Inspiration from a hankerchief

HI Everyone - I've been working on a few vintage mirrors this week. I've used a Paris-themed design on many of my mirrors in the past, but this particular one had cleaner lines & looked a little "art-deco" to me (even though the frame started out a vibrant aqua color). Soooo... I knew I wanted to come up with something more American, 20's or 30's era. I started googling art deco hotels & architecture, & came up with the design you see on this mirror. Of course, I never copy an old sign word for word, but I like to use old signs & photos as inspiration - to create something that could have been realistic to a certain time period or fictional place.

Anyway, I looked over on my side table at a few old hankies I had received from my mom. She had them from her grandma - so I'm guessing they were originally made in the 20's or 30's? I've looked at them before, but never really stopped to think about how much time or artistry actually went into them. I found a beautiful scroll applique on one, & decided it would make a perfect side bracket to my lettering on the mirror. Check out the hankie:

And here's how it ended up painted on my mirror:

And.... the finished product! One note about this picture - no matter how hard I try, I have yet to master the art of photographing mirrors. Any tips? I'll keep trying, eventually I'll find a way to capture what it looks like in person. For now, I seem to get a lot of glare, flash, etc.

Another note about the hankies - do you think ladies from way back had hankie competitions? Some are so intricate & beautiful, you'd think they'd have some sort of "hankie-off" or enter them into the county fair. Hmmmm....

Here's some bonus pictures - my little border collie, who absolutely loves to lick my soap sitting in a dish on my bathroom shelves. What is up with this? I don't understand. Maybe she knows she's been bad & she's attempting to punish herself. I guess there are worse things for her to be licking - if you're a dog owner, you know what I mean.

After she's been caught licking the soap... her she is licking her chops. Mmmmmm.... Soapy!

Other news - I found out this week I've been accepted into the Fall Diddley Craft show in October - Belvidere, IL. I haven't done this show in the past, but I did the companion show last year (Fair Diddley, in May 2007). Fair Diddley went fairly well for me, considering it was only one day & it was 50 degrees & rainy. This year, I decided to go all out & try the 2 day fall show (Fall Diddley) with a double booth. Sooo... we will see how this goes. If you live up in Northern Illinois - come stop by! (see my website: www.secondchanceart.net, and click on "show schedule").

Bye for now - thanks for stopping by! :) Amy