Have you ever fallen down an internet rabbit hole? That's what I call it when I am searching on a particular subject and an hour later I find myself miles from my original goal, yet in a very interesting place. Sometimes this can be the ultimate time waster and sometimes it can uncover untold delights!  Last week I found myself in the middle of just such a search. The fall planting season is upon us so I was searching for old fashioned flowers, because as a gardener I find them to be more reliable and easier to grow in my Michigan garden than newer hybrid species.

Imagine my pleasure when I came across the volume "Old Fashioned Flowers" by Maurice Maeterlinck, published in 1905. The inside of this book held some delightful surprises. The title page was an exquisite example of the Art Nouveau style of the time.

Art Nouveau is a highly ornamental style of art that was popular at the end of the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth throughout the United States and Europe. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line as seen in this title page from "Old Fashioned Flowers". It was a deliberate attempt to create a new style, free of the imitative historicism (a style that relies on the use of traditional forms and elements) that dominated much of 19th-century art and design.

I had recently finished a set of notebooks that utilized "The Precious Stones", a set of four Art Nouveau panels by Alphonse Mucha and found that I wanted to delve a bit deeper into the Art Nouveau style. I was interested to see what I could do with the artwork on the title page from Materlinck's book. I opened my digitized copy of the page in Photoshop and got down to business. I removed the perforated library identification information from the image before trimming the edges to a uniform size. The next step was to remove all the text from the center of the design. The additon of a quote and a few other elements and you have a beautiful notebook that can be peronalized with your name. 

• Personalized Notebook 1
• Wood Block Tabletop Art
• Notebook 2
• Personalize iPhone Case
• Art Nouveau Floral Border Collection

The full collection currently has two dozen items to choose from, including posters, home decor items, tote bags and more,