Free Vintage Images From ME!

Hi There Blogging Friends! I never thought that I would be in a position to share Vintage photo's with you, but as they say "you should never say never".....because......opportunities can arise for you.

An opportunity did arise for me to purchase some of these fabulous 'Cabinet Cards' from a USA Etsy seller awhile back and; I also gathered up a couple more on my recent trip around Australia. So; crafty friends if you would like to copy them to your computer; just left click to enlarge the photo then; right click to save to your computer files. I hope you enjoy creating something with them.

A Sweet Lady With A Cross Necklace

A Handsome Man With a Moustache

They have to be; 'Three Lovely Sisters' don't they?
Three Precious Children

and my favourite......'Two Boys'

Oh So Happy Mail!

Are you finding any treats in your mailbox lately?? Oh my goodness I am and it is so much fun!

I received this lovely tag to-day in Australia; where it is hot and humid and; it was a joy to see all this shimmering of ice and snow in the coolness of a blue background.

This lovely tag was sent to me by Mercedes of 'All Things Pretty' for our January swap with The Altered Paper.

Then; I received a huge parcel from my Tag Art friends at Roses On My Table which is co-ordinated by the lovely 'Chel'. Included in my parcel were three tags from my swapping friends for our November subject; 'Statues'.

Love this bronze bucking bronco....yea hah!

This bronze statue of the chinese man is beautifully surrounded by gold and green...very classy!I adore this tag of the Statue of Liberty and the saying "Freedom Lies In Being Bold". Isn't that the truth friends.....and who helps the world more to remain free than that wonderful country USA!

The next tag was our December Christmas Tag Swap. I am so in love with these little birdies on the branch, can never get enough birdies in my life!

Below is a pic of how my tags arrived in the mail to-day. It is such a thrill to get envelopes that make you want to rip them open and read every inch of what is inside.......I must say the bill envelopes never give you that feeling!

But wait there's more.......inside my parcel from Chel was this delightful treat of home baked fudge...how wonderful is that...all the way from USA and as fresh as if it was baked to-day.

Then; as if some home baked treats were not enough; the lovely Chel also put in some little Christmas gifts. This gorgeous girl is going to get some serious loving go back over to her shortly.

If you're not getting 'happy mail' think about joining in on the many swaps that are on the Internet, especially with fellow bloggers. I promise you; it will be a wonderful experience!

Paper Dolls Again!

Hi There Blogging Friends. I've been dabbling in "Steampunk" for my January Swap of Paper Art Dolls and it has been a lot of fun. These two ladies were a free image gift on the net (sorry, I can't remember where), so I altered them to create the two dolls. I think the one on the left is saying to her friend;

"yes.....just another day running a machinery company!" .....lol.

And....my mail has brought some lovely gifts. This pretty ATC was sent by my partner, Donna from Red Apple Junction in the 'Vintage' Swap. It is soooo nice as it has been glued to a small photo frame backing, so I can stand it up....thankyou Donna.

This precious ATC was a gift that I won in a Giveaway with Laura over at Artfully Musing. What a joy it will be to bring it out each New Year....thankyou Laura, I love it!

What A Challenge!

My friends over at the 'Roses On My Table' site really tested me out with this months Tag Swap. You see; the subject was 'I See London, I See France' which; one would think as I did.....mmmm, travel; I can do that!

Well; the truth of the matter is travel wasn't in it at all. You see; way back in old school days, the girls over in the USA used to play on the monkey bars at recess times and....when someone tipped themselves upside down, the others used to chant "I see London, I see France, I can see Your Underpants!" Now isn't that a giggle...lol!

Well, with this not being a practice in Australia in my old school days, I found it quite hard to interpret this into my tags...but with some ummmming and arrrring; these are the tags I came up with....

Here's a closer look at a couple...

I had previously purchased the cute animal and house graphic images from Donna at 'Collage Anonymous' on Etsy. So it was a matter of shrinking them down and making up some "underpants" with the collage trim. I really enjoyed using my Artist Coloured Pencils to complete the scenes.

Working on my list!

Yes blogging friends; I am keeping up with all my papercraft swaps, the sweet lady below is on her way to the USA for a 'Vintage ATC' swap with my friends at 'The Altered Paper' blog.

and this cheeky little girl on my "believe" tag is already in the hands of some of my Papercraft Artist friends here in my home town. Don't you just love that pose!

January Tag and Journal Journey

Hi There blogging friends. Here's what I've been up to this week. Firstly; a pretty tag swap with the girls on the Altered Paper Blog. The subject is January, so I chose to send my partner a sweet angel to bring in the New Year.

Secondly; I joined in on the 2012 Journal Journey group at my favourite place; 'Roses On My Table'. This is my first time I've ever put anything in a journal. Our journal is a 'Mixed Media' one so; anything goes....here are the stages of my pages for the first prompt 'New Beginnings';

First layer of Papers.....
Second layer of acrylic painting....

Third layer of stamping.....

Fourth layer of adding texture with 'found' objects e.g. bubble wrap....

Final layer with cut outs, white washes, stencilling and anything else you want to finish with...

I'm pretty pleased with my first go...here are some close ups;

First ATC's for 2012

Have you got your crafting program up and running yet? I'm pleased to say that I'm on target for my swap commitments...wonder if I will be able to say that in June! Here are some pics of my first ATC's to go off to my friends at 'Roses On My Table'. Our January theme is 'The Cowboy's Sweetheart'...

Hope six of my USA friends like my interpretation.

Home Again and.....Busy....Busy...!

Hi There Blogging Friends! I am back in my lovely home after travelling 20,000klms on an amazing trip through the Top End of Australia and, the entire state of Western Australia. It is a blessing to have covered so much territory safely and happily and I would recommend an "Aussie Outback Experience" to anyone.

Although we have been home for a few weeks; we haven't had a moment to sit idle. The fine red dust of the outback is like baby powder and settles in and on everything you have with you, while travelling so........it has been clean, clean, clean and there is still more to do.

However; I have taken a couple of breaks to finish off my swap commitments with my USA friends at 'Roses On My Table' and; to also finished my October challenge with my own local Papercraft Artist friends. Here are some pics.....

The final doll for the 'Le Papiere' Dolls swap at Roses was a Christmas doll to hang on a tree. I made the first one to send..... then; I made this second one "just for fun". See how you can play around with the arms and legs...I love doing that!

The tag swap group at Roses had a Christmas Tag for December; here is mine....

Then; the main theme was 'Statues' and............as I started this one while I was travelling, I had to mock up a statue so; I was inspired by the Helen Reddy song "I am Woman" to create a statue dedicated to Women.

The final swap for the year for the Roses ATC group was 'Holidays' and.......as most Australians head for the beach during the hot weather over the Christmas season, I made mine as 'Holiday by the Seaside'.

here is a close up of one....that is some Western Australia beach sand in the bottom left hand corner.

Finally, my local group had the theme 'Anything French' for their October challenge, so; I decided to create some Paris dresses and put them on cards.

It's time to get serious now and return to my textile design work....I've pulled out some gorgeous fabrics and am in full contemplation.....well......it's a start.....isn't it??

Paper Art Dolls are Fun to Make!

Oh yes Blogging Friends; I've discovered 'Paper Art Dolls' and have had a great time creating these two for a swap with some USA friends.

They are both about 10 inches tall. This is my 'Boo Witch'; she doesn't move but has a hanger on the back....

This is my 'Bat Witch' and she has moveable arms and legs, plus a hanger on the back...

If you want to get into making these little cuties; go here to the Roses on My Table site and join the 'Le Papier Doll Swap' group...you'll meet some nice people there.

On the travelling side; I came across these fabulous historical pictures, in a museum and they got me wondering "why don't all men wear hats like they used to"?????

I've experimenting with ART!

Hi There Blogging Friends! For some time now I've been wanting to do some creative work that has "no rules" and gives you the freedom to dab with a brush, sponge, splash, sew, cut out, glue or do whatever fun thing you want to do with whatever is at hand or; with whatever just "tickles your fancy".

I've come to realise that this is what is called 'MIXED MEDIA ART'. Now; I don't know about you; but as a long time CRAFTER the word ART seems to be quite daunting and something like a "no-go zone" for people who dabble in craft.

Well; let me tell you that the ART world is open to everyone and I've found the perfect place to get in there and have a go.

The "place" is a group run by the very talented USA Artist, Cristina 'Zinna' Galliher and is called 'ROSES ON MY TABLE'.

Zinnia offers a supportive environment where beginners can take up reasonably priced Mixed Media On-line Classes with step by step video's and also participate with a whole group of arty people, either by building friendships to share arty thoughts and achievements or by joining in on swaps of; Art Tags, Inchies, Artists Trading Cards, Papers Doll Exchanges and Dotee Doll Exchanges.

This pic above is the site logo of Roses On My Table and you will find it HERE.

I loved the quirky style of the 'Four of a Kind' 0n-line class which is a great start for beginners; so I signed up! Zinnia shows you how to begin a design in an Art Journal then; transfer the best aspects to Canvas. I am in practice mode already.....

This is my first attempt with 'Two of a Kind' on Watercolour paper . Didn't opened the journal to layout my Four of a Kind ....I wasn't that brave...lol. However; I think I can move onto it now that I have an idea of how to handle watercolours, coloured pencils, gluing old papers on backgrounds, cutting and shaping the dolls and also using stamps and gesso to soften or create interest in the background.

I also joined the 'Tag Art Swap Group' too. The group works with a bi-monthly subject where members are required to send three completed tags to the co-ordinator and; after the closing date you receive three different tags back, which were completed by other members.

The subject for this round was; Ancient Cities. I chose 'Jerusalem - The Holy City'.

So; if you've been wanting to spread your wings and have some fun with arty stuff; pop on over to Zinnia's site , join up as a Member and take a look at the possibilities.