Baby shadowbox

Thought I'd squeeze in a post before tomorrow.  Things have slowed down around here this afternoon.  I had my mom out to visit on Friday and Saturday. We worked on her Christmas cards and letter, and watched some things Dan had recorded. Last night the kids were here for dinner and to watch the football game.  I always love it when there are home! I think they left with their tummies full! lol   Weston was here until today, and then he headed back to Lincoln, since he has to work tonight. (The dogs are sulking because all their attention givers are gone now) lol  

***********************************

I have some  projects   to share that are done using products from the one of the new companies I have been mentioning lately.  "Ooh La La Design Originals" . They have lots of great goodies, like those fun dress forms, hand dyed ribbons, flowers, embellishments, ect.  You can see more of their products here

Ooh la la Design Originals

This is just a dollar store shadowbox I re-purposed.  ( it originally had an ugly rooster print in it).  I think it's so fun to find something (not so cute) but with potential and re work it, making it into something you really like.  Sometimes it's just all about looking past the initial piece and thinking about the possibilities.

The flowers, ribbon, lace, pin and bottle are all from Ooh la la.  The darling baby brought to you by my niece Christine and her hubby Justin.

You can see in the photo above, even with $ store shadowboxes that have a flat back that is glued on, how easy it is to make look nice. I usually just stick a butter knife down around the back sides and pop it off. When I 'm all finished with my shadowbox and and ready to close it up, I just glue the back on again using hot glue, and then over it neatly with paper.

**************************
Just to you can see how much that little baby has grown....

a photo of her from Halloween.

How is that for a dose of darling!

______________________________________________________-

I was trying to push myself to think about starting on bringing the tree in and starting to decorate, but I think that will wait a few more days. I don't think I have it in me today.   I need to totally clean up and put things away from "this" holiday, before dragging out things for the next right?? ha

I have been putting out some Christmas thing over the past few days, but I think the tree will wait for now.

ps. Thank you all for all of your nice comments in my Thanksgiving post. I am SO thankful for all of you also. Some of you are new friends and some of you have been coming by for years!  I have made such great friends through this silly blog!  Some of you have blogs of your own or I have your email and we have talked, but their are many of you who comment  that I haven't been able to have contact with.. and would love too.  Please feel free to email me sometime.   vickichrisman@hotmail.com

I read ALL of your comments and feel like I know you all so well.  I wish you all lived close, so you could come over for an afternoon of chatting. Wow.. what a time that would be huh?

Anyway.. thank you all from the bottom of my heart ...

 I am so thankful for you!

                                                        hugs, Vic

Pretty little box / and Sharing our Thanksgiving

Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and ended your day with your tummies filled with turkey and pumpkin pie!    We had a really nice day spend with family and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

You know me, I'm all about sharing the photos, so I'll share a project first ,and then bombard you with family photos. ha  That way if you can read (look on) past that if you only if you wish. Like I said, my blog started years ago as a way to share with my far away family members, so that's just how I roll... when you get me .. you get my family.( and lots of photos.. so you've been warned) lol

But first... a project

This is a project I did using Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam on bare wood.  It has a beautiful effect and is so easy to put on.  I just brush mine on with a small foam brush.

( Tattered Angels website is currently under construction)

The embossed Chipboard pieces are also from Tattered Angles.  The Bird Image and the "Believe" stamp are both from Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage.

 You can find all kinds of these unfinished wood alterables at most any Hobby Stores and at some dollar stores. I love having them on hand.They are great to alter, and easy to make into different styles just by changing your colors or image. They come is lots of different shapes and sizes and are quite inexpensive.

I love the bits of metal hardware on them ,but never liked dealing with it when I painted. Now with Tattered Angels products, I just use my Glimmer Mist, Glimmer Glaze and Glimmer Glam, right over the hardware and then just use a small piece of paper towel to wipe it away. SO much easier!

***************************************************************

It's not fancy.. it's not formal.. but it's perfect for us.

We are together and that's all that matters. There was a time when we did sit down meals, where we ate off pretty dishes with moms special tablecloths, all the food set on the table, passing it around the table from one person to the next, until it had reached everyone.   Mom did it all for years and it was always the best.  As the years went on, our family grew, and grew and ..... finally we outgrew that space. We had to make the decision .. would we give up this tradition and start having our holidays with just "our families", our kids/grandkids...... OR  did we still want to all be together and find a way to make that happen?  I think the decision was anonymous, we wanted to be together. This meant giving up gathering at the place that was "home" to all of us. Mom and Dads.  It just wasn't big enough for all of us. Really no ones house was big enough... (there were alot of us), we needed to rent a place with lots of tables and chairs and a BIG kitchen.   So ....we did!  I have to admit , I think in the beginning we all felt a bit uncomfortable in our new surroundings.. it just wasn't like being at moms.. it wasn't "Home".  But .. you know what?  We've adjusted, and it's great now.  We're together and that's what matters. It sounds cheesy but it's so true.   For the average person walking in.. it would probably look like "semi controlled chaos" lol, but to us, people coming and going, kids running around everywhere, 15 conversations going on at the same time and eating buffet style off chinet plates is totally normal !

(** note the food we eat off those paper plates is made by a amazing bunch of cooks) I am talking GOOD food people!

*******

 I tried to get a photo with everyone in it..but just couldn't get everyone all in it. lol    And this is just the family that is close enough to come.  We miss our sisters in Florida and Arizona and their families that cant be here for every holiday,but we know they are with family too, and  sharing the holiday with loved ones.  ( that and.. we keep the cell phone companies in business)

For Christmas we'll have these plus six more. For Christmas we do soups, meat, cheeses, and Christmas goodies. Thanksgiving we do a big meal with turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, salads, deserts .. the works.

Always different things to try. New recipes and then..the tried and true faves.

Oh.. and deserts! ( hardly ever any) ha

Kate helped me with mashing 20lbs of potatoes....

While Dan and Jarad worked on carving the (3) turkeys. 

 Thanks to all the fantastic cooks in this family, Brent said the blessing and we all sat down to enjoy a ultra delicious meal.
_________________
  Later in the afternoon a got out these little trees I had picked up the other day, so the kids could  do a little craft project.  My sis Jan is usually the one to come up with these things, but when I saw these I thought they might be fun for the kids.  I had gathered some things from around my craft room , like buttons, punched shapes, sequins ect, and gave them foam squares to stick them on.  I'll tell you what, if you need to do a craft project with young children, use these instead of glue! Wow.. no mess and they loved using them.
( cracks me up that K has brownie on her face)

Can you believe how G has Grown?  He's in kindergarten!  Poor little guy, is just getting over having his tonsils out.

They were all pretty proud of their creations.

Speaking of "growing",look at baby Haley!  She has grown so much just since I saw her last, I couldn't believe it.   SHE even liked making a little tree.  Well.. at least she was REALLY intrigued with double sided foam squares!  "seriously intrigued" ahha

It was a good day!

So much to be thankful for.

Thanks for letting me share a little bit of my family with you once again.

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

"Simple:beautiful" Canvas (Glimmer Mist techniques)

Wow.. I better get posting the rest of my "fallish" projects before Thanksgiving is over and everyone is thinking "Christmas"!  Whew.. where is the time going??

  I did this canvas a while back, using fall colors and I love how they blended the way they did, and came out looking so warm and rich.

When creating projects with Glimmer Mist, Glimmer Glaze and Glimmer Glam.. trust me .. the photos never do it justice.  Photos just dont capture that Gorgeous shimmer like I wish they did.

I started by using one of the Tattered Angels Screens and "Cowboy" Glimmer Glam to create the first step.  I randomly moved the screen around as I went, brushing on the Glam.

Once that was totally dry, I started added and blending my colors of Glimmer Mist.  With Glimmer Mist, you can just keep adding colors until you get the look you are trying to achieve. I do like to use my heat tool to add colors then dry, add colors then dry.. letting the colors run together and blend in between drying with the head tool.

I tried something different on this project.  Because I love to look of stark contrast, I decided I would outline the design using a fine tip permanent marker.

You never know exactly how things work, if your have never tried them before... so only one way to find out , right?? Well, I learned as I went here. I found out that even permanent markers will bleed if you don't have your canvas totally dry.... BUT.. I found I kind of "liked" that look... so it didn't bother me. ( you can see this in the second photo in this post).  In the photo above you can see that if it is completely dry, you get the more "crisp" line.  So if you choose to try this , you can choose which you like best.   ** That outlining.. really isn't as time consuming as you think. It went pretty quick an was actually kind of fun to do.**

The thing I love most about using these mediums is .. playing and trying new things. 

***************************************************************8

I keep trying to upload more photos but for some reason blogger isn't letting me , so I'll post more later.

Whatever you have planned for your Thanksgiving, I hope it's extra special.  We will be having our usual gathering, with the big fam.  The turkeys are thawing and I have my recipes pulled out and on the counter.  Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that we don't get nasty weather.

I  hope you have a great day... turkey, pumpkin pie and a nap??  Sounds good to me!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

"Quick and Easy Christmas Cards 2010" Crafty Secrets DT Challenge

Hey everyone!!  I've missed you! I had a great time, but as always it's good to me home again. There is so much to share I hardly know where to start.  But... since today is the November Crafty Secrets Design Team Challenge Day, it gave me a great starting place. I have so many photos, projects and things to share with you it would be one ridiculously LONG post, so I'll break it up over the next week or so with a little mix of projects and photos from the past nine days. 

Thanks for making my Guest bloggers SO welcome!! I knew I could count on  you girls!  (and no wild parties either?? or did you just cover your tracks well??) Either way.. Thankyou!!

And to my Guest Bloggers, Jan, Rita, Julie, Sarah, and Kate, I cant thank you enough! It was so fun to see our posts while I was away. I just looked so forward to each one!

************************************************************

As for today's Crafty Secrets Design Team Challenge, Every year I do up a set of "Quick and Easy" Christmas Cards to share here.   Lots of people love to make cute cards..but it is just a fact that "time" is usually an issue, especially this time of the year.  One of the things I love most about using Crafty Secrets   images is that they are totally cute images that make designing a card easy.  All it takes it a few scraps of paper and minimal embellishments and Wah la.. you have a handmade card that is really CUTE!

All cards don't have to me elaborate and time consuming. Using CS stamps and images lets you create something sweet and simple, or (if time allows) something more involved.  Either way you end up with a great hand made card you can be proud of.

Below are six different card designs I did, using the "Christmas" Creative Scraps, and the "Christmas mail" set of Clear Art Stamps.

The papers that I chose are  Basic Grey ( Eskimo kisses).  I've had them for some time and hadn't used them, but as I looked at these images with them, I really love the mix.

**Here is a link to last years "Quick and Easy" Cards, if you need more ideas.**

okay .... now, you will want to check out what the other girls have posted for this challenge , so here are the links.  Christmas inspiration just for you!

Visit Our Design Team Blogs!

· Vicki Chrisman Team Leader  (your here!)
· Pam Hooten
· Heidi Blankenship
· Linda Duke
· Michele Kovack
· Melissa Phillips
· Flo Teixeira 
· Julie Campbell
· Mary Hamer
· Anna Wight (November Guest Designer)

· Heartwarming Vintage blog www.craftysecrets.com



*************************************************** 

Like I said earlier, I have so much to share, so I'll share some each day, but here are just a few things to start off.  Below is a video clip of me sharing some of my CS faves in a little interview with Malia Martine for Vintage Indie  (at CKC Seattle), in the Crafty Secrets booth.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After CKC Seattle, it was off to Canada.  Below is a photo of the great bunch of women who came to see us at the "Vintage Christmas Open House" at "Cherish the Memories" in Port Moody BC.  We had such a fun time there, and what a great turn out! Huge thanks to all of you for the welcome! And thankyou to Jessie for asking me to come.

Below, Sandy and I with Jessie (owner of Cherish the Memories).

There is so much more to share. Lots between those photos and this one. ha

The flight home

But I'll save those for another day.  It was a great time.  Now I'm busy catching up on things here, laundry, email, unpacking ,and giving my pups love needed love. Aly isnt letting me out of her sight at this point. (silly pup)

Don't forget to check out the projects on the DT girls blogs, ... they are always a treat!

Have a happy day!

Feels good to be  back blogging again.

Guest Blogger - Kate Givens

Hi Everyone!
I'll start off by saying, I feel a little out of my league, getting to post on Vicki's blog- when I barely consider myself a "creator" in comparison to her and the other guest bloggers. However, it's an honor- and I have a pretty cool project to share!

For starters, I'm the girlfriend of Vicki's son, Jarad. Jarad and I have been "featured" a few times here and there on this blog, so you might recognize me! I've known Vicki since I was 14 (and I'm 25 now), we joke about the times in high school when I'd come over and nap on Vic's couch, even when Jarad wasn't there- that should tell you, in case you ever wondered, she has ALWAYS been this sweet!!

So as you might know, Jarad and I bought a house last March and the last 9 months have been FULL of projects. Luckily, Jarad and I strive on projects, we joke that most couples do dinner and a movie for a date, we do "pizza and a project" haha - Most of our projects have been out in our shop, trying to get things comfy and ready for winter. But, I started a project in the house recently as well- and that's what I'm going to share with you!

Since I forgot to take "before" pictures because I got so excited to just dig in- I'll try to describe what I started with- the picture below is our sun room and if you notice on the left hand side, there is a inset area with a light and a picture in it, right above the table. We didn't realize there was a picture there because when we moved in it was covered in mirrors with gold paint, very 70's looking, on top of the mirrors were little shelves, which were poorly hung. The only reason this bothered me as much as it did, is because the rest of the entire house is remodeled and very up to date- but this room was still very dated and I was determined to fix that!

So, I pulled the shelves and mirrors off the wall, and found that a wallpapered mural was behind them, quite a surprise! The sticky tape that the people before us used to attach the mirrors had ruined the picture, but at one time, I could see this room being very nature/woodsy and I liked the feeling of that.

So, I decided to keep that feeling in that room, but try to bring up to a more modern style. I like to reuse items and give them new life, so while shopping for something to hang in that spot, I thought- why don't I just make something.. another thing about this spot is it's right by our back door, the door we and pretty much everyone uses all the time, so having the mirrors there wasn't terrible because you could glance at yourself on your way out and make sure all hairs were in place-so I decided I was going to reuse the mirrors as well. Here is what I came up with -

Of course this is ont he shop floor, and in the process of finishing all our other projects, it sat there for a little longer than I had hoped, and I'm sure I don't have to explain that mirrors on a shop floor are guaranteed to get kicked. Well one got stepped on and I accidentally kicked another one, so my original art, continued to change over time :)  I used double sided foam tape and super glue to get the mirrors to stay on a piece of wood. Here is the back of it -

Ok, so that was the first step- mirror art, done. Now to tackle the wall space where it was to hang.. I decided to go with Green because I wanted to stick with the nature feel, we have three small trees that we are growing in there, and soon to come a very large ficus tree (if we ever get it from Vicki's house :). So Jarad cut a large thin piece of smooth plywood to fit in the spot and I painted it...

Then we nailed it into the spot with finishing nails, it was the easiest and most efficient way to paint that area, with all the wall papered mural there was no way to just "paint over" it- plus this way, we are still preserving it for years to come! I had to take most of these pictures in the evening, so the lighting makes some of them look a little odd.

.

Jarad put screws in the top of the wood piece and we used extra strong wire to attach, then we put two screws in the middle of the area and hung it!

I'm not completely finished, as the trim around the inside and out needs some work, I haven't completely decided what I'm going to do about that yet- but I am happy about the way I was able to reuse the mirrors- not sure if you can tell in the pictures, but I removed most of the gold paint that was on the mirrors but left a little to give it a little more design. Here is one more of the room, to give you an idea of where the door is, etc.

Well, that's my project and it's a good thing that Vicki asked me to share it on her blog, or it would probably still be sitting on the shop floor waiting to get stepped on again!! If you look at the first mirror picture I posted, compared to this one, you can see a few changes- haha Oh well, Art is a process :)

Thanks everyone for reading, and THANKS to Vicki for having me post on your blog. Glad you will be back soon!! Hopefully I didn't draaaaag on too much! I'll leave you with a happy reflection of me :)  - PS. Mirrors that sit on a shop floor for several weeks don't clean all that easy at first, don't judge my smudge marks!! haha

I Hope my Reuse of Reflection, inspires you to create, or even better REcreate! Enjoy your Day!!



Guest Blogger-Sarah Hemphill

Hi, Sarah here filling in for Vicki while she is being creative in Canada. After following Vicki's blog for a while, I had the pleasure of meeting her at The Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, TX. Now I look forward to the convention coming to TX so that I can work with Vicki and Sandi in the Crafty Secrets booth. If you have ever been around these two, you know how much fun that can be.

Today we are going to take a quick trip to Chicago, so grab your coat and hat, too (it's windy there) 'cause we're off to...

Stampland houses a unique stamp museum and gallery as well as being home to the manufacturing of Stampland stamps.

It is owned and operated by Darlene Domel and "Picasso" Gaglione.

Here is a peek into one of the cabinets filled with vintage rubber stamps. If you thought rubber stamps were a fairly new invention, think again. They have been around longer than all of us.

One of "Picasso's" favorite set is this one which includes Bozo, Laurel and Hardy, and the 3 Stooges.

The museum is full of treasures from old to new.

Many of the hand stamps in the museum have seens years of useage and are pieces of art themselves.

There are rows of boxes filled with brand new, beautiful pink rubber stamps designed by Darlene and Picasso. Here are my friends Pam and Louise getting in a little shopping.

If you are in the Chicago area be sure and visit Stampland. It is open by appointment only so call ahead to make arrangements for a museum tour and a fun-filled class with Darlene. You can find more info at their website...Stampland.

I would like to share with you a fun and laugh filled exercise that Darlene told us to try when we got home. This is more fun to do with a couple of friends.

Her is what you do:

Randomly pick about 20 stamps and put them in a box or bag.

Everyone pick out 3 stamps without looking at them.

Now, create a card front using only those 3 stamps. (We also used only 3 colors of ink.)

Pass those three stamps to your friend and let them create until everyone has used those three stamps.

Show your work to each other and be amazed at the different ideas that you and your friends came up with using only the 3 stamps.

These are a few of my "3 stamp" creations from my creative exercise with Louise and Pam.

Thanks for visiting today and have yourself a creative kind of day! You can visit me at my blog Vintage Figments.

Guest Blogger Rita Barakat

 Hi!  Rita Barakat here guest blogging for Vicki while she is out of town. I was lucky enough to meet Vicki last Winter at CHA in Long Beach. She was super sweet and if you think her blog is fabulous you should see her work in person! Amazing! So I feel honored to be doing a guest post here today! 

I  do alot of scrapbooking and altered art using lots of different mediums. I design for several manufacturers and I couldn't decide what to share today so I picked several projects that are my favorites. 

 This is a canvas I made for my two daughters using an iron on, lots of Shimmerz, masks, Websters flowers  and borders, ZVA bling.

 Here is a recent project I did using stamps and several different mediums from Faber-Castell, the borders and stamps are from Ta Da Creative Studios.

This was a fun project using inks diretly on a black and white photo. You can tell that I like using alot of creative tehniques in my work. You can find more of my work on my blog Lets Embellish.

Thanks for looking!