Lovey Dovey

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is another card that I made for this sweetest of days.

I again used felt, lace, and fabric for the background. I added a paper doily and an image that I've saved for years that I cut from an old calendar. I knew I'd have a use for it some day!
 

Love Is in the Air

I managed to make just a few Valentine crafts this year, including this card that I sent to a special Valentine.

I started with bright pink felt for the background and layered on fabric and lace scraps and a sheet music printed fiber paper.

The images are from Graphic 45 - the Sweet Sentiments and A Place in Time collections.

I typed a sentiment on my vintage typewriter and added glitter to all the flowers.
 
I hope your Valentine is thinking sweet thoughts of you on Friday!
 
 

A Good Witch

Here is another card I made for Halloween.

I used My Mind's Eye paper for the background and added a strip of ruffled crepe paper. I layered vintage tinsel garland on top of the crepe paper.

The good witch image is another great one from The Graphics Fairy.

The sentiment is also from My Mind's Eye and I added a Martha Stewart cobweb doily behind it. The glittered stars are from a Thickers Halloween set I had in my stash. She's on display with my mercury glass pumpkins - my only little piece of decor that is out anywhere in the house.
 
 

Boo!

I can't believe October is already here. It feels like once October arrives, the rest of the year goes by in a blur.

I've been working in my little craft room on a few Halloween decorations, since I have no idea where my old decorations are.

Here's a little card I made using sweet images from The Graphics Fairy.

I used some scraps of paper, including an old book page that I distressed with ink. I made a paper rosette for the moon face and added black tulle and a couple of Halloween stick pins behind it.

I've been busy unloading some of my supplies into the craft room and have come to the conclusion that I need to commandeer one of the upstairs bedrooms as craft room storage. I'm sure Husband thinks I should store it all at the Goodwill!
 

Spring Cards

I tried to make a pile of cards when I still had my craft room available. Here are a few that I made. Can you tell I was anxious for spring to arrive?

I used a variety of new and vintage supplies, and tried to use up some scraps where I could. The nest image on this card is from Authentique. I coordinated it with a matching peach seam binding bow.

The central image on this card is also from Authentique. I found a few of their die cut sheets in my stash and finally used them! I had fun matching the various colors and patterns on this card to the die cut. I thought it was a bit unusual at first, but the end result is playful and pretty. The vintage yellow ribbon really pulled it together for me.

Another image from Authentique, and more paper scraps. I made a crinkled seam binding bow on this one by simply spritzing the ribbon with water, bundling it, and then drying. 

 
I hope that spring is arriving for you. We've had gorgeous weather here in TX and I'm hoping it keeps up long enough to get my gardens planted.
 
   

40 Years

Earlier this week, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary. Since I couldn't be there with them, I sent a couple of things to help the celebration.

My sister let me know the day before we left for CA that she couldn't find a cake topper for a 40th anniversary, so I spent that night making one. I put my new spun cotton skills to work to make a mini bride and groom.

I started with a Martha Stewart cake topper that I bought a few years ago, knowing I'd need it one day. I removed everything from it and just kept the base, to which I added a piece of sheet music to the top (under the bride and groom's feet). Then I made my spun cotton dolls. After painting each, I added their faces from my parents' wedding photo. I even gave the bride wool roving hair and a tulle veil.

I dressed the bride in an overflowing dress of crepe paper ruffles. She is holding a bouquet of white and red flowers, just like she did 40 years ago. I added more red and white flowers to the base and replaced the white flower arch that was originally on the topper, and added red flowers to it.

A glittered "40" is attached to the base.

If I had more time, I would have tried to make a fabric tuxedo, and added a lot more glitter!
 
I also made a card to celebrate the occasion.

I combined vintage papers, wallpaper, and new paper from Webster's Pages and Prima to create the background. I added some muted color flowers and a glittered butterfly.
 
 

Create Vintage Projects

I had a total of 10 projects published in the recent Create: Vintage magazine. Here are some of the cards.

It's a Beautiful Life uses beautiful papers from Bo Bunny, Crate Paper, Melissa Frances, and Webster's Pages to create a soft color palette. I added a Crate Paper chipboard flower that I embellished with pearls and paper leaves.

Just for You uses a kraft recipe card that I bought in the Michaels dollar bins. I added a vintage doily and image, punch scalloped circles from some scraps, and added a sentiment sticker from Cosmo Cricket.

Three Horn Salute is one of my favorites. I love this pink polka paper from My Mind's Eye. I used the colors in the vintage postcard to set the palette. A cluster of embellishments finishes this card.

Happy Valentines Day

I don't usually go overboard with holiday celebrations other than Christmas, but this year I will celebrating Valentine's Day at the happiest place on earth!

How appropriate that I made this card for Husband for this special day.

I used the same layout that I used on my other Valentines, but with a more grown-up, romantic feel. I cut the globe from a sheet of Pink Paislee paper and added the glitter heart.
 
I hope you're having a sweet and special Valentine's Day.
 

Dreams

I'm still in my fairy woodland mood, so I made this soft pastel card.

I started with a cardstock base that I cut into a scalloped circle using my Spellbinders Grand Calibur and dies. I also cut a piece of vintage wallpaper, and inked it with Broken China and Crushed Olive Distress Inks. I used a vintage postcard image and gave her glittered butterfly wings and a paper hat to make my fairy.

I added a cluster of beautiful Prima and vintage flowers and an epoxy brad.
 
 

Butterfly Birthday

I made this card for my sister's recent birthday, and can finally share it with you.

I used papers from a Jenni Bowlin set I've had in my stash, and added a JB butterfly and chipboard buttons.

I ran black cardstock along with a Swiss dot texture plate through my embossing machine, then lightly brushed it with white ink to really make the dots pop.

I cut some of the coordinating papers into flags, and typed "happy birthday" using my vintage typewriter.

PS - If you haven't seen them yet, I have several projects in the new Create: Vintage magazine that's available now, and I also have projects in the January issue of Cards magazine, and Simply Handmade: Paper Crafting.
 
 

The Gifts

I hope you had a wonderful holiday celebration! I got a new camera - the Sony DSC RX100, so I've been busy learning how to use it.

I made a few Christmas gifts this year, and I plan to make even more next year.

I made a set of cards for my sister, and had to make a pretty gift box to put them in.

I recycled a chipboard mailer, covered it in vintage wallpaper, and then decorated the top with pretty seam binding, vintage millinery, and tiny bird's nest.

I enclosed six note cards for various occasions.

A vibrant Thank You card:

A nature-inspired note card:

A Glitzy Thank You card:

Another brightly hued note card:

An embossed kraft card:

And a pretty Birthday card:

Then I made a pair of earrings that I loved so much, I had to make a pair for myself.

I packaged these on vintage sheet music, embellished for Christmas.

 I also sent a gift card, which I packaged in a printed paper bag, embellished with paper snowflakes and a sheet music rosette.

I used this same design to create an envelope for the odd-sized card I made for Husband. I stitched two pieces of sheet music together on three sides, then cut the open end with scalloped scissors. I sealed it with a paper-punched poinsettia, and added another to the front.

 
I have a few more treats to share later. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things after being home from work for many days, and having Lily Munchkin here visiting. We had a wonderful, and exhausting, time!
 

Upcycled Christmas Card

I made another Christmas card, combining old and new supplies. This card uses an antique Christmas postcard as the focal point. I added some glitter to the card and mounted it on cardstock and vintage sheet music.

I embellished with a glittered swirl from Anna Griffin, vintage seam binding, a gold bell, and some red and green twine.
 

All Roads Lead Home

This card was recently published in Create: Christmas Cards.

For the background, I used a vintage wallpaper with colors that were perfect for the Crate Paper chipboard house. To make the house stand out from the busy background, I added a piece of tracing paper that I typed "Twas the Night Before Christmas" onto. To make the house even more special, I added snow using a Marvy Uchida Snow Marker.

Then I stitched a border around the tracing paper. I added a scrap of lace at the bottom and a sentiment from Authentique.

 

Snowfall

My Christmas cards have been mailed! Here is this year's design.

I started with the silver fabric and layered it with white cardstock that I embossed using Tim Holtz Alterations - Snow Flurries texture fade. Then I added a sweet vintage image that I embellished with sparkling snow. The snow flake stamps and dies are from Papertrey Ink. I embossed the snow flakes, some with silver embossing powder and some with clear, to give the card even more sparkle.

I do have a few extra cards, available for sale in my etsy shop.

  

 

Lessons

This past Saturday, I taught my first class at The Crafty Scrapper. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to teaching again. Just have to come up with my next project.

I have a few projects in progress, so nothing new to share until I manage to get something finished! However, I can share a card that was recently published in the Create Vintage magazine. This card uses a combination of patterned papers and a beautiful image from Crafty Secrets.

I also used some Glimmer Mist to dye the seam binding bow, and added a stitched border around each layer of paper.

Vintage Card

I played along with the Green Paper challenge this month. Mary always has the prettiest images for us to play with. I made a card, using the lady as the focal point. I resized all the images and used one as a small card that she is holding and cut out the sentiment from the third image and used it as the sentiment on the card.

I cut out the woman and mounted it to a piece of old dictionary paper that I painted with shimmery paint, then mounted onto old wallpaper (that I bought at Junk Bonanza). I added a Glitz Design stamp, a couple of Prima flowers, pearl, and trim to finish it.

 

Faith

I have been neglecting my blog lately. I have been traveling a lot of trying to stay on top of things at work, so I haven't had much time to create. Here is a card I made using some fun new supplies - kraft paper and patterned paper from Echo Park and Crate Paper. The bird and black border stickers are Echo Park.

I added a frame from an old sheet of Hambly patterned paper. "Faith" is a Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type sticker. I tied on some seam binding and inked the edges. I love the colors on this card and the simple style. A good reminder that sometimes, faith is all you need.