Punches for Backgrounds and Frames

Here's a few cards made with my new punches. I love the intricate designs. They fit in well with my vintage inspired cards.

Retro Birthday Card for Dad

Here's a cute birthday card I created using a few recycled embellishments. The little boy is coated with diamond glaze and mounted on a painted puzzle piece. The crown and king emblem are made from soda cans that I've diecut. There's a metal plate on the bottom that reads happy birthday. "Dad" has been diecut from a foam sheet. Everything is mounted on textured scrapbook paper with a strip of patterned paper and two vintage buttons. I'll be making a second card for "Mom" with similar embellishments.

Recycled Embellishments

You can find all kinds of commercial embellishments 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.

To create successful art you must see things not as they are, but as they could be. 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.

Some other unusual embellishments that I enjoy working with are cancelled postage stamps (make sure to watch your mail!), flattened bottlecaps, buttons, mesh bags from vegetables, broken jewelry pieces, puzzle pieces, playing cards and fishing items (not the hooks!). Keep your eyes open for any small item and save it - it might come in handy later. Using these types of embellishments will make your cards and other creations truly one of a kind.

One final thought - my rule which I have broken too many times and later regretted it:

If you pick something up twice it better go home with you.

Leave it behind and you'll be sorry later that cheap treasure got away!

Latest Treasure Hunt Finds...

Ah - Scrabble tiles - a versatile little piece of wood! I always pick up games when I find them at thrift stores or garage sales. I don't care what the box or the board looks like - I only want the tiles! But yesterday I hit the jackpot - I found a deluxe edition that contains maroon tiles! They will be the perfect addition to my vintage style cards. Most likely, I'll save these tiles to use just as they are. My brown wooden tiles which are much more easily found, will be the ones I'll use for decoupage or stamping, or altering in any way. I also picked up a bag of dominoes. Along with the large plastic ones I use for pendants, there are also a number of dark brown wooden ones. There is a Chinese dragon embossed into the wood. I foresee something new and exiting over the horizon! I can't wait to get started using these little beauties. My next search will be for vintage buttons - not the cheap plastic rip-offs you find today - but the little treasures made of bakelite, bone and ivory I remember in my mothers button box many years ago.........

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!