Vintage Valentines

Don't you just love Valentine's Day? Everything about it is so cheerful and sweet. It certainly helps brighten up the sometimes dreary winters we experience here in Western PA. I especially love vintage Valentines and candy boxes. Here are a couple of vintage-inspired Valentine cards I made this week:


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Patterned Paper - K&Company - Classic Collection
Cardstock - Core'dinations - Chocolate Box
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Accessories - heart punches - Creative Memories; border punch - Martha Stewart; seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; Pop Dots; vintage button; embroidery floss - DMC


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Stamp - Crafty Secrets - Rose set
Cardstock - Bazzill
Ink - Adirondack Ink - Espresso; Memories Direct Ink Dauber - Orchid
Accessories - ribbon - The Little Pink Studio; Pop Dots; glitter glue - Stickles - Frosted Lace; butterfly - Cricut cartridge - Everyday Paper Dolls; adhesive rhinestones - Dollar Tree

Hope you have a blessed day!

Hugs,
Marcy

Thinking of You Today

For the Crafty Secret's challenge on Splitcoast Stampers this week, Pammyjo asked us to make a card with just a base and an image layer. I love making one-layer cards because it really makes me think out my design and forces me to play with my stamps, paper, and ink in a different way. Here is my card:


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Birds and Blossoms Creative Scraps
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Fairyland (nest) & Best Buds Vintage Postcard set (small branch & sentiment); Heidi Grace (large branch)
Cardstock - Core'dinations - Whitewash Collection
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Embellishments - vintage buttons; ribbon - Michaels

It is snowy and VERY cold here today -2 degrees right now! (Not a big deal for my neighbor who grew up in Minnesota.) So I think we'll be hanging out at home today, crafting and eating comfort. I'm going to make some yummy cranberry muffins for breakfast and homemade mac-n-cheese for lunch, probably some crockpot chili for supper.

What are YOU up to today? Whatever it is - stay warm!

Hugs,
Marcy

Faux Tile Technique

Michele Kovack's faux tile technique tutorial was featured on Splitcoast Stampers a couple of weeks ago, and I finally got a chance to try it out over the weekend.

I'm really pleased with how my card turned out. While the technique isn't that difficult (the hardest part for math-challenged me was figuring out what size to cut my image & squares), the results are pretty impressive. The most time-consuming part is waiting for the lacquer to dry. Michele used Ranger's Glossy Accents, which may have a quicker drying time than Sakura's 3-D Crystal Lacquer, which is what I used.


Details:
Stamps - House Mouse (image); Anita's (sentiment)
Cardstock - Gina K. Designs - Pure Luxury cardstock (natural); Core'dinations Vintage (green)
Patterned paper - Colorbok - Friendly Forest
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Wild Honey; Adirondack - Espresso
Accessories - Ribbon - Pebbles Inc.; 3-D Crystal Lacquer - Sakura

It's probably wishful thinking on my part to see any sun today, but I hope you get to at least breathe in a little fresh air!

Hugs,
Marcy

Country-Inspired Cards

I recently received two new stamp sets from Crafty Secrets, Down on the Farm and Sunflower, and they are perfect for creating that homespun, shabby country look that is so popular now. Here are the cards I've made so far with these two sets:



The Vintage collection Core'dinations cardstock also adds to the rustic appeal of these cards. All coloring was done with Copic Sketch markers.

Hope you are staying warm & cozy today!

Hugs,
Marcy

An Afternoon at the Museum

Yesterday afternoon we headed over to The Butler Institute of American Art, where a new exhibit of work from area artists opened. One of my mum's watercolor paintings was accepted in the show! We're so proud of her!


Mum and her painting.


Onion Bulbs, a still life in watercolor.


Nana & Shannon.


Our family enjoying the show. That's my handsome dad on the right. My handsome hubby was behind the camera all day, as evidenced at this mirror installation piece below.



If you happen to be near Youngstown, you should definitely make the effort to get to The Butler. It is a wonderful, family-friendly museum with an amazing and varied collection of pieces. I was especially excited to see Norman Rockwell's Abe Lincoln Railsplitter, Winslow Homer's Snap the Whip, Vonnoh's In Flanders Field: Where Soldiers Sleep and Poppies Grow - truly inspiring!

Wishing you a lovely Monday!

Hugs,
Marcy

Second Grade Layout

Sometimes I am stubbornly reluctant to use scrapbooking supplies that are part of the same line together. Isn't that silly? As if it's not creative enough or something. I know I'm not the only scrapbooker that does this to herself either. Well, this year I am setting myself free of that notion, and, I daresay, I'll have more finished layouts at the end of the year to show for it - starting with this one, featuring my daughter's second grade school photo.


Details:
Patterned Paper - K&Company - Hopscotch
Cardstock - Darice
Alpha Stickers - K&Company - Hopscotch
Accessories - Ric-rac - Paper Wishes; staple - Swingline; paperclip - unknown

Hope you have a great day today! The weekend is just around the corner!

Hugs,
Marcy

School Days Layout

I hope everyone had a nice New Year weekend. We had a lovely time ringing in the new year with friends. Yes, I actually stayed up until midnight! The kids felt so grown up watching the ball drop and sipping sparkling grape juice with their friends.

So here is my first papercrafting project of the new year - a layout of my son's kindergarten photo. I received this Core Impressions cardstock for Christmas, and it makes a wonderful background. I sanded it with a wide nail file to bring out the core color a bit.


Details:
Cardstock - Core Impressions - Jilly Bean Soup; Darice (red)
Patterned Paper - Karen Foster
Chipboard Elements - Fancy Pants - All Fall
Brads - Making Memories

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy