A Shamrock Is Not A 4-Leaf Clover

It is that time of year again.  When I was a girl, Saint Patrick’s day was a holy day, not the commercial mess it has become in the USA.  In addition to the green beer and stereotypes of drunken hooligans, the four leaf clover images used instead of shamrocks are cropping up everywhere to sell anything that is plastic and green.  *Sigh*  Yes, it annoys me.

Coping With Downton Abbey Withdrawals – Jane Austen & Dickens Treatment

If you have loved the Masterpiece PBS series Downton Abbey, you may be feeling withdrawals from the drama after last night’s finale of the season.  Until the third season is aired, where do we turn for our romantic fix?  Never fear, Jane Austen is here… and Charles Dickens (a Dickens series beginning on Masterpiece) and the many books written in homage to Austen.  Among the period gems from the past of PBS Masterpiece are Upstairs Downstairs, The Forsyte Saga, The Jewel In The Crown, and Bleak House.  I have been a fan of PBS Masterpiece and the original Masterpiece Theater since it began.  I am very glad that Downton Abbey has brought more attention to this wonderful service of PBS.

Don’t forget to tune in next Sunday night for the repeat of The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.

Above is one of my many illustrations related to Jane Austen, and this Pemberley design was also inspired by Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed.  The design is in my aliceflynn.etsy.com shop, and on many items at Cafepress.com CLICK HERE.

A Vintage Valentine

My mother collected post cards and greeting cards.  In the shoe box of cards (vintage now but from her time) was this beautiful vintage valentine, die cut, embossed and layered.

Mr. Darcy, The Heart Throb Valentine of Pemberley

“… and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.” Chapter 3, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The above design is on gifts at the link HERE (click).

What a complete turn-around it is for Mr. Darcy to be portrayed first as a jerk and then as the ultimate heart-throb that Jane Austen fans swoon over.

The many film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice have brought Mr. Darcy to the attention of women who otherwise would never have known the longing of Elizabeth and the estate of Pemberley.

Meh, A Very Happy Unvalentine To You

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day?  Meh?

Then I created this design for YOU!

You can find it in my Cafepress shop online in the Candy Hearts Section HERE.

(You are not alone).

BBC News – Art historians find copy of the Mona Lisa

BBC News – Art historians find copy of the Mona Lisa.  This is a fascinating video report by the BBC.  It is so exciting to see this new discovery of a Mona Lisa work done by Leonardo’s student at the same time as the master painted the Mona Lisa.

A Typographer’s Letter to Brad Bird – the candler blog

A Typographer’s Letter to Brad Bird – the candler blog.

Yes, some people do notice the font you use in your movie.