Botanical Prints

Free botanical illustrations are available at The Graphics Fairy. There are two sizes, one for framing & another to make cards. It's true that ink/toner is far from free but the price is still right. The tulips are lovely but we are a bit stuck on lilies, as always.

xoxo/GG

(image detail via The Graphics Fairy)

Photo Finish - Edit Your Photos

If you use Picasa & haven't updated lately, you ought to. There are many new features & if you don't have Instagram, these (& Pixlr-o-matic) can prevent you from going crazy until you can have a smartphone like the other cool kids.

If you don't edit your photos at all, GG's editor encourages you to consider it. It's fun & easy & you can make a good photograph out of a less-than-stunning original. We see lots of photos on Facebook & Twitter (& some blogs) that could be so much better with some (free) editing software.

While these photographs aren't terrific, the originals are, in fact, awful. But slap a few effects on & they're presentable. The effects used on Giulia's photograph are Lomo(ish) & a drop shadow. On the human servant: an Orton(ish) effect & drop shadow. Those are 3 of 24 new features, including cinemascope, infra-red, Holga, posterize, & duo-tone.

ciao-cheese-meow/GGCM

PS: Here are 9 great photo tools for new & occasional photographers.

Sunday Charade

Here at GG Central, we will be juggling the Super Bowl (yep) & Downton Abbey. But perhaps you're not interested in either option.

What about whipping up something French for supper & watching Charade with Audrey Hepburn & Cary Grant? You can watch for free online (in America). It's also on Netflix Instant. The movie is a lot of fun & actually kind of scary (spoiler alert: Audrey & Cary survive). There's pretty Paris scenery (& the witty opening is in Switzerland).

Have a great (rest of the) weekend, wherever you live!

ciao-meow/GGCM

(photograph via Doctor Macro)

Maps as Inspiration

...for travel plans or for your walls at home. Or both.

You can download beautiful vintage maps at the Graphics Fairy (for free). Hang them by your desk or in the kitchen, anywhere you want a pop of color & a reminder to plan that trip - now.

ciao-meow/GGCM

(Vintage NYC map by Sam Rogers)

Monday Night at the Movies

You can go to the movies any night of the week, even with just a laptop, by checking out Open Culture's listing of 450 Free Movies Online. Most of them are accessible in all countries. There are Westerns, silents, drama, documentary, film noir, & more. A favorite here, especially in these difficult times, are comedies. Check out His Girl Friday with Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell. It's funny & has several points to make that will seem quite 2012.

ciao-meow/GGCM

(photograph via Dr. Macro)

Santa Tracker

A reminder to anyone child-wrangling today & tomorrow. Check out this fun Santa Tracker. To complete your digital holiday needs: if you're on Twitter follow the Santa Tracker feed. Also for leetle ones: free coloring pages & some art projects from the archives. The Washington Post's KidsPost is fun wherever you live.

We only wish little GG responded to threats of Santa is watching. She's asleep in a sunspot now but only after a mad dash through the apartment dragging a red bead garland retrieved from the Christmas tree. Ahem. Off to run some errands!

ciao-meow/GG Holiday Central

(photograph by Anneke)

War is Over! (If You Want It)

This is another popular search on GG. You can download any number of the more than 100 translations of the famous card by John & Yoko, here, on flickr. There is also a request from the administrators to help with translations & a big thank you for those who have helped so far. Check it out if you see something that needs attention.

Yoko suggests that people print & display in windows, schools, workplaces, cars & elsewhere over the holiday season, and send as postcards to your friends. We have a few hanging up on the wall near our desk. Also visit Imagine Peace for more updates about projects there.

ciao-peace-meow/GGCM

(photograph Times Square, NYC, 1969 via Yoko Ono Official)

The Graphics Fairy - Instant Art

Visit Karen at The Graphics Fairy. Right now. Too bossy? You'll thank us later. Karen is amazingly generous in a world of generous bloggers. She posts lovely images every day & you can print them. And use them. For free. Yep.

Right now, though, attention should be paid to her Instant Art series. Karen posts downloadable PDFs of a variety of flora & fauna. We just printed out a rooster, some geraniums (yay), pears, & onions. So fire up the printer, check the cartridges & go for it. (Note: the rooster is quite clear in person...the image here is via our crummy scanner.)

ciao-meow/GGCM

(rooster via The Graphics Fairy)

Make Your Own Vintage Photos

Do you like Instagram photos but don't have an iPhone? No problem, kids. Just click over to Pixlr-o-matic & slap pretty vintage effects on to your photographs. For free. You can run the app on your laptop, smartphones, & yes, iPads. Here's their blog link.

It's already Wednesday afternoon & we've not posted since Saturday. We're very busy here, but playing with Pixlr-o-matic has eaten up a not inconsiderable piece of time. Eek.

ciao-meow/GGCM

PS: photos are of GG's editor & of Giulia herself. Here's a post about five fantastic Instagram photographers.

101 Pretty Printables {free}

Kim of Everything Etsy must not sleep. She put together a list of links to 101 free downloads: from crafts to thank-you cards to labels to posters & many things in between. As she said, "Make sure your printer has color ink...". We downloaded these terrific fox bookmarks last night.

Thanks, Kim!

ciao-meow/GG Central

(image via Everything Etsy)

Go Fish

We're having a serious internetz crisis at GG Central. We're in a cafe typing this post. While we work around it, please stay cool. Inside, if possible. If children are pestering you as you read this, print some fish & ocean animal coloring pages for free. Hand out crayons. Deep breathe.

We'll be by to visit other blogs & comment as soon as possible. We are tweeting @juliethecat if you'd like to finally join & keep us company.

ciao-(silent-shriek)-meow/GG Central in Exile

PS: Here are the rules for Go Fish.

(photograph by rin-ka)

Happy Birthday to Ferdinand the Bull

Ferdinand the Bull is 75 years old today. Tanti auguri, Ferdinand!

You can read the text here if you don't have the book (but definitely check it out of the library). Download a pdf by theatreworksusa.org of all things Ferdinand. A Spanish glossary & a coloring page of Ferdinand are included. (Image via a lovely blog The Art of Children's Illustration's flickrstream.)

ciao-olé!-meow/GG Central

PS: For a little freebie today, visit iTunes for a full episode of Sesame Street.

Free Holiday Ornaments & Gift Wrap - Bird Edition

The generous Top Bird at Wee Birdy has a gift for you, here. Have fun catching up with her move from London to Sydney. We're so glad that she's back online. On the theme of birds (get down, cat!), this pretty & free download is from talented Lisa Rupp at That's Happy. These birds (shown above) could be ornaments or more gift tags. (Here is Lisa's Etsy shop.)

We hope to pick up the posting pace but Giulia is eager (anxious, really) for the Christmas tree to be decorated. How can she dismantle the tree if it's not up first? Right.

ciao-meow/GG's Holiday Coordinator

PS: The Clever Pup has a tasty Sugar & Spice cookie recipe today. Yum.

(photographs via That's Happy)

War Is Over! (If You Want It) - Free Downloads

Download copies (five different sizes) of the original poster by John Lennon & Yoko Ono at Imagine Peace. There are 100 versions in languages other than English. We bet your family & friends would love to have one (they don't know it yet, that's all). As a bonus, Happy Xmas plays in the background. Pretty nice deal, eh? (images via Imagine Peace)

ciao-peace-meow/GG Holiday Central

12 Days of Panda Claws in Washington, DC

Panda Claws (the official ZooLights ambassador) will be visiting hot spots in the D.C. metro area over 12 days, between November 29 and December 3 and December 6 and 12. He is very excited to let everyone know that ZooLights is free this year.

GG is excited. She thinks that, finally, this year she will be going to ZooLights. (Doubtful. But you never know.) If you are in the Washington, DC Metro area, visit the link for complete rules & prizes. Personally, we'd choose any prize called The Guppy Gala.

If you're not here but will be visiting, be aware that this is a popular event & though it's free this year, parking is not. Therefore, if it's a mere brisk night, park at an outer Metro station car park & hop on the Metro Red Line to the Woodley Park-Zoo or Cleveland Park stops & follow the hordes. (images via National Zoo website)

ciao-meow/GG's holiday freebie coordinator

Make Your Own Vintage Holiday Cards

Vintage Holiday Crafts is a huge source of clip art for nearly every holiday & occasion. You can even make your own vintage-style gift certificate--for anything. We won't waste anyone's time listing, just visit. The rules are clear & the site is generous. It's hard to believe sometimes that anyone would do something like compile an enormous collection just because...but that appears to be the case.

This is a repeat but a popular search on Giulia Geranium. If you get started now, you can take your time & do some fruitful searches on the Vintage site. (We'll do a separate post for Hanukkah which is arriving really soon!) Remember Martha Stewart's site as a good source of ideas, Christmas & Hanukkah templates, clip art, & blogger-friendly posting ideas.

ciao-meow/GG's freebie coordinator

PS: West Elm has free downloads for holiday gift giving & entertaining. Here's the link if you missed it.

Free Holiday Downloads from West Elm

West Elm has free lovely holiday downloads. There are two categories: Gifting (gift tags, labels, & recipe cards) & Entertaining (place cards, name tags, & menus). The four themes: botanical, animal, graphic, & a GG favorite, snowflakes. Just download & print out on card stock, sticker paper, whatever suits you. Thank you, West Elm.

ciao-meow/GG's freebie coordinator

Tate Kids Create - Colouring Book

More free coloring pages--this time from Tate Britain's Tate Kids. There's lots of craftiness on the large site but you might want to start with the outline of Emma, Lady Hamilton as Circe by George Romney. (image via here)

Enjoy!

ciao-meow/The Management

PS: Today is your last chance to vote in Shabby Apple's Dare to Design (a dress) Competition. Vote here.

The Art Zone - Make Your Own Art

Do you know about the National Gallery of Art's Art Zone (for kids of all ages)? You do? Oh. Why did you not tell us? It's an interactive site on which you, yes you, can make art. There is so much in fact, that why don't you just visit? Giulia's head is about to pop with excitement. (She's a very sensitive artiste.)

The NGAkids Still Life helps you create interactive art that mirrors the paintings of the old masters. Mix everyday objects and painted elements while experimenting with composition, scale, and perspective. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages. Young children can compose engaging interactive still lifes online while learning simple spatial and math concepts. More advanced artists can create complex compositions and then switch to the painting mode to add and manipulate textured 'brushstrokes" that give the art a more abstract quality. (from the NGA website, credits here)

We're off to create a masterpiece.

ciao-arty-meow/GG's editor

New York City Ballet Coloring Pages - Week's End

Who knew that one of our favorite ballet companies had a children's section on their website? You did? We salute you. We're behind the times, apparently. There are 36 thumbnails to click on. An outline of characters is downloaded with the ballet title, choreographers, & costume credits. Click print et voilà. You become the costume designer. GG's editor just tried it & it works perfectly. Have a great weekend.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(little ballerina feet by Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIFE; coloring book via NYCB website)