Vintage Printable

Since I've been sharing some ways to decorate for little or no money, I thought I would wrap up the week with a source for inexpensive artwork.

You may have already heard of Vintage Printable, a collection of public domain images that can be downloaded or printed.  As the name suggests, the files are scanned from vintage books, maps, and other documents.  There are lots of scientific images, vintage maps, botanical prints, and book illustrations.

I used a couple butterfly prints in our house:

The site hosts thousands of images, which is great if you are looking for something unique, but it can be a bit difficult to find what you need.  Try searching with a general topic or color, and click on a gallery to scroll through many images quickly.  Here are a few images I like:

{A set of these German stamps featuring different animals would make for a kid-friendly wall display - I would hang them in a symmetrical arrangement in matching frames and mats.  Check out other styles in the gallery HERE.}

 {Color wheel image.  This would look cool blown up and placed in a white frame.}

{Pheasant feathers}

{One of many cyanotypes available}

{Dragon textile print}

{Pretty pink shells}

You can use these images in many ways.  One obvious and easy choice would be to frame them--either one or a set--to hang on your wall.  You can print them at home (try using photo paper or cardstock) or take the images to a local printer.  An image with a repeating pattern lends itself well to many uses, such as wrapping paper, gift tags, homemade cards, or even lining a drawer or the bottom of a tray.

The link to the website again: HERE.