A Little Vintage Christmas…

Good afternoon, my friends!

What a rainy, gloomy day here on the central California coast!  (I love it!)  How’s the weather where you are?

This kind of day makes it feel like Christmas is just around the bend, and I’ve been trying to get a bit of a jump on it with a couple of projects…

First:

A fun chipboard wall hanging…the chipboard piece from Crafty Secrets, as well as all the beautifully vintage Christmas images…

…from both the new “Christmas” Creative Scraps and the “Christmas” Images & Journal Notes booklet…love that collage piece in the background!  A lovely peppermint stripe print from Graphic 45’s Christmas Past collection…

…this little sweetie was cut out and popped up, of course! 

Some lovely red vintage buttons, a single jingle bell, holly flowers, ribbon, lace, a bit of sparkle thanks to Dazzling Diamonds, platinum Stickles & some “Iridescent Gold” Glimmer Mist, and that’s about it!

Next, a completely different color scheme…

Cool grey, silver, pink & white…and a lovely Victorian angel from Crafty Secrets’ “Christmas” Images & Journal Notes booklet…

I decided to carry on the arched look from the image and used a corner rounder punch for the different layers of the card…

…sparkling falling snow, thanks to a little Dazzling Diamonds…

…and some different sized sparkly snowflakes, all glitzed up with lots and lots of clear, chunky German glass glitter.  A vintage pink button and some lovely Swarovski crystals finish them off…

I hope you all have the loveliest of weekends!

See you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Christmas

Warm Memories…and Play Date Cafe’ Anniversary!

Good evening, dear friends!

The middle of another week…where does the time go?! 

I was asked by the beautiful and talented Julie Marie of Julie’s Open Window and The Play Date Cafe’ to join in the celebration of the PDCC’s 1st anniversary party this week…and I was oh, so happy to do so!

Here’s the “color story”, as it’s called,  for this week…beautiful shades of soft pink, soft orange, soft yellow, and white…soothing and lovely…

…and here’s my take on the challenge:

The very first  stamp I ever purchased from Unity Stamp Co. when it was a brand new company…even though I’m not a tea or coffee drinker, I fell in love with this beautiful vintage style cup and saucer stamp—it’s quite large, which I also really liked…

The cup and saucer stamped on cream cardstock in “Tattered Rose” Distress Ink twice…then I cut them apart and popped up the cup (of course!)

Lots of soft, sugary glitter on the pretty set thanks to some Dazzling Diamonds, and all outlined with my favorite platinum Stickles…

…a trio of ribbon roses colored in the desired shades of soft yellow with orange accents thanks to “Lemon Zest” and “Pumpkin Pie” Glimmer Mist…then covered with some “Iridescent Gold” Glimmer Mist…

…a little tag added with gold cording…”Please come for Tea"…is the invitation…

…which of course reminded me of something old and cherished…

Two beautiful hot chocolate sets from the turn of the century were in possession of my grandmother Velda.  At the time of her death in 2001, they were divided…one was given to my cousin and his wife, and the other was given to me.

The first set was a wedding gift given to my great-grandparents, Anna and Hjaldermar Ostlund on November 16, 1901…

…since the set is not in my possession, this is the only photo I have of the set, sweetly shared by my cousin’s wife, Tracey…

This is the beautiful Anna, not too many years after her marriage…

…and her very handsome husband, Hjaldermar…a young Canadian barrister…

Here is the beautiful set I inherited…

…this set was also a wedding gift…to my other great-grandparents, Estella and Glenn Stapley, married July 7, 1914…

Here they are in their younger married days…what a loving, beautiful couple…

 

…gorgeously fat cabbage roses, and  such a lustrous finish…a treasure…

…isn’t that pretty?

Here’s the maker’s stamp on the bottom…a beauty all it’s own…

 

I hope you have a wonderful night…sip some hot chocolate and enjoy…

Sweet Dreams!

Julie

 

LiveJournal Tags: The Play Date Cafe',Unity Stamps,hot chocolate sets,Anna Brandley Ostlund,Hjaldermar Ostlund,Estella Vance Stapley,Orley Glenn Stapley

Crafty Secrets’ Design Team Sewing Challenge

 

Good morning, my friends!

 

Well, it’s time for another Crafty Secrets’ Design Team Challenge this morning…and this month we were to use stitching in our projects…machine, hand, or faux…

I have to admit to being a late-bloomer in the sewing on paper club…didn’t ever attempt it until this year…and I have to say I’m hooked!

Here’s my project for today…a 10” x 10” layout that I’ll frame…

What fun to lay all the paper and lace out the way you want, and then “quilt” it, as I like to do…crazy quilt style…(another thing I’ve always wanted to make—a crazy quilt!)

Then…just add all the additional elements or embellishments…ribbon, buttons, etc…so much fun!

Just look at all these fabulous, very old vintage buttons…not one the same as another…some with very old thread still remaining…and some with fabric on the back, as if ripped of a garment to save the button…

I used the beautiful man in the moon stamp from Crafty Secrets’ “Costume Cuties” set with a bit of Dazzling Diamonds on him for a bit of sparkle…

“The Witching Hour” image from Crafty Secrets’ “Halloween” Creative Scraps…

…and over the entire layout, a VERY generous spritzing of “Irridescent Gold”, “Pumpkin Pie” and “Gold” Glimmer Mist….I just love the stuff!

And I’d like that thank my Great-Great Grandmother, Augusta, for being a good sport and posing as my witch for the project!

She was nothing of the kind, of course…a gentle, kind, loving wife and mother…born in Denmark in 1854, she emigrated to the United States when she was just 16 years old…

to live the rest of her life in the good old Wild West…very different than what she would ever have imagined as a little Danish girl!

A “Happy Halloween” sentiment typed out on the computer in a new favorite vintage-style font…

Please make sure and visit the Heartwarming Vintage Crafty Secrets blog today for more inspiration, and be sure and stop by and visit the rest of the Design Team’s blogs—they will amaze you, I promise!

We’re so happy to have our special Guest Designer, Sheila Rumney, join us this month!

Vicki Chrisman Team Leader
Pam Hooten
Heidi Blankenship
Linda Duke
Michele Kovack
Melissa Phillips
Flo Teixeira from France
Julie Campbell—me!
Mary Hamer
Guest Designer Sheila Rumney

Heartwarming Vintage Blog

Crafty Secrets website

Have a beautiful day, and I’ll see you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Design Team Challenge,Augusta Maria Outzen Smith,Halloween