Happy Halloween ... Just a Little Early

The first thing I've got today is a little Halloween graphic you can use on your site, or your FB page even in your email if you want.

And the next is a life-thought. So many people waste time. Some say all we have is time, but the truth is, nobody really knows how much time they have.

Moving Right Along Towards 500 Stock Photos

Between the last post and today's, we've managed to get a bunch more photos uploaded to the various categories, including some winter landscapes (ice fishing, park bench, sunsets, skating rinks), a few new people photos, a couple of nice birthday cake shots in the food section, a few more in the pets category, quite a lot more in the general category (everything from toilet paper to lipstick samples), and the Toys section is up and running with a few more additions to that as well.

There's a couple of new Victorian furniture pieces, and a stained glass lamp in the interiors section, a few new bits and pieces in the christmas section, and a couple of new things in the books and newspapers section.


If you are inclined towards textures or backgrounds, we'll be getting around towards uploading some of those in the next months.

Mixed Bag of Goodies

Well today is just a big mixed bag of stuff, from a stethoscope to a designer handbag and jewelry - a little outside of my usual since I try to keep things to a theme, so you'll just have to pick through them one at a time today to find what you need.

A vintage pin (brooch) from the early 1960s in silver plating with faux sapphires and rhinestones in a large sweeping design.

This belonged to my mother and once upon a time also had a pair of clip-on matching earrings.

My grandmother had the same set with green stones (or "faux emeralds" if you like, lol). These types of sets could often be purchased at department stores like Zellers, K-Mart, or Woolco (now WalMart of course) back in the 1960s and 1970s).

Here's another vintage pin that belonged to my mother - a butterfly design in silver plate with rhinestones and faux garnets.

One For the Ladies

Well, we've had a couple of posts designed distinctly for the men, so today's is mostly for the women and girls...rings, rings and more rings. I've got some other jewelry to post later on - necklaces, watches (mens and ladies), and vintage brooches (pins), but for today, just a few rings.


This rather large ring is silver with cubic zirconias in a round pattern. Designed after a dinner-ring style, it's meant for wearing at a fancy dinner party or large event. This one is about 15 years old, and still looks pretty good on the hand.


This wedding ring set has been seen on this blog before, in a velvet box. Here, they are viewed from the font, instead of the side. A delicate set with raised shoulders, these are 14 karat gold with single diamonds in both the engagement ring and wedding ring.

Hey Guys...More Stuff for You!

I put this stuff up there for the guys, but I have to admit...these are pretty much all my tools (except for the duct tape). I had to use mine because nobody can ever find my husband's...not even him. So while this stuff was posted for the handy-men out there, I really do know that women make use of these things almost as often as men.


My husband bought this staple gun for me because I couldn't use the old regular one anymore. I don't have the hand strength that I once had and found I couldn't get the staples to go into anything...not even a simple job like recovering a footstool. This one, though - it just works like a charm.


This is my little "ladies" hammer. Smaller and lighter than a normal hammer, it's been pretty handy for hanging small pictures and building crafty projects (small birdhouses, my dollhouse and miniatures). I like it's weight - it isn't so heavy that it throws my aim off like the heavier ones, but it's not much good for driving in heavy nails.

Today's Free Photos: In the Office

Today, almost everyone has a home office, whether it's used for business, or the running of day-to-day household accounts, or as an entertainment area, the home office has almost become a standard for most people. So, for those who blog about the business of business or the business of living, some free stock photos of stuff you use in the office.
The household budget. This photo is a few years old now, so figures have changed quite a bit for most of us (on the upward side), as has the cost of gasoline. In Canada the cost of gasoline over the last few years has fluctuated wildly; not only over the course of time, but we also see this trend weekly. Gas prices during mid-week (Monday afternoons to early Thursday mornings) are considerably lower than gas prices from Thursday noon to Monday mornings. Why? Gas retailers raise prices towards to weekend to catch the travelers on their way to holidays or weekend homes.

These days, a family budget is a must if one is going to survive the economic crunch. Tracking your budget and spending within it, can save your bacon...or at least leave you enough money to buy some bacon.


Another cell phone...actually, it's the same cell phone as the previous picture, this time open and plugged-in to charge it's battery. The screen shows the charging battery and having photographed this photo on a piece of black opaque glass there is a reasonably well defined reflection. Cell phones aren't just for office or business use of course, but today it's definitely a part of many businesses. (*NB: This post was written back in 2009, and even then this phone was not the newest thing out there. Mobile devices in 2018 offer much more than just a way to phone someone, including the ability to surf the net, take pictures and videos, can handle video chat and most don't have the fold down screen any longer).

Focus on the Men - Free Stock Photos

Going for a little bit of a focus on things related to men, and things men like (usually, but this doesn't include women or significant others, which men also tend to like). Just a few today, probably more in future. Starting off the line-up today, the ever present cell phone.

In actual fact, women use them as often as men, but men (most) have a tendency to like gadgetry, and a cell phone is certainly that. This one is an older model - we still have it (my husband's old one), though it's no longer in use, it does still work. It seems that in today's world, most people can't get by without one.

I have one (at my husband's insistence) but almost never use it. I dunno - I'm not a big phone addict on the whole anyways, and just taking one when I'm going on a hike seems...well, sort of like an intrustion. Usually I have this sort of "object" photo on a white background. Today's is black for a little variety.


Just an old guitar - well, part of it anyways. For some reason even men who are not very musically inclined seem to like guitars - maybe it's the wood, or the shape, or maybe it's just the dreams people associate with guitars, like becoming a famous singer, or ... maybe it's just wanting to share your feelings through music.

This old baby has been around a while, and she's minus all of her strings except one. Easily repaired, she hasn't been. She sits in her case, all alone.This one belonged to my father-in-law who played it everywhere, and he was good at it. I'm sorry to say he's gone now, and the old girl has been sitting in her case waiting for someone else to love her.

A New “Blogger” Blog to Join My Others

For sometime now I’ve been using blogger for a variety of blogs – some personal, some tutorial and instructional, some to explore art and artists, and some to give away free things.

One of my other blogs (3D Textures & Background Textures) gets a fair number of visitors, so I’ve decided to add a free photo blog on blogger as well. I have one existing give-away blog on word-press (I really like the wordpress platform) but unfortunately, you are somewhat limited in what you can do on wordpress. Editing the template is a non-existent function unless you pay for it.

So, without further explanation, here are the first free stock photos on my new blog. And just so you know – these are my images, not anyone else’s. They are not taken or borrowed from stock sites. And yes, they are free for other blog writer's and webmasters to use – just make sure you follow the terms (see those at the right in the sidebar, and on the download page).

The little brown jug – supersized. This large pottery jug isn’t something you’d want to heft onto your shoulder. It is a jug for storing liquid (circa late 1800s to early 1900s) and overglazed with clear glaze below and brown glaze on the top.

Rulers and measuring devices – a selection of different types. An older one (early 1970s) given out as a promo by Canadian Tire (the clear green plastic one); another vintage piece is the wooden one: a “yardstick” from the Co-op store (latterly known as the Farm Store); a common metal builder’s tape measure (the thicker yellow one); a small keychain tape measure (fine yellow one); a metal office rule; a large blue plastic ruler given out by the Bank of Montreal, and a selection of dressmaker’s tapes (blue and pink).

Some vintage flash bulbs for the photographer’s out there. These are from the late 1950s and belonged to my dad. When he passed away 8 years ago I inherited all his photography “stuff” and quite a few of these were among them…some were still in the boxes, and some were tied up in large clear plastic bags. Some were clear, like these, and some had blue-tinted glass. You can see the cardboard tray that these came in is still intact.

Here we have another item that was pretty popular in the 1950s – the hula dancer novelty item. These are somewhat similar to the “bobble-heads”, but it’s the bodies that “bobble”, while the legs and base remain static. Although the early popularity waned through the late 70s onwards, they seem to be making a comeback. I bought this pair for my son-in-law (at a garage sale) to add to his collection. This isn’t the first one I’ve bought for him, but it is the first time I’ve seen a male one.

A modern and contemporary candle holder with a large glass chimney and black base. The clean design of this is perfect for a home decorated with modern furniture. The apple green of the candle is a colour that is still popular and in use in many fabrics and textiles.

A selection of colourful sponges – not the kind that come from natural sea-sponges, but the manufactured kind. The sort of sponges you’d use in the kitchen, or bathroom for cleaning. Square, basic and serviceable they come in many colours and can be had in “bunches” at any grocery, department, hardware or dollar store.

For those involved in writing about education, literacy or just plain old news, here’s a young girl engrossed in reading the newspaper. She’s about 11, and is very interested in the newspaper…in particular “the funnies”, but she does like the sports section and some of the news articles as well. News isn’t just for the grown-ups!

(NB: if required, we have a model release on file. Identification will be required for any person or company requesting the release).

A vintage wedding dress (1960s, early 1970s) on a dress-maker’s dummy with the “bride’s” bouquet sitting on the small ruffled train. Also sitting on the train is a tabby cat, who thinks this particular piece of textile is her new bed.

---

Whew! That’s it for the first post here, but if you want other photos in a hurry, visit the “old wordpress” blog. The link is in the sidebar. If you need some free textures, or textures for 3D imaging programs, visit the Free 3D Textures blog – also found in the links section on the sidebar.

Til the next post…happy blogging.

Technorati Tags: little brown jug,rulers,measuring tapes,education,reading,newspapers,girl,children,child,hula dancers,novelty items,photography equipment,flash bulbs,vintage,candles,wedding dress,floral bouquet,cattle,gracey,j. gracey stsins,photography of grace,free stock photos,blogging,bloggers