Free Scans (page 3 of 3)

Free Scans: Vintage Print, Text, Handwritten

Painting, drawing, and collage-making on vintage text and handwritten pages is one of my favourite techniques in creating altered books and art journal pages. While I sell a lot of antique paper for book and journal arts and am lucky enough to have a big stash for my own work, I fully realise that it is not in everyone’s budget right now and that we are all at different stages and levels of our creating experience, so I also want to offer these free, high-res scans that you can print or use in digital collage. If you’re not sure how to use these with visual pieces, check out my Youtube video below.

Just click on any image to get a larger view. To grab it, right click and copy, then copy into an editing program such as Paint. (I actually use Word which is not meant for visual but what the heck, I know how to make it do what I want.) You may want to resize an image and make it smaller or larger, depending on what you want to make.

Happy making! Here’s the video with [read more]

Free Downloads of Redouté Flowers

I have a huge thing for the work of artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté. He was official court artist of Marie Antoinette (imagine putting that on your CV) and is considered one of the greatest botanical artists of all time. Today I have some high-res scans for you to download and print, or use in your digital collage work.

1. Click on any image to get a larger version.

2. Right click and copy.

3. Paste into an editing programme such as Paint. (I use Word which is not as good but I am used to it😁). You may want to size them down. Experiment and see what [read more]

Vintage Birds: Free Downloads for Your Pages

One of the questions I am asked the most often is where do I get my bird images. Well, I do actively search them out and then some just find me but yes, I have a lot of birds. So here are a few to share and add to your collage, art journals, altered books, or other mixed media work. To use these, click on an image for a larger resolution, then right click and copy. You can then add it to an editing program such as Paint. (I use Word. Even though it is not a visual platform per se, I am used to it.) You may want to resize these, make them larger or smaller. Happy Making!

[read more]

Vintage Wildlife Backgrounds: Free Downloads

Recently I made an altered book layout using mix-and-match, contrasting backgrounds for a sort of torn wallpaper look. (The video is below.) You can use the techniques shown – rough tearing papers and layering them – using any papers that you have such as  sheet music, varied text, junk mail, magazine pages, and almost anything in between.

 

But if anyone would like to have these images, which are from Goldsmith’s Animated Nature, the 1876 edition, either for a similar background or any other project, I have added these high-res scans for you to use. Simply click on any image to get a larger version, then right click and copy the image into an editing program such as Paint. (I use Word. While it is not traditionally used for photo editing, it works for me and I am used to it.) Please note, you may want to resize this and make the page and images smaller. [read more]

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

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]

Vintage French Postcard Images

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]

French Holy Cards to Download

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!

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Tudor Queens Free Downloads

Hello there. Today I have some truly gorgeous downloads of some Tudor queens and other badass female royals to use in your journal pages, collage, or other mixed media work. You need these. Please be inspired by their attitudes and their outfits, then if you like, click for a larger image, copy, and off you go. Let me know what you make with these and as always, just get in touch if you have any [read more]

Vintage Animal Engravings 1818: Free Download

Recently I acquired three volumes of Oliver Goldsmith’s Earth and Animated History. This classic text was re-issued for decades and later editions had hand-painted engravings (see link below) but these were strictly black-and-white. I love how the animals look slightly off, as though the illustrator had never really seen a giraffe (camelopard !) in his life.

For a larger view, just click on any picture in the gallery. To use in your own art or journal work simply right-click on an image, then copy, then paste into Word, Paint, or any other editing program.

To see and download hand-coloured engravings of Oliver Goldsmith’s birds, go to:   [read more]

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