New Collage

I had a craft show this past weekend and as I was putting together Collage Inspiration packs to sell, I got inspired myself. Sometimes a handful of elements just fall into place.

Collecting

I have a small collection of vintage tin boxes and here are a few of them. I don't really care if they are in perfect condition. If the color and the graphics attract me, what's a little rust and dings. I just got the 1940's Jigger Clothespin tin at an estate sale. It originally came with a clothesline, clothespins and two bakelite anchors to hang the line from. Sadly, mine is empty but the graphics are really fun. (It is for sale in my vintage shop!) The other tins shown include a typewriter ribbon tin, a small round tin for kidney pills, a candy tin from Eastern Europe and a tin that once held dyspepsia tablets.

Vintage Tin Collection

Type Collage Letter A

I've been working on some new designs for my Two Hand Design shop but I did find time to do a new collage. I started with a vintage Reader's Digest book cover and layered on the type - an old receipt, rubber stamps, postage, German money and other bits and pieces.

Type Collage Letter A

Vintage Book Find

I went to an estate sale yesterday and came home with this lovely vintage book. Written by Charlotte Zolotow with illustrations by Yoko Mitsuhashi, the book was first published in 1964. Other than the cover, the whole book is printed in pink and black (and shades of both). I liked it so much that I had to scan the whole book to show.

front and back cover

New in the shop

I've done some prints and they are for sale in my Etsy shop. They are all done from my black and white illustrations and have been digitally colored.

Owl Dance

Spring Garden

Bird Duo

Love Always

Happy Valentine's Day!
I did this "Love" collage using layers of tissue paper and Japanese decorative papers.

New Year, New Product

I have some new product in my Etsy shop. This bird image was one of the images from my 2015 calendar. It's now printed on a linen pouch and comes with a set of matching note cards.

Pouch and Card

Linoleum Block and Card

Last But Not Least

My last collage of the year! Due to illness, I didn't quite make all of the 52 collages but I did manage to do 49 of them. Week 52 collage is another one done on a vintage Reader's Digest Condensed Book cover. These book covers were nice for collaging on - they were inexpensive at my local thrift shop, usually about 50 cents a book. One side is patterned and one side is a solid color so each book gives you two options. All of the books I purchased were falling apart so I didn't feel too bad about cutting them up. Maybe next year, I should do 52 collages just on book covers... now there's a thought.

This collage was done using my usual favorites - vintage type and music (from a marching band) Japanese rice cake and Chinese soap wrappers, vintage postage stamps, bus tickets and rubber stamps.

Collage week 52

Christmas Gift

A few years ago, I saw on Ebay a really cool vintage lamp made using wood letterpress type blocks. It was way too expensive for me to bid on but I've thought about this lamp for a long time.

As seen on Ebay

My husband like projects so I asked him to make me a base so that I could have my own letterpress lamp. And for Christmas this year, I received ...

a gorgeous lamp base for my type. What's really great about my lamp is that the wood type fits in the sides (it stays put thanks to some removable sticky squares) and doesn't need to be glued down so I can still use the blocks for printing. The base even rotates so I can admire it from all angles.

sides 1 & 2

sides 3 & 4

Maybe I'll get a matching one next year - hint, hint, hint...

Merry Merry

Holiday Card 2014

Nasturtiums

My collage for week 51 isn't very wintery but it will cheer you up on a blustery day. I've collaged a vintage nasturtium seed pack onto a Reader's Digest book cover. Orange decorative paper and rubber stamps are layered with the seed pack and a bit of an old gardening book. Apparently, not only are nasturtiums easy to grow but you can also pickle the seed pod! Who knew.

Collage week 51

Numbers Game

Week 50 collage is done on a vintage Bingo playing card. The background of type and numbers is interesting to layer on and I like the size (3.75" x 6.5"). I combined it with some type (from a House Industries type catalog), a vintage postage stamp, decorative paper, a rubber stamp and a ticket from the Yellow Cab Company. Wow, only 10 cents for the ride!

Collage week 50

Very Pink

My collage for week 49 is a cheery combination of pinks and lavender - perfect for a rainy week. I used an antique postcard from Belgium (post marked 1873), a bit of vintage wallpaper, Japanese decorative papers and rubber stamps.

Collage week 49

Tiny Little Bird

My collage for week 48 is a tiny little bird collage done on a tiny little canvas. The canvas measures 2.5" x 3.5". It's collaged with rubber stamps, a vintage letter, paper from an 19th century French ledger, star tissue paper, and a bit of handmade paper made in India. The bird is a rubber stamp from the set "Birds & Nests" by Cavallini Papers & Co.. They have lots of cool stationery items - check it out here.

Collage week 48

Collages Continue

I've finally been able to get back to my collages and this is week 47. I love doing type collages using my vintage documents so that's what I've used for this collage. It combines mostly French documents, rubber stamps and a vintage postage stamp. The calligraphy on the documents is so beautiful - I wish my handwriting was half as nice.

Collage week 47

2015 Calendar

Let me start by saying I got the flu which turned into pneumonia and I have been pretty much in bed for the last 3 weeks which is why I have missed my weekly collages. I hope to get a new one done this weekend - keep an eye out.

I did manage to finish my 2015 calendar before I got sick, so here it is. All of the images are printed from my hand cut linoleum blocks. The calendar is available in my Etsy shop here.

Cover

January thru April

May thru August

September thru December

Type Collage

I pulled out some of my vintage documents for this week's collage. 19th century French documents, a vintage ticket,  an Indian letter and a British postcard make up the background. A postage stamp, parts of a book plate and a Russian rubber stamp finish it off.

Collage week 43

Autumn Colors

Even though it was really hot today in southern California, my collage for week 42 uses some autumn colors of browns and gold. The Japanese calligraphy, from an old envelope, was put on decorative paper using my nifty new transfer paper. It was combined with various Japanese washi papers and a print from a Chinese Chop (seal). A chop, or seal, was used in Asia (and still is) to sign documents and art. They are usually carved in stone and sometimes in ivory or bamboo. I have one with my name carved in bamboo but the one on my collage is from a stone chop purchased in New York's Chinatown. I have no idea what it says but it looks really cool.

Collage week 42

Paris Perfume

My collage for week 41 started with a vintage Art Deco French perfume label in pink, black and gold. I added some Japanese papers, an old candy wrapper and a piece of vintage wallpaper. Voila!

Collage week 41

Geisha 2

I made another attempt at using the transfer paper. I used the same photo and here is the result. The image cracked a bit when I transferred it - I think I tried to remove the backing paper too soon. It does give it an aged appearance though. Before transferring, I tore the top edge of the photo and do like how it came out. This collage was done on an old Reader's Digest book cover. Some Japanese type, washi paper and gold star tissue complete the collage.

Collage week 40