My Countdown to 31 Wishes

In just a few short days I will be heading southwest to Fort Worth, Texas for the fabulous 31 Wishes Event.  I'll be bringing some Halloween magic with me as I leave NJ courtesy of the Fabulous Canvas Corp Brands: Canvas Corp, 7 Gypsies and Tattered Angels. 

From magical project kits to spook-tac-ular goodie bags, all the attendees will be squealing in delight from all the Canvas Corp Brands products they will be receiving and creating with during my fun and fast project at 31 Wishes on Oct. 10, shhhhhh. its a surprise.

Every year AnnDenise Anderson puts together an over the top amazing Halloween spectacular.  Her attendees enjoy a full day of creative bliss with scrumptious treats, whimsical projects, treat bags, and social fun.  All of this is set in a world of magic allowing all who attend to escape into a realistic fantasy world.  I promise the spirits are friendly just like Casper and Wendy.

This year's Halloween theme is one of my favorites, a Vintage Circus.  Seriously? A Vintage Circus theme?  Once I heard this, I knew I had to create something special to share with all the attendees. It has to be spooky, spellbinding and magical, after all AnnDenise is all about the enchantment.

My project series this fall have all the elements of world travel focusing African Safari's, the Australian Outback, Egyptology and Old London. With hints of hidden magic, enchanted circuses and wizards.  I focused on lots of aged and rustic textures. Navy, leather, parchment and burnt cream color palettes,  Plus I never forget the shimmer, its important to add shimmer for a more magical feel.

What better brand to use in my projects this fall then the Canvas Corp Brands.  7 Gypsies creates one of the best series of vintage papers and haberdashery I've seen, they fit perfectly with my projects, as do all the products in the Canvas Corp line. I just can't wait to share them with my students.

Over the next week I will be blogging snippets of my journey to Texas, my time at the 31 Wishes Event, project diy and a series of giveaways that will get you really excited.  So hold on tight, the magic is just beginning.

xoxo
Lisa

Crafting Ephemera

As we get into Mid Spring and warmer temperatures, this can only mean summer is near and that means, more exploring, and outdoor adventures. This leads to making memories and creative fun.

Here are some pieces of ephemera from my collection for you to use in your works.

 

I hope you enjoyed these fragments of history. Create something fun and share it with us, We would love to see what you make!

xoxo

Lisa

Queen of the Soiree

One of my favorite things to do is to up-cycle discarded books and give them new life. For this piece I used a discarded used hardcover book and turned it into a vintage style handmade altered book. 

I ripped the original pages out of the book and replaced them with chipboard pages that were layered in vintage ephemera.

The pages where glued and stitched into the book using my double button technique. I coated the covers of the book with handmade paper rosettes and vintage bingo boards.

The front cover was further layered with a vintage party image from my collection which is available on the mixed collage image cd. I further embellished the covers with lettering, card stock shapes, buttons, gilding, ink and German glass glitters.

The inside pages where layered with more rosettes, ephemera, doilies, laces, and trims. German glass glitter and inks were also added to the pages for more dimension.

After every page was layered with ephemera, rosettes and embellishments I added various aged lace trims which I dyed with Liquid Rit Dye Cocoa color using a spray bottle and brush. Finally I added crepe paper fringes, sequin trim and broken jewelry pieces throughout.

I'll share more sneak peaks of the book and inside pages soon. I hope this project inspires you to create and recycle some discarded books in your collection, the possibilities are endless.

xoxo
Lisa

Vintage Ephemera Now in Abundance at Piddlestixs!
Now in stock at Piddlestixs is tons of Ephemera from Vintage Greeting Cards, Sheet Music, Books, Paper Packs, Match Book Covers, Tickets, Prints, Bingo Cards and More, all ranging from 1850-1970, come on in for some fab ephemera and for reasonable prices!
Currently all the ephemera is mostly located at Piddlestixs, but I do have some listed in the artfire store. If you are looking for anything special, contact me and I'll see what I have in stock!
Have a magical and vintage day! xoxo Lisa!

Up-Cycled Project: Wicker Shelf turned Arsty!
Turn a boring wicker or rattan shelf into an artsy piece. All you need is a wicker shelf, which can be found at most thrift stores, garage sales or probably in your attic, some glue, water, foam brush and recycled book pages, music sheets or newspaper.
Step One, Mix 3 parts all purpose glue w/one part water, stir with foam brush, set aside.Step Two: Gather pieces of recycled ephemera such as book sheets, dictionary pages, music sheets or newspaper.Step Three: Coat wicker with homemade decaupage glue medium using foam brush, saturate paper with glue and press onto wicker, brush additional medium onto the paper, repeat until the whole shelf is coated in paper, let dry.Step Four: Coat piece w/sealer or finish of choice, then start adding your fave items to it.Here is my finished shelf used as a display for some artful goodies at Piddlestixs!
Tips:
-Add die cuts, silhouettes or dresden scraps/trims to your shelf.
-Add broken jewelry, paper pinwheels or trim to your shelf.

The possibilities are endless. Remember recycling something can be rewarding and save you money too!

Magic and Joy,
Lisa!c

Faux Cabinet Cards, A Digital Journey into Fairyland!I am addicted to cabinet cards, they are beyond timeless and have such a magical quality to them, whether its a victorian gentleman in a top hat and suit, a victorian lady getting ready for a soiree, a civil war family posing for a portrait, a child in communion or confirmation gown, a costumed actress or fave opera heroine, a halloween or holiday portrait event, no matter the image, these old photos are beautiful.

During the 1870's photographs were usually mounted on cards measuring 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches or 5 1/4 by 7 1/2 inches. They had ornate letering on the front bottom of the image card and on the reverse side. The cards were mounted on a stiffer board backing due to the thinness of the photograph, which also acted as a photographer's calling and advertising card. The more ornate and elaborate the cabinet card backing, the more more expensive and high end the photographer.

Now finding the elaborate cabinet cards, the opera, costume and soiree styles are hard to come by and can fetch a handsome amount of money. That's when I thought why not make my own using a variety of images I already have.
How To Make a Faux Cabinet Card Image:
1.Simply scan into your computer a photo cabinet card
2. Next Scan in a main image and a few images you like with fun elements in them such as butterflies, flowers, etc.(copyright free of course)
3. If you are photo program savvy color in your images using paint tools in the program, for my faux cabinet cards I used Corel Paint Shop Pro, but you can use Photoshop as well.
4. On the main image layer some cool butterflies, flowers or add digital sparkle to it by cropping, copy and paste.
5. Next copy the finished main image and layer over the cabinet card image, save as a new image, boom instant faux cabinet card.
This is an image from one of my collage cd's which I hand colored in on the computer Now here it is with added elements such as butterflies and digital glitter.Now here it is layered on a cabinet card photo I had, leaving just the frame of the card showing. I call this collaged piece: Esmeralda The Butterfly Queen!
Here is a wonderful vintage image of Miss Marie Doro, from the 1900's. I love this image, there are a few versions of this too! This is from around 1907 per the copyright and is in the public domain.

I have 2 other versions in postcard form, in black and white, hand colored, the other versions are available on the Victorian/Teatime CD, and the Fairytale CD!. I used one of the other versions as the main image for one of my faux cabinet cards! Below is the other version I have colored in, collaged and layered onto a cabinet card, I call this new collaged piece:Lilly, The Fairy Queen! Here is a vintage image I have of Ethel Barrymore which I again digitally hand colored, collaged, and layered onto a cabinet card, I call this collaged piece: The Rose Queen!Below is another version I made called: The Butterfly Keepers!

Now if you aren't computer or photo program savvy, here is another way for you to do this project:
1. Gather up a few cabinet cards you like, paying attention to the beautiful and elaborate lettering and design details on it.
2. Now look for some images you love that can fit the photo frame of the cabinet card.
3. Take your perfectly matched cabinet cards and images to your local photo copy or office supply shop. Next using double sided acid free tape (so you don't ruin the original photo's, tape the main image of your choice onto the cabinet card. This will replace the original image that's on it.
4. Then photocopy, boom a faux cabinet card w/ new image.

Directions on how to make your new faux cabinet card print as sturdy as the original:
1. Find Black matte or chip board, using a glue stick, glue your print onto the matte board. Cut out with sharp scissors, I use industrial scissors for this.( Be careful these scissors are sharp, not recommended for small children).
2. Next using scrapbook paper rounders or rounder punch, round the edges of the layered matte board.
4. Now cover the back of your matte board with a photocopy of the back of the original cabinet card or with a victorian style rubber stamp, using gold embossing ink and gold embossing powder for a more ornate look.

For those of you who work with originals, color right onto the cabinet card using dabbers, q-tips or make up eye applicators rubbed into Ink pads, I use Ranger Inks such as Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads for coloring in photos.

For images to use in your artworks visit my flickr set of vintage images at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157603511546861/

You must be an approved friend of mine on flickr to use the images, I will approve your friend request, just email me who you are.

Or you can get various images in different collections on my collage cds as well available in my web store, etsy and ebay stores.