Art Deco Birthday Card

I can't remember where I found this image. I don't think she is a flapper. But the dress and head piece are the "Art Deco" look. Maybe 1920's or 30's. I thought she would look great on a card.
I played around with different back grounds. She didn't look quite right until I found this Basic Gray paper..."Marrakesh". The aqua and black work so well together. I covered her dress with black Stickels...some rhinestones on her shoes and center of her belt (is that a belt?)

She does look pretty good on a card. Now the question is... is that a shadow under her arms or...?

Fairys, a Bathing Beauty and Birthdays

One of my favorite Blogs is Graphics Fairy. If you haven't discovered Karen's wonderful images, you don't know what you are missing! Karen shares at least one new image a day. She has a site full of treasures she has found, fixed, edited and improved.
I discovered this fun image of a vintage bathing beauty on Karen's site a while ago.

When I was making cards this Summer for all the "Fall" birthdays, I printed off the photo, cut around the image, added some patterned paper, lots of Stickels,

a vintage postcard, a few rhinestones...

and created a "By the Sea" collage card. All the cards have been sent out to friends and family with "Fall" birthdays, so I'm finally able to post these.

Cards, Banners and Magic Pens

Have you ever heard of a "magic pen". It has probably been out for ever, and I have just discovered it. Jennifer added a "magic pen" to each of the Mystic Paper Design Team kits...it is wonderful! It's a Sakura brand Gelly Roll pen...Clear Star...it's just like a magic wand full of fairy dust.
I used it to out line every image on the vintage post cards for my Design Team project. The easy choice was to make Christmas card. Along with the "magic pen" I embellished the cards with red, green and crystal Stickels.

The cards were fun to make...but I needed more of a challenge. What to do with all the postcards. I thought about my designer friend Melissa... she creates these amazing banners. Maybe I could make a Christmas Banner...I have never made a banner before...how do I even start a banner? Having no clue as to what I was doing...I made a banner.

Once again ever image was embellished with the "magic pen" and Stickels...

Remember the bag of berries from the shopping spree at Savers?

Those got used too...

When I turned the Christmas Banner into Jennifer, I got a "that's stinkin' cute"...

which everyone that plays at Mystic knows that's high praise indeed.

And talk about "great minds running in the same gutter"...Sheri's design team project was a banner too...it's wonderful! Jenna's design team was a unique twist for Christmas...very impressive. I haven't seen Holly's or Surina's projects yet, but I'm sure they are great.

With the design team project turned in, I can now get started designing this years Christmas cards...

I still have a few weeks don't I?

Savers Shopping Spree

I went in to Savers the other day. I only went in for one item...a blue table cloth. I wasn't going to wander up and down the aisles checking out all the treasures...I was only going in for a blue table cloth...Okay a blue table cloth and a pillow...
That happened to be the day they had tons of "cool junk"...and a 20% discount. Every where I looked were wonderful items, with all kinds of design possibilities!

Before I even got up to the check out counter I had come up with a half dozen ways to alter this Styrofoam head. Just looking at it you are coming up with some ideas too...I'm right aren't I?

I have no idea what this was meant to be...but for 69 cents, minus the 20%...

once I snipped the lace off the pillow thingy...I have all this great lace and a couple of ribbon flowers.

I must have pick up and put back the plastic bag of Christmas berries 3 or 4 times. I was sure I had some at home. Besides what was I going to do with a

Bag 'O Christmas Berries?

AH HA! I have a Mystic Paper Design Team project due the end of the week...

a CHRISTMAS PROJECT!

One Last Bit of Halloween...

I know that Halloween was last week...all the jack-o-lanterns are packed way...we are now thinking about the next holiday... Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years.
But I have one last bit of Halloween to share...

I received this fun Halloween card from"The Great Pumpkin".
The wonderful spider web is created with Stickels...

the spider is a decorative paper clip...the patterned background is multiple black spider webs...

THANK YOU GREAT PUMPKIN...for such a enchanting card!

Vintage Post Cards

This season's Mystic Paper Design Team all got together for a meet and greet in the downstairs class room at Mystic. It was fun to meet all the designers. Design Team kits were passed out...always a good thing! The day before the meeting, Jennifer and I went through the shop and picked out paper, ribbon and embellishments for each designer. We all will be creating a project of our choice with Christmas paper. My kit had flower ribbon, Crystal Stickels (one of my favorites!), a gorgeous shade of red card stock and... a huge sheet of Cavallini "Holiday Postcard" paper. I love vintage post cards...but what am I going to do with a whole sheet if them?

There are all kinds of different Santa post cards...

With Santa Claus dressed in his famous red suit with fur trim...

This Santa must not have got the memo about NO SMOKING...

Some of the post cards on the sheet are of snowmen...

Snowmen are fun... except this one...I don't know, he looks like he should be part of a Christmas project of Mike's at Jack and Cat Curio..spooky!

There are 25 vintage post cards on a sheet...does this mean I have to design 25 projects? You know how fast Sheri is. She probably has her project finished and turned in already...of course it will be very cute!

This will be the first project for the new design team members, Holly, Jenna and Surina. It will be fun to see what wonderful designs they create.