ATC Swap with Art Joy Stuff

Kimberly at Art Joy Stuff is hosting an ATC swap titled "April in Paris".  Today I mailed off my cards and decided to show you what I submit for this fun event.  It is a 6/6 swap so I made six cards of the same image which I designed on Photoshop (first) from one of my own CDV photographs.

cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 1

OK, first I have to apologize... I had to use my iphone camera and some of these images show better than others...sorry for the blurs...

If this little girl looks familiar it might be because I tried to  make her look like a baby Frida Kahlo.  The original photograph that I purchased showed this child with a slight hint of her own uni brow so I emphasized that stopping short of going totally cartoon-ish.  And Frida wouldn't be Frida without flowers in her hair and a dark cat sitting beside her so I added those elements to the Photoshop'd image.



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 2



The quote I used is, of course, one of Frida's quotes.  When I researched her I found most of her famous sayings were a little dark in mood so I was happy to find this more care-free quote to use for little baby Frida..."feet what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 3



I bought the original CDV because she reminded me of my niece, Gina, as a child.  Beautiful child and beautiful adult with a sweet kind face...I think Frida must have been a sweet baby as well.



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 4



Frida Kahlo has been a favorite with altered artists for a long time.  I have never ventured into that genre until now but I can honestly say I had a great time working on this.  When I have received the cards back from other artists who participated I'll post them here so you can see the other wonderful ideas and visions folks came up with...



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 5



The last few photographs are from the first card I made - and decided not to enter into the ATC swap with Kimberly.  It was "cute" but didn't have as many embellishments and was flat - not 3-D except for the glaze I used to make the child stand out more.



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 6



The little girl for this card came from Lisa's Altered Art Creations and I added background, overlays etc. for the theme of April in Paris.  No Paris themed project would work without an eiffel tower monolith looming in the background - oui?  And because she is holding a parasol I added the caption "rain or shine".



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap



cynthia and co. april in paris atc swap Art Joy Stuff 7

Here is a link to Art Joy Stuff:

http://artjoystuff.blogspot.com/2012/04/sign-up-here.html

Here is a link to Lisa's Altered Art:

http://www.lisasalteredart.com/index.htm



Mother's Day Vintage Photo's for Free...Vintage Printables

It's been a few weeks since I have posted some free vintage photographs for you to use...since Mother's Day is coming up in May I am posting, today,  six ( 6 ) free public domain photos that I have altered somewhat.  These have overlays and effects and should be ready to print.

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child

cynthia and co. free vintage photos - mother and child



Freebie ( free ) Vintage Photographs

Additional free images for you today.  I have worked on the originals, a little, so they have deeper colors and their backgrounds are (somewhat) cleaner.  Just a few...because I am also working on images for my store...



Cynthia and Co. free vintage photograph - girl, boy, bunny



I love the first photograph of Edwardian children with their bunny.  The original was tiny so I enlarged it and when doing so it became a little blurry.  If you use this for a feature photograph it will have a soft focus.  If you use it for a background, with mostly the bunny showing it should be fine.



Cynthia and Co. free Edwardian photograph - girl and her dolly



The above photo with an Edwardian girl and her dolly was in very good shape.  I did enhance the image a little but for the most part this is how it shows on the original.  She should be good for all projects.



Cynthia and Co. free 1920s 1930s vintage photograph - boy and action doll



The photograph above is from the 1920s or 1930s and the subject is a little boy with his action figure doll, however, because boys were dressed in more frilly clothes (back then) its hard for me to be certain this is a little boy...I guess the masculine doll, who is dressed more boy-like than the boy, tells it all.  I did paint his clothing and the dolls clothing but the face was in good shape.



Cynthia and Co. free Edwardian photograph - girl and dolly - spooky



I like this girl...she has been enhanced but I didn't remove all of the white pixels...I used her for a spooky witch image at Halloween and it turned out, well, spooky.  You'll have fun with this one...



Cynthia and Co. free vintage image - corbel, bracket, architecture



This last image is a nice graphic of a corbel...this works great as an overlay for just a hint of interest in the background without overpowering your focal point...the photograph itself.

Happy Day...thanks for stopping by...Cynthia.

Photo Restoration from Cynthia and Co.

I've started restoring vintage photographs for hire.  Since I have been living and breathing Photoshop and photo manipulation for the last year it seems a natural progression for me to offer this service.  Whether you have old family photographs or have an instant ancestor you would like to "revive" I can assist.

For a sample of some of my work I have decided to use a sweet little photograph offered at The Graphics Fairy - just about the coolest website on the Internet for free vintage photographs and graphics!



Cynthia and Co. Photo Restoration - photo from The Graphics Fairy



The original photograph, above, is ever so cute but a little grainy and has some white spotting where the original was damaged.  Through photo manipulation those flaws can be removed to provide a lovely image that looks (almost) good as new!



Cynthia and Co. Photo Restoration - vintage photograph little girl



In the midway photograph, above, you can see how the little girl's face has been smoothed, the white pixels under her chin have been removed, and the background has been touched-up.  For this example I chose to NOT paint her face but leave her in a more natural state.  Many times, when tinting a photograph, I will paint the faces, clothing, etc. of the subjects but she seemed like a more natural kind of girl!

At this point, I could have left the image alone.  I've removed most of the flaws that appear and I've brought her face out into the light.  She looks good. 

But...

Think how cute the photograph could be if it were "altered" just a little...



Cynthia and Co. Photo Restoration - vintage altered photo Victorian girl



OK, depending on your taste, this could be considered more than "a little" altering but this is how things fell into place while I was working on her...

You might wonder why I went to all of the work to smooth out her face if I were going to cover it up again with a graphic.  I didn't plan on adding a "mask" to her face but when I added the background graphic I liked the way part of it layed over her face...like a Mardi Gras Mask...so I left most of the lines and didn't erase them.  The birds were taken from an old Victorian Postcard that originally was in full color - since color wouldn't have worked here I "desaturated" it and used only a portion, the birds, for added interest.  The perch, that the birds are sitting on, is from the background graphic just shown in a different position.  An outside border was added for interest and the overall photograph has a slight yellow / ecru tint to make it appear warmer.

I'm pleased with the "after" version.  I believe I stayed true to the emotion of the original vintage photograph and used images appropriate for a little Edwardian girl.

For more information, if you would like to use my services, the Etsy ad is in the top right of the home page...just click the image.  Or click below:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CynthiaandCo

If you would like a copy of the "midway" version of the photograph without the "midway" watermark just email me and I'll email it to you "free of charge".

If that is too much trouble and you just want the image in it's before state click below:

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2010/08/old-photo-postcard-pouty-little-girl.html

Thanks for visiting.  Enjoy!!




Cynthia and Co. free vintage photo restored just for the asking

 

More Free Vintage Christmas Photographs for Greeting Cards

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

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.