New Goodies + More!

 

Hey all! Just a quick post to let you know there are several new goodies in the shop including this fantastic new MEGA Halloween Door Shrine Kit!

This Kit is so fun, and so BIG! For those of you that prefer to work smaller, the ATC Size Haunted Door Shrine Kit is also available.

Go enter the current giveaway on Facebook, you just might win one!
(giveaway ends on Friday)

 

And just look at how cool these are! Check out all the NEW goodies HERE.

 

And... We are now carrying VerDay Paint and Patina sets. The paints are amazing with our Shrine Kits! I can not wait to play with this stuff!
(art samples by Cheryl Darrow of Ten Seconds Studio)

 

I also wanted to share this piece created by Design Team member Gerri Herbst. Gerri so cleverly made a movable collage puzzle using our Large Rectangle Shadow Box Shrine Kit and Domino Blanks. They fit perfectly and can be flipped over and moved around. She also used some Heart Cut-Outs and the Microslides 1 Collage Sheet on this piece. Brilliant!

 

Gerri Herbst also created these fantastic Tombstone ATCs for our current swap. In addition to the blanks she also used the Haunted Masks Collage Sheet, Skull Skeleton Keys, Bat Cut-Outs, and Skull and Crossbone Cut-Outs.

 

We already have several fabulous entries for our swap and you can see them HERE on Facebook. I will also post them here on the blog once the swap is over.

You can still join in! We just need your tombstones by September 22nd! Come play!

Giveaway Winners!

Hey all! We're back from vending at CREATE in Chicago, and we had a BLAST! Here is a shot of our (very large!) booth. And of course Bianca getting ready...

A huge thanks to all who came out to shop!

I do believe I have some giveaway winners to announce! The winners via the random number generator are:

Skull Beads, Shrine Kits, Charms

#5 Linda Brun

Vintage Shoe Tag Set

#29 Creepy Glowbugg

Please email us at retrocafeart@gmail.com to claim your prizes.

And another big thanks to Barbe Saint John for her gorgeous Shrine Kit samples and generous giveaway. Go see who won on Barbe's blog!

New Goodies + a FREE Halloween Collage Sheet for You!

Hey everyone! Just posted some fantastic new goodies in the shop. We've got amazing Wood Doors, Junk Yard Findings, Halloween Rubber Stamps, and so much more. Not to mention all the new Washi Tape. Check it all out HERE!

 I also have a FREE GIFT just for you. Download this previously unreleased digital collage sheet for personal use on our site. And if you're up for it, play in the Facebook challenge too!

And one last reminder, we will be vending at Create in Chicago next Friday. Of course we will have our Coffee Break Design Shrine Kits, Stencils, Shadow Box Shrine Kits, Acrylic Embellishments, Cut-Outs, Vintage Goodies, and much more. I better get busy eh? We would love to see you!

Barbe Saint John's Awesome Shrines + a Giveaway

Hey everyone! I have some amazing eye candy to share with you today from the uber talented Barbe Saint John. Barbe played with some of our Shrine Kits, and her pieces are SUPER COOL. Not unlike Barbe herself!

Barbe Saint John is a mixed media artist, teacher and author. Her passion for jewelry began when she was 3 yrs old and allowed to play with her Grandmothers jewelry box. Since then, she has studied, collected and made jewelry in many mediums, but is currently focused on mixed media, narrative art jewelry. She works like an urban archaeologist, constantly on the hunt for old, forgotten, discarded, broken, rusted, orphaned and things considered worthless. When combined these bits meld and come to life like a phoenix rising from the ashes with a story and energy all their own.

She is the creator and coauthor of “1000 Steampunk Inventions” and has had her designs published in various jewelry craft magazines and books such as Steampunk Style Jewelry, Art in Motion, Belle Armoire Jewelry, Jewelry Affaire, Industrial Chic Project Guides for Michaels, and much more!

To learn more about Barbe and her work, you can visit her Blog, Personl Website, Etsy Shop, or connect with her on Facebook. Barbe has been a friend and inspiration to me for quite some time and I'm honored to share her work. Let's see what she made shall we?

Head Trinket Shrine Kit

Head Trinket Shrine Kit, Masonite Gear, and Masonite Mini Gear



Heart Bird Trinket Shrine

Circle Egg Trinket Shrine



Square Egg Trinket Shrine

Tiny Trinket Coffin Shrine

Circle Egg Trinket Shrine

Flaming Heart Trinket Shrine

Circle Shrine Trinket

Heart House Trinket Shrine

Masonite Gear and Masonite Mini Gear

Circle Shrine Trinket and Masonite Gear

Head Trinket Shrine Kit

Here is an example of one of Barbe's finished necklaces. "A Beautiful Mind". Stunning!

Thank you for letting me share your fantastic work Barbe. Truly an inspiration!

If you live in the Cleveland area, you will definitely want to take a class with Barbe at Small Studio, where she teaches often.

On a side note, I've also been listing more new goodies  in the shop like these swoon worthy vintage shoe tags in several delicious colors.

How about another GIVEAWAY!

Simply leave a comment on this post and let Barbe and I know which shrine sample is your favorite! After we get back from Create on August 26th, I'll announce the winner. Winner will receive a set of 30 vintage shoe tags. If you are also a Facebook fan I'll include some extras too. Let me know if you are a fan in your comment. There is still time to enter the Skull Bead Giveaway too. Both winners will be announced on the 26th. Good luck! xo

AND guess what, you could win one of Barbe's shrines that are featured above. Go leave a comment HERE on her blog for a chance!

Adventure Recap + a Giveaway!

I've been a very bad blogger. I know this and I'm sorry! But I also have a few good excuses! And as always, I've been great keeping up with Facebook so hop on over and become a fan if you aren't already!

The end of July started with a road trip to New Jersey to vend at Create. 26 hours of driving. 1500 miles. 7 states! Phewww....

This was our booth in New Jersey. Sorry for the less than great picture, but my good camera was left behind.

So why did I travel all the way to New Jersey you ask? For one big little reason. My new niece Adelaide lives on the East Coast. The trip was not all business!

If you are ever in the Baltimore area, I highly recommend the American Visionary Art Museum! The entire place is filled with 'Outsider Art'. Nothing but awesome mixed media pieces. It was my second visit and just as great as my first. It's pretty much amazing.

Yep, this piece is made entirely out of toothpicks!

 I also had a great time hitting up some antique stores on the way home. The best way to break up a long drive.

And then this past weekend there was Stampaway. What a fun show! Here we are all set up in our largest booth yet. And not surprisingly I could have filled an even larger booth.

Friday night's theme was "Prom Night". And guess what? We WON 3rd place in the costume contest! Stampers Anonymous won 1st, so I was happy to be so close behind. With friends Christine Meador, Bianca Mandity, MaryJo Mcgraw, and Elaine Madrid. I'm the one in the tan ($5.00 Goodwill) vintage dress. What a blast!

Bianca and I made the sashes and crowns you see modeled above. We started with 2.5" wired ribbon and simply used Coffee Break Design Stencils and spray paint.

The lettering took a few coats since the ribbon was a bit porous.



To finish the sashes we added a Lady Button, sewn on.

The paper crowns which we bought for just .50 cents each were also spray painted and stenciled. To finish we attached a Lady Button (wearing a tiny brass crown) using E6000. Super sweet and super cheap. It would be so cute to make some Halloween paper crowns using our new Halloween Stencils and Cut-Outs!

In just a few weeks we will also be vending at Create in Lisle, IL on Friday August 24th from 6-9pm. Bianca will also be teaching and you still have a chance to sign up for her awesome classes. The vendor's faire is free and open to the public, so check it out even if you aren't taking classes! We would love to see you.

In between traveling and vending I did manage to list some more NEW goodies on the site (and more to come!). Aren't these colorful carved stone skull beads yummy!

How about a GIVEAWAY!

Simply leave a comment on this post so I know you are still out there! After we get back from Create on the 26th, I'll announce the winner. Winner will receive a set of these lovely skull beads, a Shrine Kit, and some Halloween Charms. If you are also a Facebook fan I'll include some extras too. Let me know if you are a fan in your comment. Good luck! xo