Its in the Details

Mittens and Snowflakes

2009-11-06T04:15:44Z

I love the cuff on these mittens. They remind me of when I was around 3 or 4 years old living in Kittery, Maine. One winter I remember sitting in the back seat of my Mom and Dad’s blue Volkswagen Beetle with my hands all toasty and warm inside my brand new muff. I loved that muff and thought I was something else using it. I think it’s funny how a little piece of craft Boa can remind me of something long ago.

Instructions:

Cover the front and back of three pages from a Maya Road Mitten Chipboard Coaster Book with vintage wallpaper. I used Aleene’s Paper Glaze adhesive when attaching the wallpaper.
Sand the edges of each mitten using a sanding block or Emory board. Apply a clear drying liquid adhesive around the outer edge of a mitten and apply Silver German Glass Glitter, let dry. Repeat this process for each mitten.
Accent the wallpapers design using Diamond Stickles, let dry.

Cover the front and back of four pages from a Maya Road Snowflake Chipboard Coaster Book with vintage sheet music.
Sand the edges of each snowflake using an Emory board. Accent the edges of the snowflake using Platinum Stickles, let dry.
Paint a chipboard Maya Road Snowflake using Adirondack Metallics Paint Dabber in Silver, apply a clear drying adhesive to the top of the snowflake and apply Silver German Glass Glitter, let dry.
Attach the glittered snowflake to the center of the large snowflake coaster using a pop dot.
Create a small crepe paper rosette, accent the edges of the rosette using Platinum Stickles then attach a small rhinestone to the center using a strong liquid adhesive, let dry.
Attach the crepe paper rosette to the center of the glittered snowflake.
Using a crop-a-dile punch a hole at the bottom of the large snowflake, place a jump ring onto a Maya Road Hanging Chandelier Trinket Bead and attach to the large snowflake, repeat on this step on the remaining snowflakes.
Thread the snowflakes and mittens using Brown & White Baker’s Twine and White Seam Binding.

Supplies Used: Maya Road Snowflake Chipboard Coaster Book, Maya Road Road Mitten Chipboard Coaster Book, Maya Road Hanging Chandelier Trinket Beads, Maya Road Snowflake Chipboard Set, Maya Road Gingham Ribbon – Beige, Maya Road Buttons – Earth, Platinum, Diamond Stickles, Fine German Glass Glitter – Silver, Adirondack Metallic Paint Dabber – Silver, Vintage Wallpaper, Vintage Sheet Music, Crepe Paper Streamer – White, Marabou Craft Boa – White, Rhinestones, Brown & White Baker’s Twine, White Seam Binding, Jump Rings, Foam Squares, Glue Stick, Craft Knife/Matte,

Wonderful Fall Cookies or Muffins…

2009-11-05T03:35:49Z

My friend Peg posted this recipe on Facebook and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it… this recipe passed our family taste test with flying colors. So I thought I would pass along the recipe to all my blogging friends. Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies or Muffins
Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) Package Spice Cake Mix (only the mix)
1 (15 oz) Can Solid Pack Pumpkin
1 Cup Chocolate chips (I added one entire small bag of Chocolate Chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line muffin tins.
In a large bowl stir together the cake mix, pumpkin until well blended. Add in chocolate chips. Mix well.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. (The cookies do not spread much at all, mostly rise)
Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (mine took 10 min.). I’m not sure about the time for muffins. I’m thinking around 15 min. But don’t hold me to it. I would keep checking them while the muffins are baking. Allow cookies/muffins to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

This recipe is low in fat and tastes great. Makes 2 dozen cookies (24 servings). You can also add raisins or nuts. I think I am going to make another batch with raisins.

Holiday Sweet Treats are now for sale…

2009-11-05T02:03:51Z

Most everyone loves Sweet Treats, especially during the holiday season. So I put together a calorie free version from items I have been stashing away or maybe I should say hoarding? Honestly, that is more like it. Santa told me it’s time to share the goods! The “Holiday Sweet Treats” will be ready for sale sometime this afternoon. My techy elf’s been busy working on my “A Very Vintage Christmas” workshop as well as his full time job. If I don’t cut him a little slack I fear a strike may be in the near future and I cannot have that!

You can purchase your “Holiday Sweet Treats” packet here.

Each “Holiday Sweet Treats” packet sells for $12.95 and includes the following items.

2 Yards Red Seam Binding
2 Yards Green Seam Binding
2 Yards Winter White Seam Binding
2 Yards Red & White Baker’s Twine
1 Wire Candy Cane
5 Vintage Christmas Themed Stickers (assorted holiday styles, some have a slight curling but straighten out and are still perfect for holiday projects)
5 Burgundy Hydrangea Blossoms (ready to be iced with clear glass shards)
2 Lacquered Holly Leaf Picks (4 leaves total… one leaf on each end)
2 Red Berry Picks (4 berries total… one berry on each end)
3 Vintage Milk Bottle Caps
1 Large Metallic PomPom (Red, Green or White)
1 Small Metallic Pom Pom (Red, Green or White)
6 Iridescent Embossed Round Sequins
And a Pinch of the most gorgeous Antique Gold Colored Sequins

If you are interested don’t hesitate, I have a very limited supply so once they’re sold out… they’re gone for good.

Tarnished Ornament, Charm or…

2009-11-04T22:48:06Z

REALLY cool keychain… yes, this is what I will be using as a keychain for a bit. This piece makes me so happy! It reminds me of my two sweet daughters Terri and Ansley, I love the sound of jingle bells (the little bells jingle), I love the look of tarnished silver, antique jewelry and chandelier pieces (this includes all three) and stamped on the Trinket Pin is one of my favorite words “Vintage” we all know I LOVE anything VINTAGE! So what do you think of my new keychain? I LOVE IT and think it will make running errands a lot more enjoyable.

And now to the tutorial.. you know I LOVE figuring out ways to make things look old and yesterday I figured out how to make silver look tarnished… talk about excited! I wanted the memory frame I was working with to have that worn tarnished silver look so I started digging around my supplies and decided to see how Latte Alcohol Ink would look on the frame. Well to my delight I got the very look I was wanting. That perfect tarnished silver look. You are going to want to try this one out. I’m sure of it. It is too easy not to try.

Instructions:

Apply Latte Alcohol Ink onto a felt pad that is attached to a blending tool. Apply ink over the entire frame and jump rings. Note: I placed my frame and jump rings on top of a non-stick craft sheet.
Using Jet Black ink stamp your image onto a heavy weight cardstock. Ink over the image using Pine Needle and Fired Brick Distress Inks. Lightly spray Maya Mist Bronze on top. Let dry.
Cover a 1″ x 1″ Memory Glass piece with Glossy Accents and attach to the top of your stamped image. Let dry
Cut around the image and attach a piece of vintage sheet music to the back of your stamped image to cover up the white cardstock. Ink the vintage sheet music using ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink – Creamy Brown. Sandwich the images between another piece of 1″ x 1″ piece of Memory Glass. Place inside Memory Frame.

Attach a Swivel Clasp to the top of the Memory Frame. Attach a Trinket Pin to the opposite end of the Swivel Clasp near the Memory Frame as shown in the photo. Note: I removed and reattached the jump ring and Swivel Clasp a few links down from the original position so I could add some beads.
Attach Jingle Bells to the bottom of the Memory Frame and onto the Trinket Pin.
Attach a strand from a broken necklace and a chandelier piece onto the end of the necklace piece.
Attach your key and go!

Supplies Used: Inkssentials Silver Memory Frames 1″ x 1″, Inkssentials Clear Memory Glass 1″ x 1″, Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Latte, Domino Angels Wood Mounted Rubber Stamp, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Pine Needles – Fired Brick, Archival Ink Jet Black, Bronze Metallic Mist, Small Green Jingle Bell, Tiny Brass Jingle Bells, Jump Rings, Glossy Accents, Vintage Sheet Music, Chandelier Piece, Parts from a broken necklace, Tim Holtz idea-ology Trinket Pins, Tim Holtz idea-ology Swivel Clasps, Non-Stick Craft Sheet,

Altered Cabinet Card

2009-11-02T02:19:09Z

My “A Very Vintage Christmas” workshop starts today so in its honor I figured I would have a very vintage project. I found this old cabinet card placed between some very old Christmas cards that have been in the family for nearly 60 years. No one recognized these two young ladies and there was no name on the back so I decided to make their photo into a permanent holiday ornament to enjoy each year. These ladies seemed to be in such a gaze that I decided to have them looking out a window, maybe at the newly fallen snow or eagerly anticipating the arrival of a welcomed holiday guest. Which ever it may be, I’m pretty happy with how this came out and certainly see a new addiction in my future. If you would like to create one for yourself below you will find the instructions. The process is pretty simple, just a bit time consuming but nothing you can’t do.

Instructions:

Using a strong pair of scalloped scissors, trim the top and both sides of your cabinet card. Note: I did not cut edge to edge I left about a 1/4 inch on each end.
Using a crop-a-dile punch two holes at the top and bottom of the cabinet card then set four gold eyelets. The holes on the top will be for the seam binding hanger the holes on the bottom will be used to attach a strip from a vintage postcard.
Apply Golden Rod Stickles to the scalloped edges and apply Gold German Glass Glitter on top, tap of excess and let dry.
Cut a piece of vintage sheet music to cover the image portion of your cabinet card to approximately 2.75″ x 4.25″ (Note: these measurements may differ depending on the size of your cabinet card), cut out the center so the photo shows through. Using scallop scissors trim the top portion of the sheet music, accent the scalloped top and edges using Golden Rod Stickles, apply Gold German Glass Glitter, tap off excess and let dry.
Using alcohol inks in Gold, Bottle and Latte apply over the top of a Dresden Archway; accent Archway using Diamond Stickles, let dry. Accent Archway using Golden Rod Stickles and Gold German Glass Glitter, tap off excess and let dry.
Now that all the glitter is dry begin layering your vintage sheet music and Dresden Archway onto your cabinet card. I use Aleene’s Paper Glaze when attaching the vintage sheet music and a strong clear drying liquid adhesive for the Dresden Archway. Let dry.

Bleach two 2.5″ bottle brush trees (I mix 2 parts water and 1 part bleach) pat dry off and let air dry completely. Once the tress are dry apply a clear drying liquid adhesive to the sides and front then roll them in Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes, let dry
Draw 2 stars onto a piece of chipboard, cut it out, paint it gold and apply Gold German Glass Glitter, let dry. Once the stars are dry attach them to the top of each bleached bottle brush tree. Trim the bottom portions of the trees bristles so that they will attach as flat as possible to the cabinet card.
Cut a piece of a vintage postcard to approximately 7/8″ x 3 3/8″ (Note: these measurements may differ depending on the size of your cabinet card), punch two holes in the same area as the two bottom holes punched in the cabinet card, set 2 gold eyelets.
Connect the cabinet card and the vintage postcard piece using red and white baker’s twine.
Using a strong liquid adhesive attach the vintage holiday items as shown in the photo above to the bottom section of the cabinet card. Create two small bows from red embroidery floss and attach one on top of the single candy cane and one on top of the cluster of three candy canes.
Using a clear drying adhesive attach a piece of Dresden Border Trim to the bottom section of the vintage postcard.
Cut a piece of red seam binding and thread through the top two eyelets on the cabinet card and double knot the ends together.

Supplies Used: Vintage Cabinet Card, Vintage Postcard, Vintage Sheet Music, Vintage Reindeer, Flocked Santa, Vintage Small Twine/Wire Candy Canes, Vintage Holiday Sticker, Holly Leaves and Berries, Dresden Trim Border #217, Gold German Glass Glitter, Clear Glass Glitter, Iridescent Glitter, Old Fashioned Mica Snow Flakes, Latte - Gold - Bottle Alcohol Inks, Diamond and Golden Rod Stickles, 2.5″ Bottle Brush Trees, Adirondack Metallics Acrylic Paint Dabber – Gold, Collaage Pauge Instant Decoupage – Matte, Red Seam Binding, Red and White Baker’s Twine, Gold Eyelets, Dresden Archway, Tiny Gold Jingle Bell, Mica Tile, Red Embroidery Floss,

No Trick here just a Great BIG TREAT…

2009-11-05T05:10:52Z

I am so happy to finally be able to show you the cover of my book. This has been the most incredible creative journey I have ever taken and one that I hope I get to do again. As you can see “Delight In The Details” is a technique based book. Inside there are 40+ techniques and 100 projects all created by me to inspire you in so many different ways. You will find, cards, tags, layouts, mini albums, banners, wall hangings and of course a few home decor pieces. All the projects have my signature vintage flare and I would say it is safe to say it certainly has something for everyone.

So there you have it my baby in all her glory. It is so wonderful to finally be able to share this with all of you. I have had so much encouragement from all my blog readers. I tell ya you all are very patient because some of you have been with me from the very beginning of this process… nearly 2 years and I thank you.

This book is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com. You also have the option to pre-order an autographed copy of my book here on my site!

Oh and so it doesn’t throw you off a bit the image shown on Amazon was the first cover design. The one shown here on my blog is the final version and I love it!

Have a safe and happy trick-or-treat!

Vintage Doily Basket…

2009-10-30T01:22:24Z

I think this doily basket is the perfect size to hold items for a fun filled vintage themed holiday swap. Once filled and wrapped in cellophane then tied with red and white baker’s twine and accented with holly leaves and berries… well you have a perfect gift.

If a vintage holiday swap is not in your future this vintage doily basket would also look sweet sitting on a co-workers desk filled with peppermints or other holiday candies. Several hanging on a feather tree filled with goodies would be cute too… as you can see there are lots of possibilities for this sweet basket.

Instructions:

Completely saturate a Cotton Crocheted Doily using Aleene’s Stiffen Quick.
Place the wet doily over the cap of a 32 oz. Gatorade bottle (this is the perfect size for this doily) secure the doily on top of the cap by twisting a rubber band around the side of the cap and doily, let dry.
Once completely dry, thread red seam binding around the sides of the doily just underneath the lip of the scallops, tie the ends into a bow to secure the seam binding in place.
Using wire cutters cut a piece of gold tinsel to 8″ in length, thread 7 gold mercury glass beads onto the tinsel.
To create the hanger for the basket attach a small portion of each end of the gold tinsel around the red seam binding then twist the ends to secure the tinsel onto the basket.

You can then fill this sweet vintage doily basket with any of these adorable holiday items and flowers (I used one flower bunch) for the recipient to use in holiday projects.

And when the items are removed from the basket the receiver will find this cute little surprise at the bottom… several scalloped punched vintage Christmas images that have been accented with Golden Rod Stickles. These are perfect to accent cards and other holiday items.

Supplies Used: Aleene’s Stiffen Quick, Cotton Crocheted Doily, Gold Tinsel, Gold Mercury Glass Beads, Red Seam Binding, Vintage Christmas Images, Golden Rod Stickles, Fiskars Scalloped Punch – Large

And tomorrow I will be sharing with you something very exciting for me… the cover of my book. I cannot believe the day has finally come that I can show you a bit of what I have worked so hard on for nearly 2 years.

Noel…

2009-10-29T00:38:03Z

And for you, SURPRISE another Christmas project. I have a feeling this year Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes are going to be on everything! For the time being this little gem will sit in my curio cabinet until I can find it’s perfect little holiday spot. I love how the light catches the glitter, tinsel and mica snowflakes… it is so sparkly.

Tomorrow, I will share a little project that will make the cutest holiday swap gift.

Instructions:

First pull out the cord hanger on the ornament as you will not need it.
Paint a cube shaped paper mache ornament using a Manila colored acrylic paint. Once dry ink lightly the edges using ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Creamy Brown.
While the ornament is drying bleach three different sized Bottle Brush trees (4.5″, 3.5″, 2.5″) I mix 2 parts water to 1 part bleach and let them just sit until completely bleached, then rinse them off well and let dry

Paint the chipboard letters (N, O, E, L) using gold paint, once dry apply crackling medium, once dry apply Manila paint, let dry. Lightly apply ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Creamy Brown over the letters. Cover each letter using Instant Decoupage and generously apply coarse glitter, tap off excess, let dry
Accent the edges of each letter using Golden Rod Stickles, let dry.
Cute 6 squares of Vintage Sheet Music to cover each side of the ornament and attach using a glue stick type adhesive
Using a hot glue gun attach a Vintage Gold Tinsel along the top and bottom edge of the ornament, trim off excess using wire cutters.
Attach a letter to each side of the ornament using a strong adhesive. Next apply holly leaves and gold mercury glass beads in the lower right section of each letter
Paint 4 small wooden spools or beads gold, once dry attach to each corner on the bottom of the ornament using a strong adhesive
Now that the trees are dry lightly apply gold paint onto the tips of the bristles of each tree… I use a paint dabber for this. Apply liquid adhesive onto the trees and apply Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes over each tree, tap off excess, let dry
Using a strong liquid adhesive attach the trees to the top of the ornament. Create one bow each out of red, green and white seam binding and attach to each tree

Draw three stars onto chipboard making sure they are small, medium and large, cut them out, paint them gold and glitter them using Fine Gold German Glass Glitter, let dry
Attach the stars to the top of each tree

Supplies Used: Cube Shaped Paper Mache Ornament, Vintage Sheet Music, Maya Road Philadelphia Uppercase Chipboard Alphabet, Vintage Gold Tinsel, Holly Leaves, Gold Mercury Glass Beads, Bottle Brush Trees, Making Memories Acrylic Paint Manila, Gold Adirondack Metallics Acrylic Paint Dabber, DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackling Medium, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink Creamy Brown, Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes, Martha Stewart Crystal Coarse Glitter, Fine Gold German Glass Glitter (also love their Fine Silver German Glass Glitter), Aleene’s Paper Glaze, Golden Rod Stickles, Red, Green, White Seam Binding, Small Wooden Spools, Matte Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage

I sure wish Santa would send some elves my way to clean up my scraproom. I have glitter, tinsel and scraps all over the place. You would think since I know him first hand I would have a little more pull but nope… looks like I will be cleaning this mess up all by myself.

A Happy Christmas…

2009-10-28T15:41:56Z

Yes it looks as though I skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving all together and went straight to Christmas. Honestly this was not my intention it just kinda happened… I guess it comes as no surprise that I was the kid ready to pull the Christmas tree out of the attic the second I saw any sign of Christmas in the stores.

Mom and I always had some kind of Christmas craft going on each year. I still have the stuffed fabric ornaments we made one year… once we made lots of cute ornaments using a simple salt and flour dough mixture then painted and coated them in varnish… not sure what happened to those but I’m sure it had something to do with Southeast Texas humidity. Anyway, I could go on and on telling you all the things we have done each year. But I’m sure what you are really wondering right now is how I created this project so I will get straight to it.

First you need to paint your frame red and accent the edges using a gold paint.
While the frame is drying stamp an image using black Archival Ink onto a heavy weight cardstock. Ink over the entire image using Linen Distress Ink.
Apply Glossy Accents to a Tim Holtz Fragments piece (small rectangle) and place on top of the stamped image. Once dry cut around the Fragment piece, apply Platinum Stickles around the edge of the Fragment piece and apply Fine Silver German Glass Glitter on top.
While glittered Fragment piece is drying print out the Vintage Postcard Image and cut out as shown in the photo. Apply Platinum Stickles around the edge of the postcard and apply Fine Silver German Glass Glitter.

Using small scallop scissors cut a piece from the postcard that is the length of the vintage postcard piece you just glittered, cover the top of the entire scalloped piece with Platinum Stickles then apply Fine Silver German Glass Glitter.
Cut a piece of Vintage Sheet Music to fit the inside of your frame
Using a strong liquid adhesive attach your Cotton Crochet Doily to the Vintage Sheet Music. I used Fabric-Tac
Place the sheet music and doily inside the frame
Begin attaching the vintage postcard, Scalloped piece, Fragment, holly leaves, berries and red and white baker’s twine bow as shown in the photo
Trim the back of a 3.5″ Bottle Brush tree, apply a liquid adhesive on the sides and front then apply Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes on top. Once the adhesive is dry using a strong adhesive attach the bottle brush tree to the front right side of the frame.

A Happy Christmas

Supplies Used: A Happy Christmas Vintage Postcard (PDF above), Fine Silver German Glass Glitter, Tim Holtz Fragments, Glossy Accents, Holly Leaves and Berries, Red and White Baker’s Twine, Small Scallop Scissors, Platinum Stickles, 6″ x 6″ Frame with 4″ x 4″ opening, Vintage Sheet Music, Cotton Crochet Doilies, Cranberry Making Memories Acrylic Paint, Gold Adirondack Metallics Acrylic Paint Dabber, Bottle Brush Tree, Old Fashioned Mica Snowflakes, Domino Joyeux Noel Wood Mounted Rubber Stamp, Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink, White Heavy Weight Cardstock, Archival Ink Jet Black

Holiday Gift Tags…

2009-10-27T14:39:06Z

These are so fun to make and can be used as either a holiday gift tag (who wouldn’t like seeing their name on the front of these tags) or as an embellishment for holiday cards. There are lots of possibilities here. Which means you’re certainly going to be seeing more projects over the next few months using these as well as this one and this one. I love just them!

Instructions: Stamp images onto white heavy weight cardstock using Archival Ink in Jet Black, trim each stamped image to 1 1/8″ x 2 3/4″, ink over images using Tea Dy and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, trim the end of each tag using small scallop scissors, accent the sides, top and bottom of each tag with straight lines using a black pen, accent each scallop using small self adhesive gold gems, accent the images using Diamond Stickles and iridescent glitter, cut Kraft paper to 1 1/4″ x 2 7/8″ attach to Kraft paper, using a strong liquid adhesive attach stamped images to Kraft paper, set a small gold eyelet and create a hanger using red and white baker’s twine.

Note: I applied Glossy Accents to the back of the Holly Leaves then attached vintage sheet music.

Supplies Used: Domino Kids on Sled Wood Mounted Rubber Stamp, Domino Rubber Stamp Artist Santa, Domino Rubber Stamp Up on the Housetop, Vintage Small Twine/Wire Candy Canes, Plastic Green Holly Leaves, Red and White Baker’s Twine, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Jet Black Archival Ink, Maya Road Clear Snowflake Stamps, Scallop Scissors, Diamond Stickles, Pebbles Inc. Pearlescent Chalks Jewel Tones, Heavy Weight Cardstock, Kraft Paper, Self Adhesive Gold Gems, Black Medium Gelly Roll Pen, Glossy Accents, Vintage Sheet Music

Tomorrow, I will be posting a little vintage inspired project to get you ready for my “A Very Vintage Christmas” workshop. Cass and Laura at Paper Tales Inc. are super busy shipping out all the vintage goodies that people are purchasing. I even heard the words “Nearly Sold Out” on a few items. It is going to be such a fun workshop… can’t wait for Monday.