Using Public Domain Pictures In Creative Ways

I just ran across a Zazzle store called 13MoonshineDesigns that I thought had clever ways of using vintage clip art/public domain images combined together...like combining an image of Santa and his sleigh with a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I hope that it will provide inspiration for those who love vintage/antique images and are always looking for new ideas to inspire them.

Here are a few of the designs I liked. Each one has the Eiffel Tower in the background, two have different images of Santa (plus other images) and one has an image a witch for Halloween combined with the famous tower.

Paris Santa and Snowman Christmas Card by 13MoonshineDesigns

Vintage Santa over Paris Christmas Card by 13MoonshineDesigns

Paris Witch Halloween Card by 13MoonshineDesigns

What creative ideas can you come up with the public domain images from the Vintage Snips and Clips blog (perhaps combined with images you find on other blogs like it)?

Children in an Orchard

I think this is such a sweet picture of three children, a boy, a girl and a baby/toddler (that could be either a boy or girl) under an apple tree, picking up fallen apples and putting them in a basket. This public domain picture accompanied a lesson, from the Ethics of Success reader for children, about getting one's work done before play.



This image is free of known copyright restrictions.

Father and Son Fishing Trip Clipart

A man and a boy, perhaps father and son. The man wearing a hat carries a bamboo fishing rod over his shoulder and a basket on his other arm. The boy wears a sailor / school boy like outfit and holds a straw hat in one hand. A sail boat is in the far distance.

I can see someone crafty using this image to create a Father's Day card.

This image is from a book published in 1909 and thus is in the Public Domain.






This image is free of known copyright restrictions.

Planting Seeds Garden Clipart

Here is a nice vintage image of a woman and a boy, probably mother and son, preparing to plant a bag of grass seeds that the woman holds in her hands. They are surrounded by plants, a watering can, some flower pots, and a few gardening tools.

It is another selection from the old reader I have called Ethics of Success.




This image is free of known copyright restrictions.

Mother and Daughters Mending Clothes

This is a sweet image of a woman with what appears to be something being mended, and two girls. One who is helping her and another who is reading. The picture was titled "After the Best."

It comes from the book Ethics of Success: Book One by William M. Thayer. This was a "reader" for the "lower grades of schools" with "Inpsiring Anecdotes from the lives of Successful Men and Women." The book I scanned it from has a copyright date of 1909, and thus is now in the public domain.

Part of the text accompanying the picture reads, "Read, study, and write, just as you wash dishes and sew, the very best you can. It is the only way to excel in anything. Don't hurry; take time, and do things well; it always takes time to do things the best way."




This image is free of known copyright restrictions.

By George! It's my First Post of a Public Domain Image!

If you saw my Welcome page you know I am starting to share some images in the public domain that I have from some books and things in my possession.

All of the first public domain images I intend to post are from Ethics of Success: Book One by William M. Thayer. The book I scanned it from has a copyright date of 1909, and thus is now in the public domain.

The first picture is this one of George Washington on a horse. I am sure there are lots of copies of this picture around. But here is a scan from me at 300 dpi.







This image is free of known copyright restrictions.