Free Illustrated Vintage Poem: The Lights of Home by Helen Marion Burnside

THE LIGHTS OF HOME
by HELEN MARION BURNSIDE

When shades of night are falling
And on the winding road,
With footsteps slow and weary,
The home-bound toilers plod.
How heart and feet grow lighter,
When through the mist and gloom,
With cheery ray across the way,
Shine out the lights of home!
O hallowed, homely beacon,
Where'er our steps may roam,
Shine out and guide, from far and wide,
The wanderers safely home!

When life's brief day is closing,
Its toils and sorrows past,
And when for peaceful slumber
We fold our hands at last,
How softly to our vision,
How sweetly through the gloom,
From mansions fair that wait us there
Will shine the Lights of Home!
O heavenly, homely beacon,
Where'er our feet may roam,
Shine out and guide, from far and wide,
The wanderers safely Home!

Poem originally published August 14, 1897. You can download this poem as a high-res 12" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG (without a watermark) for card making, collage, junk journal or scrapbooking projects here.


Public domain poem is from my personal collection. All digitized poems by FieldandGarden.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please credit and link back to FieldandGarden.com as your source if you use or share this work.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Madame Lerolle by Henri Fantin-Latour

Stephen kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.

Stephen’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robin’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.
― Sara Teasdale, The Collected Poems

Altered version of a painting titled "Madame Lerolle," originally painted in 1882 by Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904). You can find the image of the original painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art's site or you can download my digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 12" x 16.5" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Simply print and frame for tabletop or wall artI but could also be used as a cover for a journal or scrapbooking project.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Free Illustrated Template for Graphic Design, Journaling or Scrapbooking: Free to Fly

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all.
Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.
So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you.
And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices,
but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.
― Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Ilustrated template featuring antique paper and a Victorian lady allowing a bird to fly free from its cage. Download and print for announcements, invitations, journaling, scrapbooking or other design projects with a vintage nature theme.You can download the high-res 12" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All pre-made templates by FieldandGarden.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Bouvardia 'Alfred Neuner'

It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something
that makes a life worth living.
― Oliver Wendell Holmes

Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.
― Norman Vincent Peale

Botanical illustration from late 1890s showing Bouvardia 'Alfred Neuner,' a flowering shrub with double, white flowers slightly tinged with rose. Encyclopaedia description also lists other varieties such as BRILLIANT, DAZZLER, HOGARTH, LONGIFLORA FLAMMEA, MAIDEN'S BLUSH, PRESIDENT GARFIELD, QUEEN OF ROSES, and VREELAND.

Bouvardia is a species that enjoys full sun and is attractive to hummingbirds. The genus is named in honor of Charles Bouvard (1572–1658), physician to Louis XIII, and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris. In the language of flowers, Bouvardia symbolize enthusiasm.

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 5" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Sunlight (1)

Don't be ashamed to weep; 'tis right to grieve.
Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water.
But there must be sunlight also.
A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does,
the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.
― Brian Jacques, Taggerung

Botanical photo showing three yellow echinacea (coneflowers). Possibly Sombrero Lemon Yellow. or Echinacea purpurea ‘Mellow Yellows’. Available as a high-res download here.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Free Aged Paper Background for Graphic Design, Journaling, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Bees in the Meadow Poem and English Meadow Landscape Illustration

BEES IN THE MEADOW
by MRS. SANGSTER
Bees in the meadow,
Birds on the bough,
Bloom on the hill-side ―
Play-time is now.

Stones in the pasture,
Weeds in the bed;
Haying and harvest,
Hard work ahead.

Loud sings the robin,
"If you'd be gay,
Take the work, lad
The heart of the play."

Aged paper background with a combination of different vintage scraps, including a nature poem from 1881 and an illustration of an English meadow from 1887. You can download the free high-res 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for graphic design, journaling, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


All pre-made templates by FieldandGarden.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Illustrated Templates for Graphic Design, Journaling or Scrapbooking: Recipe Cards with Vintage Illustrations of Kale

I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems.
Nothing is worth diminishing your health.
Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear.
― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

If you feel like making something healthy this weekend, here are a couple of recipe card templates to help you jot down your cooking notes and thoughts. The cards feature two vintage botabical illustrations of kale from c1900. The first variety of borecole is a dwarf green curled Scotch kale. Borecole has very frizzy curled deep green leaves held on sturdy plants which need no staking.The older larger leaves will be more bitter so best to use only young leaves. You can find a simple borecole and potato salad recipe here.

The second recipe card features a variety of borecole known as "brown curled kale." I still see seeds for brown varieties of lettuce but I have never come across seeds for a brown kale. This may be an heirloom variety that has died out as it became unpopular? If anyone knows of a supplier, please feel free to leave a note in the comments. Here is a delicious-sounding recipe for kale with browned butter, garlic and pan-fried walnuts.

You could print the cards for recipes but you might also use them for gift tags, invitations, journaling or scrapbooking.You can find the free high-res 7" x 5" @ 300 ppi JPEGs without a watermark here.


All pre-made templates by FieldandGarden.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Iridescent (1)

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss...."
He turned to me. "But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent,
and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped

Flower photo featuring Lilium Lily Looks™ Tiny Padhye. These dwarf Asiatic lilies were developed in the Netherlands and were intended for containers. I have planted them in front of my rock garden where they are partially in shade. They seem to be doing quite well!

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Lilies 2

Don't let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions.
It's your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you;
do what makes you feel alive and happy.
Don't let the expectations and ideas of others limit who you are.
If you let others tell you who you are, you are living their reality — not yours.
There is more to life than pleasing people.
There is much more to life than following others' prescribed path.
There is so much more to life than what you experience right now.
You need to decide who you are for yourself. Become a whole being. Adventure.
― Roy T. Bennett

Botanical illustration of eight lilies. Lilies are numbered as follows: Topmost lily (5); second row left (2), second row right (3); centre left (6), centre middle (1), centre right (4); bottom left (7), bottom right (5).

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 9" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Vintage Botanical Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Lilies 1

Write it on your heart you are the most beautiful soul of the Universe.
Realize it, honor it and celebrate the life.
― Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power

To think what is true, to sense what is beautiful and to want what is good,
hereby the spirit finds purpose of a life in reason.
― Johann Gottfried Herder

Botanical illustration of four lilies. From the top, first lily on the left is Lilium japonicum or Japan Lily; second lily (on the right) in Lilium lanceolatum or the Lanceolate-leaved Lily; third lily down (on the left) is Lilium speciosum or the Showy Lily; last lily on the bottom right is Lilium thunbergianum or Thunberg's Lily.You can read more detailed descriptions below:

You can download this vintage botanical illustration as a free high-res 9" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here. Great for collage art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Beautiful (1)

It's not my responsibility to be beautiful.
I'm not alive for that purpose.
My existence is not about how desirable you find me.
― Warsan Shire

Flower photo featuring a light pink rose in summer sunlight. Available as a high-res download here.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Come Into the Light

COMING FORTH INTO THE LIGHT

I was born the day
I thought:
What is?
What was?
And
What if?

I was transformed the day
My ego shattered,
And all the superficial, material
Things that mattered
To me before,
Suddenly ceased
To matter.

I really came into being
The day I no longer cared about
What the world thought of me,
Only on my thoughts for
Changing the world.
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun
Park bench beside a meandering path at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden, surrounded by evergreen and deciduous trees in summertime.

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Geraniums by Childe Hassam

Summer is a period of luxurious growth.
To be in harmony with the atmosphere of summer,awaken early in the morning
and reach to the sun for nourishment to flourish as the gardens do.
Work, play, travel, be joyful, and grow into selfless service.
The bounty of the outside world enters and enlivens us.
― Paul Pitchford, Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition

Altered vintage painting titled "Geraniums" by Childe Hassam (1859–1935). You can find the image of the original painting on Wikimedia here and you can download my digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Simply print and frame for tabletop or wall artI but could also be used as a cover in a garden journal or scrapbooking project.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

My Photo Journal: Maple in Sunlight and Shade

How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow?
I must have a dark side also If I am to be whole.
― C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul

So don't be frightened, dear friend,
if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known,
casting its shadow over all you do.
You must think that something is happening within you,
and remember that life has not forgotten you;
it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.
Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness,
any pain, any depression,
since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

A mature maple tree (Acer) casting a shadow as the sun shines against its back.

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Vintage Art Appreciation: A Spanish Garden by Martín Rico

I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days
― three such days with you I could fill with more delight
than fifty common years could ever contain.
― John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing ―
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of your rowing ―
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say 'forget.'
― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

Altered vintage painting titled "A Spanish Garden" by Martín Rico (1833 – 1908). You can find the image of the original painting on Wikimedia here and you can download my digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Simply print and frame for tabletop or wall artI but could also be used as a cover in a garden journal or scrapbooking project.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Free Vintage Outdoor Illustration for Collage Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Ladies with Wildflowers Set 1

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Vintage illustrations of two ladies in outdoor settings who have just gathered bundles of wildflowers.You can download theese images as a free 12" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark for collage, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.