One Happy Scrapper.....

"I want to lead the Victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter."

~Freddie Mercury~

I recently found a few little paper treasures at one of my favorite antique stores, Jennifer's, in old downtown. I love old Victorian images and these authentic pieces of Victorian scrap were a real find. They consist of two types of images produced in the Victorian era, picture sheets and embossed reliefs.

"Publishers produced picture sheets from the early 1800's that were uncolored, or at an extra cost, hand colored and were sold by stationers and booksellers. These sheets were intended for children to color or draw from. Many times the images were cut out, much like a paper doll, to play with while some of the better images were placed in albums or scrap books.Embossed reliefs originated in German baker's shops where they were used to decorate cakes. They were later used as decorative images for Valentines and Christmas cards. They were also used to illustrate historical or popular events of the times." (information source)

To learn more about these wonderful paper pieces you can visit The Scrap Album.The pieces I purchased were obviously once mounted in an album. By looking at the backs you can see were a gum adhesive had been applied and some of them have bits of paper on the back from their removal. A few even have little pieces of tape where the dealer repaired them.I have a mixture of three types of scrap: picture sheets, embossed relief, and cut outs from what appears to be a newspaper or magazine.I scanned three of the larger embossed images to share with your for your artwork, just click on the image, save to your computer, and enjoy!

This lovely lady draped in green looks like one of those images you see on an old cigar box.

I love this sweet image of a little boy clad in blue velvet.

This image has a different feel, texture, and quality than the others and it seems as if it may have been printed and coated differently. The coating is hard and sort of cracking but I find this gazing beauty with her tattered edges one of my favorites.

I have to wonder who collected them, why they chose certain images, and did they know that they would be enjoyed by far removed generations?

There was one odd image in the bunch and as soon as I saw it an art piece popped into my head...Remember that shadow box I used in the nature assemblage in my give away? Well, here is the back that I removed from it with the image, a hint at a new project...Next week I will share with you not only the completed artwork, I feel another give away coming on, but also an incredible and generous gift I was blessed with through a precious blog friend. Until then I'd better get busy, I just got a call letting me know that my little granddaughter will make her appearance earlier than expected. She will arrive on Sept. 1st!

Please pray for her safe arrival. My daughter-in-law is so ready to deliver her. She is at that miserable part of pregnancy and our hot humid weather is not helping. Gorgeous grandson keeps going in the nursery and asking, "Where's the baby?" He has not quite got the concept yet. He talks about her and calls her by name but I am not sure how he is going to react to the actual event. I think he is going to be a great big brother. Darling Daughter and I have been out shopping for both of them, she is so excited to be an aunt again.

It is so funny, my daughter-in-law is having the baby but I am the one in nesting mode. I have been rearranging things to make room for two little visitors instead of one and think I have come up with the perfect solution. I'll show you next week after I get the project complete. It looks like I have a lot of projects to finish up in a weeks time but who cares? I am one happy scrapper, great paper finds and a sweet new addition to the family, life is good!

Have a happy Saturday!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy