Where my inspiration comes from...

All of the Christmas decorations are down and put away for another year. I am going through the photos and will be putting a few posts together of 2014's Christmas decorations. Life is getting back to normal.

When I was getting the New Year's postcards together ready to scan I came across two antique Christmas cards that were the inspiration for "ilexander". I'll show him at the end of this post. You can have a look at the New Year's card and postcard blog posts here, here, and here.

I love this silly image of the holly berry guys popping a Christmas cracker.

The verse is delightful.

I had really only looked at the image on the front before and was very surprised when I turned it over after scanning the front to see that printed on the back is

Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd.

Publishers to the King and Queen.

Copyright London.

and at the bottom

PRINTED IN ENGLAND

I had no idea that I owned a Raphael Tuck card.

This is another antique card that unfortunately has no information on it as to where it was printed but it does look English.

I had not looked at these two cards for many years and was very surprised that they were quite different from what I remembered.

Here is "ilexander" my candy container sculpture that grew out of the two cards. His head is definitely inspired by the first card. The second card inspired the holly staff and if you look at that card you will realize that the large holly leaves that little guy is carrying as well as his long pointed ears inspired the holly leaves at the base of his head. The leaves were definitely needed to show that he was a holly berry but they also create a collar for his jacket.

I had not looked at either of the Christmas cards for at least five years before or during the creation process; the two images morphed into one image in my mind and then evolved into the finished sculpture. I love the creation process!

Go to my Etsy shop to purchase ilexander, there are other views of him as well.

More Antique Christmas Cards

These antique Christmas cards are made of celluloid, an early form of plastic. There is an inner lining of paper. They date to the turn of the last century.

The designs were used for various occasions. There would have been an appropriate sentiment printed on the inside to suit the particular occasion for which they meant. Some of these cards are very deeply embossed and are truly elegant.

Looking at these cards from a 21st century point of view it is a little difficult to see why these flowers and emblems were used. The Victorians loved to convey coded messages. Floriography, more commonly called the language of flowers, was used allowing individuals to express feelings that otherwise could not be spoken. Remember that Victorian England was very proper and the way in which you presented yourself was of utmost importance.

These are the symbols and flowers depicted on the cards. After reading the individual meanings that I have listed below see if you can find the sentiments that are hidden in these antique Christmas cards.

We associate the swastika with the Nazi regime, but this symbol has a long history in cultural design. It was adopted by them and now has a very unsavory image. The Nazi swastika also had the arms going in the other direction. Traditionally the reverse swastika has been used as a symbol of good luck, welfare, prosperity or victory.

The wishbone usually stands for a wish or desire.

The horseshoe stands for fortune or good luck.

The anchor was an early Christian symbol commonly found in the Roman catacombs. It was used on Christian tombs as a symbol of the hope we have in Christ beyond this life. Most likely the symbol comes from this verse:

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:19-20

Daisy – Innocence; loyal love; I’ll never tell; purity.

Ivy – Fidelity; friendship; wedded love; affection.

Aster – Love; daintiness.

Pansy – Thoughts; love.

Red roses – Love; I love you.

Bouquet of roses in full bloom – Gratitude.

Blue violet – Watchfulness; faithfulness; I'll always be true.

Don't forget to go to the NORAD Santa tracking site this evening.

Have a very Merry Christmas from me, Len Bentham at Happy Holidays.

Antique Christmas Cards

Early Christmas cards did not have the iconic images on them that we now associate with Christmas. This antique Christmas card is one of my favourites.

The main body of the card is handmade paper. The top right corner is folded over and held in place by a diamond shaped piece of card, covered in blue velvet. It reveals the smaller card inside the large card. Mounted on top of the blue velvet is an embossed die cut celluloid fan surrounded by violets. The bottom right hand corner has an embossed, die cut metal word "remembrance". There is a blue silk ribbon on the left-hand side with bows at the top and bottom.

The smaller card inside has two undulating lines of glitter at the top and bottom of the picture of the cottage. On the right hand side behind the violets is a die cut fretwork design in white. This would have been an expensive card due to all of the handwork involved.