One of My Favorite Cards

Being originally from Buffalo NY, I lived only about 7 miles from Niagara Falls. I love incorporating my home town memories into my artwork. This card uses an actual vintage postcard as the background. If you look closely at the WELCOME sign over the photo, you'll see that it actually says " always a friendly Welcome " - just a slightly naughty addition! The ticket is a photocopy of a vintage Niagara Falls hotel room voucher. I'm still not sure if this card will go up for sale or remain in my collection. Click on the card for a better view.

Get Ready for Valentine's Day!

Here's an adorable vintage inspired collage card I just listed on Etsy. It measures 5" x 7" and is mounted on heavy off white cardstock. The phote is a computer generated copy of a vintage postcard. The front of the card is embellished with scrapbook paper, ribbon, brads, and a die cut. The inside is lined with blank parchment paper.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

These are the first two tags in my series of Alice in Wonderland bookmarks. Well, I originally made them as bookmarks, but I think they would also make wonderful tags for scrapbooking. I found a vintage book that was a MacMillan classic, in poor condition for almost nothing, and I'm using it to make these tags. The addition of some printed quotes and chalk ink complete the look. These are quick and fun and there will be lots more on the way.

New Card to Share

As promised, here is my newest card creation to share with you. My favorite style is collage and my favorite theme is the vintage woman. This is a 5" x 6 7/8" card - large enough for the longest love letter! The collage is mounted on textured cardstock. The pensive woman is a computer generated copy of a vintage postcard. The corner heart is a Spellbinder diecut. I've used a button brad, lace and faux stone lettering for lots of dimension.





Now it's your turn. Leave a comment with the link to your newest creation. We can all use daily inspiration.

Frugal - Not CHEAP!!! Frequent local Garage Sales....

Craft stores are filled with thousands of cardmaking embellishments. You can usually find anything you want to finish that special card. But if you want to be truly unique, bypass the ready made embellishments, and dare to be different. Some of my favorite places to search for one of a kind items for my cards are flea markets and garage sales. They're also the best place to find alterable items. Look for vintage photographs and postcards. You'll be amazed at what people are giving away for almost nothing. Vintage ephemera - newspapers, magazines, books, menus, maps, travel brochures, etc. can all be used in your creations. Don't overlook things like small hardware and jewelry pieces. They can be attached to almost anything. Rip things apart - don't always look at the whole piece - there are some extremely interesting components to other people's "junque". Old games - scrabble, dominoes, mahjong, etc. provide alterable items as well as embellishments. Look for inexpensive books, records (if you're old enough to remember what they are!), boxes, tins, clipboards, picture frames, and anything else that you can recycle. To create successful altered art you must see things not as they are, but as they could be. One final thought - my rule which I have broken too many times and regretted it: If you pick something up twice it better go home with you. You'll be sorry later that cheap treasure got away!

Vintage Niagara Falls

Just thought I'd share with you a card I recently finished reminding me of home. Although I live in Las Vegas, I am originally from a town just outside of Buffalo, NY. Grand Island, NY is an island situated in the Niagara River between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, so I am very familiar with this awesome natural wonder. We were even able to see the mist of the falls from our home - about 7 miles away! If any of you are from Western New York I'd love to hear from you.

A NEW THEME - JUST ALICE!

Do you like "Alice in Wonderland?" Take a look at two of my new creations. It's nice to work with Alice because everything is strange and not what it seems. So you have a free range of creativity for your projects. I've done pendants, cards, and magnets, but this theme could even be incorporated into a little girls scrapbook page. By the way, did you know that Alice Through the Looking Glass was actually a satire on the British government at the time it was written?

New Collage and Tips for Your Work

If you're familiar with my work, you know that most of my creations are greeting cards made with vintage photos. Well, since most of my cards are collages, anyway, I've decided to start making 5" x 7" collages along the same themes. Here's the first that I have listed on Ebay. It was so much fun that I'm already planning the next one! It really isn't all that difficult to put these together. Just be sure to stick to a theme. I've seen attempts at collage that have absolutely no cohesiveness - just bits of this and that thrown together. In this collage I've chosen to highlight the color purple (my favorite) and the glamour of times past. And don't get carried away by incorporating too much stuff into your piece. Sometimes less is more, so when you're satisfied with the look, STOP. And finally, it helps to have some way to display your work, either with a stand or a ribbon for hanging.