Vintage Thoughts

     The title of this post should give you a clue that there is a vintage creation being presented today but there's so much more to the story!  So pour yourself a cuppa or something cool if it's hot where you are, and settle in for a bit of a read.

     Unlike most really hip crafters, I'm rather new to browsing on PINterest, much preferring to be in the craft room than at the computer.  :-D  I do very little on social media sites other than FB things required by the DTs on which I serve.  I don't have any Instagram, Twitter, Flick'r, Tick Tock, or whatever accounts and I don't waste my rather budgeted creative time with any of those things.

     However, I did take a glance at PINterest when I was looking for photos of some particular flowers to figure out how I wanted to color an image of them.  Did you know if you use search terms which are too general you will get millions and millions of hits?  OK, you probably knew that but remember, I don't spend my time searching PINterest.  lol  Anyway, one link led to another and suddenly I found myself on a place called "Deviant Art" and found some rather lovely vintage photos of flowers, bouquets, and tussy mussies.

     Tucked in among them, for no apparent rhyme or reason, were several sepia toned, vintage photos of people.  I was dumbstruck to see one photo which I recognized instantly!  In the interests of giving full and appropriate 'credit' to whomever now has the 'rights' to it (on Deviant Art the photo was credited to "peterpicture,") I have no idea who or what they may be and am in no way associated with them, nor do I know how they got access to it or ownership of it.  BUT, the reason I recognized the photo is because it's one of my mother, taken at a professional photography studio when she was a few weeks away from turning 16!  As was the custom back in the 1920s, girls had professional photos taken at age 16 as a way of saying they were now "coming of age."

     My mother gave me this photo of her when I turned 16.  I kept it on my dresser for many years until it finally got relegated to the 'keepsakes' box when I was in my late 40s.  Interesting side note - I had grown up in the town where my mother had been born and raised, and had been told throughout my entire childhood how much I looked like my mother when she was ... insert whatever age I was at that time.  It never really impressed me all that much, partly because I was a child but also because I was the youngest sibling and my mother turned 42 the year I was born so looking at her at whatever age she was then, I really couldn't see the similarity.  But this photo of her at age 16 could have been me at 16 (aside from the obvious age of the photo)!  Edited to add: In response to Bunny's comment - I can't put my hands on any photos of myself at age 16, 17, 18, or anything close to it, else I would have put one up for comparison.  :-D

     So, after all that, let me share the photo by showing you what I did with it.  My oldest granddaughter asked me if I would turn the photo into something she could keep on her desk or mantle piece so I made a large, tent fold style card.  And yes, if she had that hairstyle and was dressed in vintage clothing, it would look a lot like her.  :-D

I started with one of the current sketches at

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2.

Photo printed and cut with Spellbinders die
Framed with CS embossed with "linen" EF
Background dp is a scrap
Sentiment cut with Sizzix/Tim Holtz die
    (cut twice from white and gray CS)
Card front framed with 1/16" strips of CS
Gray CS circles punched w/ hand punch

     Challenges:
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Caendar
Creative Fingers
Dragonfly Dreams
Outlawz Festive Fri
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Simon Says Stamp & Show
TTCRD
Word Art Weds

     I'm running way behind today but thanks for visiting and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

White Flowers on Black

     I needed a quick January Birthday card and my stock of feminine cards was getting pretty low. 

     This was a fast and simple card done with die cuts, white ink pad, stamped individual letters for the sentiment, pearls, and layered or glittered hand-made flowers.  I started with a black scrap of CS and layered on the green die cut (Memory Box.)  I used one of my very old, hand punches (maker unknown) to punch out the butterfly shapes from the black CS.

     I dug through my flower petal dies (Spellbinders, Sizzix, Memory Box) and scrap papers, looking for different texture and shades of white.  I chose mulberry paper, glittered CS, and watercolor paper, then die cut each of those a couple of times.  My flower dies also emboss the petals so that added to the texture of the layers. 

     I found several loose half-pearls in my stash and used those for the centers of the flowers.  I found my white ink pad and two sets of individual alphabet stamps (which allowed me to mix and match for my sentiment.)

     The final embellishment touch was the row of black pearls along the sentiment.

     Challenges:
Card Mania
CCC Digis
Country View Crafts
Crafty Awesomeness
Creatalicious
Die Cut Divas
Dies R Us
Love to Scrap
Not Just Cards

Scrappy Land

     That's all I have for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie