Sneak Peek - Vintage Page Bird Kits

I'm excited to announce that I'll be offering the very first limited edition Vintage Page Kit in my store next week on Thursday, May 3rd.  And the theme of this first kit is birds and it will contain all vintage book pages and bird illustrations.

I'm so fortunate to be working with a group of very talented Guest Designers who have created some beautiful artwork using the new Vintage Page Bird Kit.  Here's a little preview of some of the amazing things they've created.

 

 Artwork by Cheri Weston

 

Artwork by Debi Ryan

 

 Artwork by Helene Huber

 Artwork by Sharon Rogers

Artwork by Trisha Too

 
Stay tuned for much more by these talented artists during the month of May.  And for details on the Vintage Page Bird Kit!

Have a wonderful Sunday,

Ali

Watercolored Dictionary Page

It's busy, busy here at Vintage Page Designs.  I'm working on something new and exciting.....some Vintage Page Kits!  Look for a sneak preview tomorrow......

This past weekend, I got out the watercolor paints and covered some dictionary pages with color.  It was really fun!  Once the pages were dry, it was time for stamping.  I stamped images with Versmark ink and heat embossed them with a fine black embossing power.

The first card uses one of my all time favorite stamps from Crafty Individuals and a sentiment from Amuse.  Here's a closer look:

The second card uses the same watercolor on dictionary page technique with a Magenta image and some yummy vintage seam binding.

I'm entering these cards into several challenges:

Sunday Stamper - Summer Colors
Fashionable Stamping - Embossing
Crafty Individuals - Time for Summer
Inspiration Journal - Watercoloring

 Thanks for stopping by!  Come back tomorrow for some fun news.....

Upcycled Jars

I had a little time to play the new Frilly and Funkie challenge today, which is Upcycling.  {The items I upcycled for the challenge are the glass jars, old books and maps and a vintage button.}

I plucked two glass jars out the recycling tub and created a pair of votive holders.  I glued small scraps of vintage paper (maps, music and dictionary pages) around the center.  I finished them with seam binding, a button on one and a little tag on the other.  Very simple, but kinda cute!

  

Remember to link up pictures of your studio space at the end of this post.  I'm dying to see where you create!

Hope you have a creative weekend!

Inspiration in the Studio

I'm sharing some more pictures of my studio today and showing the things that I keep around me for inspiration.

Quotes and words are a daily inspiration to me, and I love to incorporate them into my studio. (Truth be told, they're all over the house.)  Here are a few ways I do that...

On my bookshelves, I have a changing display of scrabble tile words:

There's an old window hung on an alcove wall and I love to stick quotes on that:

Here's another spot where I display things, a lovely vintage ladder that I hung on the wall.  The steps are just wide enough to balance wood mounted stamps.  If I buy a new stamp, I usually put it on there to remind myself to use it!

 

Finally, I just love this poster not only for the sentiment but the large reminder of home in the form of the Union Jack flag.  It's taped to the closet door, inside which you will never see :)

I love to put new and vintage 'stuff' in bowls and jars.  I suffer from the disease of 'if I don't see, I don't use it'. I found this old china bowl in free box by the side of the road - isn't it a treasure?

And seriously, I could look at jars of buttons all day long!

 

The final thing that motivates me to create, or at least makes me happy, is the view from the window of my space - my back yard.  It's still pretty bare right now, but soon it'll be a riot of color.

Don't forget to share with me pictures of your studios - new and old blog posts, or online galleries are fine.  Link up at the end of my first studio post.

The "Not So Perfect" Studio

I've never shown pictures of my studio on the blog before because I've always thought it's too messy.  I thought that I should wait until I'd done that big clean-up and made it look perfect.  I realize that day will never come and it's okay!

I don't have much time to create things at the moment, so I'm going to share some pictures of my studio over the next week.  It's cluttered, untidy and imperfect, but it's mine and  I love it!

On one wall of the studio is a set of Ikea Expedit shelves - I know lots of people use them in their studios - they're so great for people who are visual and need to see their 'stuff'.  The small and large cream canvas bins are from Walmart.

Here's a few close up shots of the shelf contents - old books, what a surprise!

I love this little poster that I bought on Etsy - I haven't got around to framing it yet, so it's just taped on -it's the truth, I tell you!

On top of the shelves, I have this lovely old wooden box, some vintage rulers and piano rolls, just waiting to be used for something....

Along that same wall are two more bookshelves housing ribbons and all manner of stuff - copic markers, buttons, beads, vintage ledgers and twine, to name just a few things.

Here's one of my favorite things in my studio, the clipboards - not sure why really.  They hold all my current Etsy orders and schedules.  Perhaps because it's one place that I'm organized.

Watercolor Journal Pages & WOYWW

I don't seem to have had much time to create anything lately because life's just been too hectic.  But on Sunday, I did crack open some watercolors and of course, they're still on my work table on Wednesday, so I can share them with you for WOYWW148.

I was fooling around with different color combos and recording them in my journal.  And while I had all these puddles of paint on the palette, I created some patchwork watercolor panels.  Not sure what I plan to do with them - make another journals more than likely and write on them.

 

I like giving journal pages a watercolor wash as a starting point.  Here's a page I created with a yellow watercolor wash as the base.  I included a piece of dictionary page in the center of the page and gessoed over it.  I hand wrote a favorite poem by Wendell Berry and some stamped words from the poem at the top and bottom.  I finished it by highlighting the edges with a watercolor crayons (the blue and green).

I know my handwriting is horrible, so I've included the poem below.  Enjoy!

I Go Among Things and Sit Still - Wendall Berry

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.

I hope you're having a creative week!

Ali

Art Journal Winner

Thanks to everyone who took part in my De-Stash challenge.  I think you all did better than I did getting rid of your old patterned paper! The winner of the art journal is.....

 #10 Petra Berendsen - congrats Petra!  I'll drop you a line and mail you your prize.