faceted crystal in a pale blue. The fittings are silver and include a lovely art nouveau link piece (see photos). The crucifix has two hallmarks on the bale. An unusual feature of this rosary is that it has 12 miniature silver medals (one for each station of the cross); on one side is the face of Mary and on the other is the face of Jesus. The six linking beads have silver, filigree caps.

While these are gorgeous devotional objects, they can also be enjoyed as a piece of vintage French ephemera and worn as a necklace.

It measures 21″ (53cm). To see a larger image, click on any photo below.

Cost is £135 with free worldwide shipping. Click on button below to buy instantly. Go here for a currency converter that will show the price in your currency. Please let me know if you have any [read more]

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Vintage Women from The Girl’s Own Paper (1892): Downloads

January 24, 2021 / by Kelly

The Girl’s Own Paper was a periodical published in Britain from 1880 until 1956. I really enjoy the older versions for their plates and engravings that I use a lot in my altered books and art journals. They also have some writing that is as ridiculous as it is humourless: sanctimonious advice to young women about the quality of the verses, suggestions for becoming lace menders or lady’s maids, and serialised stories that were meant to be uplifting but today seem terrifying in their narrow expectation for the female half of the species.

Here are a few plates for you. Click on any image for a larger version then right click, copy, and put into an editing program. Paint is a good one although I also use Word (because I am used to it). Below is a video flipthrough of some of the prettier (and cheesier) selections from the book. Let me know if you have any questions and please get back to me and let me know what you [read more]

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End-of-Year Pep Talk: You Got This, You Just Don’t Know It Yet

December 26, 2020 / by Kelly

Anybody need a Sunday pep talk? A call to rally imagination and curiosity and go into the new year with hope and a sense of possibility. Ready?

Am I wrong or lots of us trudging up to the new year worn out and worn down? If ever a year kicked us when we were down, this was it. Or – did we allow ourselves to gradually be buried under relentless reporting that depended on our outrage and exhaustion until our spirits stretched thinner than we thought ever possible and still, more came, burying us deeper and deeper?

Well people, this won’t do. Viktor Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning after his life in a concentration camp in WWII, and he said:

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

And so we are, challenged to change ourselves and this is where it begins. There is magic in the transformation from one year to another and you can ride that wave of strange but real energy. Today. Now.

You still have time. You have all the time you need if you are ready to take your one, precious life seriously. January will be the [read more]

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Vintage French Postcard Images

December 19, 2020 / by Kelly

Here are some high-res scans of vintage French postcards with gorgeous handwriting in old ink. To use them in your work, click on an image for a bigger view then click, copy, and save into an editing program such as Paint. You can then add a light card for some backing and hey presto, you can play around with them to your creative heart’s content.

And here is a video tutorial showing how to use vintage postcards to make pockets in an altered book. This technique would also be good in junk journals or art journals or other mixed media work. Please let me know if you have any [read more]

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French Holy Cards to Download

November 14, 2020 / by Kelly

I recently acquired a batch of French holy cards (images pieuses) from the 1870s. They are utterly charming engravings on paper surrounded by a lace border, which is why they are also called “dentelles,” which is the French word for lace. Cards like this were often given as gifts for a first communion, baptism, or other important events in one’s church life and were cherished.

I have made this into high-resolution (300 dpi) scans that you can download and print or use digitally in your own collage, journal, or other mixed media work. TO USE: click on an image below for a larger resolution. You either print from there or right click and copy into an editing programme such as Paint and then size and print from there.

Please check back soon as I will be adding some images pieuses in colour!

[read more]

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Unbundling Autumn Leaf Ecoprints

November 14, 2020 / by Kelly

One of my favourite times of the year is autumn and one of my favourite ways to hold onto the beauty and mystery that the season holds is to make ecoprints, steaming leaves I have foraged on my hikes into paper that I then make into cards, framed prints, or book covers. Dying with plants is an inexact science but I have been doing this one for years and here’s hoping that some of these pointers will steer you in the right direction with your attempts. So here is video that is short but will hopefully give a visual of some of the more hard to visualise parts about making your own ecoprints.

If you (like me) enjoy a tutorial that is printed as well as the video, here is a post to get you started:

Ecoprinting with Autumn Leaves

To see an older video that also has lots of fun details, here you [read more]

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How to Use Text, Print, or Handwritten Pages in Your Work

November 14, 2020 / by Kelly

I sell quite a bit of vintage paper from my studio, from letterpress text to handwritten letters to just plain old antique book pages. Sometimes the happy new owner of these pages is off and running with using it her work but other times I get emails saying that it is beautiful but what do I do next? Can I really use it in my pages?

The answer is, you bet. Let me show you some of the ways you can incorporate old papers into your work. As usual, I am going to show most of these methods using my altered book but remember, you can do the same in your art journals, junk journals, collage, or any other mixed media project.

Full page coverage. Using handwritten documents or letters is one of my favourite go-to ways to start a layout. It is fun and atmospheric and allows your focal points to shine, all at the same time.
A variation on the full page cover is to mix and match it with the original underpage. I like to rough tear a letter in an irregular way and then glue it to the base so that you can see some layer. [read more]

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What’s in My Portable Art Studio: Travel Art Kit

October 30, 2020 / by Kelly

This video is the first in a series on keeping a stay at home travel journal because just because we are not traveling these days doesn’t mean that we can’t keep a creative, cool record of our days, especially these crazy days. I want to start by talking about supplies, the tools that I carry with me to work on my illustrated journals, on the road and at home.

When I first discovered illustrated journal keeping I was told that the first, number one rule was – never go anywhere without your portable art kit on you. If you do this, if you are ready to work at any time. I am rarely without my supplies which means I can make pages in coffee shops, dr’s offices, parks, wherever I find myself. So let me introduce you to my portable art studio.

Waterbrushes (I use Pentel)
Variety of fineliner pens
Pencils
White gel pen
Bamboo dip pen
Scissors (mine are Cutter Bee)
Pencil sharpener
Eraser
Palette
Portable watercolour kit
Bag with pockets

Here are the links to some of the items I rely on. Note, I am not paid by any of these companies.

LIHIT Lab bags

https://www.cultpens.com/c/q/brands/lihit-lab

Gallo Watercolour kit

https://www.agallocolors.com/

Derwent Inktense Sticks

[read more]

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Journal Prompt for Jump-starting Your Diary

September 30, 2020 / by Kelly

Basically, this is my semi-regular reminder that keeping a journal can change your life. Now more than ever I rely on a handwritten diary to give my life context. It’s partly the virus and the way we live now. Partly my fears and confusion about aging and what I mean to do with what’s left of my life. Partly trying to figure out the best way to use my creative ability to make the world a better place. Identity. Infinity. Vocation. Vision. Regret. To be honest, I don’t see how anybody figures this stuff out – or even makes a stab at it – without a written journal.

These are painful days, and writing out your pain and fear and rage is powerful. It can also be terrifying – some of us are just managing to Hold It All Together by squinching our psychic eyes shut and I understand: admitting this pain (and anger and feelings of helplessness) could be taking a hammer to the dam in our spirits – the one that is holding back despair. Or. It can be a tool. As the earth seems to crumble under you, your writing can be a rope that [read more]

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Book and Paper Arts (page 6 of 15)

Mother of Pearl Vintage French Rosary 1890s

Vintage French Rosary Blue Crystal

Vintage Women from The Girl’s Own Paper (1892): Downloads

End-of-Year Pep Talk: You Got This, You Just Don’t Know It Yet

Vintage French Postcard Images

French Holy Cards to Download

Unbundling Autumn Leaf Ecoprints

How to Use Text, Print, or Handwritten Pages in Your Work

What’s in My Portable Art Studio: Travel Art Kit

Journal Prompt for Jump-starting Your Diary

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