First Night Design | Keep Calm and Then Scream #Cushions #Accessories

Keep Calm & Then Scream Pillow by FirstNightDesign

This is one of my favourite cushions because of the exhortation. I believe it’s very healthy to scream and let go of all those frustrations. Take a leaf out of Sally Bowles’ book and find a railway bridge to stand beneath so that as soon as a train comes along, you can scream your heart out without disturbing anyone — remember the scene in Cabaret with Liza Minnelli and Michael York? Mind you, I’m not sure just how much noise modern overground trains make so be careful. I can’t actually recall if this scene is in Christopher Isherwood’s book, Goodbye To Berlin, on which the musical is based so it’s time to read it again, methinks.

Keep Calm & Then Scream Bicycle Playing Cards by FirstNightDesign

Southwold Pier in the summer sunshine [Wikipedia]

When I worked in weekly rep in the delightful seaside town of Southwold in Suffolk (UK) in the early 1980s, some of us went to the beach in the middle of the night. The wind was immense and the waves frightening. Who would be able to hear us? And boy, did we scream! As we looked around us sheepishly, we saw that several upstairs windows had been wrenched upwards. We skedaddled!

Keep Calm & Then Scream Bag Tag by FirstNightDesign

Available at the following galleries:
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK

Take care and keep laughing!

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First Night Design | The Merry Widow #Vintage Play Pictorial Cover

I present Miss Lily Elsie (1886-1962) and Mr Joseph Coyne (1861-1947) in The Merry Widow in 1907

The Merry Widow Greeting Card by FirstNightDesign

This Edwardian production in which Lily Elsie made her name, was the beginning of a glittering career for the actress on the musical stage. Everyone wanted to see the show which had music by Franz Lehar and lyrics by Adrian Ross. Based on the Viennese operetta Die Lustige Witwe by Victor Leon and Leo Stein, it was adapted from Henri Meilhae’s play L’Attaché d’Ambassade. Apparently, King Edward VII saw it four times.   LilyElsie.com

Joseph Coyne was an American-born musical actor who started his career in Vaudeville. He first went to London to appear in 1901 and spent most of his career on the British stage. “It is no good their pretending to be any one else. We go to see themselves, and all we ask is that the authors and others shall give them every chance of being themselves in the most pronounced and personal fashion,” said one critic about Coyne. Wikipedia

The Merry Widow Bicycle Playing Cards by FirstNightDesign

I’m particularly fond of the image because I love the damage that age has wrought and was not inclined to repair it digitally when I first added to my Zazzle store a few years ago.

The Merry Widow Towel by FirstNightDesign

The Merry Widow iPhone 5 Case by FirstNightDesign

Available at the following galleries:
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Scent of Pines #Art #Gifts

Buy prints of Scent of Pines © Sarah Vernon from Crated

I have combined a beautiful landscape photograph by Ales Krivec at Unsplash with two textures from 2 Lil’ Owls, one in Photoshop’s Normal mode, the other in Linear Burn. The photo is the top layer and in Multiply mode.

© Ales Krivec

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“…freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin – inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night…”
― John Geddes, A Familiar Rain

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Scent of Pines Pack Of Gift Tags

Scent of Pines Greeting Card

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“I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer — and what trees and seasons smelled like — how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

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Scent of Pines Food Trays

Scent of Pines Bicycle Playing Cards

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!