Vintage Pumpkin Seed Packet

Have I ever mentioned how much I love pumpkins?  I love their color, I love them in food and I love to grow them.  I also love that they signify the change in seasons and represent the harvest.

Native to North America the United States produces 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins each year.  The states producing the most pumpkins are Illinois, California, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  Nestle produces 85% of the processed pumpkin and the state of Illinois produces 95% of pumpkins intended for processing.

I have grown pumpkins for many years but the last two years I got large, gorgeous blooms that just fell off of the vine, never producing pumpkins.  After some research I discovered that pumpkins produce both male and female blooms that have to be cross pollinated by bees in order for the bloom to produce a pumpkin.  Because of the decline in the bee population farmers now have to hand pollinate their pumpkins.  

Last year I assumed that because I bought pumpkin plants from a nursery that maybe I only got male or female plants.  So this year I started my pumpkins from seed with the same result.  Could the decline in the bee population have caused this problem?  Makes me wonder.

Has anyone else out there had a similar problem?

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Enjoy!

Vintage Round Iron Ornaments

Today I have some gorgeous round ornaments for you.  These were iron vent covers.

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Click on image to download

So beautiful don't you think?

Are you looking for a particular kind of image you need?  Send me your request and I will see what I can find.

Enjoy!

Vintage Girls and Their Dogs

Love these images of little girls walking their dogs

This little dog is so into her!  Sweet

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Click on image to download

Enjoy!

Vintage Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil - The Original Ben Gay?

Sometime during the 1840's Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil emerged onto the scene as a liniment and a cure for whatever ailed you - everything from a toothache to a bunyon.  It contained:

Spirits of Turpentine
Camphor
Oil of Tar
Red Thyme
Fish Oil

  Often these "medicines" were sold at carnivals and fairs, but we now know them as "snake oils".

  Ben Gay is a product we have all heard of and is very likely sitting in your medicine cabinet right now - compare some of the ingredients of Ben Gay to the ingredients of Dr. Thomas's Eclectric Oil:

menthol 

camphor 

carbomer

  isopropyl alcohol
castor oil

sodium hydroxide 

Very interesting, don't you think?  Well, whatever works I guess!

Actually, Ben Gay was developed in France and brought to America in 1898.

Not sure if Dr. Thomas's Eclectric Oil worked or not but I sure love these trade cards with the kitties for his product!

Click on image to download

Click on image to download 

Enjoy!

Vintage Shields

I have a couple of pretty shields for you today

I can see so many possibilities for using these shields because you can insert your own message inside of the shields

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 Click on image to download

I would love to see what you create with these wonderful images!

Enjoy!

Vintage Coffins for Halloween

Vintage Halloween Coffins

I thought these coffins might come in handy for your Halloween designs

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Click on image to download

Enjoy!

The Story of a Goat and a Cow

I came across this photo the other day and it made me chuckle.  It's actually one of a series of photos taken on my dad's little farm.  Yes, that is a goat standing on the back of a cow!  And now I know where the inspiration must have come from for those paintings of the farm animals stacked on top of each other!

Meet Baby Myrtle (the cow) and Lily (the goat).  Lily was a precocious little pygmy goat, like they all are, and Baby Myrtle, named after my grandmother, was an 1200 pound cow.  But she was a sweet, sweet, gentle cow.  She would follow us all around the barnyard, just like a dog.  

Well, Lily and Baby Myrtle became fast friends who both loved the weeping willow trees on the property.  And one day we saw Lily jump up onto the picnic table and try to grab the willow branches.  Apparently willow branches are quite the delicacy!  So Lily occupied her days by trying to get at those willow branches.  

Then the light bulb must have gone off in Lily's mind when Baby Myrtle stopped by the picnic table to see how she was enjoying her willow branches and Lily just hopped onto Baby Myrtle's back!  Ah, now Lily was in a prime position to really get at those willow branches!

And this sight quickly became an everyday occurrence on the farm,  Lily standing on top of Baby Myrtle!  And very soon just standing on Baby Myrtle's back wasn't enough because she would travel all over the barnyard on Baby Myrtle's back.  Very funny stuff!

So in honor of Baby Myrtle and Lily here are some goat and cow images for you

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 Click on image to download

Enjoy!

Victorian Vases with Stylized Flowers

I have a couple of Victorian vases with flowers for you today

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Click on image to download

Enjoy!

Vintage Banners Featuring Hands

I love these banners that feature his and her hands and because they are so generic they can be used for so many occasions and applications.  I hope you find them useful in your designs.

Click on image to download

Click on image to download

Have fun with these and send me images of what you create so I can share them with everyone!

Lindsey just sent me some more images of her work using images from this blog.  Thanks Lindsey!

Check out more of Lindsey's wonderful creations here.

Enjoy!

Vintage Silhouettes of Children

I'm so glad the art of silhouettes has returned!  I chose these two silhouettes today for personal reasons.  

This one reminds me of being a child and loving to play "house".  I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven, anyone out there remember those?  I never got one and that's OK because I sure had fun with my Creepy Crawlers!  Anyone out there remember the Creepy Crawlers?  They had those metal molds and you poured the goop into them and slid it into the oven with the light bulb?  Ah....so much fun!

These two look like they are getting ready to have a tea party!

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And the reason I chose this next image is because not too long ago I found a stick horse for my 2 year old great nephew.  He was made of a rich brown suede and played a song when you pinch his ear.  So cute!

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Oh, I didn't realize the image was so small until I uploaded it.  Sorry everyone but if I make it bigger it gets distorted.

Enjoy!

NEW SAD WALL

SAD WALLPAPER

Vintage Lace and Goldilocks and the Three Bears Illustration

Another piece of old world lace for you today.  Isn't it pretty?

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A very old illustration from Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I love the paintings on the wall!

 

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The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears uses the "literary rule of three"  with three chairs, three bowls of porridge, three beds and three bears.  There is also three discoveries that someone has been eating their porridge, sitting in their chairs and lying in their beds.  The third time that Goldilocks tries the chairs, the porridge or the beds she finds them "just right" in that the first time she tries something its wrong, the second time is wrong in the opposite way and only the third time is "just right".  

The "Goldilocks Principle"  is the idea that the way forward lies in finding the exact middle between two opposites.  This concept also applies to astronomy and economics!  Who knew?  A Goldilocks planet, for instance, is neither too far nor too close to a star to sustain life.

Enjoy!  

Vintage Union Jack Flag and Royal Crown

When I came across this vintage Union Jack on a pole I knew I had to share it with you.

The Union Jack or Union Flag is the official flag of the United Kingdom.  In Canada it is known as the Royal Union Flag.  This current design dates back to the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

The Union Flag is traditionally twice as long as it is wide.  The components of the flag are:

The red cross is known as St. George's Cross

The white diagonals are known as St. Andrew's Cross

The red diagonals are known as St. Patrick's Cross

The Union Jack is incorporated into the official flag of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

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Here is a royal crown on a pillow

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And I also have a wonderful image to share with you today sent to me by Lindsey who made this outstanding invitation out of the ribbon frame I posted last April.  You can find the ribbon frame here.

This is an amazing piece of work!  Great job!  Thank you Lindsey for sharing.  The invitations are available in her etsy shop.

Enjoy!

Vintage Elk and Silhouette

Ah, the magnificent elk.  They are part of life here in the Pacific Northwest.  Elk are beautiful and graceful creatures.  Native to the west side of the Cascade Mountains from British Columbia, Canada to California they are the largest animal in the deer family and one of the largest land mammals in North America.

Elk shed their antlers every year and are collected and used in artwork and furniture.  When their antlers grow back in the spring they are covered in "velvet" and is eventually shed.  Elk migrate to the higher mountains in the spring and come back down the mountains in the fall for food when the snow covers the ground.  

In Yellowstone National Park elk herds number 200,000 and their migration to the southern regions of the park is the longest elk migration in the continental U.S.

A few years ago as I was driving down out of the Cascades a female elk was grazing next to the road.  She was a Roosevelt elk, the largest kind of elk.  As I passed her I looked out of the passenger window and all I saw was her legs!  The bottom of her belly was higher than my car!

I hope you enjoy these elk images

Click on image to download

Click on image to download

Enjoy!