Speaking of Ephemera...

... I got some new loot!  My parents went to an auction yesterday and bought a cardboard flat FULL of old sheet music for me.  Their final bid?  A mere $5!

The flat held a four-inch-deep stack of sheet music of all types as well as many music instruction booklets and lesson sheets.  The oldest piece I found is from 1890; the newest piece is from 1971.  However, the majority of it appears to be from the first half of the 20th Century.  And a lot of it is in pretty bad shape (which is OK by me).

Who's that handsome guy in the top left corner?  Why, it's none other than Bing Crosby on a piece of sheet music from 1932.  Thanks to YouTube, you can hear Bing's version of Just an Echo in the Valley here.  Compare it to Alfalfa's version, and let me know which you like better.

These piano fingering charts will be fun to use in a collage somewhere, don't you think?

The only "modern" piece in the lot was this instruction booklet for the Tonette, Flutophone, or Recorder.  It's from 1971, which means I very well could have used this in elementary school music class.  I'm tempted to buy myself a recorder and learn a few songs!  A local music store has tons of recorders to choose from, and they are very reasonably priced.  But first, I need to figure out the best way to store this stuff.  The smaller pieces that are in better condition can go into a hanging file folder.  The larger items that are more fragile may have to stay in the flat; I think that will be the safest place for them.

I hope you're having a good weekend!  Thanks for dropping by.

Certified Mail - Altered Rolodex Card

Late last night I was itching to create something.  I didn't want to start something too big or involved though, so I decided to make an altered rolodex card using only items found in my Misc Ephemera/Journal Fodder folder.  (More on that below.)

I started to dig through the folder and found the bird clipart first.  Because of its size and shape I grabbed a tabbed rolo from the stack of die-cuts that my friend Mel recently sent me (Thanks, Mellie!).  After adhering the birds, I searched through my file folder and selected the other pieces which include a scrap of German book text, part of an old atlas page, and an artist paper from Stampington.  The certified mail sticker is actually a piece of clipart from ArtChix Studio, and the egg is also a piece of clipart purchased on a sheet years ago from somewhere.  I outlined the mail sticker with a black Stabilo All Pencil and rubbed charcoal pencil around the egg.  I added the 'fly away' rub-on to the egg and sponged distress ink around the outer edges of the card.  I played around with adding some stenciling using white pigment ink, but decided I didn't like it and was able to remove it with a baby wipe.  At that point I figured I better just leave well enough alone.

Now, back to my "Misc Ephemera/Journal Fodder" folder.  This is just one of several hanging file folders that I created this winter as I did some major cleaning and organizing of my art supplies.  There's a little bit of everything in this folder, as you can see in this picture: wrapping paper, advertisements, food labels, clip art, and other small bits and bobs.  Additional file folders hold larger, full-sized pieces in categories such as book text-English, book text-Foreign, gelli prints, maps, photos, postcards, sheet music, etc.  These folders make it so easy to organize my ephemera, are a source of inspiration and, more importantly, help me FIND things later when I want them!  The project was time well spent.

Thank you for coming to my blog and for your wonderful comments.  Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Blank rolodex card; miscellaneous clip art and paper scraps; black Stabilo All Pencil; Derwent medium charcoal pencil; gathered twigs distress ink.

Poppy Packet Thank You

When I make a greeting card, I usually have a plan for it.  That is, I know who the card is for and the occasion (birthday, get well, etc.).  I like to work this way because it allows me to customize the card for the individual.  I choose images that suit the recipient, or I use a color scheme that I know s/he will like.  This method works pretty well for me most of the time, but occasionally a card will take off in a different direction and end up somewhere I didn't envision at the start.  This was one of those cards. 

So instead of being a birthday card for a friend, this became a thank you card for my cousin.  She and her husband recently traveled to Egypt where she purchased some postcards for me.  They are reproductions of old black and white postcards that will make great collage fodder.  She also sent me some vintage ephemera that she found while doing spring cleaning.

The Crosman's seed packet image is from Artistic Outpost.  The center of the stamp is actually blank, so you can add any vegetable or flower image you want.  I chose this poppy by Oxford Impressions and stamped it on a light green patterned paper.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and coated it with Glossy Accents for a little shine.  And here's where the card took a left turn:  I used too heavy of a hand in one spot while I was sponging gathered twigs distress ink around the edges.  The only way to save it was to keep going in that direction, which forced me to change the color scheme and therefore my plans for the final card.

The rust patterned paper is by K and Company.  The cream paper is from the same collection; I embossed it, trimmed one side with a scalloped border punch, and highlighted the embossing with my gathered twigs distress ink to tie everything together.  The sentiment from Artistic Outpost was stamped on the same cream paper and mounted on pop-dots for dimension.  My cousin has a lovely garden with a lot of pretty flowers, so I know she will appreciate the poppy as well as the sentiment.  But now I have to come up with a different birthday card idea for my friend!

Thanks for "poppyng" by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by K and Company; stamps from Artistic Outpost and Oxford Impressions; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; gathered twigs distress ink; Glossy Accents; geometric rings embossing folder by Cricut Cuttlebug; EK Success border punches; small oval and small scalloped oval punches from Stampin' Up; pop-dots.

Being Fabulous

Some days I just have to get my snark on, and snark is always better when shared.  So I created this card to send to my friend Annie and now that she has received it, I can share it with you.

I started with the Dylusions sentiment by Dyan Reaveley, then searched my stash for an image to go with it.  I knew I could stop looking when I found this photo booth beauty by Tim Holtz.  The look on her face is priceless!  The patterned papers are from an old 6x6 Basic Grey collection called Offbeat, which also seemed to fit this card.

 Thanks for dropping in!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Black and white cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Basic Grey, whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Dylusions (Dyan Reaveley) sentiment by Ranger; Ranger Archival black ink; photo booth picture from Tim Holtz; EK Success border punch; pop-dots.

Home Run Hitter

A friend of my parents was recently diagnosed with cancer and has begun treatments.  We just went through a similar ordeal with my dad, and I remember how grateful we were to have the support of our friends and extended family.  A fun piece of mail was also a welcome treat.

Since Al played softball with my dad in Arizona, I pulled out my Cracker Jack stamps from Artistic Outpost to make a card for him.  The color scheme was set by the vibrant piece of teal cardstock that I selected for the base.  The background was created by stamping the stadium names in watering can ink and then over-stamping the baseball in a ColorBox ink called sapphire silk.  My home run hitter was stamped in black and colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a grand slam day.

Supplies:
Teal and aqua cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger black Archival Ink; Ranger watering can Archival Ink; ColorBox sapphire silk ink; Cracker Jack stamps from Artistic Outpost; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits.

The Joys of Growing Your Own - Altered Envelope

For several years now we've had a small garden in our back yard.  Last year we grew tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and cabbage.  We also have a separate patch for rhubarb and last year we planted four red raspberry plants that are leafing out nicely this spring.  I just love having fresh produce throughout the summer, especially tomatoes.  You just can't beat home grown.  Since it's another month or so before we can even plant our tomatoes, I decided to make them the subject of my March altered envie.

An old gardening manual purchased at an auction was the source for the clipart I used.  Besides illustrations of a variety of plants and produce, the manual also included several reproductions of vintage advertisements, such as the one for Johnson Seed.  (Ol' Mr. Johnson probably bragged, "My seeds grow tomatoes bigger than your head!")  I started by making my own envelope out of a sheet of art paper that came in one of my Stampington magazines.  I stenciled on the flourishes using (what else?) potting soil ink.  Mr. Johnson and his giant tomato were fussy-cut and carefully adhered to the envelope.

For the address side, I adhered a cherry tomato image (wow--was that fun to fussy-cut!), and some text from the manual.  And luckily, I was able to coordinate the postage stamp with my design this month!  I love when that happens.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

She Sends You Hope

A friend of mine had major surgery this week for a problem that has bothered her for quite a while.  I know she was hoping to avoid surgery, but sometimes that's the best option and in the long term, I hope she enjoys better health as a result.

I mailed this card the day after her surgery so she may get it before she has even left the hospital.  I paired one of my favorite gals from Artistic Outpost with a sentiment from Red Lead.  Both were heat embossed in black for a little dimension and shine.  The patterned papers are by Teresa Collins and were sponged with vintage photo distress ink.  I used a get well sentiment on the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Gold cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Teresa Collins; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Generation Redux image from Artistic Outpost; sentiment from Red Lead Paperworks; Versamark ink; black detail embossing powder; oval, scalloped oval, rectangle, scalloped rectangle, hearts, and banner Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders; border punch by EK Success; vintage photo distress ink; pop dots.