Oh My Moon and Stars!

Happy Friday! We have some fantastic NEW goods in the shop for you! What you see above plus many many more! 

I know you are loving our Mini House Shrine Kits, and I thought why not merge them with our Hutch Shrine Kits? And voila!

I was simply over the moon excited to play with our new Moon Shrine Kit!

Supplies: Moon Shrine Kit, Owl Paper Cuts, Theatre Character Stand, Art Deco 2 Step Crackle, Gothic Fence Cut Out, Star Cut Outs, 10mm Pink Mushrooms, Star Face Bead, Prima Genie Stone, 7mm Jump Rings

I found the Theatre Character Stands very handy to add my owl. I simply painted one the same color as my shrine and glued in my Owl Paper Cut! (my glue was still wet in the photo but dried clear. I'm sure you were worried. lol)

I was really happy with the way my background turned out. First I painted the whole thing aqua with acrylic paint. Then I dry brushed some white paint over the aqua in certain areas. Already looks very moon like! Next it was time for the crackle. I ADORE the Deco Arts Two Step Crackle. It's very easy to use. Simply follow the instructions on the bottles. The crackle you get will be clear, so the under color shows through. To highlight the cracks I simply brushed on some brown acrylic paint and then with a semi-moist paper towel rubbed it off so the paint would remain in just the cracks! Other colors such as gold, silver, or black would look cool in the cracks as well.

It was fun adding a charm dangle and some fibers. Not something I get to do often.

Here is a close-up of the crackle. Yummy right?

"Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars." - Les Brown

I also had a blast playing with our new Star Shrine Kit! 

Supplies: Star Shrine Kit, Ballerina, Frosted Optical Lense, White Paper Roses, Night Sky Star Stencil, Pink Viva Pearl Pen

For this shrine I stared by covering the whole thing with decorative papers. I stamped the inside (before assembling the pieces) and then dry brushed some white acrylic paint here and there. I stenciled on some stars and then attached my bits to the inside. To give the crown a lovely chippy look, I painted it and then sanded it in certain areas to reveal the dark masonite underneath. Finally I tried out the new Viva Pearl Pens. I must say they were super easy to used and I loved the results! They also dried really quickly!

There are plenty of other New Goodies in the shop too!

I'm also extremely excited to welcome the talented Amy Nieman to the Retro Cafe Art Gallery Design Team! Amy created this postcard using Collage Sheet DP267. Don't you just love her fun, colorful work? We sure do and you can look forward to lots more. Welcome Amy! xo

Easter Goodness!

Spring and Easter are just around the corner, so to celebrate I have this Free "Spring Love" digital collage sheet for you! Download the sheet from our site HERE. Happy Spring!

And speaking of Spring love, check out this amazing theatre using our Ornate Medium Theatre Shrine Kit created by the talented Virgina Smith. Isn't it just stunning? Thank you for letting me share Virginia!

Mini House Shrine Swap + New Goodies

Hi everyone! I'm excited to announce all the fantastic NEW goodies in the shop! Mini House Shrine Kits, Vintage Ruler Charms, and yes, even a Shrine Kit made from vintage rulers! Too much fun.

I couldn't wait to get started making some little houses. They are the center of our latest SWAP too!

Supplies Used: Mini House Shrines, XSmall Frozen Charlotte, Vintage Ruler Charm, Ledger Paper, Diamond Glaze, Black with White Dots Washi Tape, Frozen Charlotte Doll Head, Brass Crown, and Colored Mini Dice.

To make mine, I started by assembling the houses and then I spray painted them white for a nice base coat. For my tall ruler house, I used Washi Tape on the sides (so easy!), stamped the back, and used vintage ledger paper for the roof. On the inside I added my Charlotte with the word "grown" (I covered the text with diamond glaze to protect), a bit of moss, and the glued the vintage ruler charm to the front. To create my second house I used several colors of acrylic paint applied with q-tips. The roof is my favorite part. I attached 2 vintage postage stamps and then covered them in diamond glaze (several coats) to harden. Finally I attached my assemblage bits and added mini dice for feet (my favorite part!). These were so easy and took just over an hour to create. I can't wait to make more for the SWAP!

Loved that the mini dice just happened to match the stamps!

I had so much fun making my houses that I knew you would love it too, so we are hosting a Mini House Shrine Art Swap. 

New to making shrines or assemblages but wanted to give it a try? This is the perfect project to start with, so give it a shot! Seasoned shrine maker? Then this swap is right up your alley. The possibilities for these houses are limitless. You can get all the details for the Art Swap HERE.