Free Clip Art from Vintage Holiday Crafts » Angels and Cherubs

Free Vintage Christmas Clip Art Images

Holiday Crafts — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:36:14 +0000

I love vintage Christmas clip art, and from my experience so do a lot of other people. These nine free vintage clip art images are particularly nice, in my opinion. Not only are they fine examples of authentic vintage Christmas art but they’re also large-sized, which means you can use them for far more than just the web.

People who prefer a more religious or spiritual slant to their Christmas images should appreciate these, as their are several that depict the baby Jesus in the manger with angels. There are also angels by themselves; two of them even look like they’re delivering a Christmas tree. Speaking of Christmas trees, there is also an image of Victorian children playing with their toys beneath one, and a woman carrying one in miniature. Together these form a nice collection that I’m sure you’ll find useful for Web sites, blogs, handmade Christmas cards, scrapbooking and other crafts.

To see and download larger versions of the free images, just click on the images below (enlarged sizes vary)

As I look at these illustrations, I have to wonder how many different artists are represented. If you look closely, the style of each image is a little different. When you think about how many vintage images are on this site or out on the Internet, they must represent a huge number of talented people. Unfortunately, these people go mostly unnoticed.

The same could probably be said for modern greeting card and clip art artists. They do what they do for pay, because the electric bill needs to be paid — no matter how talented they are. Some of today’s artists might even have huge portfolios of outstanding images, yet you’ll never know their names. So here’s to the unsung artists who enrich our lives silently every day. With any luck they enjoy their work and so will continue to give us images that will become the next millennium’s vintage art. And if you know artists who toil in obscurity, be sure to give them liberal praise. You just might be encouraging tomorrow’s masterpieces.

You might also be interested in these other images:

We also have some colorful contemporary Hanukkah clip art. And letâ€™s not forget New Yearâ€™s! Check out our free vintage New Year cards, vintage New Year clip art and contemporary New Yearâ€™s Eve clip art.

Free Vintage Valentine’s Cards: Pretty Women

Holiday Crafts — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:35:51 +0000

When preparing to post my vintage Valentine cards, I divided them into categories. It turned out I had so many Valentine cards with women on them, I made that a category. But when it came time to choose the cards that would actually go on the site, I decided I should use only pretty women. Love makes us all pretty, yes? Granted, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in my opinion these vintage ladies are pretty. Some of the poetry is a little questionable, but what the heck. (See the poem on the card with the women’s head coming out of the purple morning glory. I have no idea what it means.)

As lovely as these pretty women are, I’m sure you’ll also want to visit the Valentine art resources linked below, as well as those in the sidebar. I hope you have fun downloading and that you enjoy Valentine’s Day!

Click one of the free vintage Valentines below to view and download a larger version (enlarged sizes vary):

Other free Valentineâ€™s Day art:

_Like what you see? Please help others find our free Valentineâ€™s Day cards by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Free Vintage Fruit Crate Labels

Holiday Crafts — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:57:50 +0000

What’s not to love about vintage fruit crate labels? They’re colorful and often whimsical, and were created to a much higher standard than they probably deserved, given that they were destined for the trash before having a new life on the Internet.

Another thing I like about them is that they’re ethnically diverse for the most part — and in a good way. Vintage cigar labels were often filled with negative interpretations of African Americans. But vintage fruit crate labels seem to be more egalitarian. As a result, you’ll see Latin Americans and African Americans presented in relatively positive contexts. Having said that, I know some people might rankle at the term “Aunty” being used along with the image of an African American woman, because that term was used during slavery. But if you remember the time these labels came from and how far we’ve come in the interim, it might be easier to appreciate that particular label for its artistic value.

Please read our TERMS OF USE and then click a vintage fruit crate label image below to view and download a larger version:

Like what you see? Please help others find our vintage product labels by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Please note that posting these images to any blog, Web site or forum â€” either commercial or non-commercial â€” without following the rules in our terms of use is considered copyright infringement.

Free Vintage New Year Cards

Holiday Crafts — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:59:51 +0000

Can you believe that it’s almost time for another new year? No matter how you might feel about the swift passage of time (at least it seems incredibly swift to me), you’ve got to love these vintage New Year cards. Unlike vintage Christmas cards, which have pretty predictable themes; the subjects portrayed on these New Year’s cards vary widely. In addition to the expected champagne, clocks, and good-luck four-leaf clovers and horseshoes; there are cats, angels, pansies, birds, country scenes, blue Delft tiles and even an elf or two.

I hope you enjoy these vintage New Year cards and that they brighten up your transition to the new year!

Click one of the free vintage New Year cards below to view and download a larger version (enlarged sizes vary):

Like what you see? Please help others find all our free vintage greeting cards by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Free Vintage Christmas Cards: Baby Jesus and Nativity Scenes

Holiday Crafts — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:26:38 +0000

I had a request to post some spiritual vintage Christmas cards. Although there weren’t a lot of these type of vintage Christmas cards in my collection, I was able to find some nativity scenes; images of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus; Jesus Christ in the arms of Christmas angels; and even a little shepherd who happens upon the manger scene. There’s also an image of Jesus Christ as a little boy, looking very powerful and peaceful. I’d have to say that one is my favorite.

Click one of the free vintage Christmas cards below to view and download a larger version (enlarged sizes vary):


		Special thanks to Maryjane Bigler of The Beehive Cottage for the lovely Christmas photo to the left

One of the things I love most about vintage art — especially vintage Christmas cards — is the quality of the paintings. I would say that some of them below are on a par with the gorgeous art you would find in the Vatican. On that note, if you’d like to see a variety of religious-themed images from the Vatican as well as photos of the Vatican itself, visit the Vatican City Pictures blog.

I hope you find a good use for these vintage Christmas cards. Please feel free to leave a comment telling us what you did with them. You could be an inspiration to others. Thanks, and have a wonderful holiday!

You might also be interested in these other vintage Christmas images:

We also have some colorful contemporary Hanukkah clip art. And let’s not forget New Year’s! Check out our free vintage New Year cards, vintage New Year clip art and contemporary New Year’s Eve clip art. They’re sure to put you in a party mood!

Like what you see? Please help others find our vintage Christmas images by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Free Victorian Valentines: Cherubs

Holiday Crafts — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:46:53 +0000

I have a theory that Victorian Valentines are so beautiful because Valentine’s Day is all about love — and love inspires. You’ll find many vintage images on this site, but in my opinion the Victorian Valentines are the most ornate and colorful. This post contains just some of the many images in a larger collection of vintage Valentine’s day greeting cards and clip art. When you look at all the art, I think you’ll agree there’s something consistently beautiful about the Valentine’s Day images. I hope you enjoy them and find them useful!

Please look underneath the Victorian Valentine cherub images below for links to other Valentine’s Day art.

Click one of the free vintage Victorian Valentine cherubs below to view and download a larger version (enlarged sizes vary):

Other free Valentine’s Day art:

Like what you see? Please help others find our free Valentine’s Day cards and clip art by linking to us from your blog or Web site.