Merry Christmas!

It's not the amount of money you spend,
but the love and the warmth
for those that you tend.

Christmas circa 1966,
with our free Christmas tree!
(Charlie Brown would approve.)

You better not pout...

Here is another version of my Santa Christmas card.

It features a patchwork background with zigzag stitching, vintage buttons tied with embroidery floss, and the cracked glass technique.

Only 11 days until Christmas! Are you ready?


Supplies:
Stamps: Rubber Stampede, Stamping' Up!; green and tan cardstocks by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock by Stampin' Up!; patterned papers by Graphic 45; Prismacolor Premier pencils; black Stazon, antique linen distress ink, Versamark; UTEE; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug; oval and scalloped oval punches by Stampin' Up!; Janome Sew Mini; vintage buttons; embroidery floss.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We had a pretty big snow storm and blizzard conditions here last week. Some areas had a foot of snow or more and the wind was creating drifts as deep as six feet out in the country. The kids had three snow days in a row! I hope this isn't an indicator of the type of winter we're going to have.

I was able to mail most of my Christmas cards before the storm hit. Many of them featured this cute Santa image that I colored with my Prismacolor pencils. I love the tranquil blue tones of this particular card.

Some of my Christmas cards this year featured a new technique for me: sewing! I've never been too interested in sewing, but I see so many paper crafters doing it and the look really enhances vintage-style items. So I broke down and bought myself a Janome Sew Mini, which is like a beginner's sewing machine. It's very portable and includes three sizes of zigzag stitch.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and warm!

Supplies:
Stamps: Rubber Stampede, Cornish Heritage Farms; blue cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up!; decorative papers by Memory Box (Dewfrost collection); black Stazon, broken china distress ink, Anna Griffin blue ink, Brilliance platinum planet ink; rectangle and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug; Janome Sew Mini and white thread; Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Glossy Accents; Martha Stewart glitter; white brads.

Santa's Wish

A few weeks ago my mom and I had lunch at Maria's Tea Room in Czech Village. Afterward we roamed through an antique mall "on the avenue." One of the booths had a three-ring notebook filled with vintage postcards, and believe it or not there was a postcard with this exact same Santa image! I about fell over. I really want to buy it but they are asking $10 for it, which I feel is too much considering that the stamp has been removed, the postmark year is missing, and therefore it's impossible to put a date on when the postcard was sent. I'm guessing that it might have been a penny postcard from the early 1900-1910s, as other postcards in the notebook are of that era.

So I haven't bought the postcard, but now I have some idea where Tim Holtz gets the vintage images for his stamp sets!

I used Adirondack alcohol inks and the polished stone technique to create my own background paper for this 5.5 inch square card. I like the muted, non-traditional holiday colors of this card.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous Monday!

Supplies:
Stamp set: Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz; Cardstock: Bazzill brown, Bazzill pickle, Bazzill kraft; Ranger Inkssentials glossy white cardstock; Adirondack alcohol inks: oregano, ginger, mushroom; Distress inks: peeled paint, fired brick; Stazon timber brown ink; Adirondack espresso dye ink; clear embossing powder; Distress Stickles: fired brick; Nestibilities square and scalloped square; Martha Stewart border punch; gold ribbon from Michaels; Tim Holtz Idea-ology antique brass snaps.

Heritage Scrapbooking - Otto 1918

I haven't done much scrapbooking, but heritage scrapbooking appeals to me on several different levels so I have hopes of pursuing that interest more in the future.

This is a 6x6 inch piece. Otto, the man in the photo, is my paternal grandfather. I never knew him as he died of a brain tumor before I was born. My dad described him as a hard-worker, a good gardener, and particular about his tools. He also liked a good ball game (softball/baseball) and his beer! Another interesting fact is that he was the father of 14 children.

This picture was supposedly taken when Otto was a student at or had graduated from business school. However, no one seems to know anything more specific such as when he attended this school, the name and location of the school, or what he studied. I estimated that this picture was taken around 1918 or 1919, based on his age and the fact that it would have been taken before my grandparents were married in 1920.

Even though I never met my grandfather, I can certainly see how my dad takes after him. My grandfather was a handsome young man and although he never became a businessman, he looks like a man with a lot of promise in this photo.

Supplies:
Decorative papers: Graphic 45, Karen Foster; black Bazzill cardstock; recycled corrugated cardboard; distress inks: walnut stain, antique linen; oval and scalloped oval punches (Stampin' Up!); square and scalloped square Nestibilities (Spellbinders); Tim Holtz Idea-ology knowledge token and spinner arrow; string wrap closure (Michaels); frond punch (Martha Stewart); ivory skeleton leaves; pewter brads; computer-generated journaling.

Vintage Iron Star

I enjoy making masculine-themed cards and vintage images make them a snap to create. I think men enjoy receiving a specialty card just as much as women do. Guys, am I right?

I sent this card to my Uncle Junior when he was having some health problems. This card illustrates how to use distress inks to stamp images, to dye ribbon, and to age or alter paper. The twill ribbon was originally a bright golden yellow; too bright for the look I was hoping to achieve. I used my brayer and vintage photo distress ink to tone it down. The little price tag was brand new and bright white. I gave it an aged look by first crinkling it in my hands, then inking it with scattered straw and walnut stain distress inks. I even used the scattered straw ink to dye the string tied to the tag.

Have a terrific day. Thanks for peeking in!

Supplies:
Star stamp (River City Rubber Works); letter C stamp (Rebecca Sower); clear embossing powder; distress inks: black soot, scattered straw, walnut stain, vintage photo; black Stazon; Cosmo Cricket decorative paper; kraft cardstock; Bazzill cardstock; recycled corrugated cardboard; small price tag; twill ribbon; copper brads; black brad.

Polished Stone Mona

The polished stone technique is one of my favorites, so I naturally turned to my alcohol inks to make a unique background for some new Tim Holtz stamps that I was thrilled to finally get. I love how dramatic the cool stream and the warm terra cotta look with each other.

Another technique I employed on this 4.5 x 6.25 inch card was to heat the ends of the sheer black ribbon. The heat causes the ribbon to curl in unexpected directions which adds quite a bit of interest. I do need to practice this technique more: I found out that a little heat goes a long way.

This will be a birthday card for a close friend of mine who holds an MFA in painting. I'm no Leonardo da Vinci, but I think she will appreciate this latest sample of my artwork.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fantastic day!

Supplies:
Glossy white cardstock (Ranger Inkssentials); Adirondack alcohol inks: stream, terra cotta, latte; alcohol blending solution; Tim Holtz stamps; Tim Holtz Idea-ology metal findings; Colorbox metal stencils; miscellaneous seed beads; sheer black ribbon; black Stazon ink; terra cotta and black cardstock (Bazzill); ticket corner punch (Stampin' Up!).

You Have to Start Somewhere

This past summer I got a great deal on a set of 36 Derwent Watercolour Pencils at a garage sale. I don't usually go to garage sales, but for some reason I looked at the classified ads in the newspaper that day and one ad caught my eye. The first two items listed were rubber stamps and scrapbook supplies, and the sale was only three blocks away. So I decided to go and I was able to pick up quite a few items at rock bottom prices, including the Derwent pencils.

I already own Prismacolor Premier pencils that I use in my art pieces, but I have not done any watercoloring until now. It was a lot of fun to experiment and the Derwent colors are beautiful. They are much more vibrant than I expected.

I started with a small and simple image: leaves with small buds attached. I don't know what type of tree or bush it is, so I just chose colors that I liked. I tried a Koi self-moistening water brush at first, but I switched to a small Loew Cornell paint brush and decided I liked it better.

I'm sure a larger image will allow me to play with the colors even more, but I had to start somewhere!

We're having a glorious fall day here. I hope you are, too. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Leaf image (Stampin' Up!); Happiness stamp (Stampin' Up!); Strathmore watercolor paper; Derwent Watercolor Pencils; Loew Cornell paint brush; Archival jet black ink; Adirondack espresso dye ink; Bazzill brown and tan cardstocks; green flourish paper by Anna Griffin; text paper by K & Company; oval and scalloped oval punches; brushed corduroy distress ink; old ribbon; antique gold eyelets.

Musical Gift Bag

It seems I will have the opportunity to give Marylee her Home mantel decoration in person (rather than having to mail it), so I decided to make a coordinating gift bag to hold it.

I used the same black and red cardstock that I used to make the accordion-fold Home Means Harmony project described here. My background paper is old sheet music from the 1910s that I masked with some Tim Holtz masks before stippling with distress inks.

Turning a plain paper sack into a one-of-a-kind piece of art is fairly easy and a lot of fun. It makes gift giving that much more meaningful.

Supplies:
Small white paper bag; black and red cardstock by Bazzill; old sheet music; Tim Holtz masks (Timeworks set); Musical Manuscript stamp by Stampin' Up!; naturals ivory cardstock by Stampin' Up!; Adirondack pitch black ink; clear embossing powder; distress inks: fired brick, walnut stain, and soot black; Karen Foster scrapbooker's floss; old black button; corner rounder punch; Fiskars border punch; black brad.

Thanks for visiting today!

Home Means Harmony

I made this accordion-fold mantel decoration for my friend Marylee, who recently purchased her first home. She likes black and red and already has some Asian-themed items, so I knew exactly what I was going to use on this project.


The dimensions of this project are 4.75 x 18 inches. I made my own background paper by stamping and masking some old dictionary pages and stippling them with fired brick distress ink. The Chinese characters on the end panels stand for harmony and tranquility (and you can bet I verified that with my Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese dictionary before I even bought these stamps!).

Here's a close up shot of one of the pages where you can see the masking and stamping I added to my plain dictionary pages. Although I like using the beautiful decorative papers available to paper crafters now, I feel like a true artiste when I use my brush and ink to create my own designs.

Supplies:
Black and red Bazzill cardstock; old dictionary pages; fired brick and brushed corduroy distress inks; Adirondack pitch black dye ink; embossing powder and heat gun; black Marvy pen; alphabet stamps by Inkadinkado; Kanji stamps by Stampin' Up!; small daisy stamp by Inkadinkado; Tim Holtz small floret masks; small black brads; paper flowers by Prisma; mini black brads; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities; Cuttlebug.

Happy Monday and have a great week! Thanks for visiting.

Be Inspired

It's no surprise to my friends that I like images with an international or travel theme, especially if those images have a vintage feel to them. I have a romantic vision of the early days of travel, when trains with sleeping cars and ocean liners with state rooms were the modes of transportation (for the wealthy, at least). I know that in reality, travel back in those days was not always comfortable due to the duration of the trips and the lack of air conditioning and other modern amenities, but somehow I imagine it was more leisurely.

I was feeling adventurous and decided to work with some colors that I don't use very often. For some reason I am not a big fan of the color blue anymore, and the mustard seed distress ink I used to tint the central image is pretty bright (it's even brighter in person, almost more of a lemon yellow). But I like how it pops out against the darker, distressed background colors of this card.

And finally I was brave enough to cut into the transparencies I purchased from ARTChix Studio a couple of months ago! The woman's face gives an instant focal point to the entire card. It's hard to tell in this photo, but she has a red flower in her hair that provides an additional hint of color.

I'm sending this 5.5 inch square card to a colleague who has never seen any of my artwork. I know she will like the international theme.

Thanks for popping in today!

Supplies:
French Market stamps by Tim Holtz; French Script stamp by Stampin' Up!, blue and green cardstock by Stampin' Up!; white glossy paper by Stampin' Up!; recycled corrugated cardboard; distress inks: mustard seed, broken china, frayed burlap, brushed corduroy, walnut stain, black soot; embossing powder; black snaps altered with Adirondack copper alcohol ink mixative; copper eyelets and copper "inspire" plate; jute twine; Cuttlebug fancy corners.

A Boy and His Dog

Now that I know my brother has received his birthday card, I can share it with you here. I didn't want to blog about it beforehand and spoil the surprise for him. This particular brother likes vintage and historic things as much as I do, and he has a lot of artistic ability himself, so I always enjoy making cards and other items for him.

The main image by Stampers Anonymous is one of my favorites. What is more classic than the relationship between a boy and his dog? And it reminds me of some of the old pictures of my dad and his family. Even though they were poor, they always seemed to have plenty of dogs, cats, chickens, and rabbits on hand. Of course, some of those chickens and rabbits may have ended up on the dinner table at some point!

Here's a picture of my dad as a boy with two rabbits. I love the old wash tub in the background that looks like it's filled with flowers. I'm guessing this picture was taken in the mid-1940s so maybe their economic situation had improved some by then.

Card Supplies:
Stampers Anonymous stamp; glossy paper; Versamark ink; distress inks: dried marigold, fired brick, frayed burlap, walnut stain; black card base by Bazzill; decorative paper by Daisy D; black snaps, black brads (on the number 5); Fiskars border punch.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sassy Pocket Card

I enjoy using a pocket card format because it allows me to combine a variety of stamped images or patterned papers to great effect. In this case, I used Graphic 45 papers to decorate not only the card base but also the tag that I tucked inside.

I sent this card to a person I've never met. She knows nothing about me (other than we both attended the same high school) so I think she will be surprised when she sees this card. She's in charge of collecting the money for an upcoming reunion I'm attending, and I sent my check in this card. I know that organizing an event like that is often a thankless job, so I wanted to make the task a little more pleasant for her by sending a special card. I can't wait to hear what she says about it!

Supplies:
Graphic 45 decorative papers; Bazzill black cardstock; Stampington image "The Glance;" Tim Holtz Eiffel Tower image; black Stazon ink; fired brick distress ink; walnut stain distress ink; Prima paper flower; black brad; Nestabilities oval die cuts; jute twine.

Thank you for taking time to visit my site! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Altered Wooden Frame

The inspiration for this project came from an in-store flier I picked up at a craft store. Because I didn't have some of the tools and products they used in the sample, I came up with some substitutions that I like even better.

This frame holds a 4x6 photo. The girls in the photo are my mom (on the right) and her older sister Mary. Both "girls" still have the same sweet smiles today.

Supplies:
Plain oval wooden frame; Americana brand bleached sand acrylic paint; Ranger vintage photo crackle paint; Studio 490 leaf and flower stamps; Grungepaper; Grungeboard flourishes; distress inks: black soot, broken china, fired brick, scattered straw, peeled paint, brushed corduroy, and antique linen; small black buttons; embroidery floss.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're having a fabulous weekend.

My Style - Vintage!

Although I make greeting cards and other items that exhibit a variety of styles, the "look" that comes most naturally to me, and which I think defines my style the best, is vintage.

vintage (adj): of old, recognized, and enduring interest, importance, or quality: classic.

The types of stamped images and decorative papers that catch my eye are those with subjects or a look reminiscent of the early 1900s to about 1950. I also like to use old black and white photos in my artwork.

This birthday card for my dad features a photograph of him circa 1938 as well as two stamped images by Tim Holtz that look like a Victorian photography studio advertisement and a strip of film.


Here is a closeup of the piece.

I think my dad looks mighty grumpy in this photo!

Maybe those hand-me-down shoes didn't fit his little feet quite right. And I'm amused by the unpainted sheds and the car in the background (with the tire that is half flat) and the fact that there is no grass. My dad was born at the height of the Great Depression and was the 11th out of 14th children, so they didn't have much (and there is nothing amusing about that!).

I used a soot technique to transfer the advertising image and film strip to a piece of glossy paper. The technique compliments these particular images and works well with the overall theme of a vintage card.

Supplies:
Rubber stamps by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, number stamps by Hero Arts, decorative paper by K & Company, black cardstock base by Bazzill, miscellaneous pewter hardware, distress inks on paper edges.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Inaugural Post

Here it is, the post you've been eagerly awaiting (well, two of you at least). I am proud to say that after a long period of research and development, this site is ready to go live!

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to starting this blog was choosing a name for it. I wanted a name that would reflect my personality yet wouldn't give the wrong impression. To be honest, I couldn't come up with anything that fit these criteria. Because I created this blog to showcase my art, I finally settled on Suitable for Framing. I am basically self-trained, yet on several occasions people have told me "You should frame that." I thought that was high praise indeed, as some artists would call what I do "crafting," not art.

Whatever you call it, my projects include paper creations, altered items, and mixed media art. So without further ado, let me show you one of my latest projects!

P is for Paris


This is a 5.75" square greeting card featuring a chipboard letter "P" altered with an intaglio technique.



Supplies:
Chipboard letter P, rubber stamps from Inkadinkado and Tim Holtz, UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel), Perfect Pearls, decorative papers by GCD, black cardstock base by Bazzill, black satin ribbon,
metal frame altered with Adirondack Alcohol Ink Mixatives in gold.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I hope you'll come back often.