~ Betsy's Vintage Challenge ~

 Happy Friday to you! this week has just flown by on the wings of time (trite statement), but before I forget I must thank you all for the wonderful things you said on my Moxie Fab challenge win. It was so much fun, and I was actually pushed out of my comfort zone to create that card. Your encouragement and cheers got me all the way!

And here I find myself participating on a special challenge on the very last day possible.
Betsy Veldman is one really inspiring person to me. From the first day I found her lovely blog I have never been able to stop poring over every detail of her designs and creations. She is totally amazing.

Ok, so she had a challenge and I simply had to participate. I dusted off an old, old box of buttons that my mother has stashed away in her drawer.



... it simply did not look promising. But I dug. and dug. and dug. as quietly as possible so as not to wake my room-mates (sisters), because it was already quite late. And with what I found, I paired these lovely old crocheted flowers that my mother created for handmade baby clothes so many years ago. Definitely more than 20 years past. Is that vintage enough?



then I did something that was not good of me to do. I removed (in other words, tore) a page out of an old book. It is a soft copy of David Livingstone that isn't holding together too well; it has been in my home for close to 30 years. I wanted to keep the story, so I used the contents page. The other blank pages were covered with toddler-scribbling.. I did it. Many years ago. But scribbling is not vintage.





Isn't that top corner of the page yummy?  Worn down with time and fingering ...

and these aged buttons, still with the threads from being stitched to shirts and dresses ...




these few buttons will not go to waste. They will be treasured for some future project that will befit their grand ancestry...



thank you all, girls, for visiting with me today. Have a blessed weekend!

~ Viola

~ Mazel Tov ~ Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

A quick little post before my long-overdue bedtime :) ... I couldn't resist participating in the monthly PaperTrey Ink hop; it's so fun and full of inspiration all along the way!



I used PaperTrey Ink's Beautiful Blooms dies, notebook page die, and small scallop die for my Mazel Tov project ... warm wishes to our Jewish friends this holiday season!



and not to forget the pretty leaves from the Blooming Button Bits set ...



custom sentiment tip: print your text in a mild gray tone (I don't have color printing) ... and trace over with a fine-tip colored marker ... it works! :) The picture is a too-close look at it though ... ah well.



... scrunched flowers a la Betsy Veldman (thanks for the tutorial Betsy!)

... how ironic! My computer spyware is now blocking Papertrey as a bad website! LOL.
Thank you for dropping by!

~ Viola

~ What's Inspiring ~ translating embellishments into cards

 

Ah ... is this not a pile of loveliness? On my thrift-hunting run yesterday, I scored these beauties. Each roll of ribbon holds 20 meters! And isn't that lace lovely? Totally!

Here's how I used the lace ...



For a simple card. I felt wasteful after buying a whole pile of Webster's Pages, but after making this card, I think I didn't do such a silly thing after all - who doesn't love their beautiful papers?!



I cut out a little heart from my favorite kraft cardstock and (as usual) did something to it using VersaMagic white ink. And added those cute little buttons. I cannot resist pink!



I love my PaperTrey Ink stamps.



doily, ribbons, and the trinket pin came from my thrift-stash.

... speaking of the trinket pin, I made these littles for you.



so you can share my love for them.
They are listed in my etsy store, five for a dollar.

On to the next card!



Sorry, but I love my PaperTrey Ink stamps too much. and that lace too! and more stitching.



glittery buttons again ... and fussy-cutting





Well, gotta go. I truly thank you for visiting!

O, before I forget, I'm celebrating! All three of my submissions to PaperCrafts' upcoming edition of 225 Cards and Gifts were accepted (on my first try hurray!). To any others who hope to be published some day, don't give up. And most of all, have fun creating.

~ Viola

~ wishing you sunshine ~ a cheery handmade card

Hi! It's rather rainy here in the tropics, but today, wishing you sunshine...



Life has been busy; so sorry for not posting for some time. I hope this sugar-crusted, glittery Prima rose will make up for the last few days.





my favorite KCK die-cut tags embellished with shiny MakingMemories buttons and twine and stamped with a BasicGrey flourish.



little bits of twill, ribbon, ricrac, and twine make me so happy! and my favorite BasicGrey and FancyPants papers with a Prima rhinestone and a PTI sentiment on a little strip -



I'm sure by now you all are familiar with the brands my stash consists of :) ... a little definitely does go a long way.



... I am so happy ... two days ago, this lovely came in the mail for me ...



a personalised stamp ... for me! from this little etsy store ...



... isn't it a lovely? :)
Thank you for visiting today!

~ Viola

~ A Decorative Mini-Frame ~

A first for me! :) I hardly ever venture beyond cards.
but today while digging in the rubble (so to speak) under my table I found two frames that I snagged for $2.00 each ... great deal! So I had to try one out.



patterned paper: BasicGrey and FancyPants and Melissa Frances
stamps: PaperTrey Ink
buttons and ribbon and frame: thrift-y finds! :)

 

 

Short and sweet post tonight, friends :) 

See you again!

~ Viola

~ Being a Thrifty Cardmaker ~ a "tutorial"

Hi there! So glad you dropped by. Sorry that I didn't post for the last few days; I've been super busy working on submissions for PaperCrafts ... their upcoming issue Cards and Gifts ...

But here I am today with a card to share and a "tutorial" of sorts.

I do my best to keep my crafting expenditure in hand. Sometimes it's kind of hard. And we all face this "difficulty", don't we? Show of hands please!

So I wanted to show you today how I pinch a penny, or pinch several pennies for each project I work on. Let's start here.

Do you see this 6" x 6"sheet of Webster's Pages patterned paper? from the Lullaby Lane collection ...

 

I started with a cardstock base card (13x13 cm) and this single sheet of 6" x 6" patterned paper. And came up with ... this ...

 

... good way to save those dollars AND stretch your creative juice! :)

First I trimmed out the layered sections (the clock and flower area), then I trimmed out the square section. The scraps were flipped over and fitted, then trimmed to match. It really was a squeeze; these scraps are what I was left with at the end ...

 

tiny, tiny scraps!! Looking at the card, it's pretty hard to tell that it is composed of only one sheet (I think).

 

and that's not the only way to save $$...

 

I get my silk flowers and ribbons from totally-non-craft stores - the flower was like, $2.00 for over twenty pieces, and the ribbon, less than a dollar for one meter.

and your stamps too, don't go shopping for one stamp just to fit the space on a card. The sentiment was in one line, but by carefully inking two words at a time, I fitted it onto my die-cut tag. Dies are expensive, but they are investments - no need to buy ready cut tags, right? The beautiful flourish stamp is one that I love to use over and over again, in so many different ways.

And then...

 

... make your own trinkets. I "borrowed" a sewing pin from my mom and slipped two pearl beads below it. A little liquid adhesive secures the whole thing together. So much better to do everything handmade!

Of course I am not discouraging you from shopping at your local craft store/online; I love to shop at my LSS's too, but when your budget is getting tight, or your creative juice needs to go farther ... try a thrifty card! You'll be surprised at the places you go! :)

 

patterned paper: Webster's Pages
stamps: PaperTrey Ink and BasicGrey
tag die: KCK
others: twine, kraft cardstock, silk flower, ribbon, pearls, sewing pin

Let me know your thoughts on saving on your scrap-budget! I'd love to hear how you do it.

Thank you so much for dropping by!

~ Viola

~ Precious and Few are Friends like You ~ shabby girl card

Good day friends! I have another card to share with you, and soon it will be listed in my etsy store ...


"precious and few are friends like you"



... that chipboard butterfly is from MWL. I felt much too lazy to paint it, and glimmer-misting is not an option (nice way of saying "I've never done it before") ... so I grabbed my VersaMagic white ink and "stamped" directly onto the chipboard. I'm not sure if it's a legal way of using VersaMagic ...



soft, luxurious seam-binding from this etsy store, tag die from Krafer's Paradise (KCK), Prima pearls ...


sentiment stamps and scallop die from PaperTrey Ink, lace from my mom, and BasicGrey papers ...



Well, I guess that is enough pictures of one card.

 ... Thank you girls for taking time to drop by and share your kind comments.

~ Viola

~ embellished gift box ~ layered flowers and pearls

Good evening! Just dropping in really quick to share a gift box that I made at my sister's request for her colleague. That is the colleague's name on the label, created with some random alphabet stamps I have from Krafers Paradise (KCK).



Papers are from BasicGrey, flower dies and leaf stamps from PaperTrey Ink, paper flower and pearls from Prima, and the box from Art Friend (nicolecrafts brand) ...

 


this is called "night-time photography"... apologies for the not-so-great lighting.

That's all for today; thank you for dropping by, friends! :)

~ Viola

~ With Sympathy ~ Moxie Fab World Perfectly-Placed-Pleats challenge

 
Hi there!

Today while browsing Moxie Fab World I came upon the Perfectly Placed Pleats challenge and suddenly felt like trying my hand at it. the only other challenge I've ever participated in was the KCK Challenge #1 with my tag garland ... (and won nothing ha!) but challenges are challenges, not necessarily for winning, and so I'm going to put my best for this one ... here are my pleats!

 

I used a delicious kraft cardstock to fold the pleats before adhering them to another piece of kraft cardstock with double-sided tape. Trimmed that down and stitched it to my card.

 

I used VersaMagic white ink to mildly distress the pleats. The papers are from  BasicGrey's Capella collection, sentiment and leaf stamps from PaperTrey Ink, and the KaiserCraft pearls from Spotlight. The flower looks kind of simple, but it took me a while to figure out which areas to layer ... sigh.

 

Ok, let's go ahead and submit it for the challenge, and whatever happens ... happens.

Thanks for visiting! Your comments are very special to me! :)

~ Viola