Raggedy Ann

Bookplates look so lovely tucked inside a children's book.



I designed bookplates measuring 5 1/2 x 4 inches, printed on lovely sturdy paper.



I distinctly remember my mother restoring an old tattered doll for me when I was little. She would wash the doll’s clothes and perhaps give it some new shoes.



It was almost as good as having a new doll, except you could feel a bit of loving touch when you hugged her. It’s like that for me when I restore an old piece of art.



I rescued this Antique book from 1918 by Johnny Gruelle. I have always loved Raggedy Ann, and especially enjoyed reading her stories as a child. No one wanted this book because it was so tattered, scribbled on and the pages were even ripped.



I scanned the images and began a labor of love. As I erased the scratches and brought the color back to life, I thought of the care that Johnny Gruelle took to create these beautiful images.



I believe a child had scribbled on some pages, yet on others had carefully tried to trace Johnny Gruelles lines in his drawing. Not too different than what I had done as I restored them back to life. The bookplates are available in my etsy shop.

COLLAGE SHEETS

For a long time now I have wanted to use my prints of artwork as collage sheets. So, I am launching my new collage sheets on my shop For The Love of Old Books on etsy.






I will be able to e-mail a nice JPEG file of an 8 x 10 of prints for people to use in their own creations for personal use or in projects and creations to sell. The Watermark will not appear on the files sent.



One of the things about collage sheets that I have purchased is that they come with a long list of rules. Forgive me but I still can't figure out what the Angel policy is all about. And since I don't like breaking rules, when something I purchase tells me I can only use two of a certain image in one project, or I can't use them when there is a full moon...I just don't use them at all.



I also thought, if I am sharing something that I have created using old copyright free images, than why not pass that ability along. Forgive me, but when I see an old photograph from a public file then copyrighted for the owner, it puzzles me no end. Or if they take an old image which is copyright free, turn it into a rubber stamp and claim it as their own design. I must be getting old. Hey, wait a minute I am old!



And being older makes me know that I too can make my own rules. Creations with no rules. So, I am also making these collage sheets available to those people who are skilled in digital paint boxes to rework them into their own designs. Here is a free Raggedy Ann image for you to take home.



I plan on adding more and more of collage sheet designs to my little shop. When the customer receives the file in an e-mail, they simply save it to their computer and print it out. An affordable but lovely paper is brochure paper. It prints a nice crisp and vivid image. But since my collage sheets are 300 dpi resolution they will print nicely on any paper you choose to use. Well, now onto collage sheets with Alice in Wonderland.