About

I’m Jessie, a school librarian, lifelong book lover, vintage collector, and the creator behind Toadstool Thrift & Craft. My designs are inspired by literature, history, education, nature, and the wonderfully unusual treasures found in old books and paper ephemera. I enjoy combining vintage imagery with modern digital design to create distinctive patterns and products for readers, teachers, librarians, history lovers, and anyone who appreciates a little whimsy. Each design is thoughtfully created with the hope of turning everyday items into something meaningful, nostalgic, and fun.

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I create my designs in Canva by combining research, creativity, and digital editing techniques. I usually begin with a theme or idea inspired by literature, history, education, nature, or vintage imagery. I gather visual inspiration and select elements that complement the overall concept, including public-domain illustrations, photographs, typography, decorative details, and artwork I have created or licensed for commercial use.

 

Once I have chosen the individual elements, I upload them into Canva and begin building the design. I remove backgrounds when needed, adjust colors, crop images, and modify transparency, contrast, and positioning. I layer the elements carefully to create a balanced composition and select fonts and color palettes that match the style and mood of the design. Many of my designs include small details that connect to a particular book, historical period, profession, or theme.

 

For fabric and product designs, I arrange the elements into a repeating pattern. I test the placement, spacing, scale, and direction of each image to make sure the design flows naturally and does not have noticeable gaps or awkward repetitions. I often create several versions before selecting the final layout.

 

After completing the design, I preview it on digital product mockups to see how it will look on clothing, bags, fabric, home décor, or other merchandise. This allows me to adjust the size, color, and placement of the artwork before exporting the final high-resolution file.

 

Although Canva provides the digital tools I use to assemble and edit my work, each finished design reflects my own creative decisions. I develop the concept, select and modify the imagery, establish the color palette, arrange the composition, create the repeating layout, and revise the design until it works successfully on the intended product.

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Below you can see some of the antique illustrations I've used in my designs.