Stenciled Box Make-Over and Some Stenciling Tips!

So, in just over a week, Coffee Break Design and Retro Cafe Art Gallery will be vending at the Indianapolis Heirloom Stamping and Paper Arts Festival! Show prep is well under way, and one of my favorite parts is creating the displays and art samples. I desperately needed something to put under my cash register so that I could operate it while standing and not killing my back! Something to raise it up a bit. I almost bought an overpriced faux wood box from Meijer, but I hesitated. It was just a box, and I really wanted drawers. I'm so glad I waited!

Instead, I went to my local Goodwill store and scored this (ugly) but awesome piece. It's actually a VHS holder! VHS what? Yes, it's hideous, but it was only $2.99 and I saw the potential. Not to mention it was the perfect size and exactly what I envisioned for my register.

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All it took was some spray paint and Coffee Break Design Stencils, and voila!

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To create the box, I simply used spray paint to spray on a base coat of red paint (outside of course). And then I went to town with the Stencils. I really didn't bother masking them of, however if  you want a nice clean look, you can tape them down using wide painters tape. This will protect the area you aren't currently spraying. Or you can do what I did and lay scrap paper around the edges.

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Our Stencils are made from durable stencil oil board, so you can use them over and over again. People have asked me how to clean them, and the answer is don't. Yes, they will get paint on them, but it won't hurt anything. In some ways the paint helps protect them even more. I've had some of the same stencils for years, however when and if they become unusable (haven't encountered this yet) you can use your awesome painted stencils in a journal spread or collage. They are very affordable (some as low as $1.50) so you can always buy lots more!

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The other thing I love to do, is right after I have sprayed my Stencils, while the paint is still wet, flip them over onto a piece of scrap paper, or directly onto your journal or collage. It helps remove some of the excess paint, plus, you get awesome papers to use in a later project!

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Stencils are super fun to layer! Since spray paint is so opaque, it really doesn't matter whether you layer light to dark or dark to light. Of course our stencils also work great with markers, pens, stencil paint & brushes, ink & color dusters, airbrush systems, spray inks, and so much more. If you are using really wet mediums, such as our Varitone Ink (basically like spraying on water) you can seal them first with a spray acrylic sealer. Of course if they are already covered in spray paint, they should be pretty well sealed.

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The purple layer was done using Copic Markers and a Copic Airbrush system. That is why it's semi-translucent, unlike the spray painted areas. To finish and protect the box, I sprayed the entire thing with a matte acrylic sealer at the very end.

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Even though no one will see it, I couldn't resist spraying the bottom too. It was just so FUN!
The Stencils I used for this project included: Large Optical, Muy-Walk, Muy-Run, Muy-Jump, Large Flock, Large Onomotoholes, and the Large Heart Background.

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Could this have been a more perfect fit? There is even a drawer for my credit card machine and another for storing receipts! I love it when things work out. Checking people out will be so much more fun now!

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Here is our Heirloom booth from last year. This year we will have even more goodies, including all 166 Stencil Designs! And all customers will get a special coupon to use at Retro Cafe Art Gallery. I hope to see some of you there. It's always so much fun meeting so many customers and reuniting with other vendor friends. You can view the show information HERE.

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How about a little Stencil Giveaway?

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and let me know how you like to use your Stencils. If you don't have any, tell me how you would like to use them if you had some!


2. On Wednesday March 7th (the day after my birthday!), I'll use a random number generator to select a winner to receive a 5 Pack of Coffee Break Design Stencils!

3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive a 10 Pack! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment. Good luck and XOXOs to you all!

Winners for the Egg Shrine Kits will be announced on the same day. Be sure you are entered!

New Goods in the Shop, News, and a GIVEAWAY!

Happy Heart Day to you all! Now that Valentine's Day is here, it's time to start thinking about the craftacular holidays ahead. We are all set with St. Patrick's Day goodies if you need any, so moving ahead that means Easter and Spring! We have over 40 BRAND NEW things for you to play with, and I wanted to get them out before show preparation is in full effect. We will be vending at the Heirloom Stamping and Paper Arts Convention in Indianapolis March 3rd and 4th. I would love to meet some of you if you can make it! We will have TONS of Coffee Break Design supplies and so much more.

 First, we have GORGEOUS German Cotton Spun Mushrooms imported from Germany. I think the photos say it all. They look almost good enough to eat! And of course I had to get them ALL. So yes they have their very own category.

 We also have 12 Brand New Coffee Break Design Stencils. These were actually designed for a local store, Homespun, that sells modern handmade goods, but I can share them with you as well. Dinosaurs, Mustaches, Octopi, etc. are definitely not uncommon in this store! It's cool to be able to expand beyond the Scrapbooking and Stamping stores. They carry my handcrafted jewelry as well :).

And how about some adorable bunny ears for your collage peeps! The latest addition to our Collage Cut-Outs Accessory Line. Add some Glasses and a Mustache while you're at it!

And well, I've been thinking about these for a while now. I just KNEW the "Chocolate" Bunnies would look almost real cut out of our lovely Masonite. I had to have some with bites taken out too. They are also available without bites :).

 Here's an ATC I made with the Bunny Ears and Chocolate Bunnies. I just couldn't wait to play!

And of course for Easter, there should be eggs! So we've got em' in several forms. But of course my favorites are the new additions to Trinket Keepsake Kits and El Tiny Trinket Charm lines. Available with Circle and Square openings. Personally, I'm partial to the circle as it looks like a yolk!

And yes, I played. I used one with the channels popped out to make a necklace, and one with the channels left in place (to become a pin). Here's a list of the materials I used for these:

Circle Egg Trinket, ATC Nesting Collage Sheet, 25mm Crystal Clear Cabochon, Diamond Glaze, Ball Chain Kit, Open Balls, Mod Podge, Patina and Black Gilders Paste, and 10mm Red Cotton Spun Mushroom.

The crackled one is my favorite. I used paint, 2 step crackle, distress ink, and Gilders Paste to get the final effect. Click on the photos for a closer look.

Loved working on the backs too. I almost hate to cover one with a pin-back.



And of course we have to have the Egg El Tiny Trinket Charms too. In honor of Valentine's Day today, I'll be adding one of these charms as a FREE GIFT to all orders placed within the next few weeks. There's no minimum, just lots of free eggs!

And let's see, oh yes, a GIVEAWAY! It just wouldn't be right if I didn't have one!

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and let me know which of the NEW GOODIES you like best.

2. On Wednesday March 7th (the day after my birthday!), I'll use a random number generator to select FIVE winners to receive one of the awesome new Egg Trinket Shrine Kits!

3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive an extra goodie too! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment. Good luck and XOXOs to you all! 

Valentine's Day Cake Gift Certificate Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the 25.00 Retro Cafe Art Gallery Gift Certificate is.... #33, Jan! Please email me at retrocafeart@gmail.com to claim your prize!

A big huge thanks to Denise Phillips for providing the dessert! She's announced the winner on her blog as well!

 

You still have a few more days to enter our Valentine's Day Contest! Entries due by February 14th! And lastly, if you were playing in our Random Wednesday Giveaway on Facebook, the winners have been announced! Have a fantastic weekend everyone! xo

Valentine's Day Design Team Work and a Facebook GIVEAWAY!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are enjoying all the lovely Valentine's Day art that has been popping up. I know I am. What can be better than hearts, XOs, and chocolate? I have some lovely projects by the Design Team to share with you! And a fun fun "Share the Love" Facebook giveaway below!

First up is this ADORABLE jar by Jennifer Ingle. Jennifer used the Hello Dollie Valentine's Day Collage Sheet, Beautiful Birds 1 Collage Sheet, and the White Picket Fence. I have to say, I love the way she used the fence! Not to mention the pink glitter in the bottom. 

Jennifer also created this super wonderful card. Jennifer is AMAZING at card making, but I think this is my favorite of all. She used the Classic Candy Heart Charms, with and without holes. I just love the rustic, yet romantic look of this card!

Great stitching too!

This super FUN piece was created by Design Team Member Gerri Herbst using an ATC Window, ATC Base, Masonite XOs, Candy Heart, and Hinge Clips. She created such wonderful dimension on this piece. Really fantastic!

Next, Gerri created these lovely Valentine's Day ATCs! She used the Hello Doll 2 Collage Sheet, Love Collage Sheet, A Masonite Heart, and Red and Silver Stickles. My favorite part is the faux stitching around the punched out hearts!

This card, also created by Gerri, is so adorable. She used the Heart Background Stencil as well as the Hello Dollie 2 Collage Sheet. The background is so sweet! Speaking of something sweet...

Every Wednesday on Facebook, we have a Random Wednesday Gift Certificate Drawing. This week, since Valentine's Day is so close I thought it would be fun to do something a little different! So I put together this lovely gift pack giveaway that includes 7 Shrine Kits, 2 ATC Windows and ATC bases, 6 Inchie Windows and bases, 8 Stencils, 4 packs of Eyelets, and 6 Trinket Charms. Over a $60 value!

Pop on over to our Facebook Page to find out how to enter. It's super easy! And hurry, the winner will be announced on Friday! xo

Shadow Box Shrine Kit Giveaway Winners, Vintage Train Tickets, Free Shrine Kits, and More!

Woohoo, it's time to announce the Shadow Box Shrine Kit winners!

The winners are #10 francine, #12 Kade,  #78 lindacreates, #130 Francine Cronos, and #135 Cheryl! Please email me at retrocafeart@gmail.com to claim your prize and let me know if you are a Facebook Fan when you do to double your prize!

I wish I could give all 143 of you a prize. Maybe I can? How about this, spend $30.00 or more (before shipping) in the shop, and I will send you your choice of one Shadow Box Shrine Kit FREE as a gift! Simply let me know in the comments section at check-out, which kit you would like. Make sure you tell me the style, size, and whether or not you would like a charm loop. Shrine Kits will not be included automatically, you must let me know your choice and mention this post in the comments section at check out. Not valid for orders placed before this post. Offer ends February 6th!

There are also several new goodies in the shop including these fabulous Vintage Train Tickets! Along with 17 new German Dresden pieces, new Land of Enchantment Valentine's Day Collage Sheets, and more!

I couldn't wait to play with the Vintage Train Tickets so I made this sweet card. I attached everything using Incredi-sheets which worked great especially on the thin vintage paper. The little hearts were created using the Small Heart Background Stencil. I quickly colored them in using a pink Copic marker and then outlined them while the stencil was still in place using a fine black Sharpie. I also used a stamped Vial Label.

The flower is my favorite part, created from scratch using vintage dress pattern tissue. I simply cut out circles in various sizes, stacking them large to small. I then used my Tiny Attacher Stapler and stapled them in the center (so quick and easy!). Next I added some flat back pearls to cover the staple and then crinkled the entire thing. I sprayed it lightly with Silver Glimmer Mist to give it a bit of shine, and then finally attached it to my card with a small square of Incredi-sheet. So easy and so cute. It's also very lightweight, which is nice for the card. Oh, and see the little star on the Train Ticket? It was already punched like that. Sweet!

I have to thank my friend Mel from Ephemeraology! She told me about Feedburner, which allows you to sign up and receive blog posts via email! Feel free to sign up below, and Retro Cafe Art Gallery posts will be emailed to you! Now it will be easier to keep up with our many giveaways, sales, and contests! Simply click the link below to sign-up!

Subscribe to Retro Café Art Gallery Blog Posts by Email

And if you haven't already, you can sign up for our newsletter as well! I know many of you already are signed-up, but this seemed like a good time to mention it again. Sign-up for both and stay up to date!

Signup for my newsletter!



Finally don't forget to enter the current Gift Certificate Giveaway and enter the Valentine's Day Contest. Check out the awesome entries we have so far! xoxo, Kristin

Denise's Valentine's Day Cake Inspiration and TWO 25.00 Gift Certificate Giveaways!

The wonderful Denise Phillips of Bird Nuts Mixed Media has created another fabulous cake for you as well as a few other inspiring projects! In celebration of Valentine's Day and sharing the love, we are BOTH having a giveaway on our blogs for a $25.00 Retro Cafe Art Gallery Gift Certificate! SO you have two chances to win! Before we get to the giveaways, let's check out Denise's lovely pieces!

Denise used several Retro Cafe Art Gallery products to make her amazing Valentine's Day cake including Paper Mache  Boxes, Incredi-tape and sheets (to attach her papers), German Dresden (Fancy Silver Scalloped), Red German Glass Glitter, Silver German Glass Glitter, Stand-Up Bus Stop Lady, a Large Broken Heart, and Black Alpha Beads.

The topper is my favorite part! I love how she used the Large Broken Heart and Bus Stop Lady. Seriously brilliant!

Denise also created 2 projects usig the MEGA Circle Shrine Kit. Rather than making one shrine, she opted to use the pieces in another way! For the shrine above she used 2 of the shrine pieces along with Bus Stop Lady, Red German Glass Glitter, White Alpha Beads, Black Alpha Beads, Mini Bottle Caps (SO fun how she used them!), Silver Stickles, and the Small Heart Background Stencil (my favorite part!).

She cleverly displayed her shrine on a Clear Acrylic ATC Stand (not just for ATCs as you can see!).

Denise used the third piece of her MEGA Circle Shrine Kit to create this lovely work of art. It's a recycled CD case! So cool how the case is also the stand! She also used White Alpha Beads, Black Alpha Beads, and a 3" Distressed White Metal Heart.

Thank you Denise for the awesome love day inspiration! We have some love for YOU too in the form of TWO giveaways!

GIVEAWAY Details:

1. To enter a chance for the gift certificate on this blog, simply leave a comment on this post!

2. Next, hop on over to Denise's blog, where she will also be giving away a Gift Certificate. Sign on as a follower of her blog and leave a comment. Then you are entered in BOTH giveaways with two chances to win!

3. I will use a random number generator on February 10th to select the winner! Denise will do the same on her blog.
4. As you know I always like to sweeten the pot. If you are a winner on this blog and also a FACEBOOK fan I will make the Gift Certificate on my blog $40! Let me know in your comment.


There are also a few new goodies listed too including some lovely new Land of Enchantment Valentine's Day Collage Sheets and gorgeous new German Dresden in some hard to find colors and styles. And my new favorite, FUSCHIA! I'm proud to say we now carry 157 different types of German Dresden, and at great prices too!

Collage Sheet Giveaway Winners, New ATC Frames, and More!

Last week I posted some fabulous NEW Collage Sheets along with a giveaway and now it's time to pick the winners! Drum roll...

The winners are Blessed Serendipity, francine, Lizzieta, Trisha Bee, and Compass Rose! Congrats!
Please email me at RetroCafeArt@gmail.com to claim your prize and also let me know if you are a Facebook Fan when you do!

And in other fun news, we have 4 brand new Crow Stencils, which were requested by my friend Maryjo Mcgraw! You can never have too many crows.

We also have these fun new Valentine's Day Red Acrylic ATC Frames! Each set comes with 2 ATC Frames, the inserts, and some sweet hearts. Supplies are limited on these fun sets. I love how they are semi-transparent and the image underneath peeks through just a bit.

Here is a cute Valentine's Day ATC I made using the new 4 Crows Stencil and the new Valentine's Day ATC Frame. I started with a Masonite ATC Blank and attached one of the background images from Collage Sheet DP253 using Mod Podge. I painted the background lightly with white acrylic paint and then doodled lightly with pencil. Next I stenciled on the crow using red and black ink pads and Color Dusters. The Color Dusters work great with our stencils. I also used them to add the light brown in the background. You can build layers so your ink can be light (the brown) or darker (the crow). The other awesome thing about our stencils is that they are made from stencil board which is treated with oils to help absorb the ink and paint so you don't get feathering or bleeding out! To finish the piece I did more doodling with a fine Sharpie. Note, the string spells out "love" (you may have to turn your head a bit) and there is also a small heart which I filled with Silver Stickles, though the silver is difficult to see in the photo. Finally I attached the Red Frame using 1/8" Crystal Clear Double-sided Incredi-tape which worked beautifully and was totally invisible once attached! The finished ATC is displayed on a Masonite ATC Stand.

Be sure to check back in on Thursday. We have yet another fantastic dual giveaway. Denise just might be "baking" again for us! xoxo

20 BRAND NEW Collage Sheets, Alice in Wonderland Goodies, and a GIVEAWAY!

I'm beyond excited to announce a new line of Collage Sheets available in the shop! Gorgeous, colorful sheets created by the talented Cassandra VanCuren of Cassi's Creations! Cassandra is a long time friend, amazing artist, and all around sweet gal! Cassandra and I go way back, and come to think of it, she was one of the first online artists I ever swapped an ATC with! You should definitely check out her blog. She posts the most amazing eye candy! I'm thrilled to be working with Cassandra, and her sheets will be available exclusively at Retro Cafe Art Gallery. As always they are available in digital (jpeg) and paper formats!

Here are just a few of my favorites. There are 20 fabulous new sheets and you can see them all HERE!

Mermaids, Maries, Cakes, Borders, Words, Stages, Flowers, and more oh my...

And how about some art samples?

Design Team Member Jennifer Ingle whipped up this beautiful "Spoolie" using the new Rosey Marie Pink Collage Sheet, Pink Stickles, and a Memo Pin. Isn't she lovely? A huge thanks to Jennifer for making her so quickly too! I kind of sprung it on her last minute, but she handled it like a crafting pro!

I wanted to play too. When I saw the Alice in Wonderland ATC Collage Sheet they immediately reminded me of bottle labels. I knew right away I wanted to incorporate them with the Corked Vials. Of course the sheet makes great ATCs too!

I also knew I wanted a few embellishments to dangle off the bottle so Card Suit Charms were born! They look awesome in the red and black acrylic or you can get them in Masonite if you want to alter them yourself.

And what is an Alice in Wonderland bottle without a "Drink Me" tag? So I made some of those too! The font is pretty darn close to the tag in the original cartoon.

The Alice in Wonderland Tags come in a set of 4. Either two of each or 4 of one design!

And here is my finished Alice Bottle.


The bottle was really easy to make. I started by Shrinking down the Alice in Wonderland Collage Sheet and printing it out at 45% for the largest bottle in the Corked Vial set. After cutting out the image I peeled off one side of an Incredi-sheet, and placed my image on the sheet. I then cut out both layers, and was left with a perfect label sticker! I inked the edges of the image a bit, and then peeled off the backing of the Incredi-sheet and stuck the label on my bottle. Since the Incredi-sheet is double sided, permanent, and crystal clear, it worked like a DREAM to attach the label. (fun tip: you can decorate the back of your image prior to attaching the clear Incredi-tape, and your design will show when you are looking through the back of the bottle). Next, I tied a piece of cheese cloth to the top of my bottle (any ribbon or fiber would work). I attached the Drink Me Tag using a 7mm jump ring, simply pushing it through the cheese cloth. I also added a jump ring to the Card Suit Charm and then just for fun attached it to the cloth using a Mini Pin. Finally I filled my bottle with glitter! I plan to use the bottle as a cute, glitter storage container! Hope you enjoyed this mini tutorial!



I think you know what I'm going to say next - let's do a GIVEAWAY! We'll make this one a quickie!

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and let me know your favorite new Cassi's Creations Collage Sheet.
2. On Tuesday January 24th I'll use a random number generator to select FIVE winners to receive one of the new digital collage sheets!
3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive TWO sheets! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment.



You also have until the 29th to enter the Shadow Box Shrine Kit Giveaway if you haven't already, and until February 14th to enter the Valentine's Day Contest. Check out the awesome entries we have so far! xo