Iris Garden

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ chipboard heart

2012-01-27T05:00:00.001-06:00

Hi friends, it's Vintage Cafe Card Challenge time and we are using chipboard hearts.

It's the perfect time to bring out my new Alterations Mini Lovestruck dies!

I sure do miss Tim Holtz's class, I know they are having a blast now at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) in CA. I got to take his class when I went to stay with Joy a few years ago during CHA and I was amazed at his work and generosity! The whole gang is so nice!

OK, enough of the CHA envy :)

The gorgeous papers I used are from the Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD 2 and the Love Mail Creative Scraps.

I painted the chipboard pieces with Distress Crackle Paints in Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick. After it dried I added Rock Candy Distress Stickles to the angels wings and heart for a little sparkle.

I cut the bottom edge of the blue cardstock with my MFT Jumbo Scalloped die. The Creative Scrap piece is cut with my Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Rectangle die.

The LOVE ticket is from the Creative Scraps. I distressed everything with Ranger Distress Antique Linen and Vintage Photo ink and my blending tool. I rounded the bottom corners with my corner punch. I added the tiny pom-pom trim with my Tiny Attacher. The buttons are vintage from my stash.

Now, it's your turn. Go the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog, upload your creation for a chance to win some fun supplies!

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I'm sad to say I'm stepping down from the VCCC design team. I've had a lot of fun on the team, Olga and Lana have been so nice, and it's been a fun experience working with a team filled with so many talented girls around the world.

I'm staying with my mom more, she has a lady that sleeps at her house 5 days a week, and nurses come to see her 3 or 4 times a week so, I'm trying to stay with her on the weekends as much as I can. I live an hour away from her and I work, I'm still figuring all of this out now. She'll be 87 Feb. 10th and she's needing more care now. My daughter is going to help out and stay with her too. I have so much going on now, it's hard for me to keep up. I've been in a terrible funk and haven't been in my craft room much at all. On top of everything else my back is acting up again, my Dr. talked about surgery, but, now is not the time for that. So, more pills to take, blech, LOL. My husband got hurt Tuesday at work, his hand got caught in a wire reel between the reel and the reel frame. We go see the Ortho hand specialist tomorrow, the ER Dr. said there will be skin grafting involved.

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Thanks for hanging with me I really appreciate your comments, they brighten my day.

Giggle pocket card

2012-01-09T20:12:00.002-06:00

Hi friends!

I'm showing you a pocket card I finished up today.

I love pocket cards, they're easy to make and perfect for gift cards.

I used my new bottle of Goosebumps texture spray, this is the coolest stuff. It's a clear spray that leaves your project all bumpy, or smooth when it dries, depending on how close you hold the bottle to your project. It's like clear embossing a piece without all the hassle. I used it on the "giggle" piece and the top center of the rosette flower.You can see it better below. I used confetti tan cardstock and the Lost and Found paper stack and Kraft Resist on the front flap. I used the mini rosette die to make the flower on the tag and the piece sticking out on the side is from the Regal Crest dies.

I used a bunch of Tim's stuff on this and you can get it all at Inspiration Emporium. Remember to use my coupon code ieirisgarden for a 10% discount on your order!

I used The Girls stamp set from Tim's collection by Stampers Anonymous. The tag card inside is one stamp. I LOVE when all of the collaging is done for you with one stamp, so easy! I added a strip of Tim's tissue tape.

The inks I used are Distress Gathered Twigs, Rusty Hinge, Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick and Archival jet black.

You can see the the texture better here. I have rock candy Distress Stickles on top of the cupcake. The cupcake is a chipboard piece from Maya Road.

I know everyone is scrambleing to get ready for CHA, I lot of hard work goes into these events, a lot of good times too. I'll sure miss you my crafty friends :(

Don't forget this month (only) you can order any or all of the 20 new Scentsy Bring Back My Bar scents! If you've never tried Scentsy you should, I know you'll love it! Just click on the purple Scentsy logo on the right to see what it's all about and place your order, it's that simple!!

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Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ thank you and Crafty Secrets Splitcoast Shop Hop Sale

2011-12-30T05:00:00.001-06:00

I have a two-fer for today, a Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and a Crafty Secrets Shop Hop sale!!

The VCCC was to make a thank you card and Crafty Secrets is having a huge sale, so I used their papers from the Creating with Vintage CD and their Vintage Labels and Sweet Kids stamp sets. The only stamping that was done is the frame and thanks sentiment, the rest is the papers from the CD, beautiful papers!

I used Martha's flower border punch along the edge and Tim's tissue tape on the inside edge.

The white seam binding is colored with Bundled Sage Distress Stain. There is Kaiser rhinestone bling and pearls, Antique Linen Distress Stickles are on the the stamped frame edge and the dragon flies wings.

Now, go and check out the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and play along for a chance to win some goodies and then head on over to Crafty Secrets to catch some great sales!

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Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:00:00.001-06:00

I hope you and your families have a blessed Christmas!

Iris tag

2011-12-23T13:01:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

It's almost Christmas, are you ready? I am, finally.

I'm sad I couldn't play along in Tim and Mario's 12 tags, if I ever retire, I'm on it baby!

I decided to make a tag using one of Tim's older sets, Fancy Flourish that you can buy at Inspiration Emporium. Don't forget to use my code ieirisgarden for your 10% discount!

When I saw the set in their store, the iris popped out at me and then I read the sentiment, that sealed the deal, I had to have it! Wow, it really gets you thinking, you know?

I had so much fun digging in my bellie box for my tag. I used an Ideaology fragment charm, I covered the back of the charm with book paper and Glossy Accents. I put the Philosophy Tag on a Memo Pin. I cut the flower petals with my Tattered Florals die out of Kraft Resist paper, the leaves are cut with my Spellbinders Foilage die. The center of the flower has ideaology Foilage Findings. I glued the flower on top of Ideaology Regal Wings. I stamped the iris with VersaMark ink and poured on the white embossing powder and heated it. I colored my tag and did the distressing with Ranger Distress Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass, Peeled Paint and Gathered Twigs ink and a blending tool. My sentiment and flourish are stamped with Archival Jet Black ink. The white trim along the bottom is from Walmart. I did the faux stitching with a tracing wheel.

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Have a beautiful Christmas my friends!

Crafty Secrets ~altered Christmas decor

2011-12-19T17:00:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

My mom gave me this Christmas decoration several years ago and I hang it from my wreath on my front door every year. I've had to repair it a couple of times, I can't make myself throw it away, I love the vintage look and the memories. The top is a piece of wood, it used to have plastic greenery on it, but, thats long gone. The red pieces are a thin metal, thicker than foil with gold vintage letters and snowflakes on each one spelling NOEL. I've thought about making one from paper and now is the time.

I started out with an empty toilet paper roll for the top, but, it wasn't long enough to suit me. Then I thought paper towel roll, but, my paper towels were not empty by a long shot. I looked around my stamp room and saw my basket of wooden spools and decided that would work!

I printed out some pretty floral paper from the new Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD by Crafty Secrets and wrapped it around the spool. Seems my last couple of Christmas projects have been pink, thinking out of the box I guess. I glued some tinsel in the ends of the spool to hang it by.

The next step was the hanging banners with the silver bells on the ends. I cut some celery cardstock for each letter, printed some pink paper from the CD and attached that to the celery cardstock. I cut the ends of the banners with a double scalloped punch, put in silver eyelets and hung the bells through the eyelets, the silver ribbon was on the bells, they were name tags. I got them a couple of years ago at Pier 1 on clearance. I added Martha White Gold Glitter on the edges. I cut some rosettes with my Alterations Mini Rosettes die and sprayed them with spray adhesive and added the glitter. I stamped the letters with my Crafty Secrets Artsy Alphabet stamp set in Ranger Distress Worn Lipstick ink and punched them out with a scalloped circle punch. I covered them with VersaMark poured on clear embossing powder and heat embossed them. I put them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden, then I bent them so they would crack.

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Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ gift cards

2011-12-16T05:00:00.002-06:00

Good Morning!

Today is another Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and the challenge is to make a set of 4 gift cards measuring 2x3.

I used my Spellbinders labels 8 die, it's almost the perfect size for the cards. I scored and folded my Neenah White cardstock and laid it over the top edge of the die a tiny bit so it wouldn't cut the edge making it open from the bottom. Then I cut my patterned papers from the Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas 6x6 pad with the same die and adhered those papers to the card. I added a line of glitter along the curved pink paper. I stamped the sentiment from the Crafty Secrets Christmas Mail stamp set at the bottom with Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink. I punched my house with a square punch and added glitter, the roof tops are a square cut in half. I punched the twig with my Martha punch and added glitter to that too. I punched a hole in the upper left corner and threaded Martha bakers string through to make an attachment for the gift. I built some vintage button snowmen and added the tiny pom-pom trim to the bottom.

Now it's your turn! Make a set of 4 2x3 gift tags and upload them to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog for your chance to win some great supplies and get inspired! There are some amazing paper crafters all over the world, you can see some of them on the VCCC blog!

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Remember, if you place an order at Inspiration Emporium from my links don't forget to use my coupon code ieirisgarden for a 10% discount!

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Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ glitter

2011-12-01T05:00:00.001-06:00

It's the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge again and the design team girls are choosing themes. It's my turn and I challenged the girls to use glitter on their cards. Who doesn't love using glitter?!

The base papers are from the new Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD. I added the frame from Crafty Secrets and the birds are from the Alterations Mini Bird & Cage set and the scroll is Maya Road. I painted the birds and scroll with white acrylic paint and sprinkled on the Martha Stewart glitter while it was wet. I didn't have to paint the frame, it was already white, I just added glue and glitter.

I stamped the tag with a heart from the Crafty Secrets Grand Greetings stamp set in Ranger Distress Worn Lipstick ink and added the white Kaiser Pearl. All of the distressing is done with Gathered Twigs ink.

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Now, it's your turn. Head over to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog, upload your sparkly creation for a chance to win some fab supplies!

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Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD 2

2011-11-28T12:49:00.003-06:00

Good Monday Morning!

Today I want to show you another tag I made with the new Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD #2.

Have you checked it out yet? You can find all the info about the new CD on the Heart Warming Vintage Blog. You can check out the major changes going on at Crafty Secrets too, Sandy and Scott are scaling down, and that is something we all need to do to keep our sanity, LOL!

This is one of my fave papers from the CD #2. I used a journaling card from a Creative Scrap and added the paper covered chipborad heart to that.

I got the coffee stained flowers from a junk sale, it looks like they are made from tea stained coffee filters. The chipboard heart leaves are coved with tissue tape, I love this stuff, so easy to use. All of the distressing is done with Ranger Distress Gathered Twigs ink.

Check out the designers blogs, the list is on the left, they are wroking up a storm on new samples for this new CD, you'll be inspired!

Remember, Sandy is selling out all of her stamp sets, everything is on sale but the new CD's and Creative Scraps, I'm SO happy she's keeping the Creative Scraps!

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I hope you have a great Monday, thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it my friends!

Crafty Secrets new CD Creating with Vintage Illustrations

2011-11-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

This week the Crafty Secrets DT ladies are showing you new designs from the second new CD, Creating with Vintage Illustrations!

There are so many fun designs, papers, templates, frames, layouts, wait until you see!

Sandy has some big news too, big changes are coming to Crafty Secrets, more about that later.

This is a tag I made with the new CD.

I printed the paper for the tag base, the floral paper for the mini dress form and the sentiment.

I had these DMC floss cards that I'd picked up at a flea market and I got this spool of string at a junk sale in Mtn.View for like a $1. I wrapped the string around the floss tag and distressed it with Ranger Gathered Twigs ink. I put the buttons on quilting pins with Glue Dots to stick through the floss tag.

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Here's a teacup I made from the template on the CD. I printed the paper design on cardstock, then I turned it over and ran it back through printing the template. I cut it out and folded it on the score lines, it's really easy. I added an Alterations Mini Rosette that I covered with Martha Stewart glitter. I sprayed the rosette with Elmers Craft Bond spray adhesive and glittered away! Wouldn't these be cute name tags for place settings?

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Crafty Secrets is going to change their Clear Stamps to Digital CD’s and all the stamps will go on sale starting this Friday! Why? Owner Sandy Redburn says her husband retired last year and they want to simplify their life. “With over 200 stamp sets and over 100 printed products it’s time to clear the clutter and make room for some exciting new changes!

As the Clear Art Stamps sell out, they will be grouped into themes and sold on CD’s which will include inspiring samples, new images and printable papers.

This will be the SALE pricing on the Clear Art Stamps starting this Friday while supplies last.

Large Clear Art Stamps originally $24.99 on sale for $19.99, Medium sets reg $14.99 on sale for $12.99 and Small Clear Art Stamp Sets reg $7.50 on sale for $5.99!

So head on over to the Heartwarming Vintage Blog and check out all of the details.

You can see many more samples from the new CD on the designers blogs too, they are listed here on the left of my blog page.

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I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ birds

2011-11-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

Good Morning!

It's time for another Vintage Cafe Card Challenge, and this time it's birds, use anything bird related. I have a crochet project to show you and some Our Craft Lounge news too.

But first, lets get to this tweet challenge :) I love to use birds in my paper creations and home decorating, so this was fun for me.

I used the cute 6x6 pattern paper from Fancy Pants called, It's the Little Things, love the colors in this paper!

I used the Alterations Mini Bird & Cage set to cut the bird & cage from a chipboard coaster. I paper pieced the little bird and painted the cage with Black Soot Distress Crackle Paint.

I used my MFT Jumbo Scallop die to cut the little birdie paper and added the black buttons that I threaded with black twine with Glue Dots. The oval is cut with my Spellbinders Oval Classic die (lg) and I used a black Copic marker to go around the edge of the oval to give it a little dimension. The sentiment is from the Crafty Secrets set Grand Greetings another one of my fave sets!

Now, head on over to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and upload your bird themed card for a chance to win some great crafty supplies!

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I've decided to step down from the Our Craft Lounge DT. I think I need to slow down and breathe a little easier, seems I'm just so busy, busy ,busy and I want to relax a little more, ya know? I sure hated to do it, I love the OCL girls, I've been friends with them for many years, I know they understand and they'll still love me :) I adore my stash of OCL stamp sets and I can't wait to play with them just for fun!

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This is what I've been doing during my TV time. I crocheted a cover for my iPad. I was searching online for one I could use when I want to pack it for travel. Then I thought, geeze, I can crochet one of these a whole lot cheaper than what I was seeing online! I have a magnetic cover from Apple for it, but, I wanted the added protection from scratches on the back of it.

For you crocheter's out there, I used Peaches and Creme cotton thread from Walmart, I don't remember the colors I used, if you want to know, let me know and I'll get them for you. I don't have any measurements, I just made my chain and measured it on the iPad as long as I wanted it and made a long rectangle, long enough to wrap around the iPad with a flap. I just used the single crochet stitch. For the ruffled edge I made scallops - slip stitch, single, double, single, slip stitch, easy peasy! I added 3 vintage buttons, the middle one buttons it closed, the other 2 are for decoration.

I hope y'all have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Our Craft Lounge Challenge #90

2011-11-06T14:25:00.001-06:00

Hi friends, I'm a little late with my Our Craft Lounge challenge card this week, I've been super busy!

My hu-mungo Scentsy order came in and I've been sacking and delivering all weekend. There were a lot of happy customers, when you smell the scents it makes you sooo happy! :)

Also, I listed my for sale goods over at Splitcoast Stampers, HOLY COW, I've been on my toes non-stop since I listed everything, but, that's a good thing!

OK - this weeks challenge is right up my crafty alley!

I decided to use this vintage Christmas image from the OCL set illustrated by Marianne Walker called Vintage Ornaments. I stamped the sentiment on the tag with Rangers new Gathered Twigs Distress ink and added a piece of patterned paper that I cut with my pinking shears. I distressed the white seam binding bow with Ranger Distress Stains Spun Sugar and Antique Linen. I punched the holly leaves with my Martha Stewart punch and added the tiny jingle bells, I got those at Hobby Lobby. I distressed the tag with Antique Linen ink and my blending tool.

The papers are from the Holly Jolly Christmas 6x6 pad by Echo Park.
I cut the base for the main image with my Spellbinders Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles (sm). I paper pieced the ornaments and added sterling silver glitter to the garland. The ribbon is covered with Daiquiri Ice Sparkly Fluff. To distress the background image, I used my stipple brush and antique linen ink. I punched the snowflake with my Marvy yellow snowflake punch and covered it with Martha Stewart snow glitter. I put white Kaiser pearls along the scallops. I made faux stitching with my tracing wheel.

That's it, now it's your turn! Make a distressed card or project and upload it over at The Lounge for your chance to win a stamp set of you choice!

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Have a great day!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~stamps

2011-11-04T05:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!

It's the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge again and the theme is stamps as in mailing.

The first set that came to mind was Crafty Secrets French Mail, isn't the little mail cupid adorable? There are a lot of cute mail themed stamps in this set, you should check it out!

I used my new Sizzix Framelits Flowers die, I just got this set and I LOVE, LOVE it, so many sizes of these flowers, so many possibilities! I used papers from Fancy Pants It's the Little Things 6x6 pad. I stamped everything but the hearts with the new Ranger Distress Gathered Twigs ink and I stamped the hearts with my Ranger Worn Lipstick ink.

I distressed the white seam binding with my Ranger Distress Antique Linen stain, I love coloring my seam binding with the stains, it's super easy! The white trim is from a piece of fabric from a flea market, I cut off what I needed and added the Kaiser pearls.

I stamped the little postage stamp and 2 hearts, cut them out and sewed them on the tag, I attached the tag with a trinket pin.

Well, that's my card, now you make a stamp themed card and up load it to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog for a chance to win some fun supplies, good luck!

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Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Our Craft Lounge Challenge 89

2011-10-28T05:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!

It's pink week here at Our Craft Lounge, hope you've enjoyed the eye candy, I sure have!

Today's challenge is pink, pink, pink! Now, who doesn't like pink? I mean, really!

This post is dedicated to my mother-in-law, 3 sisters-in-law, many, many girlfriends and sweet OCL DT leader Kendra Wietstock.

I decided to make a banner with my new Sizzix dies, Framelets Rounded Tags. I love the shape of these dies, so many uses, make huge flowers with each die shape as a petal or cute shaped cards, love them!

I made these pink rosettes with my Alterations Mini Rosette Die, I wonder if it's possible to totally wear out a die, hmmmm, lol! I cut them out of my Vintage Shabby Paper Stash and added Cotton Candy Sparkly Fluff to the centers, see the little sparkles?

I stamped the Neenah Solar White base with my OCL Vintage Swirls stamp set in Ranger Distress Spun Sugar ink and distress the edges with Old Paper ink. I've had these chipboard letters forever, they spell out, Hope. I don't remember who makes them. I covered them with Ideaology tissue tape, I love this technique with the tape, it's so easy and it looks great. I added some Ice Crystal Crafty Sparkles to the letters.

I cut some white felt flowers with my Alterations Tattered Florals Die and added a white Kaiser pearl to some of them. The banner is strung together with pink pom-pom trim from Hobby Lobby and pink buttons.

Now, head on over to The Lounge and upload your pretty in pink creation, you could be the winner!
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While I was taking my pic's outside, I spotted this little guy. It's a baby Praying Mantis, when they're this size they're cute. Not so much when they are huge and fall out of a tree on your head, just sayin. Ü

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My Scentsy launch party was a huge success! Thanks to you who came and to the ones who placed orders. I have submitted the order and it will be here soon!

Remember, if you want to order, you can order from me at www.pamhooten.scentsy.us.

Thanks so much!

I hope you have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Crafty Secrets Challenge ~ envy's

2011-10-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday!

It's Crafty Secrets challenge time and Sandy has given us a fun challenge this month! She gave us a link to a video on making little sacks or gift bags out of envelopes! We had to choose a theme for our little bag and mine is I Love You Ü

Instead of making a gift bag I made a little bag of love notes.

I've had these envy's with foil along the edge for a long time, I got them at a flea market. I thought it would be fun to use one and have a little bling along the bottom of my little bag. I used 2 of the gold metallic corner stickers from Crafty Secrets on the top corners to match the foil on the envy.

All of the images I used are from the Love Mail Creative Scraps, the little inserts are to write love notes on. I topped each one with trims, vintage lace and pieces of paper doilies, then I added vintage buttons. I covered the chipboard heart with book text and distressed it and everything with Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink and a blending tool. The little stamp is attached to the heart with my tiny attacher. I love this little tool, you can attach something with out having a big ole staple on it. I stuck 2 little trinket pin hearts behind the stamp image.

Go check out the other design team girls and see how they used their envy's, check out the Heartwarming Vintage Blog too, Sandy always has fun stuff going on over there!

Vicki Chrisman Team Leader

Victoria Warren Mears

Viola Mahr

Heartwarming Vintage Blog

Have a great day!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ kitchen

2011-10-21T05:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!

Today is another Vintage Cafe Card Challenge, this challenge is to make a card kitchen related.

I decided to use the Crafty Secrets Farm Fresh Creative Scraps for my card. Crafty Secrets has so many fun retro images, it's hard to choose!

I had fun picking out the red checked paper from the Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Patterns CD and May Arts ribbon!

See the flattened bottle cap? My friend Cindy makes these and I've always wanted to try one, you run the cap through your die cut machine and it kinda flattens it, no sharp edges! I punched the image with a Martha Stewart punch and glued it inside the cap.

I made the trinket pin by gluing a vintage button on a quilting pin.

Now it's your turn! Make your kitchen themed card and upload it to the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge blog and see if you are the winner, you could win some great supplies!

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Stay tuned, Monday is the Crafty Secrets monthly challenge. It's something a little different this month, I think you'll like it!

Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Our Craft Lounge Challenge 86 ~ treats

2011-10-08T10:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

I'm playing in the Our Craft Lounge weekly challenge again. This weeks theme is treats, Halloween treats, mmmm. Candy corn is my fave I think, I've only bought 1 bag of those candy pumpkins though, they were gone a long time ago, I love them a little too much.

I made a holder for a package of the wax bottles that have the kool-aide like juice in them. I used to love those when I was a kid, I'd drink the juice and chew on the wax bottles, blech!! LOL!

I used the new Halloween set by OCL Monster Hugs. Isn't this little guy adorable? I kinda disassembled him, I cut his head off so he could hold it, I thought it was cute! Yes, I'm a huge horror movie fan, LOL!
I paper pieced him and gave him some black hair with my Eye Liner Black Sparkly Fluff. The splash stamp I put at the top where his head should be is covered with Pumpkin Delight Sparkly Fluff. I made his eyes using Ranger black & white Enamel Accents, I LOVE this stuff for eyeballs. It's so easy to use and they are dimensional! I used Spellbinders dies to cut my layers and I attached the sentiment with my tiny attacher.

I made the holder to fit the package of wax bottles. I used an 11x6 piece of eggplant cardstock, scored it at 2 1/2", 6 5/8 and 7 3/8, folded it up and adhered the package to the inside, super easy!

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Well, that's it, now make your sweeeeet project and upload it to The Lounge for your chance to win!

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We're celebrating more birthdays today!

Happy Birthday Dustin and Jayde, huge love and hugs for you!

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Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge 3 ~ flourishes

2011-10-07T06:00:00.011-05:00

Good Morning!

Today is the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and this one is to use flourishes.

Who doesn't love flourishes, they are so pretty and vintage, anyway you use them!

I used 2 of the new Crafty Secrets stamp sets, Mini Frames and Grand Greetings. I mounted the image on a piece cut with my Spellbinders Big Scalloped Ovals SM. I mounted that on a paper doilie that I trimed a little so it would have a straight edge. The card base is Neenah Solar White cardstock and the pattern papers are from the Creating with Vinatge Patterns CD. The flourishes are from Maya Road, I painted them with my Ranger Snowcap paint dabber and sprinkled glitter on the wet paint. The white felt flower is cut with MFT rolled flower die and I put a Kaiser pearl in the center and some more at the top of the stamped frame. The white leaf is punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I trimmed off the right edge of the card front about 1/2" and adheared the vintage lace on the inside of the card front. I put a strip of the pattern paper on the back inside edge.

Go to the Vintage Card Cafe blog to check out the challenge and upload your card, you could be the winner of some nice prizes!

Good Luck!

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35 years ago today, I gave birth to my first child and 30 years ago tomorrow my second.

Happy Birthday, my loves.

Have a great weekend!

Our Craft Lounge Challenge 85 ~ Fall

2011-09-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!

This weeks Our Craft Lounge challenge is fall.

How about some fall mushrooms Ü

I've had this card made for a long time, but, I've never posted it, I decided now was the time!

It has fall colors and I did see some mushrooms in my yard the other day and it IS fall!

I've always loved this OCL set, Joy in the Little Things and this paper too, it's Earth Love mini deck by Cosmo Cricket. It has the cutest birds and mushrooms on it.

I used my Spellbinders Labels 6 die to cut the background piece and a circle for the mushroom image.
Below are the Copic markers I used.

Now, it's your turn. Upload your creation to the OCL blog for your chance to win a stamp set of your choice!

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Have a great weekend, I'll be enjoying some much needed me time at Appearances in Conway!

Halloween ATC's and a cactus story

2011-09-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!

It's almost Halloween and I want to get in as many Halloween projects as I can, I love Halloween, I love scary movies, I love Stephen King, just sayin' :)

These ATC's here are not so scary though, the images are too cute! They are from the Crafty Secrets Halloween Greetings Creative Scraps.

I colored the chipboard keyhole with Copic marker 100, glued the tiny image behind it and filled the hole with Glossy Accents. There is a tiny bubble right under the right eye, see it? It looks like a tear, ahhh. I glued the 31 bingo piece to a flat head pin and stuck it in the bow. I added faux stitching with my tracing wheel and put vintage photo corners on the corners.

This little cutie is going on a haunted house tour. The text is from my vintage childrens Halloween story book. You can get the metallic black stickers at the top and bottom of this one from Crafty Secrets.

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When I went to CHA in California a few years ago, we had a layover in Phoenix. It was storming as we (me, Tex and Joan) were running to our room and we were being bombed by these giant oranges falling off the trees. Me being from Arkansas, I was amazed by this, no orange trees here! Anyway, the cactus around the hotel were HUGE, they were in these HUGE pots scattered around and again, I was amazed. I fell in love with cactus all over again. I wanted to buy one at the airport gift shop on our way home, but, Tex wouldn't carry it for me on the plane, hahahaha.

After I got home I looked at the nursery in Clinton, where Iwork and the lady said she would never sell cactus, she was from Arizona and hated them, WHAT? So, I finally found this one and a couple of weeks ago it bloomed for the first time. HUGE blooms, beautiful! Isn't it something how this prickly sorta ugly looking thing can produce this. Again, amazing.

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Have a great day!

Our Craft Lounge ~ Challenge 84 Pattern Paper

2011-09-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!

It's Our Craft Lounge's weekly challenge and this week it's a pattern paper challenge!

Pattern paper is a must have for me, I can't seem to create without it! I made a monochromatic card with the new OCL Years Gone By stamp set, soooo vintage, love it!

I used Fancy Pants It's the Little Things 6x6 paper pad, don't you just love it? And, Neenah Solar white and black cardstock.

I stamped the image with Ranger Distress Black Soot ink, cut it out with a Spellbinders classic oval die and matted it with black cardstock cut with a classic scallop die. I cut the top scalloped edge with MFT jumbo scallop die. The sentiment is cut with a Spellbinders Fancy Tags die and I put black Kaiser pearls on each end.

The bottom corners are punched with an ek Success corner punch. I added black buttons threaded with black twine.

Now, it's your turn! Head on over to The Lounge and upload your card for a chance to win a stamp set of your choice!

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Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge ~ embossing

2011-09-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!

It's Vintage Cafe Card Challenge time again!

This challenge is embossing. I'll give you some info at the bottom of this post on how to play and what you can win!

I got this super cute Halloween stamp set from Inspiration Emporium by Artistic Outpost called Halloween Treats. I love all of the vintage images in this set, so fun!

To start, I cut the card base from my ideaology craft resist paper stash and embossed the front with my cracked texture fade. I was trying to get a spider web look. I rubbed over the raised embossing with Brilliance Moonlight White ink and a blending tool. You can see that better in the first picture. Next, I stamped the pumpkin head, spider and the little arachnid label with VersaMark ink, embossed them with black embossing powder and cut them out. I punched the border at the top with my Martha Stewart icicle punch and covered it with Martha onyx glitter. I colored the pumpkin head with Copic markers YR24, E31, YR31, W3 & G99. I added a black eyelet to the label and made a jump ring from black wire, I used wire for the web the spider is hanging from too.

Now, it's your turn. Go check out the challenge at the Vintage Cafe Card Challenge and upload your card, you could be the winner of some goodies!

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Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Crafty Secrets September Challenge ~ Retro

2011-09-19T10:00:00.011-05:00

Good Morning!

It's Crafty Secrets challenge time again and this month it's all things retro.

Remember those plastic tissue boxes that were the in thing in the 50's and 60's? You could get vanity sets, powder boxes, lotion dispensers and tissue boxes. I remember my mom had a pink set with rhinestones on it.

I see them in flea markets, I picked this one up for $1. It's pretty as is, but, you know I had to dress it up with paper!

I printed off some patterned paper from the Creating with Vintage Patterns CD on copy paper and coverd the box, I adhered the paper with Mod Podge. I stamped the banner from the Artsy Banner stamp set with Ranger Distress Old Paper ink, cut it out and adhered it all around the top edge of the box. I painted on a coat of Mod Podge over the paper to protect it. I glued on some vintage white buttons on the banner flags on the front. I adhered some tiny pom-pom trim to the top edge all the way around.

I pulled out my Alterations rosette and mini rosette dies and cut some rosettes for the top. Are you getting tired of my rosettes yet? It seems like I use them on everything I make, I LOVE those dies!! I cut the rosettes with paper from the Crafty Secrets Pastel Paper Pad and some My Minds Eye 12x12 paper strips. I cut the different sizes and layered them and glued buttons on top. I threaded the buttons with tiny strips of cardstock. I stuck 2 green stick pins in one of the rosettes.

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That's my project, now check out the other girls projects and the Heartwarming Vintage Blog to see some eye candy!

Vicki Chrisman Team Leader

Victoria Warren Mears

Viola Mahr

Heartwarming Vintage Blog

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Thanks so much for stopping by, have a great week!

witches like haunted houses

2011-09-12T12:07:00.003-05:00

Can you guess what Inspiration Emporiums Sept. challenge is?

It's metal! :) And where is the metal you ask? It's the rosette flower.

I've been wanting to do some Halloween projects and this tag was my first one. I used the new Our Craft Lounge Swept Up stamp set illustrated by Marianne Walker. It's one of the new singles sets OCL is making. There is an image and 3 sentiments with the set. I love the sweet little witch! I altered the glass vial cork with a skull bead and some black twine for his hair and added some Pumpkin Delight Sparkly Fluff inside. The little black house is a one of the wooden houses I got at a flea market. I painted it black with a Pitch Black Paint Dabber and painted on some windows. I punched the bat with Martha's bat punch and covered it with Crackle Accents and glued the black wire to the back and then I glued it to the back of the little house.

I'll give you a little info on how I made the metal flower.

I used Ranger Foil Tape Sheets and Adirondack Alcohol inks in several colors. I put a few drops on a felt piece along with a couple drops of the blending solution and dabbed it on the foil sheet, covering it all.

Next, I cut a piece of cardstock the same size as my foil sheet. I peeled the back off the foil sheet and adhered it to the cardstock. I did this to make the sheet thicker so it would be easier to work with making the reosette.

I ran it through my Big Shot using my Alterations Mini Rosette die.

Adding the cardstock made it so easy to accordian fold.

I got this old school library book at a flea market, perfect for Halloween sentiments.

While I was at it, I made some book marks and hair clips.

I used vintage buttons on the book marks.

And, some findings and Distress Stickles on the hair clips.

Now, see what you can make with metal and upload it to the Inspiration Journal for your chance to win a $50 coupon to Inspiration Emporium, it's that easy, really!

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Have a great day my friends!

Vintage Cafe Card Challenge News

2011-09-09T05:00:00.003-05:00

Good Morning friends!

I've got some fun news to share today.

I've been asked by the sweet Olga and Lana from Vintage Cafe Card Challenge to be on their design team for awhile! Vintage Cafe Card is a fun theme challenge blog. You really need to check it out, they have a Google translator, so all is good! Come and play with us!

The first challenge is common thread, use wax cord, thread, tape, ribbons etc.
I used this chipboard frame from Crafty Secrets and the sweet little girl image is from the Girlfriends Images & Journal Notes booklet. I also used the new Crafty Secrets stamp set Grand Greetings, a must have set! I distressed the frame with Ranger Distress Antique Linen & Spun Sugar inks. I just rubbed the ink on the frame with my finger and then I rubbed on some Antique Linen Distress Stickles.

I colored the white seam binding with Ranger inks and a blending tool. The faux stitching is done with a tracing wheel.

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I hope you have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!