My Junk Inspired Life by Cynthia and Co. art | adornments | style

Marianne Clancy on Etsy (maclancy)

2012-01-03T18:13:00.000-06:00

I collect vintage photography. I have several other collections including Tea Leaf (ironstone) Porcelain Puppies and Figurines, Blue Willow (everything) Teacups and Saucers (who doesn't collect teacups?) but photographs have been occupying my time of late. So many to find, so little time!

If you collect (anything) you probably know about Etsy an online source for handmade items and collectibles. If you collect photographs you may already know about Marianne Clancy. Her shop is top-notch for those looking for antique imagery. Today I am going to share just a few of the tintypes and other non-paper images she has to sell on her Etsy site.

I looked for a definition of tintype photography and found this on www.collectorsweekly.com:

"While most early photo processes involved paper or light metal plates, tintypes (aka ferrotypes) used a sheet of thin iron. Patented in 1856, tintypes are recognizable by their yellowish color and small sizes. The smallest plates are called gem tintypes, and are common in lockets or jewelry. Like daguerreotypes, they tend to tarnish easily. This medium was popular for many years, due to its higher developing speed and easy-to-clip material, making it ideal for framing."

The above image may technically be a dag (daguerreotype) but it is non-paper so I included it today because the image is so clear and enchanting!

When I look for images to purchase I look for subject matter first and quality second because I can do retouching digitally. Other considerations for me are overall composition, the story the photograph is telling, the balance of light, medium and dark hues. And most important, for me, are the face and eyes of the subject (if the photograph is a portrait or candid shot). You will notice today's shared images all have dear, sweet faces...sullen, perhaps, but full of charm!

I marvel at the quality of her collection. I have to be honest...I wish I knew how she sources these because finding vintage photography isn't difficult...but finding exquisite vintage photography IS difficult.

Marianne's prices range from $5.00 (ish) on up. These I have shared today are in the "on-up" category but they are reasonably priced considering the overall quality and subject matter.

I love, love, love the above baby photograph. Ofcourse, I am drawn to her eyes!

You can find MaClancy on Etsy at http://www.maclancy.etsy.com/. She offers all types of vintage (antique) photography including snapshots, CDVs, cabinet card photos, etc. You can also find greeting cards and large archival photos that have been restored and printed on acid-free paper. Take a hop over and visit. I'm sure you'll find some little orphan photo waiting for you!

Happy Birthday Elvis Presley

2012-01-03T16:12:00.000-06:00

Elvis Presley's birthday is January 8, 1935. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

I have an early January birthday, myself, so I am always intrigued by famous people who share this important milestone in life. There are many "Januarians" worthy of writing about but Elvis, the icon, the king, had a very sweet vintage photograph from circa 1936 or 1937 that I found on the web. Hence, I was instantly attracted!

Early Photograph of Elvis Presley and Family

Many people before me have altered his image...we have the interesting Velvet Elvis imagery...the White Jumpsuit Elvis, complete with a rhinestone belt, so popular with the Vegas crowd, etc. I figured Mr. Presley wouldn't mind a few altered art, digitally retouched photographs from a fellow Capricorn. To his family I mean no disrespect...these are an homage to one of the great performers and personalities of our time.

Early Photograph of Elvis Presley Altered Art

I love this photograph of Elvis. Even as a wee little baby you can see charm and charisma that few babies possess. What a face...

An Homage to Elvis Presley as a Baby

I collect vintage (antique) photographs. I gravitate toward baby and toddler photos because their faces are still cherubic. For a collector a great family photograph such as this is priceless when you run across one.

Elvis, Mother, Father Photograph

I am a tad early with this story but I was so excited with the outcome of the photographs that I decided to post early. I hope you enjoy as much as I do (did).

Elvis Presley born January 8, 1935

And to Mr. Elvis Presley...Happy Birthday.

Merry Christmas Dear Friends

2011-12-24T18:09:00.001-06:00

May you be happy, safe and filled with the Christmas Spirit today, tomorrow and every day.

Merry Christmas from Cynthia and Co.

Be inspyre'd...: FREEBIES: Xmas Collage Sheet

2011-12-23T22:15:00.001-06:00

Be inspyre'd...: FREEBIES: Xmas Collage SheetCheck out these beautiful free Christmas images!

More Free Vintage Christmas Photographs for Greeting Cards

2011-12-09T15:04:00.000-06:00

Two more vintage ( antique ) Christmas photographs for your use.

First, circa 1910s or 1920s this image came from one of my personal cards. I added a clip art tree and ornaments and tinted the girls shoes red to match the tree. This photograph probably should not be used any larger than 5 x 7 because it will get grainy if you try to make it any larger. The original was 3 x 4 so their little faces were pretty small when I first started.

The second image is from 1910's or maybe a little later. She has on red stockings and a red hat so I thought she would be nice to use for the holidays. I can't tell what she is holding but you could easily Photoshop a ball or apple into her cupped hands to make a very sweet holiday card. Also, her face is clear, not pixilated, so I think the outcome when printed will be nice.

Have fun and copy and paste to your heart's delight.

If you do repost these on your blog please give credit or a link back to www.myjunkinspiredlife.blogspot.com.

Free Vintage Photograph Christmas Girls

Free Vintage Photograph Suitable for Christmas Girl

Free Vintage Christmas Photographs

2011-12-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

Free Vintage ( Antique ) Photographs for you today...

I've been working on my Photoshop skills and have created some vintage photographs suitable for Christmas greeting cards or for your paper crafting and altered art enjoyment. All were originally scanned at 300 dpi and uploaded at 300 dpi. However, because they are from vintage photographs some images may be slightly grainy if you print larger than 5 x 7 photos.

First, is a little boy circa 1930's with a Charlie Brown type Christmas tree and a Santa. He would be cute for either Christmas cards or Christmas Hang Gift Tags.

Next, is a little girl from the 1940's who is sporting a red and white striped cap in light weight fabric. Her Christmas stocking type cap might be something you would wear in Florida? Hence, the palm trees in the background and caption "Merry Christmas from Paradise".

Last, three versions of a little girl, early 1900's, who is hugging a teddy bear and standing in front of a decorated Christmas tree. This card has an orientation of 4 x 8 so it will easily fit on a 4 x 8 photo Christmas postcard. I liked all three versions so I decided to post all.

Hope you enjoy. Copy and paste away!

Free Vintage Image of a Little Boy
Photograph Suitable for Christmas Cards

Free Vintage Image of a little girl 1940's suitable for Christmas Cards

Free Vintage Photograph Little Girl and Teddy Bear Christmas Tree ver. 1

Free Vintage Photograph Little Girl and Teddy Bear Christmas Tree ver. 2

Free Vintage Photograph Little Girl and Teddy Bear Christmas Tree ver. 3

One last thought...with older photographs (especially) it is a good idea to use photo paper such as Epson, HP, Canon, etc. when you print. They are more brilliant and your images will be brighter and less muddy than if you use regular cardstock.

French Fountains on St. Charles and a Mini Tour of Magazine Street

2011-05-18T11:59:00.000-05:00

French Fountains is a lovely little business on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans near Audubon Park and Loyola. If you love French (anything) - especially garden decor this is a place you'll want to visit.

This statue greets as you enter their gardens. He stands outside the gate both welcoming you and warning you that awesomeness is about to be found.

These putti (angels, cherubs) are my favorite. The pot they sit on is about 6 feet tall and would take several people and a volkswagon to fill it...my guess is its intended to be a fountain because the angels are holding their ears. So sweet...if only I had an extra six grand...

This cherub statue is holding or saving a water fowl. The bird has a metal tag to make it more life like.

Two little people standing under an umbrella. Most of their fountains and statuary have iron components so their patina is perfectly rusted as you can see by the above umbrella and the putti wings.

Cherub garden stake. Oh so French looking!

Shakespeare perhaps? Not my favorite bust but he was hard to pass and not photograph.

St. Francis standing under a tree. (I wish this photo had turned out better.)

An ornate wrought iron gate. This looks very New Orleans - ish. Shabby white paint and rusted.

Beautiful and serene.

After leaving French Fountains on St. Charles Avenue I headed for Magazine Street thinking I might do a little shopping. Instead, I window shopped and took in the sights and just enjoyed the cool weather. The above pic is a ceramic status adorned with sea shells. He looks like Pan and is a little junky, yet classic.

Love the blue touches on this store front...and the topiary would look nice at my house!

Some original art in thrift store window.

And as I was sitting at the corner, waiting for the light to change, a street car pulled up to load and unload passengers. This one is heading toward the French Quarter on St. Charles Avenue. It was a good day visiting my new city, New Orleans!

If you want to visit French Fountains they are at:

7901 St. Charles Avenue

New Orleans, LA 70118

Newsboy Cap Tutorial Made With Recycled T Shirt

2011-05-15T15:35:00.004-05:00

Today I am sharing a fun little Newsboy Cap Tutorial you can make from a recycled T shirt.

I started with a size medium recycled T shirt.

Here is a close up of the bill pattern I made. Length should be width of your forehead (from temple to temple) plus one inch. Cut two patterned pieces plus two plain pieces for added thickness. I didn't use pellon or any stiffener for this project.

Here is the close up of the shape used for the body of the newsboy hat. Cut eight pieces.

Length of the pattern (for the body of the hat) is about 6 inches. Width across is about 3.5 inches at the fullest part of the pattern.

Cut off the hem of your recycled T shirt and set aside. The hem is going to be the interfacing for the inside of the cap. Above shows all pieces cut and ready to be sewn.

Start out by sewing two pieces together. Match from the bottom and sew up to the point. Repeat this step four times.

Next sew two parts together so you have a total of four pieces joined. Repeat this twice so you have two parts that look like the above photo.

Join your two halves together to make your hat top a complete circle as shown above.

Sew open all of the seams making a running stitch all the way around the edge of your hat. This was a presser foot from the edge of the hat's base. This stitch will be a guideline for future steps (below). Sew all the way around the edge, not just at the seams.

For the bill of your cap join two solid pieces of T shirt material with two pieces of your patterned fabric. The two pieces of patterned fabric will be right sides together. Sew all four pieces of fabric along the outer curve of the bill as shown above.

Turn the bill assemblage right side out, press and clip as desired, and sew a decorative top stitch along the edge of the outside curve of the bill as shown above.

With the right side of your bill meeting the right side of your cap's top (center the bill) and sew it to the hat. When attaching the bill you are going to sew on the stitch you made previously when you sewed the seams open.

After the bill is sewn to the body of the newsboy cap it will look like the above photograph.

Take the hem from your T shirt and zig zag sew along the raw edge. The length of this piece should be your head's circumference plus two inches. I leave this as one long strip instead of making it a continuous loop.

With the hat right side out take the hem piece and place the edge of the hem along the stitching (from previous step). I start sewing at the center of the bill and sew to the center of the back (basically half of the hat). Then come back to the front and sew (from the center again) the remaining part of the hem to the hat. When you get to the back center, where the tails meet, overlap and sew in place. You'll temporarily have a raw edge exposed where the two pieces are joined in the back.

With your zig zag stitch sew over the seam(s) you just made in the above step. This reinforces the hat's interfacing and it also gives a more finished look to the inside. (At this point sew over the raw edge where the two tails met in the back. In the next step this seam will barely be noticeable.) In the close up you can see I had a little of the guideline stitch showing so I had to take a seam ripper and remove those stitches.

Press your new interfacing under (or inside the cap) and top stitch from the edge of the bill, around the back, and just to the edge of the bill on the other side.

The flower is made of strips of periwinkle T shirt fabric that I wound around my finger and glued in place. The ribbon is rayon, by Midori, that I wet so it would crinkle. If you want to see photographs and how-to's for the flower see my tutorial titled Lampshade Redo from Recycled T Shirt.

http://myjunkinspiredlife.blogspot.com/2011/04/lampshade-redo-with-recycled-t-shirts.html

Your last step is to sew the flower assemblage to the bill of your cap and you are done.

Here I am posing with the hat.

Here is my "model" wearing the Newsboy T Shirt Cap.

Inside tip: I don't line many of my T shirt caps for two reasons. One, it is hot here in Louisiana and this keeps my head slightly cooler to have only one thickness of fabric on my noggin. Two, honestly, I'm kinda lazy about it, and I think the hats are just as cute without lining them.

Happy sewing and hat making. I hope you enjoyed this project!

Bye for now. Cynthia

Free Royal Blog Buttons | Copy and Paste

2011-05-09T00:35:00.005-05:00

Well, I've been in a royal mood of late...with the wedding and then Mother's Day I've been full of queenly, motherly spirit. Here are the fruits of this temporary regal labor...
{ more free copy and paste blog buttons }

altered elizabeth in bea's hat

There is a little bit of Elizabeth I. wearing Bea's hat.

altered queen mother

One of the Queen Mother looking for a break.

altered young victoria

One with a young and pretty Victoria.

altered queen elizabeth

A little bit more of Elizabeth I.

it helps to be a dreamer

Some generic romantic imagery.

i blog with my head in the clouds

And last, a pink hued Spencerian crown that I borrowed from The Graphics Fairy.

being royal has its privileges

To see my other cute little images

look for the "click here" button on the front page of this blog.

As with the other pics I've created for your enjoyment these are free to use, copy and paste, and less than 200 pixels wide so they will easily fit in your sidebar(s).

Enjoy!!!! Bye for now. Cynthia

http://myjunkinspiredlife.blogspot.com/p/blog-buttons-free-copy-and-paste-images.html

Crafting Butterflies For a Cause

2011-05-07T13:55:00.004-05:00

The Houston Holocaust Museum is working on a project to display 1.5 million butterflies

to represent the children who died in the Holocaust.

This project is based on a
collection of poems and drawings created by children

kept at the Terezin Concentration Camp from 1942-1944.

The collection was published in a book titled
"I Never Saw Another Butterfly"
from Shocken Books

For some butterfly images, to inspire you, I have provided some I found on The Graphics Fairy.

When my project is complete I'll post a picture before I mail it to HMH.

If you participate and wish to share what you sent please notify me by email or leave a comment on this blog and I'll post your submission(s) in a new story.

For more information about the Houston Holocaust Museum go to

http://www.hmh.org/ed_butterfly1.shtml

http://www.hmh.org

For free graphics from the Graphics Fairy go to

http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com

Altered Art Book | Love for the Rose and Mother

2011-05-05T15:15:00.004-05:00

My altered art book today is to celebrate mothers, angels, and roses. My overall favorite themes! Mother's Day is almost upon us and what better way to thank the women in our lives than to pay homage to all things feminine (with a little grunge), kind and sweet.