A Happy New Year's Wish from 1910!

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I wasn't planning on doing a post today, but thoughts kept jumping into my head and they wouldn't leave me alone...so here I am!

Made a quick card today with a beautiful image from Karen, The Graphics Fairy. She finds the most wonderful vintage images, and is always so generous in her sharing--thanks, Karen!

Here's my card:

...and a couple of close-ups...

Love that glitter!

Love this old vintage abalone button!  This was in my husband's grandmother's stash...

What a gorgeous vintage calendar from 1910--what a beautiful year!  I love this woman's image and all I could think of was how much it reminded me of my great-grandmother, Pauline Udall Smith.  Here she is in 1909--one hundred years ago...

Isn't she beautiful?  Here she is with my great-grandfather, Asahel Smith...their wedding photo from 1909...one of my very favorite old family photos...

The next year, January 1910, my grandfather, Rudger Smith was born. Here is a beautiful postcard birth announcement we have from February 1, 1910, from Pauline to her cousin Pearl:

and on the back we see that baby and mother are both doing fine...!

Here's their beautiful family a few years later with a new brother for Rudger...my grandfather is the little one standing in a dress...!

Thanks for indulging me in a little look back at my family 100 years ago...and from Pauline and me, a very Happy New Year to you all!

The Play Date Cafe' Challenge #10...The Ladies' Favorite

Good evening, everyone!  We're sure coming close to the end of another year, aren't we?  It seems to go more quickly the older I get!  I remember my grandparents saying that, and I would think how silly that was....but, boy!  do I ever it understand now!

We're on week 10 in The Play Date Cafe' Challenge already--hard to believe!  So glad to have so many talented people contributing and playing along with us--thanks so much!  It's open to everyone, so come on and join us!

This week's challenge is hosted by the lovely Sarah, who has chosen a very delicious color combination...chocolate brown, turquoise and dusty pink...yum!

Here's what I came up with:

The image I used is from Crafty Secrets' "Homemade" Images & Journal Notes booklet, and the turquoise background print paper is from their "Radiant" paper pack.  The vintage recipe cards are ones that I'd found online & reprinted.  Some Martha Stewart "White Gold" glitter, some lace, ribbon & buttons and we're all done!

Hope you're all enjoing the tail-end of 2009...and I'll see you next year!  (When I was young, my parents loved to say things like that on New Year's Eve....things like; "We won't eat again until next year"..."I guess I won't see you again until next year"..."No more game-playing for us until next year"...used to scare me to death!  Then, one year, I finally cracked the code!  Not quite as final as I'd thought, after all!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A Renaissance Woman and a Sweet New Year's Boy...

Good evening, all! Hope you've had a wonderful Monday! We're still in the middle of Christmas vacation here, and having such a fun time together!

Just a couple of things to share with you today...my daughters & husband were all busy with various things which left me a bit of card making time--yipee!

I'm so in love with Graphic 45's gorgeous paper collection!  Especially this newish "Renaissance Faire" collection--each page is just perfection!  Sorry, but you'll be seeing a lot more of it from me!  They have a couple of other new collections coming out very soon that are just fabulous!

Just look at this page...!

Here's my first card...hated cutting into the first sheet of collage-style printed paper...but it just had to be done!

The "B" is for beauty--just look at that gorgeous image...the beautiful flowers...just everything!

I used the Distressed Clear Crackle Paint on the image--love how it turned out!  Really aged it!  Had to use some of the beautiful Martha Stewart "White Gold" glitter with this one...just perfect!  I really like this better in real life, of course...very dismal day today...the light was terrible!  Oh, well!

Next--a sweet little image from Crafty Secrets' "Seasonal" Images & Journal Notes booklet--another one for New Years...

I used the Clear Crackle Paint on this image, as well, but a much thinner coat--not as happy with it--doesn't show up quite as much.  Just look at that gorgeous Graphic 45 paper!

You can see the crackle a little better on this close-up shot...

Well, that's all for tonight--off to watch a movie with the family!  Hope you all have a wonderful evening!

Sweet dreams!

New Year's..."Renaissance Faire" Style!

My, don't the days fly by?!  We've been preparing for Christmas for quite a while now, and then, in a blur...it's over!  Now, we're suddenly closing in on the end of this year...amazing!

Hope you're all still having so much fun with family and friends this holiday week!  We've been so busy playing games, watching movies and just being together--haven't even posted anything since Christmas Eve!  Oh, well!  It's all about family time, isn't it?!

Just a quick post this afternoon--just had to get a little inky today...my hands have been too ink-free lately, and there's been no glitter on my face and clothes--something HAD to be done about it!!!

Here's a quick card I made using the new and improved "Seasonal" Images & Journal Notes booklet by Crafty Secrets.  They've redone the old Seasonal booklet, made the images larger, and added some beautiful new ones--I love it! 

This image was in the older book, and I really liked it, but wished it was bigger--and here it is! 

The saying underneath the image is just so wonderfully old-fashioned:  "Be your New Year a happy round of months..."--I just love that!

Isn't that background paper gorgeous?!!!  That's from my new favorite paper line--from Graphic 45--"Renaissance Faire"!  Every print in this collection is just delicious!  I loved this print--all the joined circles seemed to go well with the "round of months" saying on the card--not to mention that beautiful blue!  I'll be using this fabulous new collection a LOT!

To close up, I just wanted to share this sweet picture of my girls on Christmas Eve...I'm so blessed with these daughters of mine!  Each of them is lovely, funny, clever, sweet, respectful and love their parents--it doesn't get any better than that!  (Doesn't mean they're perfect....but they're pretty darn great!)

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday evening!   See you soon!