Altered Photo Holder

Here it is mid week and I'm just now getting around to doing a blog post.  I've been working on things here at home, which is a good thing, but sometimes these days, the house seems very quiet.. too quiet.  It's been over a month since we lost mom ..and Aly pup. I keep thinking it will get easier.  I dont talk about it much here because I want my blog to be a happy place, but I also want to be "real".  And the reality of things is.. we have a huge hole in our hearts and some days are just really hard.  The last couple of days, tears seem to come easy.  Dan and I are both struggling to find a new normal around here. I guess , as they say...it's just going to take time. 

 For now..I'll keep writing and sharing projects, because that's what I need to do ... focus on what I enjoy doing.. and keep doing it. 

 The altered photo holder below was a project I did last week with a old photo of Dans grandparents ..that I just love.

  

Oh my goodness... I adore her hair and glasses:)

The base paper I used is from the Creating with Vintage Illustrations CD from Crafty Secrets, and the images are from the Love Mail Creative Scraps

Crafty Secrets is also now selling these Mini Maya Road frames from their website. They work so great with their images.   I hadnt used these before, and I not only really liked the variety of shapes, but also how well they took ink, Glimmer Mist and paint.

I have some other projects that I'll be sharing this week, that were done using these frames in different ways also, but you can see more about them in this blog post on the Heartwarming Vintage Blog.

I'm trying to do better with showing and linking to the things I use on projects, but if you ever have questions just shoot me an email. Sometimes I get questions in the comments, and it's sometimes hard to be able to reply to those.. so feel free to email :)  My email is on the righ side bar.

I used the Artsy Banners Stamp Set for the border along the top of the project.  You can see the entire set here.  One of my very favorites!

Lots of fun stuff , and lots of layering.  The dimension is brought to you, courtesy of foam squares from Scrapbook Adhesives.

Okay.... guess what??? I finally got some new things added to my etsy.

Here are just a few, and I'll be planning on adding more tomorrow after I take photos. I'll be adding some of AccuCut my Shadowbox dies (pre cut)

I did add....Lots of vintage goodies..

die cut cardstock cards

shapes

banners

and other stuff :)

I have some gorgeous vintage hankies added...

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                                                     and some awesome vintage aprons

          You can see everything I added here in my ETSY on the right sidebar of my blog.  I decided it's time to share some of the Flea Market finds I come accross. (Either that.. or I'll have to get a bigger room :)

                                   Vic

A little Flea Market Fun

Wow.. this weekend seemed to just fly by.  My sis and I spent Saturday at the indoor fleamarket, and it was great fun:)  Today Dan and I celebrated our 31st Anniversary.  I have lots of photos to share, but first I'll share a quick makeover project I did with these hat boxes. They had a pretty brown and cream pattern on them, but they didnt really go in my craft room ( and that is definatly were I need all the storage I can get).. so I altered them with some colorful papers from my scrap bin.  When Jan and I are thrift shopping we always say.. "If you dont like it, paint it a color you love, or cover it with pretty paper" solves the problem every time. lol

The Flea Market we went to was in Lincoln at the Lancaster Event Center.  (inside of course. Remember it's winter in Nebraska).  We were there when the doors opened, and there were alot of people there already.

I have to share some of the things I saw and loved ..but didnt buy. Like this bike....

and this table.  *LOVE*

Scrapbooking ... in the begining.  You've come a long way baby!

Okay.. what did I get???  This sweet yellow pyrex bowl that's going to look great in my kitchen. yippee!

a number of awesome old jars, and other goodies that make me smile.

I have never seen jars like this one before. ( thank you for the cool jar Canada :)

I hatd the red record box before, but I got the old blue lunch box Saturday.  We thought it was so cute that it has three different kids names from the same family written on over the years.  I think it's been used many a day.

I cant even tell you how much I love this.  ( yep.. mine now).

..and a little vintage button love also. ( now.. if I can just bring myself to use them)

I have a plan for these.

We had already made one trip to the car to drop things off so we wouldnt have to carry them, but here's Jan waiting with our other goodies while I get the car.   To bad her awesome framed mirror wasnt facing this way so you could see it.. it's  so cool!  That big frame on the side, I picked up for $4. I plan to paint it white to use for a photo prop.  The little red table is mine, and the typewritter table is Jans. ( cant wait to see what color she paints it).

As if the day wasnt already pretty darn good.  It got even better with some amazing Mexican food and the world BEST Margaritias!  Ahhhh...

Even the drive home was enjoyable.  Good tunes and a gorgeous sky to keep me company.

So I thought I'd show you where I put my little red table.  It fits right into my silly eclectic mix of stuff.

I worked on moving things around a little bit in my craft room today.  Getting something new for my room, was good. It motivated me to clean and organize!  AND when I clean and organize, I seem to find things I forgot I even had.. so that's good to.  It was a productive day all the way around.

I had to move my jars of supplies around to make room for the new additions.  I use alot of different things for storage..but nothing beats clear jars. Being able to see what's in them, makes finding what I'm looking for, that much easier.

Thanks for letting me share my weekend with you.  I hope you had a great one also. 

Here's to a creative week ahead!

** PS**

You still have until Monday to get in on the giveaway over on the Heartwarming Vintage Blog, so pop over and get your name in for a chance to win the two newest stamp sets.    There are also some amazing photos from Sandys trip posted.        HERE

                                                                                         Vic

Canvas Art

I keep forgetting about some of my CHA projects I haven't shared here yet.  This little piece of Canvas Art is one of them.   I'm pretty excited about TA has a new home with Canvas Corp!  They I used one of Canvas Corps, canvas pieces for this project, along with TA Paints and Crafty Secrets ( bird image).  I had taken step out photos for packaging, so I decided I'd go ahead and share them, so you can see the process :)  The photos pretty much give you the idea of how the paints were used.

Supplies to start with

When adding the mists and paints..I always start light..and I more as I need.  Much easier to add more then try to take away color.

Once I lift my screen, I have the design of the stencil or screen on my canvas. (blank canvas underneath), so that's where I added some pink. (cosmos)

Next, I added some color to my letters and embellishment pieces.

Once my letters are completely dry, I stamped on some text print for interest.

Once everything is totally dry, all that's left is assembly.  My favorite part :)  Love putting it all together and adding goodies. lol

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Yesterday I met up with my sis in Lincoln, and we just spend the entire day bumming around,checking out some antique shops,  ...chatting, junking, laughing, and the things that make for a fun sister day. It's been a while since I've been away all day like that.. and it was so fun and relaxing!   

We really didn't buy all that much, ( no fear..there's a huge flea market this weekend that we're going to, so we can redeme outselves) lol but we sure had fun.   I should have taken the stuff out of the bags and photographed in then, because by the time I got home late last night, we realized, I had some of her things here with me, and she had some of mine with her.  But like I said, we'll be together Saturday, so no worries :)   I did find that seat/storage bench thing for Jarad and Kate.. for the bargain price of $11.99. Woo hoo.  It was so sturdy and in such great shape, but it could easily be covered in some fun fabric if they wanted.  Kate said they could really use it in there sun room.   I got my sis that little red doll chair for her birthday. She has a highchair just like it.   Other than that we found some fun little pieces, some old plates, tea cups ( I plan to use for May baskets ) and a frame I thought would be cool for an altered piece.

 There is just nothing better for a girls creative soul to spend a day, seeing things, and just being inspired by design and color. Fun things to look at all around.

Whether its displays...

art and design...

fabric and textures..

Or ..um....  Sweets??

  (isn't it pretty? pretty tasty too!) My sister took me to their favorite little Mexican bakery.

It was so good to spend some "happy time" with my sis yesterday.  ( thanks to the clerk for taking the photo.. ha.)

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  I dont want to forget to tell you to pop over to the Heartwarming Vintage Blog and get in on the great giveaway

( and a peek and the awesome new stamp sets)

               Vic