Brand New Valentine's Day Goodies + Inspiration‏

Happy Saturday Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. We had a lovely, restful few days filled with cooking, eating, and watching tons of movies! I was excited to get back to work in anticipation of another favorite holiday of mine, Valentine's Day! Honestly it's one of my favorite holidays to design for. Plenty of pink, red, glitter, and XO's! I just love it, and you can probably tell! I hope you enjoy our new homepage!

We have TONS of new goodies in the shop and I'm excited about them all. My favorites are the Mini Crown Shrines. They are perfect for Valentine's Day, and are so easy to convert into ornaments! Simply add wire or ribbon to the naturally occurring holes in the crowns! We also have fabulous Cupid Sticks, Mini Stencils, Paper Flowers, Heart Paper Cuts, and so much more! You can check it out HERE. In addition to the New Goodies, be sure to check out our HUGE general Valentine's Day Section filled with 100s of great goodies, and our Coffee Break Design Valentine Section filled with tons of unique products!

Inspiration By Gerri Herbst!

This gorgeous Cameo Frame Ornament is by Design Team Member Gerri Herbst! Our Cameo Frame Ornaments are also great for Valentine's Day.

So lovely Gerri!

(She Also Used Our Christmas Word Paper Cuts, Stickles, and Collage Sheet DP247)

Inspiration By Mary Jane Chadbourne!

A gorgeous trio of Primitive Angel Doll Ornaments by Mary Jane Chadbourne! I love how she creatively used the halos around the faces! You know, the Primitive Angel Dolls would also be super cute for Valentine's Day too! Fabulous Mary Jane!

Inspiration By Denise Phillips!

We are loving this Baroque Ornament created by Denise Phillips. She created a snow globe effect using some clear acetate! Of course the frames can be used for any theme! (Yep, V-day!)
So pretty Denise!

Inspiration By Aideen Fallon

This beautiful Snowflake Hutch is by the talented Aideen Fallon. She even made a lovely video! You can check it out here:

Watch her video here

(Don't you just love Aideen's voice?)

Valentine Inspiration!

Here are a few of my favorite Valentine's Day projects from last year to get the inspiration flowing!

Folk Heart Shrine by Tracy Delisle.

Layered ATC Frames by Kristin Hubick.

Large Heart Ornament by Kristin Hubick.

Sweetheart Fairies by Linda Cain.

Collage and UTEE Hearts and Folk Hearts by Kristin Hubick.

(Tutorial HERE)

Steampunk Heart Canvas by Monica Downing.

By the way, I've updated the TUTORIAL SECTION of the website to include all of the fun 2014 holiday tutorials! You can check it out HERE.

Happy Creating! xoxo Kristin

Vintage Pink Santa Tutorial

 

Art Time!

Last week I told you I was dying to make my Vintage Pink Santa, so that is exactly what I did! I'm so pleased with the way he turned out! He was really easy to make too!

Supplies Used: Vintage Santa Stand Up, Glitter Snow, Pink Art Sugar, Brass Snowflake Charm, White Bottle Brush Tree Variety Pack, Glue N Seal Matte.)

I'm so in love with my Santa. I may leave him out year round! I started by painting my Masonite pieces pink. You can use any color you would like. Red, Cream, Blue, Aqua, Green, Gold, etc. etc. All acceptable Santa colors in my opinion!

I painted his hat the same color. The cardstock is nice and sturdy, so it worked great.

Of course my Santa had to have GLITTER! I decided to use Pink Art Sugar and it looked awesome! The Art Sugar is extremely easy to work with, and gives an amazing sparkle!

Working on a paper plate, I brushed on a thin layer of Matte Glue N Seal (this worked great), and then covered my pieces one by one with the Art Sugar. Tap off the excess, and then funnel the glitter back into the jar. Repeat for all of the bits you want glitter on. I did the front of Santa, the top of the base, and his hat.

Normally glitter is very hard to photograph, however this stuff is so sparkly, that you can definitely see it. It's even better in person though!

Next, I used my Glitter Snow to add my boots, cuffs, and coat trim. This worked perfectly, and added some nice dimension!

I wanted my trims to match my beard, so once the glitter snow was dry, I painted it with some cream acrylic paint. Yes, the Glitter Snow is paintable! Great discovery!

I finished him off with a little ric rac belt and snowflake buckle, a pink pom pom, and some bottle brush trees!

HO HO HO!

Inspiration By Amy Nieman!

How adorable is this altered candle tin lid ornament by Design Team Member Amy Nieman using our Reindeer Cut Outs!  Just precious Amy!

(She Also Used Our Glitter Jingle Bells, Silver Snowflake Charms, Green Bottle Brush Trees, and Christmas Word Paper Cuts)

Inspiration By Lynn Stevens!

Design Team Member Lynn Stevens created this stunning winter wonderland Crystal Clear Keepsake Case. How amazing are those icicles! Gorgeous Lynn!

(She Also Used Our Snowflake Cut-Outs, White Bottle Brush Trees, Christmas Word Paper Cuts, Glass Glitter, and White Mica Flakes)

Inspiration By Linda Cain!

These fanciful Angels were created by Design Team Member Linda Cain. I still can't get over Linda's skillful painting. Such talent Linda!

You can see the full supply list on Linda's blog, along with a few more photos!

I can't decide which one I like more! In addition to the awesome painting, I really love the "make-up" on the faces! Such a great detail!

Gift Certificates!

If you still need a gift for that crafty friend or relative, Retro Café Art Gallery Gift Certificates are the perfect solution. Sent directly via email.

 

Or you may want to give a hint hint to your loved ones!

I'm all set for Christmas, other than cooking Christmas Day! Our shipping schedule will be the usual, other than no shipping on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I'll be cooking, eating, and watching lots of movies with Chris and Zeus on those days! We did our traveling to visit family and friends on Thanksgiving, so we'll be around if you need us!

It's been years since I've bought egg nog, but after watching cousin Eddie on Christmas Vacation, I just had to have some. Cheers to you and yours!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support this year. I'm excited for 2015 and TONS of creativity ahead! Of course I'll still "see" you next Saturday. I'm sure the rest of 2014 will be great too.

xoxo Kristin

Primitive Angel Christmas Tree Gift Tutorial and More‏

New Goodies!

  

Happy Saturday Everyone! I'm SO in love with the new goodies this week. They were inspired by my Christmas fireplace mantel, which you can see below. I'm just dying to play with the new Vintage Santa!

In addition to the new goods, the general Christmas Section has over 600 fabulous goodies (all on sale) and our Coffee Break Design Christmas Section is sure to inspire.

  

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Art Time!

I'm totally in love with the new Vintage Santa Stand-Up, and I have plans to make him PINK as I've always wanted a vintage pink Santa, however, priorities! I had some handmade gifts to make, so I came up with these sweet Tiny Primitive Angels in an equally adorable and functional magnet box. The receiver can stick the box to the fridge and either keep the Angel inside, or add a different treasure.

Supplies: Tiny Paper Mache Christmas Tree Boxes, Tiny Primitive Angels, Tiny Fairy Head Paper Cuts, It's Christmas Paper Pad, White Sharpie Paint Pen, Mercury Glass Stickles, Black Signo Pen, Music Notes Stamp, Black Archival Ink Pad, Matte Glue N Seal, E6000, Paper Shred, You Pick Letter Cut-Outs (1.5"), Magnets

This was a really fun project. I enjoyed making the boxes just as much as the angels. Of course there are so many routes you can go with the boxes. The possibilities are endless!

To make my Angels, I attached paper to the bodies, and then doodled with my white and black pens. I added the Tiny Head Paper Cuts, and attached the wings and halos. I finished them by adding some Stickles to the wings/halos and attaching some vintage rhinestone trim. So sweet!

Next I stamped the front and back of my boxes.

I added magnets with E6000.

I wanted to personalize my gifts, so I used our "You Pick" Letters. I used the 1.5" size which was perfect. For a smaller letter the 1" would work well too.

I painted my letters with red acrylic paint, and then added dots with my white paint pen. They reminded me of the vintage red light-up marquee signs which are making a come back lately. I do love those signs!

I attached my painted letters to the front of my boxes.

I added a bit of paper shred to my boxes, and then tucked the Angels inside. Perfect fit!

While I was photographing, I came up with another idea.  You could turn these into ornaments too. Simply poke two holes in the top of the tree box, and string through some wire or a tinsel stem. Attach the angels to the bottom. They would make cute little tree ornament shrines! This was such a fun and festive project. I hope the receivers like them!

Inspiration By Gerri Herbst!

  

This brilliantly beautiful Laurel Wreath Ornament is by Design Team Member Gerri Herbst. I love the traditional, yet vintage look of this piece. Just stunning Gerri!

(Also Used Our Large Brass Christmas Tree (perfect!), Gold Stickles, Red Stickles, Cottage Path Alcohol Ink)

Inspiration By Lynn Stevens!

Design Team Member Lynn Stevens created this gorgeous, graceful Medium Primitive Angel. I adore silver and blue Christmas colors, and the Laurel Branch is such a great touch. Beautiful Lynn!

(Also Used Our Laurel Wreath Cut Outs, Silver Scalloped Dresden Trim, Silver Glass Glitter, Christmas Word Cut Outs, Santos Head Paper Cuts, Faux Silver Rhinestone Ribbon, and Collage Sheet CV58)

Inspiration By Amy Nieman!

These have to be the most fabulous clothespins I've ever seen! By Design Team Member Amy Nieman Using our Colorful Suns Collage Sheet and Collage Sheet DP191. These would make adorable and functional Christmas Gifts. Or use them on your creative gift packaging. Just brilliant Amy!

Inspiration By Karen Sullivan!

This fanciful Christmas Carousel is by Karen Sullivan. Not only is it gorgeous, it also spins! Karen attached a small lazy susan to the bottom. Can you hear the music? So amazing Karen!

Her lovely top!

She even decorated the area that gets covered by the top! Beautiful details!

Christmas Inspiration!

I had a bit of fun decorating for Christmas this year. As many of you know, we moved this year, so this is our first Christmas in our "new" home. I've never really decorated for Christmas before. Never even had a Christmas tree as an adult. But our double sided fireplace was begging for it, and once I got started, I didn't want to stop. My decorating even inspired this week's new goodies!

This is side one.

And side two. Similar, yet different.

I was playing around with the new goodies, and they fit in very nicely!

The new Reindeer Sticks have new homes!

Here are a few other decorating shots. Of course the tree has more ornaments, candy canes, and presents now. No doubt I'll add more next year. I figured I should pace myself (a bit). 

Merry Christmas! xoxo Kristin