Reading a coat of arms: lions, stars and trees
Learn to look at a heraldic design before choosing symbols for your own: the shield, its charges, the crest and the story around them.
Living with Art
Bring art into everyday life. Read about prints, cushions, portraits and personal objects, with notes on choosing, displaying and caring for the pieces you keep.
Anniversary portrait ideas: choosing a couple portrait from your photos
Court dress by candlelight, a toast at sea or an autumn landscape with the dog: three current styles for two, and how to pick the one that fits the couple.
10 Historic Crest Designs to Inspire a Personal Coat of Arms
Explore ten historical heraldic designs, from swans and rose trees to dragons, with source plates and a path to your own emblem.
How to turn your photo into a masterpiece portrait
Choose the painting first, then the photo. Four approved before-and-after examples show what changes, what stays yours and what to check.
Monogrammed stationery for your own letters
Personal monogrammed stationery: letter sheets, correspondence cards, bookplates and gift tags, and how to make a set with your own initials.
How to turn a photo into a Halloween portrait you recognise
Learn how to choose a photo, select a Halloween portrait style and check your likeness. Create a free preview before choosing a finished portrait.
Irish and Scottish family crests: tradition and a design of your own
How heraldry works in Ireland and Scotland, what a clan crest badge is, and how to have a new decorative crest that honours an Irish or Scottish story.
A Halloween couple portrait that feels like the two of you
Turn photos of the two of you into a Halloween couple portrait. Explore The Lilac Flight, choose clear source photos and create a free preview.
Is there a coat of arms for my surname?
Why a coat of arms belongs to a person rather than a surname, what the mugs and plaques get wrong, and how to have a design of your own instead.