BACKGROUND

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Retro Birthday Greetings

Designed by Deborah March




Whether 1950 or 2011, a woman's work is never done! Only the appliances have changed it seems. The collection of retro cards featured here puts a humorous, yet contemporary spin on a real blast from the past. So dig out those rickrack aprons and "bobby pins" and bake yourself a batch of cards to give to anyone who loves to cook or can remember the way mom's kitchen looked. We've come a long way, baby!







Materials (for all)
Cardstock in aqua, coral, gold, light blue, and white
Crafty Secrets
• Pastel Paper Pad in blue print
• Creative Scraps Domestic Goddess vintage images
• Stamp in Butterfly

Ink pad in black
Ellison Sizzix
• Die Cut Machine
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder in Buttons,
Flourish Farm, and Medallion
Spellbinders Nestabilities in Scalloped Rectangles
1/8"-wide Satin ribbon in blue and yellow
3/4"-wide lace in white
Flat-backed pearls in large (2) and small (2)
Small eyelets in white, four
7/8"-dia. clay flowers in pink, two
7/8"-dia. paper flowers in blue, two
1/4"-dia. buttons in white, two
Eyelet setter tool
Krylon
• Gold Leafing Pen in 18Kt.
• Matte Finish Spray

Duncan
• Aleene's Crystal Clear Tacky Spray
• Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
• Aleene's Paper Glaze
• Tulip Glam it Up! Iron On Crystals in blue (4),
clear (4), and yellow (5)
• Tulip Fashion Glitter Bond
• Tulip Fashion Glitter in Blue, Clear, and Gold
Foam dots
Double-sided adhesive
Computer, printer, scissors, ruler, pencil


Inspiration
Refer to project photos for inspiration to recreate your own retro cards. Use coral or white cardstock for card bases. Choose vintage image of choice and print out onto white cardstock. Then, accent edges with Gold Leafing Pen or Glitter Bond and glitter in color of choice. Use foam dots to adhere matted image onto coral or aqua cardstock with a 1/8" straight or scalloped border. Computer print sentiments onto white cardstock and cut into strips as shown. Dry emboss blue, coral, and white cardstock as shown or as desired. Arrange cut cardstock rectangles, vintage image, and embellishments onto card front as shown or as desired, referring to project photo of finished cards.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Spring Bonus

For many of us living in cold climates, it's been a long and very bitter winter. But the snow is melting, and spring is just around the corner. So, we decided to feature a special springtime collection of cards to herald the early arrival of blue skies and warmer weather. Bravo is the first of 8 that we will present to you here!

Enjoy!



Bravo
Designed by Michele Boyer

The graceful curve of this ballerina’s dress was stamped several times, then colored and layered for maximum effect, adding both dimension and sweet appeal.

Materials
Prism Cardstock in Crabapple Light
My Favorite Things
• Cardstock in White
• Jolinne Collection Stamp Set – Sweet Spring
Memory Box Gossamer Collection Patterned paper in dark pink pint, dark pink with white polka dot, green print, and light pink print
Tsukineko Memento Ink pad in Tuxedo Black
Copic Markers Sketch Markers
Ribbon in 3/8"-wide satin pink and 5/8"-wide white
Mini paper clip
Creative Memories Circle Cutting System
Foam dots
Double-sided adhesive
Scissors, ruler, pencil, sewing machine,
white sewing thread

Instructions
1.Cut one 5-1/2" x 11" rectangle from Crabapple Light cardstock, one 5-1/2" square from dark pink print patterned paper, one 5-1/4" square from green print patterned paper, and one 3-1/4" square from light pink print patterned paper. Use Circle Cutting System to cut one 43/4"-dia. circle from dark pink with white polka dot patterned paper. Turn Crabapple Light rectangle horizontally, score a vertical line down the center, and fold in half.
2.Adhere dark pink with white polka dot circle onto upper left side of green print square. Machine straight-stitch around inside perimeter of dark pink circle. Adhere light pink print square onto bottom right side of green print square as shown, then machine zigzag-stitch around outside perimeter of light pink square.

3.Use Tuxedo Black ink pad to stamp girl, girl’s accent pieces (including dress, shoes, dress band, and flower in hair), bunny, bunny pieces (including dress and dress band) and sentiment (“Bravo!” used here) onto White cardstock. Use Sketch Markers to color images as shown or as desired. Fussy-cut girl, girl’s accent pieces, bunny, and bunny pieces and cut sentiment into one 7/8" x 1" rectangle. Layer and adhere girl accent pieces onto girl and bunny accent pieces onto bunny. Use foam dots to adhere girl image onto left side and bunny onto bottom right side of light pink square, referring to project phto for placement. Use foam dots to adhere additional layers of girl’s dress onto girl as shown. Secure mini paper clip onto White sentiment block and adhere onto upper right side of light pink square.

4.Measure 1/2" in from left side and vertically wrap one 6" length of white ribbon around green print square. Repeat with 6" length of pink ribbon on top of white ribbon as shown. Cut one 7" length from pink ribbon and tie ends into a bow, trimming ends evenly. Measure 1-1/2" down from top edge and adhere onto ribbon as shown. Use foam dots to adhere assembled green print square onto dark pink square. With fold at top, center and adhere assembled dark pink square onto card front.

5.Use Tuxedo Black ink pad to stamp the words “Take a Bow” inside card.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Handmade Valentines

As I continue to gather my notes and organize my photos from CHA, I thought I'd share with you the handmade valentines my son and I are going to create for his Kindergarden class. I found this vintage valentine online.
















I thought it would be super cute to fill a sandwich bag with popcorn and use that vintage image to create a bag topper adding "love from Wyatt" or something like that to personalize it. It would look kind of like this - just on a smaller scale.















I'd love to hear some of your handmade valentine ideas.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Home At Last




What was suppose to be a 4 day trip, ended up being 6 days - mostly due to the weather making it impossible to fly home. BUT having an additional day on the trade show floor and another day touring a little bit of California presented me with many more items to share with you. Once I get my notes organized, I'll be posting information about all the goodies I found at CHA and I can't WAIT to tell you about them. So stay tuned . . .