New Tim Holtz!

Several of the New Tim Holtz products have been added to the store! More will be coming soon as some of the new products don't ship out until May. I've posted a few of my favorites here, but you can see them all in the shop

I love these paper stacks!

See all of the New Goodies HERE!

Ring Samples

Not long ago I posted about some NEW ring blanks I had in the shop. The well of the ring is much larger than usual (29mm) giving lots more room to play! And so play I did! First I made a few farm-inspired Kitschy rings that put a smile on my face!

And then I made a TINY mosaic ring using a tiny German doll head! Talk about tedious, but I'm loving the end result!

I posted all of the finished rings on ETSY, and of course you can buy your own ring blanks to play with HERE! I would love to see what you come up with!

Book Giveaway - Third and Final Winner

I pulled the winner for the third and final book today from the magic cupcake, and the winner is: Linda East! Congrats!
And thanks again to Roni for writing such a wonderful book and giving me the opportunity to give a few away :).

Tomorrow I will use a random number generator to pick a winner for the dollie cards, so you still have time to enter!

New Stamps!

Retro Cafe Art Gallery has a new section. Stamping! I've been filling the shelves with over 27 different stamps. Above are just a FEW of my favorites! There are tons of birds too!

Check em' all out HERE! Some are in limited quantities so go now :).

China Doll Parts

I listed a few interesting doll parts on Etsy!

Book Giveaway - Second Winner

After adding the new names since the drawing on last Saturday and consulting the magic cupcake, we have winner number 2! And the winner is Tristan! Congrats - I'm off to post a comment on your blog!

There is still one more drawing next Saturday! All names will remain in the cupcake and I will add new names next Saturday before the next draw. Please do not enter again if you entered below - you are still in the running! If you aren't in the running yet, you can enter below!

I also got some new glasses yesterday! I usually wear contacts, but when I'm at home playing, glasses are more comfy. I went with some fabulously funky glasses this time. They are dark red and AQUA! I love the decor on the sides! I have a very strong prescription which magnifies my eyes, so for the longest time I refused to let anyone see me with glasses! Well now, you all can see me! I'm over it! This is a big step for me!

Spring Cleaning

I updated the Retro Cafe Art Gallery Homepage for Spring! I hope you like it!

Lollishop Design Team Project and GIVEAWAY!

I wanted to share my latest Lollishop Design Team Project.

This month's lovely DT kit came from Inspiration Cottage! Be sure to visit her fabulous shop! I had so much fun creating some Dollie Cards using the Hello Dollie Bodies collage sheet along with the sweet inspiration kit.

The cards, which are blank inside, are all packed up and ready to go. This time I'm going to have a GIVEAWAY for the cards! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter and I will use a random number generator to pick a winner on Sunday April 11th! Good luck!

Book Giveaway - First Winner

Today was the day to pick the first book winner! Let me just say I am BLOWN AWAY by the number of comments so far! 186, not to mention all the folks who have two chances! So in order to do this giveaway properly, I first copy and pasted all of the comments to a word document, THEN I went through and copy/pasted the names of all the folks who have two chances. Then, I added three columns to the document and made the text TINY so I wouldn't have 60 pages. Finally I took the pages to my paper cutter and cut away! I don't actually have a "hat", so I put the names in my cupcake :). Shook it up, and pulled out a winner (without looking of course)! And the first winner is.....

Denise Phillips! Congrats! I'll be emailing you shortly.

There are still TWO MORE drawings on the next two Saturdays! All names will remain in the cupcake and I will add new names next Saturday before the next draw. Please do not enter again if you entered below - you are still in the running! If you aren't in the running yet, you can enter below!

Book Giveaway - THREE Copies!

Hi everyone! I have an awesome giveaway for you!

I’m giving away 3 copies of Teach Yourself Visually – Collage & Altered Art by Roni Johnson who lives here in Indiana with me! Retro Café Art Gallery donated several collage sheets and shrine kits by Coffee Break Design to the book, so you can see several of our products throughout! It is a wonderful book PACKED full of techniques! A big thanks to Wiley Publications for supplying the books.

Here is some more information about the book and the author:
Roni (Veronica) Johnson (Albion, Indiana), a life long artist is the author of the daily rubber stamping and altered arts blog Ink Stains. She is the author of the new book ~ Teach Yourself Visually – Collage & Altered Art. A photo tutorial covering a wide array of techniques including paints, paper, image transfer, collage, altered books and charms and so much more. In addition to being an author and blogger she designs for manufactures and retail companies in the rubber stamping; altered arts field.

Q – What are some of the topics included in the book? A - The book touches on a wide variety of techniques which include paints, inks, and papers. There are chapters on Image Transfers, Altered Charms, Distressing, Altered Books, and much more!

Q – What inspired you to write the book?
A – My life long love of art and the joy of sharing techniques and information with people. I firmly believe that everyone has an artist hidden within…I want to help them find it!

Q – What was your favorite technique in the book?
A – Oh that’s a hard one…I had so much fun with all of them. I think the cowgirl beeswax collage would be one of my favorites. I also had loads of fun with the altered charms section and making the mini collages.

Q - How long did it take you to write the book?
A – From start to finish it took 4 months. It took longer to make the actual projects than it did to write. I had to make each project several times demonstrating the various steps. The more photos, the more work but it was well worth it. Many people have told me how helpful the photos are.

Now for the giveaway rules!

1. Just leave a comment on THIS blog post for one entry. Be sure to leave me your email address (unless I can click your blog link) so I can contact you if you win!

2. For TWO entries, post about this giveaway on you blog with a link back to this blog post. Let me know when leaving your comment that you have done this so I can put your name in the hat twice!

There will be THREE drawings. If you don’t win, your name will remain in the hat for future drawings. So posting to your blog about the giveaway will give you many chances. International players welcome!

I will draw one winner for the next three Satudays as follows: (you can only win once. Winners will be taken out of the hat for future drawings): Saturday 3/27/10, Saturday 4/3/10, and Saturday 4/10/10. The sooner you post your comments, the more chances you have to win! I will be sure to post the winners here. Good luck!

The giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats to the three winners!

Ring, Ring, Ring! Ring Blanks Galore!

I'm so excited about all the cool new ring blanks in the shop! The large circle rings are BIG! 1 1/8" across! Very bold, which is "in" right now and the larger working area gives you many more creative possibilities! I can't wait to play with them. I also RESTOCKED all of the other ring blanks. See them all HERE!

NEW German Dresden Designs!

I just finished listing some wonderful new German Dresden designs! Below are some of my favorites, but you can see them all HERE! In addition to the new pieces, I restocked everything else including the chicks shown below! I now have 96 (oh my!) different designs in the shop and that's just the Dresden!

Out and About

Tomorrow is my birthday so I'll be out and about celebrating all weekend. Today Chris is taking me somewhere, but it's a surprise :). All I know is we are leaving at noon. I'll keep you posted!
Also, I'm taking a few days off from packing orders from the site, so all orders placed today or over the weekend will go out Monday!

Update: This is where we went at noon. And we watched it in 3-D Imax! It was SO good, especially in 3-D and in the afternoon on a Friday with the theatre nice and empty!

Lollishop Design Team March Reveal!

As you may or may not know, I'm on the Lollishop spring Design Team! Our challenge was to create something from the LOVELY goodie bag above that was provided by Annie of Glitter Your World!

I managed to use just about everything in kit and this is what I came up with.

The lid comes on and off to reveal a secret hiding spot. A tag with the word "Dream" is inside along with a vintage watch makers vial marked "5" filled with "dream dust". The cupcake is ready for your 5 biggest dreams!

I had a blast with my first ever Design Team project! If you would like to take her home with you, I have her listed HERE.

And of course as always you can get the China Doll heads in my shop.

Alice is Back

The Alice in Wonderland Paper cuts are BACK IN STOCK! The initial batch sold out FAST!