First Night Design | The Swan Also Rises Wrapping Paper #Sold!

The Swan Also Rises Wrapping Paper

The Swan Also Rises Wrapping Paper

Well, that’s a turn-up for the books. I’ve sold some The Swan Also Rises Wrapping Paper. Thank you, whoever you are!

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | ‘What garlic is to salad, insanity is to…’

I’m considering my version of ‘Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell’, as printed in The Spectator when the late journalist had been rather too drunk or hung over to write his Low Life column. Mine will have to be shorthand for truly being unwell rather than drunk (I say this while slurping a Bailey’s at ten past midnight)! In the meantime, nothing new has been diagnosed and no new art created to display. This is one from the past that I’m very fond of.

First Night Design

Garlic is for Heroes © First Night Design

‘What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.’
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, American sculptor [1848-1907]

It was seeing this quote in an iPhone app that inspired Garlic is for Heroes, which I created with a photograph from Wikimedia and a texture overlay from, yes, 2 Lil’ Owls. It was an interesting reversal of my usual method where a visual idea comes first. I was so taken with the quote, I had to do something with garlic!

Augustus Saint-Gaudens by De Witt C. Ward via Wikimedia Commons.

Saint-Gaudens, of whom I had not previously heard, was a sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who is said to have embodied the ideals of the ‘American Renaissance’. Wikipedia

I have taken my title from another quote, this time one by our old friend Anonymous who once said, “Shallots are for babies; onions are for men; garlic is for heroes.”

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Patchworks VIII Greeting Card | Zazzle #Sold!

Original & vintage art © First Night Design

Source: Patchworks VIII Greeting Card | Zazzle

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Beautiful Flowers for Mother’s Day Lumbar Pillow | Zazzle

Don’t ask me why but the fact that there is no way to comment on this post is obviously a WP glitch.  It’s certainly not intentional. All my settings are as they should be to allow for comments so the WP gremlin strikes again. Thank you, Pete Johnson, for letting me know.

Size: Lumbar Pillow 13″ x 21″

Accent your home with custom pillows from Zazzle and make yourself the envy of the neighbourhood. Made from 100% grade A cotton, these pillows are the perfect complement to your couch!

• Dimensions: 13″ x 21″ (lumbar)
• 100% grade A woven cotton
• Fabric is made from natural fibers, which may result in irregularities
• Hidden zipper enclosure; synthetic-filled insert included
• Machine washable
• Made in the USA

 

Source: Beautiful Flowers for Mother’s Day Lumbar Pillow | Zazzle

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Taking Tea with Clara Butt T-Shirt | Zazzle #Sold!

Known as ‘The Voice of the Empire’ or ‘The Voice of the Century’, Dame Clara Butt (1872-1936) was born in Sussex and brought up in Bristol. She became one of the most famous and beloved of English recitalists and concert singers. A ‘booming’ contralto, she was remarkably imposing at 6′ 2″. Sheet music, tea tray and piano from The Graphics Fairy. Other sheet music from DigitalCollageImages on Flickr. The flourish to the left is from VintageArtDownload.com and the vintage postcard of Clara Butt is in my own collection.

Source: Taking Tea with Clara Butt T-Shirt | Zazzle

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#Valentine Seahorses Coffee Mug Set | Zazzle

Style: Coffee Mug Set

It’s a match made in heaven for this lovers’ mug set! Made to perfectly fit together, this ceramic mug set is a great gift for a wedding, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Sweetest Day, or any other special occasion. The heart-shaped handles on each mug add an extra touch of love to this already very romantic gift! Customize with your pictures, photos, and text to make a one-of-a-kind mug set that will be cherished for years.

• 8-ounce capacity
• Dimension: 3.8”h x 3.2”diameter
• 100% ceramic construction
• Meets or exceeds FDA requirements for food and beverage safety
• Printed on demand by the Photo USA team in Fremont, California

Source: Valentine Seahorses Coffee Mug Set | Zazzle

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Make Me a Willow Cabin… Greeting Card | Zazzle #Valentine

Size: Greeting Card

Birthdays or holidays, good days or hard days, Zazzle’s customised greeting cards are the perfect way to convey your wishes on any occasion. Add a photo or pick a design and brighten someone’s day with a simple “Hey”!

• Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm (5″ x 7″) portrait or 17.8 cm x 12. 7 cm (7″ x 5″) landscape
• Printed on 110 lb, 12.5 point thick, semi-gloss paper
• Matte finish inside for smudge-free writing
• Add photos and text to all sides of this folded card at no extra charge
• Printable area on the back of the card is 7.6 cm x 10.2 cm (portrait) or 10.2 x 7.6 cm (landscape)
• Standard white envelopes included

Source: Make Me a Willow Cabin… Greeting Card | Zazzle

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Time for Tea #8 Postcard | Zazzle #Sold!

Orientation: Postcard

• Dimensions: 4.25″l x 5.6″w (portrait) or 5.6″l x 4.25″w (landscape)
• Printed on 110 lb, 12.5 point thick, semi-gloss paper
• Postage rate: $0.34

Source: Time for Tea #8 Postcard | Zazzle

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Buon Natale Gift Tags | Zazzle | Sold!

Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]

Source: Buon Natale Gift Tags | Zazzle

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First Night Design | Déjeuner de Luxe #Art

Déjeuner de Luxe © Sarah Vernon – Crated

Paul-François Quinsac (1858–1929) was a French artist who specialised in mythological and allegorical subjects, figures and landscapes.

His painting A Beauty in Violet (1909) was the perfect backdrop to create a faux-Victorian advertisement with vintage elements from The Graphics Fairy, including an intricate twirl for a headpiece, embellished with one of my embossed flowers that I created in the early days.

Déjeuner de Luxe Flask by FirstNightDesign

Déjeuner de Luxe Postcard by FirstNightDesign

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

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First Night Design | Tallulah Bankhead — “pure as the driven slush” #Repost

FROM THE ARCHIVE 15th August 2014

New in my vintage store is this wonderful black & white portrait of Tallulah Bankhead. “I’m as pure as the driven slush.” “My father warned me about men and booze, but h…

Source: First Night Design | Tallulah Bankhead — “pure as the driven slush” | First Night Design

First Night Design | Get Well Soon @BeetleyPete!

Flowers of Sympathy Postcard by FirstNightDesign

One of my dearest blog friends, Pete Johnson of Beetley in Norfolk, is in the wars so this is a special post to wish him well. Having said that, feeling considerably under the weather did not prevent him from writing a very funny post about his symptoms. Read and enjoy! We’ve all been there.

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | The Magnificent Mongrel #Photography

The Magnificent Mongrel © Sarah Vernon

This is a photograph of our own magnificent mongrel, a cross between a Terrier and a Jack Russell (we think). I have processed the image in Photoshop by adding a texture from The Graphics Fairy in order to bring out the vibrance of his fur coat and the colour of the grass, although that vibrance is missing in the screenshot of the spiral notebook below.

I never thought it was possible to love an animal as much as I love Pisch. Yes, that’s his name and before you all start to comment on what it means in German, let me explain that it came about when he was rescued by a friend of ours who wanted to find a home for him. “What do you call him?” I asked. “Pisch,” said our friend. He went on to say, “As in the noise you make to get a cat to go away.” So there you have it. He’s seven years old and I want him to live forever!

The Magnificent Mongrel © Sarah Vernon

I probably wouldn’t have put him up for sale, so to speak, had it not been for a Cats & Dogs Challenge at the Art Universe group on Redbubble. I’m still not sure about uploading it to the other galleries. I would have turned him into a digital painting if my GMX-PhotoPainter software was working. But it ain’t!

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‘Yes, he’s got all them different kinds of thoroughbred blood in him, and he’s got other kinds you ain’t mentioned and that you ain’t slick enough to see.’ – Don Marquis

♦

‘He wa’n’t no common dog, he wa’n’t no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dog is a dog that is made up of all the valuable qualities that’s in the dog breed—kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of all riffraff that’s left over.’ – Mark Twain

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Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble

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First Night Design | ‘Make Me a Willow Cabin…’ #Valentine

Make Me a Willow Cabin Valentine Postcard

Make Me a Willow Cabin was created some time ago but I don’t think I’ve ever sold it as a greeting card or postcard or on anything, which is a shame. I’m rather fond of it.

‘Make me a willow cabin…,’ declares Viola to Olivia in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Viola, disguised as Cesario, has been sent by Orsino to declare his love for Olivia. Viola, however, chooses to give the message in her own way, telling Olivia that if he, Cesario, were in love with her, he would go much further than simply send a go-between.

Available at the following galleries:
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK

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First Night Design | Sweet and Simple #Christmas Cards

Holly Christmas Greeting Card

Look, Mummy, look! I’ve decorated the inside of these cards as well.

Holly Christmas Greeting Card

Holly Christmas Greeting Card

And I’ve made them in several different languages along with a secular one. Aren’t I clever, Mummy!

Feliz Navidad Postcard

Joyeux Noël Postcard

Frohe Weihnachten Postcard

Buon Natale Postcard

Season’s Greetings Postcard

As you can see, they’re available as cards and postcards and look, matching gift tags!

Season’s Greetings Pack Of Gift Tags

Matching wrapping paper.

Joyeux Noël Wrapping Paper

Matching paper napkins.

Buon Natale Standard Cocktail Napkin

Matching mugs.

Frohe Weihnachten Two-Tone Coffee Mug

And more…

Rather like the UK never being ready for snow which falls oh so irregularly every year, Zazzle is never prepared for Christmas when sellers and shoppers are at their busiest. The links below, therefore, are not entirely reliable as only the gift tags are showing at present.

Available at Zazzle:
Holly Christmas [US]
Holly Christmas [UK]
Feliz Navidad [US]
Feliz Navidad [UK]
Joyeux Noël [US]
Joyeux Noël [UK]
Frohe Weihnachten [US]
Frohe Weihnachten [UK]
Season’s Greetings [US]
Season’s Greetings [UK]
Buon Natale [US]
Buon Natale [UK]

Take care and keep laughing!