Decorative Silhouettes

An ancient art form dating back to cave wall paintings from the Paleolithic age, silhouette illustrations reached their height of popularity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when they served as excellent — yet inexpensive — forms of portraiture. Gathered from a variety of rare sources, this collection of 690 silhouettes displays an array of subjects, each filled with a charming, nostalgic flavor. Images include children playing, household animals in a variety of poses, couples embracing, people working and handling everyday chores, and much more. Pure delight for artists, illustrators, and craftspeople!

Eighty-five reproductions from rare German die-cuts depicting a wide range of subjects from fashionable ladies to pastoral scenes are presented together with instructions for decorative uses

Beloved fabric and quilt pattern designer Edyta Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts has designed 12 gorgeous quilt blocks that take you through the seasons of the year. 5 appliqué quilt block project settings provide the foundation for creating a one, two or four block appliqué project as well as a 12 block-12 month full-size calendar quilt. Each appliqué quilt block features one or more of Edyta Sitar’s beautifully crafted “silhouettes” for raw-edge machine appliqué. Background quilting enhances the beauty and detail of each appliqué quilt block. Step-by-step how-to and instructions for Edyta’s raw-edge appliqué technique Full-size appliqué templates Concise and clear how-to for background quilting Edyta’s favorite quilt binding technique Full-size placement diagrams for each of the 12 blocks Five block settings: wall art, a table runner, a bed topper, a wallhanging and a full-size quilt

Great for use in wall decorations or as spot illustrations for design projects, over 350 silhouettes and stencils boast a wide range of styles and subjects: storybook characters, animal borders, galloping cowboys, and more. And since they are all vector-based, the graphics can be enlarged, stretched, and customized in other ways without losing clarity.

Choose from 153 decorative silhouette motifs: lovely ladies with elaborate headdresses, graceful wood sprites, ships in full sail, floral vignettes, a Chinese dragon, and much more. Suitable for professional and amateur uses, these designs come in a variety of sizes and will answer virtually any need for distinctive, royalty-free art.

A witty and stylish look into the mechanics employed by men and women to sculpt their figures for fashion This unique survey offers fascinating insights into the convoluted transformations employed by both men and women to accommodate the fickle dictates of fashion. With high design, wit, and style, Fashioning the Body tracks the evolution of these sartorial devices--from panniers, crinolines, and push-up bras to chains, zippers, and clasps--concealed beneath outer layers in order to project idealized figures. Women's corsets constricted waists; exaggerated buttocks and hips counterbalanced jutting bust lines; and chic, aerodynamic silhouettes compressed breasts and flattened bellies. Yet masculine fashion has been no stranger to these tortuous practices. Men flaunted their virility by artificially broadening their shoulders, applying padding to their chests, and slipping codpieces over their groins. With more than 200 beautiful illustrations--including reproductions of superb historic advertisements--Denis Bruna reveals the industry and art of these contrivances meant to entice and beguile as well as assert status and power. Contemporary haute-couture designers Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, Christian Lacroix, and Vivienne Westwood are featured in this indiscreet tour of intimate fashion history. Published in association with the Bard Graduate Center Exhibition Schedule: Bard Graduate Center, New York (04/03/15-07/26/15)

In this creative, creepy, large-format book of black pages, crafters will find jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, ravens, skulls, and more. Just put these 25 punch-out apparitions (no cutting, no folding, no mess) in the window, and they'll turn any home into a haunted house ready to welcome trick-or-treaters. Patterns on the inside back cover allow users to create life-size photocopied silhouettes of Frankenstein's monster, a mummy, zombies, a witch, and other ghosties, ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night.

57 rare, royalty-free cuts—most full page—include young lovers in 18th-, 19th-century dress, galleons in full sail, wood nymphs, tranquil Venetian scenes, more.

Great for use as spot illustrations, 301 sharp silhouettes are offered in four formats each. Ready to expand or enhance, vector-based images include people, animals, plant life, fantasy figures, vehicles, and more.