I Just Love Creating Homemade Gifts...

I love it because it affords me an opportunity to sort and take stock of my supplies and then see what I can create. De-stashing has never been my strong point. I hate throwing out or even giving away my goodies. As selfish as this may sound, my reasons are innocent enough. I hate it because I always feel like there must be SOMETHING that I can make with these excess goodies.

That something came recently when I needed a gift for my niece and sister-in-law. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like so I always make it a point to send them and my brother a card from time to time and in between visits. As I dug through my stash I found an old book of heritage papers from Hot Off The Press that had been donated by them for a scrap booking party I had a few years back. It had sat on the shelf collecting dust until I came across it the other day. I had also made some pendant necklaces for my niece and sister-in-law using blank pendants and paper, embellishments and diamond glaze. They turned out nicely and I wanted to make a card that matched the vintage style of the necklaces as well.

I printed out several vintage ballerina images from my Flikr pool and adhered them to the card bases I had made from the Hot Off The Press papers. Since the cards turned out so lovely I didn't want to have to package the necklaces separately in another container but I wondered how I could put them together in the cards. Then I remembered how the last necklace that I had purchased for myself came on a card with 2 holes and ascending slits to hold the chain. So I created similar cards and fed the necklaces through the holes and taped the backs. The finished result to my surprise, turned out quite professional looking and I was very pleased. I can't wait to pop the completed cards into a bubble mailer and send them on their merry way.

Flikr Images...

And Cut Doily...

The necklace cards were so easy to make once I thought about the template for a moment.

And The Winner Is!!

Bree Hayhoe of Bellvue Nebraska is our winner of The Vintage Vingette's very first design challenge! We received many fabulous entries from all over the country and the judge sure had a hard time picking just one for the grand prize!

The contest entries were compiled and sent to Pam Brown, the founder of Planet Gift Baskets who also generously donated our prize. After considering each entry she made a few notes about the things that stood out to her with each design. She ultimately chose this design, she said, "because the history of the piece was very interesting and well represented." She also noted the intricate placement of the swirls and die-cut words. She also expressed her thoughts about the well designed application of the required elements of the piece, namely the vintage couple. Pam felt that it represented beautifully the beginning of a new life together and spoke of our theme "Vintage Romance".

Bree included a lovely narrative to go along with her winning piece:

"The couple in this layout are my parents. They were married in at the end of the second world war after my father had finished serving in the Army. There was still a lot of shortages in England at the time so there was no white wedding gowns available but my mother said she never minded. My father was French, my mother English and they had five children together. In 1960 they moved to Australia which is why I grew up. Then in 1999 I met my future husband, we married in 2001 and I came to live here in the USA. Love has - in one way or another, taken me all all around the world" :)

Bree will receive a lovely spa gift basket from Planet Gift Baskets featuring many great products for relaxing and rejuvenating. We hope she enjoys it to the full! Thank you to all who took the time to create and submit such lovely pieces to the design challenge. With such great participation and inspiring creations I just can't wait to get started with the next challenge!

Also, as an added bonus, Planet Gift Baskets has extended a PERMANENT 10% discount to all of The Vintage Vignette's followers on future purchases with them! This means that whether you are shopping for a gourmet foods, spa, or baby gift basket all you will need to do is mention that you are a follower of The Vintage Vignette blog in the comments section and you will receive an automatic ten percent discount! So pop over to the site soon and check out their great selection and remember, they ship worldwide.

I will be considering several new ideas for the next design challenge in the next few days so if you have a suggestion or great idea you would like to submit just pop me over a quick email and I will consider it for the next challenge. Thanks again to everyone for making this challenge so very much fun for me.

Welcome Blog Party Gals!

How are all you blog party animals! No one is dancing on tables or wearing lampshades on their heads yet are they? Well, for those of you who have absolutely NO idea what I am talking about, I'll fill ya in. The fabulous Marcella over at Etsy Cottage Style Blog is hosting an all day blog party today! Sounds like great fun Eh? I think it's gonna be a blast to see what everyone puts up.

The party question Is "What makes your heart skip a beat?" For me the answer to that question is many things but coming in at number one would easily have to be (worth 50 bonus hubby points!) my sweet hubby of 10 years.

With that being said the next thing that makes my heart skip a beat would be dishes! Dishes of all shapes, sizes and styles as long as they are vintage, cottage or victorian in design. I have run out of cupboard space for all the teapots, server ware, and place settings to go. I put them in hutches, I put them is sideboards and china cabinets...Heck I even hang em on the walls! When I walk into a thrift or antique store I am instantly drawn to the dishes, they call me, beckoning to be picked up and admired. When I visit your home for the first time don't be offended if you should find me rifling through your cupboards to see "whatcha got". Platters, trays, teacups and spoon rests dance through my dreams at night weaving perfect little tapestries of hostessing skills galore! My... I think I might be drooling a little. So while I regain my composure please enjoy some of what makes my heart truly skip a beat...my dishes.

P.S. *I would love it if all of you ladies signed in to follow my blog as well. I can't wait to visit yours and see what makes your hearts skip a beat.

It's Cooky Tuesday Ladies!

Ok ladies now here is your question:

If You Had To Be

A Box Of Cereal

What Kind Would You Be

And Why?

Let's hear those comments!

Just A Little While Longer!

I would like to thank all the creative gals who participated in The Vintage Vingette's very first design challenge! It was very inspiring to see the creative talents of you lovely ladies. Some of the entries were touching and some were down right funny!

With so many wonderful submissions I am very relieved that I will NOT be the judge who has to do the picking! Tomorrow, Tuesday May 12, the founder of Planet Gift Baskets will view all the submissions and choose our winner. I will then announce the winner on Friday May 15th. The winner will have their submission published along with a any comments they would like to have included. Planet Gift Baskets will then ship the grand prize to the winner on Monday May 18th. The winner will be notified prior to this. Once again, thank you to all who participated in the challenge. It was great fun for all!

Going Bananas!

Wow! I guess spring has officially arrived at my house. My garden is going absolutely banana cakes! Roses are busting out all over and I can't get them cut fast enough! All the critters have started to show up too. In just the last week I have seen a possum, frogs, goldfinches, mockingbirds and more bees than I can count. I have been getting up early to sit in the garden, have coffee and "commune with nature" as my mom always says.

Speaking of my mom, just last week she called in a panic and said that a possum was in her garden laying upside down on her back and giving birth! I could hear my dad in the background mildly freaking out and instructing my mom to "tell her this" or "tell her that!" You see I have become somewhat of an animal expert in my family simply because I read so much. But back to the story, so mom is trying to figure out if everything is alright with the possum because she is lying on her back. I explained to her that opossums or possums as they are more commonly called, are north America's only marsupial. Meaning they are in the same family as the kangaroo and koala bear. She was laying on her back because as she gives birth her babies instinctively climb onto her stomach and find their way into her pouch where her nipples are. This process can take several hours depending on how many babies she has.

Once inside, the babies will continue to grow and nurse for some time before they are ready to leave the pouch. Finally, when they are old enough they climb out of the pouch and onto mom's back until they are ready to go off on their own. I could hear the relief in their voice once they realized that the possum had things under control and would not be needing any help. My parents are however, taking their self-assigned duty of watching over this little gal possum in the interim. They throw cut apples into the yard where she is nesting snugly inside an old tire. You just gotta love nature!

Toad/Frog pond complete with

overturned half-log homes.

Fred is one the pond's more permanent

residents.

I grow over 40 different varieties of roses

in my garden.

These are one of my favorites. David Austin English rose

named Abraham Darby.

Another English called Crown Princess Margherita.

Here is a situation I am not too thrilled about! I fill up

4 humingbird feeders a day because the bees drain them as

fast as I put them up.

This rose is powerfully scented with antique french fragrance.

The sprays are a bouquet in themselves when cut.

Just look at all those buds!

The brightly colored Mardi Gras rose.

Birds and butterflies visit the fountain

all day long.

Windermere is another David Austin rose.

Probably my favorite English rose of all is

Golden Celebration. Just one flower can

scent an entire room!

I enjoy the garden early in the morning

before it gets to be too hot.

Come Dance With Me!

Many of you may have noticed that I belong to a number of Ning.com sites by scrolling to the bottom of my blog. Ning is a wonderful networking site for artists' to exchange thoughts, ideas, and creations. Unfortunately, one site in particular (I have removed the link from The Vintage Vignette and those that remain continue to have my wholhearted support) has experienced a huge influx of fighting, arguing, and bashing between members and it's creator. Many artists' on this particular site wanted to promote their art, careers, and creations. The site moderator was enraged by this prospect and instantly stifled and destroyed all "efforts to put oneself out there."

This tragic turn of events got me to thinking about what I wanted for The Vintage Vignette. It forced me to look at some of the reasons that people seek out and join new blogs or networks in the first place. The answer was obvious to me. People join to blog, comment, and of course Network!

It is for this reason that I decided to establish and lay down some ground rules for The Vintage Vignette.
The first rule is that there ARE no rules here! If you want to comment, participate in challenges or just keep up on new posts', please be my guest. Feel free to email me anytime with questions, concerns or whatever! If there is something you would like to see here just let me know. As long as it is not objectionable, hateful or otherwise offensive.

One of the reasons for this major brew-ha-ha on the networking site is that the creator was not open to others self-promoting or trying to expand their own resources and careers. This is so NOT what I want for this site! I WANT to promote you! I want you to promote YOURSELF! If you are doing something fabulous and want additional exposure, just ask and I will gladly "Pimp" you as it was so referred to on this other site. Getting your work out there, your blog off the ground, etc. is no easy task and instead of competing with fellow artists', I want to work with you to build you up in anyway I can. I have been planning to do an artists' spotlight post on a regular basis featuring the art, blog, etsy shop or website of artists' that I find inspiring. Can you believe that some people actually discouraged this idea stating that it could cause a distraction from my work or affect my google ranking (or lack thereof..he..he)! To this I say "Hooey!" I am not in this for rankings, or to simply sell a product. I want The Vintage Vignette to be about good content NO great content! I want it to be about promoting and self promoting. I could go on and on but there is no need to get my blood pressure up or my panties in a bunch.

So in short, I invite you all! Each and everyone of you is welcome to promote yourself, promote others, direct people to your blogs in your comments, submit requests for your latest projects to be featured, advertise your site's giveaways....Whatever! All you have to do is drop me an email and I will gladly share your information with The Vintage Vignette's growing audience.

I invite all of you following my blog or not, linking to me or not, to wholeheartedly kick up your heels and "Come Dance With Me!".

Cindy Shea :)

One Feisty Dame.

My Grandmother was truly one feisty woman in her young womanhood. My mother tells me that growing up, her family was always goofing around in one way or another. Grandma's brother would dress up in her girdle and missle-cupped brassier for photos. Her sisters were known to be quite silly as well. Apparently my great-grandmother found her children quite amusing too. Every photo that I have of her shows her sitting with her adult children and laughing as they goof around. I find these photos of my granmother particularly intersting. They were taken of her during the 1940's and really speak of her great personality. In the first photo she is pretending to be the Mata Hari who was a Dutch exotic dancer during the first world war. The second photo pictures her toking a cigarette (long before it was known to be harmful) and looking very much pregnant with my mother. The third photo shows her in one of those "old timey" baby cribs suckling her favorite bottle of choice! She was the most loving and attentive grandmother that a child could ever ask for. She would sit for hours as I played "dress up" with her and would let me adorn her in whatever makeup, jewelry or hairstyle I chose. Happily for my family, her playful sense of humor has transcended generations and in this silly way she is always with us.

*Click on the photo to see the images larger and in more detail.

More Eye Candy!

Since I had so much fun sharing with you how to make the glass tile pendants and recommended that you make several ahead of time to give as last minute hostess gifts, I thought you might enjoy a quick video showcasing some lovely pendants created by the very talented designer Susy P. from earthexpressions.etsy.com. She does gorgeous work and offers her creations for sale on her Etsy shop. She has also graciously extended a 20% discount on her unique creations for all registered followers of The Vintage Vignette blog. Susy also hosts her own informative blog at byearthexpressions.blogspot.com so please be sure to take a peak.

*Please remember to scroll down to The Vintage Vingette Radio button below and press pause or you will continue to hear music while you are trying to watch the video.

Supply Saavy!

We have all been there before. It's the night before a dinner party or small gathering of good friends. Your host has always gone above and beyond to make her guests' feel welcome and you know a hostess gift of some kind is rightly deserved. The problem is that its Friday 5p.m. rush hour, the kids are at home waiting for dinner and your bladder is about to explode if you don't go straight home and handle your business! With no time to stop off for a hostess gift, you rush home and tend to your evening responsibilities. Dinner is done, hubby is asleep in his chair, and you are stuck washing dishes when you remember that you still need that darn hostess gift! There is absolutely NO way you are "getting back in the saddle" as they say and venturing out to any kind of store. What do you do? If you have even the slightest amount of artistic talent or are even just a little bit crafty having the following supplies on hand at all times will save you from numerous gifting emergencies. To assemble your kit you will need the following:

1. A bottle of Diamond Glaze that can be found at most craft stores.
2. A pair of needle nose beading pliers.
3. Bottle of black acrylic paint and paintbrush.
4. Assorted glass tiles available at art stores, Etsy.com or hardware stores.
5. Beading chain.
6. Jump rings.
7. Decorative Papers.
8. Jewelry Bails.
9. *Most of these items are readily available at craft stores and art shops. Etsy.com is another online resource where you can find endless variations of these supplies.
   

To Assemble Your Gift:

1. Cut the beading chain to size. Standard size is usually 18-36 inches depending on the size of your recipient.
2. Place glass tile textured side down over decorative papers and align.
3. Lift glass tile and apply a coating of diamond glaze to the back of the tile. Spread evenly with paintbrush.
4. Adhere to decorative papers as decided, pressing down into paper and Let dry for 20 minutes.
5. Trim excess paper from around glass tile. You can use scissors or an exacto knife.
6. Once dry, apply a thin coat of black paint to the back of the tile.
7. Take jewelry bail and apply a small bead of diamond glaze and adhere to the back of the pendant.
8. Paint the back of the pendant with a thin coating of the diamond glaze to seal the paint.
9. Add charms, beads, or any other baubles lying around to the chain to your taste using the pliers and jump rings. Add a clasp to the end using a jump ring threaded through each end of the chain and close using pliers.

The finished piece will be a wonderful and handmade expression of friendship and appreciation. Your recipient will be sure to think of your thoughtfulness and talent every time she wears it.

From start to finish this project takes less than one hour to create. The cost to assemble this kit should run between 30-50 dollars but you will be able to make numerous pieces out of one kit. Why not make several ahead of time ready to be given as handmade hostess gifts? It has never been easier to show how much you care.