A Bit of Random Vintageness…

 
Hello, my friends!

Here we are at the beginning of another weekend…my favorite time of the week!

Just a couple of things to share with you today…I’m trying to catch up on some projects, so I’m going to show you a couple of cards I did for a Splitcoast gallery  on using faux techniques…couldn’t post them anywhere else until now, so here they are!

First up…

A sweet little collage image from Crafty Secrets’ “Sew Nice” Creative Scraps…

The technique I used on this card was simply faux stitching…probably the easiest of all….just takes a bit of time to poke all the holes!  Then, just using a nice marker and connecting the “dots” makes the rest of the job a breeze!

I love the little pile of vintage mother-of-pearl buttons on the lower corner of the card…

…shown next to my “newest” bottle of vintage buttons…a recent gift from my mother-in-law…they belonged to her mother…don’t think I’ll be able to use them on any projects…think I’ll just keep them all pretty in this old baby food jar and gaze at them…….
Next…one of my favorites!

I have to admit to being slightly in love with the newish “Steampunk” style…and when this new Graphic 45 “Steampunk Debutante” collection came out recently, I nabbed up as much as I could!

The technique used here was faux metal…seemed perfect for the steampunk look! 

The stamp pressed into hot bronze extra-thick embossing powder is from Stampin’ Up…a beautiful western-style medallion…

I’ve always loved Art Nouveau, and these ladies paired with steampunk-style gears and wheels, etc., is just too much fun!

Well, that’s it for me today.  I hope your weekend is wonderful in every way.  What’s going on in your world this weekend? 

My girls are excited about their high school’s homecoming game tonight…always something fun to do!

See you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Graphic 45,Steampunk,faux techniques

A Country Girl…

Good afternoon, dear friends!

What weather we’re having!  Last week was all chill and drizzle…this week…roses blooming all over my garden and 80 degrees!  Hard to remember what season we’re in here in California!

As I still have roses in my garden, I felt very justified in having a lovely country garden as the theme for my card today…

A lovely background image from Crafty Secrets’ “Garden” Creative Scraps, and the sweet little paper-pieced & popped-up country girl is from their brand spankin’-new stamp set “Down on the Farm”

…so many adorable images!

A little handmade frame, slightly popped-up…Dazzling Diamonds on all the lovely flowers, lace, Martha Stewart seam binding,  a bit of sparkly framing with platinum Stickles…

…vintage mother-of-pearl buttons, paper roses spritzed with “Lemon Zest” and “Cherub Pink” Glimmer Mist (my favorite rose combination), and that’s about it!

Time to tell you a little more about our very own country girl, Minnie…

The daughter of Norwegian-born parents, Nels and Anna Maria,

…Minnie grew up on the family farm in beautiful Evansville, Wisconsin.

As the oldest child in a family of twelve children, Minnie was kept very busy on the farm…helping with the animals and chores…and her younger brothers and sisters, of course!

When she was about twelve, in 1885,  she was enrolled at the Evansville Seminary…

…which was known for having the finest instructors “from the East”…educating their students in a course of study that included Latin, German, astronomy, biology, history, rhetoric and mathematics.

Minnie loved school and was a very good student.  She was a member of the Literary Society, and took part in many public speaking contests, earning tw0 silver medals….

Also involved in the Society was a young man named Leo Campbell who took quite a liking to the young Minnie.

Leo would escort Minnie back home to her family farm after those Society evenings…and their courtship continued for some time.

When Minnie graduated from the Seminary, she taught school for five years in a little rural school in the town.  She loved the children and taught them well…

Leo and Minnie were married in 1895, after seven years of courting…

 

…another story for another day…

I’ve been enjoying reflecting on Minnie and her love of teaching today as I think of my own daughter…Minnie’s great-granddaughter…Chelsea, in her second week of student teaching in an elementary school…loving every second of it!

I hope your day is wonderful, whether it’s filled with roses or chilly rain…

See you soon with something new.

Julie

 

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,country,Minnie Campbell,Leo Henry Campbell

Side by Side…

Good afternoon, my friends!

Wow…we’re in November already…can you believe it?!  Where has the year gone?  I’m so excited for the upcoming holiday season, though, so it’s okay with me!

Here’s a little card I made this weekend:

Another charmingly sweet vintage image from Crafty Secrets…this one from their “Vintage Photos” Creative Scraps…one of my favorites!

I decided to keep to sepia tones to mimic the feel of a vintage photograph…very soothing.  Some lovely prints from Graphic 45 to give it a bit of pattern…

…some luscious seam binding, courtesy of Miss Martha Stewart, all crinkled up and fashioned into a double bow, topped off with one of my very favorite vintage mother-of-pearl buttons…

…and of course, I needed more of those little lovelies lined up—just like the ladies--at the bottom of the card!

Some platinum Stickles for some shimmery framing, pretty lace, and that’s about it!

Of course you know while making this card I was reminded of a bit of family history…this time it lead me to the lovely Peterson Sisters of Wisconsin…

You can probably see why the photos reminded me of each other.  This is one of my favorites from my husband’s side of the family.  His grandmother, Minnie Frederica Peterson Campbell is on the far right…isn’t that a wonderful old name?  Minnie Frederica…

Here she is a few years earlier…isn’t she a lovely girl?  I have so much more to tell you about Minnie…another day…

Here she is again in another wonderful family photo—this time with the whole Peterson Family…

Again, Minnie is on the far right.  Here father, Nels and mother, Anne Marie, in the center.  Nels and Anne Marie immigrated to America a few decades earlier as young single people, met and married in Wisconsin…had 12 children, 9 of which survived to adulthood, and here they are.

Here’s one other lovely portrait—of Minnie’s sister, Anna…

I love when things connect…when making a card just for fun will take me back generations to another time, and I can spend a little while thinking about those that came before me…

…thanks for spending a little of that time with me.

See you soon with something new.

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Minnie Campbell,Peterson Family