Crafty Secrets DT "Postcard" Challenge

Today is the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage "Postcard" challenge day! That means .. all the girls on the Design Team will be posting their projects , made with the new "Vintage Postcard Kits" Any themed set... and any project.. as long as it's using the postcards.. that's the challenge.
I'm sure they will all have different ideas to share , and gorgeous projects.. so be sure to check out their blogs.
I'll have them all listed at the bottom of this post with links to their blogs.

I chose to use the "Baby Girl" postcard set for my project. I thought I'd try to used one of the postcards in a way I hadn't yet. I made an altered photo frame using one of the postcard images and chipboard pieces to the front of the frame.
I love the dimension it added to this frame.
( the sweet little babe in the photo is my friend Debs Granddaughter Kalie... isn't she a doll! She's grown alot since this photo)

I used the chipboard corner pieces from Sweet Chips Frames and More
The chipboard heart you see in the bottom left corner is one of the chipboard pieces that come with the postcard set. I stamped on it , using the stamp set that also comes in the postcard set.

and added some cut paper pieces to my flower.

There are so many things that can be done with these. All the images are just so cute. You can see samples on the Heartwarming Vintage Blog and in the Crafty Secrets website gallery.

But... but sure to pop over to see what these talented girls have created to share today.

Anna Wight
Pam Hooten
Heidi Blankenship
Marisa Grosson
Vivian Peters
Michele Kovack
Linda Duke

Michelle Van Etten

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We had a great time this weekend with family. Danni and Chris had a beautiful wedding.. it was so fun! I'll be sharing photos soon. Hope you all had a nice weekend also!

Until tomorrow!

TESC 80

I posted such long posts the this week.. I'm keeping this one short. lol It's TESC sketch challenge day.. FRIDAY! Another week just wooooooshed by!

Great Sketch...thanks Taylor. I did two simple cards with this sketch..

and one thing I would love to know is...

WHERE the heck did I put my wiggly eyes???? lol Seriously ....this little bee NEEDS them! I know I have them in various sizes , somewhere in this room. But after looking for , oh.... at least an hour ... ( very late last night).. I finally gave up. I'm sure as soon as I post this , I'll run across them some where ...cause isn't how it always goes?

Note to self: keep wiggly eyes where you can find them!

**** This weeks featured sampler is Lori Craig *****

Be sure to check out the always gorgeous work from the crew

Taylor VanBruggen
Donna Baker
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Lynn Mercurio
Monika Davis
Stephanie Hargis

Have a Fantastic Weekend Everyone!!!

A midweek mish mash

I've been playing with Fancy Pants goodies to make a little something for Christine and Justin's new "baby to be". It wont be long now.

I used the "Little Sprout" line, some Fancy Pants Chipboard letting , a round paper mache container and four wood balls for feet. ( I'm on a weird kick with that for some reason) lol

As if I didn't love pom pom trim enough already.. they had to come up with this mini pom pom trim to really push me over the edge. lol So CUTE!


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I know the contains in each of my posts lately.. have just been so "random"..but it's probably just reflective of how my days have been lately. lol Seems like I'm just bouncing from one thing to another. Lots going on this week. My sis and brother-in-law are back for a visit, so we will be spending the next couple of evenings with them. Then Saturday my nephew Chris and his Fiance Danni are getting married. We have all kinds of fun family stuff going on this week. Yay!

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I have to tell you about the strange thing that happened today.
I ran to the post office to mail some projects out ,and the weirdest thing happened. Now.. remember I live in a small town. The people at the post office are most certainly used to seeing me in there mailing projects .. so through conversations about what the heck I'm mailing all the time.. they now know that I "Craft". lol We'll it's been a while since I've been in there since I've been travling ... probably a few weeks. When I walked in .. the postmaster ( a woman).. says... "Oh Vicki I was just thinking of you and was wanting to catch you sometime when you came in to see if , by any chance ..this might belong to you". She holds out a little plastic bag.. and inside is this bracelet.

I looked at it and said, "Where the heck did you find that?".

She said.. "so we were cleaning this counter top here by the register.. and when we pulled the register out .. it was down behind here". ( and she pointed way down behind the workspace counter where the register was)

Okay.. the weird thing about this is ... First of all, I never missed it, Second of all, I made this for a project back when I was on the Design Team for Scrapbook Answers Magazine... Which was a LONG time ago! {YEARS ago} Third .. It was published in the magazine,.. which means they sent it back to me. ( I never open my boxes at the post office). I am baffled. I have no idea how it got there.

Oh well.. glad to have it back. lol

I made this bracelet out of wood pieces from Lauras Crafts. I drilled holes through them.. covered them with pattered papers , rubons and them coated them with Diamond Glaze. After they where dry... I put it together with some beads in between, using elastic nylon string.

Weird .

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Thought I'd share some photos Wes sent me from last weekend at the cabin. It was Kates Birthday, so they all had a little party out there. I missed out because I was still in Tulsa.

Below .. Wes and his friend from College ..Griff... driving Jarads dune buggy.

Weston with some of the fish he caught. ick

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This week , I also spent one day with an old friend. When our kids where babies, we practically raised them together. Kids are grown now, our lives have changed, but some friendships just weather is all. And this is one of them. It was great getting to spend the day with her.

She and her husband have a great place out in the country and have lots of animals.

fun place

Our dogs have never been around other animals like this. I could almost laugh out lout ..thinking how they would react. They would be FREAKED! Their dogs were so used to it, they just did their own thing and ignored it all. lol

Bella. Aren't her colors gorgeous?

Thanks Sal! It was great getting together. I've missed ya girl.

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Okay.. I've rambled enough. If I don't get this posted before I know it , it will be tomorrow and time to post Taylors Challenge.. so I better rap it up. lol

**** Just one more thing though...

Be sure to check out the Heartwarming Vintage Blog post that just went up.. it's just filled with fantastic Halloween projects from the Team. You'll love it!

Okay.. now you can go play

lol

Lots to share today

I have lots I want to share with you today... first off..

Some of you know about this ring and how much I love it. There's a story behind it. My brother in law who does silver smithing make it for me. I LOVE this design so much.. it's totally me! I love that it is simple and artsy..and that I can wear it all the time. I never take it off. ( there was that one time I took it off at my work table because I was cutting LOTS .. and it was rubbing on my thumb... lost it and Freaked out! But all is well... a week or so later, I dumped out my big button container .. and there it was. whew! Must have been cutting AND digging through buttons that night. lol

Anyway... So many people have asked me about if they could order them , over the past few years because they wanted one, my brother in law made up some more . Kate, Deb , and Wendy have theirs, but I'm not sure who else was interested. If anyone is interested my sis and brother in law are here visiting from AZ this week and there are sizes, 6 1/2, 6 3/4 , 7, 7 1/2 and 7 3/4 left to sell... so if your interested shoot me an email. They are $30 each.

vickichrisman@hotmail.com

( they have their ring sizing stuff along , so they can size up or down one size very easily)





The ring in the photo is my original from years ago.. I wear it every single day.. while I paint, ink , sand..ect... and it still looks great.

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Also.. sharing a new Fancy Pants layout. I've been just patiently waiting for the time I'd get to use this photo of Ruth. It's one of my favorites.. and SO her!

It's done using the "Dancing Girl" line.

Fancy Pants, paper, felt, bookplate, buttons, chipboard, ribbons and rubons.

It was so funny..because I had called Ruth to ask her what her 5 favorite things were...she needed some time to think about it and then called me back. I thought her list was so sweet.

Thats Ruth.

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I also wanted to show you some of the goodies I'm digging through( like a kid at Christmas).. that came from my friend Kathy. She just recently moved and thought of me when she when through some things to get rid of. Too ME..they are a treasure! Thanks Kathy!!

These little plates where in the bottom of the box. The minute I saw them I so hoped they were fit in this tiered plate rack I had. YES!!! perfect... I think they are just sooo pretty!

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I have all the windows open today, ...cleaning , catching up on things around here. I love days like this.

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One other thing that I have to share ..just because I'm so in awe of the talent of people who can do things like this. I cant image it.

Wes is working on his vintage bike , little by little. One thing he wanted done badly , was to have the seat recovered. He just really wanted it to be"right".

He had heard that this little old couple who had , had a upholstery shop for years,and did a good job.. so he stopped in months ago and talked to them ,to line it up. They were quite elderly and the shop it's self..just a little tiny room attached to their simple little house. He was a little unsure ..but decided to let her try.

He was chopping at the bit for the date to come that it would be done , so that he could ride his bike again. ( they had to keep the original seat at a pattern).

The time came and he went in to pick it up. He left frustrated because there was a sign on the door staying the shop was closed. It stayed that way for a few weeks. He was wondering if he'd make a big mistake.

Finally he stopped back and saw it was open. He went in and the lady said she was so sorry but the seat wasn't ready. Wes said .. he probably had a look of total frustration on his face about then. Then she went on to explain that the day after he had dropped off the seat there, her husband had died in his sleep.

Wes was feeling so bad for feeling so frustrated about the situation once she explained. He told her, .."no problem"...but she promised to have it done in a few days. He said "I understand, and I can just take it somewhere else.. so you don't have to deal with it". But then he thought.. possibly she needed the income? So he left it.

When he went back to pick it up.. it was not only finished ..but PERFECT!

isn't that amazing work? He was so impressed! So am I! I couldn't image ever being able to do something like that.

Every single thing was right on! She defiantly knows her stuff.

I'm thinking my son now has a bit of a soft spot for this elderly woman.

Maybe it's a lesson to all of us to slow down a bit and understand other people have things going on in their lives , that we may not know about... that lead them to the decisions they make.
I know it's a long story just to show you a bike seat ..but maybe theres a message in it?

Patience is something I need to practice also. Things always seem to move so fast. Everything is full speed ahead... and I'm right there.

Sometimes... like today, I need to remind myself to slow down and just enjoy!

Make the most of your day ~*******

and.... home from CKC Tulsa

Thanks Tulsa.... the show was great! It was a busy show..and the time seemed to just fly by , since I left last Tuesday. Liz and I hit the airport first thing this morning. It was a long day of flights..and time spent in airports..but I'm home now.. and it's all good. lol (So glad I had a book along to read)

First stop on Tuesday when we got in to Tulsa.. was a Demo at "A Memory to Scrap". Great store that carries a fantastic supply of Tattered Angels products. The people there were so nice. Wendy (Owner of Tattered Angels and creator of Glimmer Mist , on the left and me on the right, sitting at the front table)

Next day... set up. Time to get the booth set up for Friday and Saturday.

Above... Liz Hicks and the guy below... well that is Kyle..."Mr Glimmer Mist". lol

Booths set up, product out.. samples up.

It's always so fun to get to check out all the samples in person. Other amazing Design team! The samples are just WOW!

Is that a glorious bunch of Glimmer Mist goodness or what? ahhh..


Trust me ..that "make and take" line was endless! whew! Here is Liz working the make and takes , before her classes started the first morning. It really is fun to see how excited people get , when they see the possibilities. I love when they are inspired and say , they cant wait to go home and create something with the techniques they've learned.

I just had to take a shot of the demo table itself. Trust me ,...there was some serious creative juices flowing at this table! A creative feeding frenzy of sorts, at times. lol Very fun!

As always.. the best part.... spending time with the TA crew..and getting to meet up with friends , that you only get to see at shows.... that and Blog Readers!! I got to meet some blog readers that I hadn't met before and that is always a treat. I have met some wonderful people thanks to the Internet..but nothing compares to "in person". Thanks so much to those who came by to introduce themselves and say hello!

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Now.. thanks to the new washer we had to purchase just before I left... laundry is in the works... my jammies are on and the pups are waiting for some attention.... so I'm going to call it good for tonight. I'll have some projects to share this week...just needing a day to regroup now. lol

Missed you guys!

Feels good to be home.

Quick and Easy Cards in a CD box

If your anything like me ... you've got a huge box of paper scraps that you continue to ignore... and most often reach in and grab a new sheet that's calling your name. Well... every once in a while I'm making my self pull out that scrap box because there are lots of papers in there that I still really love. Making cards like these are a perfect way for me to use them up.... so here's my challenge to you..... Pull them out and use them making some gorgeous cards. Cards really only take a tiny bit of patterned paper, so it's a perfect way to put those scraps to good use.
For these cards I used images out of the "Christmas Image and Journal Books" from Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage.... But as you can see below..there are lots of different themes to choose from.
I found this CD box at the $store and altered the box and created these cards to go in it , using up scraps of papers and ribbons, along with using up so of those random chipboard pieces and older embellishments we all have. (right?) lol


Below are all of the Image and Journal Notes Booklets

You should be able to click on all the photos to see them larger.Below is the $1 store CD box I altered to hold the cards I made.

All of the card designs are simple and quick to do...but with these gorgeous images you don't need much..they make such a statement.. it does the work for you.

I love to mat the images and attach them to my card design with foam squares from Scrapbook Adhesives from 3L. The extra lift gives them so much dimension.

It felt good to use up some of these papers that have been in my "scrap bin" for SO long! (hate to admit it..but I still have TONS more to be using up!)

Another thing I don't utilize enough is my punches.

In all of these Image books ..each page has an image at the top and then a journaling piece at the bottom. You can use these separately or together. On a layout.. I love using them together and having the lines for my journaling...but on cards I use that piece a number of different ways. On the card below I Incorporated it into my card design by layering it behind the image.

On the Santa card below I cut the journal piece diagonally from corner to corner and added it behind my image. I then matted my image and adhered it with foam squares.

I also use the journal pieces inside the cards , like in the photo below, for a place to write. You could easily incorporate stamps into this also.

It really did feel good to use up some odds and ends.. and create something fun with them. Okay.. kids..that's your challenge for the week. Dig out that that messy box of scrap paper, the bag of odds and ends ribbons, and jar of old embellishments. lol CREATE!

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I'm heading out for Oklahoma tomorrow morning and will be gone until Sunday.. SO.. I'll be back to chat again .. (and share photos) come Monday.

Until then... it's up to you to hold down the fort again.

No wild parties! lol

A little Tattered Angels goodness

In case you haven't heard... Tattered Angels is planning to add a few more designers to there team... so if you are interested ... you can read more about it here. Tattered Angels Blog They are an awesome company to work with!
Also.... I'm so excited that my dear friend Nathalie Kalbach is the featured guest designer this month. You can see her interview and her beautiful creations here.
I thought I'd share a little project I created using the new "Halloween" bingo cards and stamps. ( there are Halloween screens also.. I just didn't use them on this particular project)...but they are cool! I stamped the spider on a piece of transparent overlay with stazon, then cut it out to add to the card.

As always.. when I finished... everything ( ribbon, card, ruffle ect..) all get a spritz of Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist. ahhhh yeh!
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It was just an absolutely BEAUTIFUL summer day here today. Dan and I actually just took off and went for a drive this afternoon. Lunch and a stop at a couple of my favorite places and then a ride.



(these junk'n spots are usually places I go with my girlies..but he was a good sport about it today) He was okay with it..but he just doesn't share my excitement for it. lol
I didn't find much... but got a cool old black lunch box to alter and a old glass bottle with the glass lid. ( having a guy along must have stifled my ...sniffing out good deals) lol

We ended up at Two Rivers State recreation area. Some time the most spontaneous plans work out the best. It was so enjoyable.. and a nice break from working in my room this weekend. I did get quite a bit done.. so I deserve a little break right? lol

There were alot of people out enjoying gorgeous weather today.

Felt so great to walk around a bit and enjoy the day. I'm soaking up every bit of summer that I can , before I have to even think about another Nebraska winter. ick.

I have the windows open at home tonight I can feel the breeze coming in and the crickets chirping outside.... It's going to be a good sleep night. ahhhh
Aly's ready. lol

Off to bed for me. Ready for the start of a new week.

Enjoy your day!