Easter Greetings from 973

Vintage card images above and more may be found here.

Romantic Fonts for Valentine's Day

Looking to make a sweet Valentine greeting for someone special? Try one of these inspiring romantic (and free) fonts to get you started.

For more Valentine's Day card ideas, click here and here.

http://www.dafont.com/james-fajardo.font (Happy Valentine's day)
http://www.fonts2u.com/windsong.font (Please be Mine)
http://www.dafont.com/fiolex-girls.font (Love from 973 Third)

Creative and Green Gift Wrapping

Gift wrapping can be beautiful in its simplicity. Here are some ideas for inspiration from the goddess of good things, Martha Stewart. Above, brown craft paper tied with string works nicely with a fresh sprig of greens tucked in and a red bordered sticker label for a tag.

Recycling the drawings or doodles of your resident artist makes a cheerful and personal wrapping tied up with a bow.

A solid color paper or tissue looks elegant with a pretty bow and a little greenery attached.

Japanese style wrapping, furoshiki, with a piece of fabric or scarf self-tied as a carry-all is a thoughtful practice of the 3 Rs.

Natural materials as leaves and pods wrapped in rafia or grasses add an organic touch for your gifts.

Newspapers, maps, and strips of paper can be layered for an entirely recycled and creative wrapping.

Twist a sparkling or contrasting pipe cleaner into an initial or monogram to personalize your packaging.

Stamps and stickers, with a touch of red or green, make ideal tags for marking your gifts.

All images from here.

Vintage Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day with Love from 973 Third

Vintage card images courtesy of Susan Breslow Sardone

Make Your Own Silhouettes

The art of cutting paper into outlines of shapes and figures is a traditional practice in portraiture. In the 18th century, it was a proper amusement for both men and women to recreate a person's likeness by tracing or freehand, then cutting it out from a thin black paper. Sometimes an entire scene of figures would be trimmed out and mounted on paper with a background drawn to create an interior or landscape around them.

Today you can use your likeness as more than a traditional decoration and as something practical, too. Here are some suggestions from a few of my favorite blogs to fit a silhouette into your home collection.

A personalized bulletin board in the shape of a silhouette would be a striking addition to a front entrance hall or a spot above your desk. Click here for the instructions from Country Living.



Homemade cards are a greatly appreciated gesture and such fun to receive. Embellish them with a silhouette cut from a charming patterned paper for a handsome looking card. Click here for instructions from a new book via Design Sponge.



Portraits of family or friends look terrific in profile and resting on the sofa. This is a clever idea for a decorative pillow that's easy to make. Click here for the instructions from Mrs. Blandings, a blog I recommend visiting, anyway.

Vintage Cards for Mother's Day

Julia Ward Howe, poet, social activist and author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" proposed a Mother's Day in her 1870 proclamation, in reaction to the devastation of the Civil War, encouraging women to come together to oppose war and promote peace. She also believed in the equality of women.

Anna Reeves Jarvis, teacher, local activist, worked for better sanitation for both sides of the opposition during the Civil War. After she died, her daughter Anna Jarvis continued with her mother's work and tried to create a day to honor all mothers, living and dead. In 1907, she gave out white carnations to all the mothers at St Andrew's Church in Grafton, WV. On May 10, 1908, St. Andrews offered a Sunday service honoring mothers. In 1914 Mother's Day was created in the United States.

Happy Mother's Day!

Easter Greetings from 973

More vintage holiday cards may be found at http://vintageholidaycrafts.com