Vintage Stories Photos Makeover

I have been planning this post for over a month, and I realized I am not ready with it. There is so much to do for it so I thought that I might need to make few small post. 

What it is all about you might wonder? Well, lately I have been having these ideas for vintage decoration in my head, so I have been trying to let my ideas crystallize before they make an appearance. 

I don't know why, but this spring has brought me ideas in black and white, wrapped with fine and transparent laces.... 

I spent some time looking for ideas and materials for vintage decoration in thrift shops. To my opinion thrift shops provide great opportunities to find necessary old and vintage supplies that help your imagination let go. Once I was happy with the hunt, then it was a little bit of cutting, sewing and assembling. The project was done in no time, with the taking of the pictures but then, I again let my imagination go with the images. Took a bit to get what I wanted from the first images, which you can see down, but I realized that it will take too much time to publish the whole post. 

So here they come the first "Vintage Stories" images. I tried to achieve a vintage and old look of the images. Whether I have succeeded or not it is you to judge.  I know I am far from professional, but I sure enjoyed the process. And this was achieved without using Photoshop software! Wait till I master that one :))))). 

Vintage look Photo Makeover - lace box and a vase with dried "lily of the valley" flowers

For the written quotation in this image, I used Marilyn Monroe's quote about life, love and companionship. I find it quite suitable, true and inspirational. 

“This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soulmate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.”  ― Marilyn Monroe

Vintage Photo look - roses and lace

Vintage Makeover Shots - roses and lace in two colors 

Vintage Makeover - a vase and a lace box  -BW and color  (stress on the orange)

Photography Vintage Colorful Makeover - roses and lace in orange and red

Vintage Makeover Photo - a dried flowers vase and a lace box - color

This will be the end of part one of the spring "Vintage Stories". I will be back soon with the second one. If any reader has some comments about the images, please do not hesitate to share them. 

Thank you! With wishes for a Vintage Spring Story :) on your way! 

DYI Muffin liner paper flowers

Muffin liner flowers

I like flowery themes in general quite a lot - vibrant bright colors and wonderful combinations of shapes as well. You can't go wrong with choosing flowers for your crafts projects, they almost always provoke a smile.  

Colors is exactly what I need at the beginning of spring to keep me survive through the last weeks of snow. Yes, I said snow and weeks :) as Finnish spring usually makes an appearance around mid April or early May, so I have few more weeks left for flowers crafting :) to try to sustain my spring anticipation.

So here it is a "give-me-smile" project with paper flowers from muffin or cupcake liners. This project, I made for our friends daughter's sixth birthday, and hearing her "Wow!" was more than enough reward. 

If I need to rate the difficulty level of this project, I would probably say it is intermediate, not because it is challenging to complete, but because it requires some time and patience. But I promise that the result will totally worth it. 

So here it comes the needed materials: 

Needed materials for muffin liners paper flowers

Colorful muffin / cupcakes liners

green paper for the stems and the leaves

grill sticks for the stems 

fast drying glue and/ or glue gun

scissors

pencil for drawing leaves

puncher with flower shape

Optionally:  congratulatory sign, metal tin 

I have prepared three picture tutorials how to create the (1) flowers petals, (2) the stems and (3) the leaves. I hope that they will be explanatory and inspirational enough.  

Step number one: Making the flower petals

The nice thing about the muffin liner flowers is that the petals are made from one whole piece of paper and once the flowers are completed the result is simply gorgeous -no cutting and gluing lines or breaking of the shapes and colors, just smooth natural circles. 

Flower petals from muffin / cupcakes liners

Start the process by cutting the bottoms off the muffin liners, which later on you will be able to use for the middles of the flowers. If you are making more than one flower, like I did you can mix and match the muffin liners' bottoms with the different flower petals. I used the puncher to create the middles of some of the flowers or for others simply the bottoms slightly trimmed.

Make sure that, while gluing the petals with the glue gun, you have placed paper at the middle of flowers at the rare side too, otherwise your flower will get stuck to your work table, and you don't really want that ;)!

Easy to flow steps to make flowers from muffin liners

The rest of the steps are easy to make, just follow the instructions in the images. Using the glue gun was new for me, but I have to be honest that it makes the life of the ordinary crafter much easier. It dries so fast and effortlessly that you will be wondering how you have ever managed without it. 

Before I got addicted to crafts, I had no idea that glues are so diverse and that more than one type will be needed for a single project. Which reminds me a situation at home, when a month a go my husband asked me to loan him "some glue". So I asked "What kind of glue?", he seemed to be puzzled "What do you mean?", he replayed. :)))). Then I had to explain "I have many kinds of glue, for various purposes. Define your need." He did laugh at me and shook his head. :))))) 

And READY! Lovely flowers from cupcake liners

Although the glue gun was rather appropriate for fast and easily transforming the muffin liners into beautiful flower petals, I used all purpose glue for decorating the middles of the flowers, because it is smoother look that leaves no relief. And this is all with the glue types and the flowers ..... for this step.

Step number two: Making the stems 

The making of the stems is quite easy. I used different green colored paper. Cut 0,5 cm wide lines along the length of the paper, glue the grill sticks and roll the paper over the sticks as shown on the picture under. Really easy! One advice, make sure its highness - THE GLUE :) is equally spread along the sticks and do not use cardboard paper, as is fold more difficult.

Once the stems are done and dry, use the sharp end of the grill stick and place it in the middle of the flower. (instruction 6 in the image down). If you have been using the glue gun, you'll find that rather easy to complete, as the glue from the gun forms quite good solid mass. 

Making the stems of the paper flowers

Ones the stems are at their places, the result is simply wonderful! Isn't it? 

Paper flowers with ready placed stems 

And the last step is the making of the leaves and the final touches.

Step number three: Making the leaves 

Making the leaves is the finishing touch of the process and by far the easiest. You can use different colors paper and shapes for them.  

Making the leaves of the flowers 

I particularly like the leaves made with the quilling technique. 

And you are ready!

DIY paper flowers from muffin / cupcakes liners

As I have mentioned above, the flowers were complimentary to a gift to a six years old girl and I decorated a ordinary metal tin can with a congratulatory card to complete the gift. As I have always said, you don't always need branded products to make something wonderful. 

From muffin liners to lovely paper flowers

So, get yourself armed with a little bit of patience, muffin liners and give someone a reason to smile. If you don't have muffin liners/ wrappers are home, but you are supplied with a color printer, I have up-loaded here a  design of muffin liners, that you can print and use to make either flowers or simply cupcake wrappers.

DIY Cupcakes/ Muffin wrappers printable 

Good Luck!

Digital Scrap-booking

I am in love .... :)

AFTER - digital scrapbooking 

......with this new software for digital crafting, I am trying. Can you imagine? A software for digital crafting! Really? Do you think there is anything more perfect than that? :) . Photoshop is nice too, but not so specific for crafters like me.  And please, do not think I am a professional! I am hardly a professional in any crafts I do. It's all a hobby and a matter of spending wonderful time doing something I like that will make me smile. 

I am not going to brag all around the positive and negative features of the software, although at this point I am not finding any negative, except my slow advancing :) 

For the beginning, I am just sharing with you, two images of our autumn front door decoration with before and after the make over. And please, remember I am still learning. 

BEFORE -  digital scrapbooking 

Ahhhh.... wonderful, wonderful! 

Valentine's day card in purple

Purple rain card for St. Valentines

This year I decided to join the monthly competition by Sinelli's blog "Valentine's card without red or pink" (the blog is in Finnish and for those who are wondering what is Sinelli - it is one of the biggest crafts stores in Finland or wonderland for me).

So, Valentine card without red or pink? Nice and.... yes, challenging. So I though, and thought... and after reorganizing my crafts stash several times (it is good that my husband is not aware the amount of staff for crafting I have, :))))) , I came up with purple. 

So here comes the list for the needed materials: 

yarn - for knitting the purple heart

thread - first time sewing a card

card base

paper  "Victoria and Albert V&A" by Papermania

a patch for fabric

gems

ribbons in purple and white

lace ribbon

glue 

printed text 

This rather simple card requires a bit of preparation - the heart I knitted myself, for which I need to modestly share I am quite proud of, as I am now learning to knit (just two months ago I started).

knitted purple heart 

Although, I big amateur in knitting, I manged to came up myself with the stitches I had to knit to achieve the heart pattern. Knitting with this thin yarn and needles size 2 was new for me and I had made some mistakes, but nevertheless I think it suits the vintage look of the card. However, to be honest, I realize that I miss the smooth and professional look of an experienced knitter's work, but I just have to practice more. Once the heart was ready I decorated it with the lace ribbon and two flower shaped purple gems. 

Additionally, I sew the card just to add some more decoration. I've seen other sewed cards and I find that this technique adds quite nice and adds different touch to the card. The birds decoration is a glue patch for clothing and I had a big dilemma, if I want to use it (not that I don't like it, the opposite - I like it a lot, to place it on a card, but there it is now...). 

And the rest it some ribbons and text...and this is it! 

Valentine's day card in purple

The card was not chosen as a winner, but if you look at Sinelli's blog page it was very tough competition. 

And last but not least.... I couldn't help but hear Prince's song "Purple rain", while I was writing this post, so if you have reached the end of the post, please click here and enjoy the song ( I respect Prince quite a lot as an Artists :) ).  

That's all from me today. I hope you have had a wonderful Valentine's day in a purple rain ;).

Card from wooden spatulas for Tamina's first birthday

My friend's daughter - Tamina, had her first birthday a month ago. A one year old toddler would not pay attention to a card, so I needed to come up for an idea that can be used for other purposes than just a card.

I had seen the idea for "wooden spatulas card" in a a website called Handmade-International, which is a website in Bulgarian full of various craft ideas. I find it comprehensive and inspirational enough.

So it was it - the wooden spatulas card. I particularly like this card idea for a child, it could be placed on the shelf, or could be hanged on the wall.

Materials for the card:

Do crafts wooden spatulas

other theme suitable wooden shapes

paint

coloring pencils

paper

glue for wood and metal

I found the wooden spatulas accidentally at the local book store. To be honest I was surprised that it was that easy, I though it will take me sometime to find what I need. I was even considering using coffee stirring sticks, tho a bit thin they would do. Good that Do crafts, had  already thought of how to solve my problem.

So, once you got the materials, it's rather easy.

You can arrange as many spatulas as you need. I used ten for the background and two to support the structure.

Wooden spatulas for the base

Choosing the background color

Ones arranged and glued together, the spatulas make quite stable structure to paint on. I wanted the card to look childish, as kids' made like (although, that is very good excuse to justify my painting skills :) ), so my general idea was just grass, sky, sun and clouds. I did intentionally left some pieces of paper on the surface of the spatulas, as painted over they will make it look rough, and it gave me the desired effect.

The paint I use was bough from the kids' section in IKEA. These water based simple colors fit fine with my  theme, as mentioned above I did seek the childish effect of the card.

the paint

The thematic wooden shapes I had bought sometime ago, because I liked them. They were plain, so I colored myself.

adding the theme suitable wooden shapes

My first idea was to place the girl and the flower in a pot one next to one another, but it did not work, so I had to disassemble the flower. The stem of the flower I used for making the congratulatory flag.

And this is it.

Good Luck to all!