Porcelain Doll Tag and Inspired Sunday

Scroll down to join this week's blog party!  YAY!

When I was a young girl, I loved making paper dolls.  I remember passing away the hours cutting images out of catalogs and magazines and putting together motley little groups of paper people.  I also loved the little frozen Charlotte bisque dolls and dolls with porcelain heads.  They were quite out of the price range for my 6-year-old allowance, so I could only admire them in the cases of the antiques stores that my mom frequented.  

I was so happy to recently receive the Lottie doll stamp set from Pink Persimmon that let me combine my love of both into an adult creation.  I made the doll below for Tag Tuesday.  She hangs by a string and there is a blank space on the back for a message.  I printed a Prince Albert tobacco image for her body and so wished for a real Prince Albert tin to display with her.  I got the photos ready, ran up to my local thrift shop - a Saturday tradition - and what do you think I found almost immediately?  A Prince Albert tin!  So I reshot the pictures with the tin in the background.  I can't wait to make something with the tin!

 Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend, and please link up with the blog party on Sunday!  I've missed you!

Laura

I'm linking up with these great blog parties:

Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Inspired Sunday Blog Party

The link hosting site is up, so let's party!  Share your crafts, decor, antiques, junkin' finds, or anything you think will inspire us! Please link back to my blog, and please leave comments for a few other bloggers.

50% Off Sale at Pink Persimmon

Hi everyone,
I've been a bit absent lately, but I will be back later this week with some tags and Sunday with a blog party.  I just got an e-mail and didn't want anyone who might be interested to miss the 50% off sale at Pink Persimmon stamps.  See you soon!!!!

Laura

Pink Persimmon Valentines

Whew!  I am back, and it feels good! I am SO glad January is over--longest month ever!!!!  I'm wondering how your January went?  I have missed you my dear friends in blogland.  I am going to let things wind down for a few more weeks, and then I think I will bring back my Sunday party.  I just need to get settled back into life and take care of some really big projects.

I also have really missed crafting.  I bought quite a few supplies but haven't made one darned thing since I got home from my Christmas vacation. So today, I put aside the chores, and came up with a few ideas for Valentine's Day cards using my new Pink Persimmon stamps.

This card was made with the "Sewing Notions" stamp sheet.  The fabric swatches make a versatile background, and I love the pin, button, and tape measure!  The next card is a pop up made with the "Lottie" stamp set.  The outside is various papers and hearts.

When you open it, Lottie greets you. I think the bright colors update the antique porcelain doll look.

I wish you all the best and hope you have a wonderful week!

Laura

Valentines and Inspired Sunday

Whew! Is January zooming by for you? It sure is for me. It seems to be taking all month for me to get back in the groove, and I really have decided that a woman's work is NEVER done! Do you feel that way too?  I didn't have much time to work on a post today, so I brought out some Valentine's cards that I made a while ago:

Chalkboard style is so trendy right now, and I just love it!  I  rub black card stock with a piece of chalk, and then stamp with embossing ink, add white embossing powder, and melt with a heat gun. I added some precut Victorian scrap and burlap and layered onto card stock:

 

Another of my favorite "techniques" is paper dolls. I used stamps from Mad Rat Rubber to make this cat doll.  Mad Rat has lots of great doll stamps! 

Now I've got to get back to cleaning!  I am really looking forward to seeing what you are working on, so please link up with the blog party!  :-)

                                                                                                       Laura

Inspired Sunday Blog Party

Link up any project, craft, vintage find, or anything else you think would inspire us!  Please link back to my blog and please leave comments for some of the other bloggers.

My First Samples for Pink Persimmon

Wow, could the relaxation of my two weeks in the South have left me me so quickly????? I hardly know what has happened since my feet hit the ground here in So. Cal.  I tried to post on my trip, but the internet was too slow in most of the places we visited to make it practical. (And I was dealing with a new lap top with Windows 8! :-O )  

I sure have missed visiting your blogs and so appreciate your leaving comments on mine.  I will keep going with the Inspired Sunday blog party, so please stop by on Sunday and link up anything you think might inspire us to live with beauty, art, and inspiration.

Before I left, I finished these samples for the first new release of Pink Persimmon stamps for 2014.   My goal was to use some trendy elements to make cards that were not too difficult to be easily replicated.  I wanted the first one to have a postal kind of look, using washi and bakers' twine:

"Hey Girl" Stamp Sheet

For this next one I wanted to use aqua and coral - very fifties colors:

"Hostess Girl" Stamp Sheet

And for my last sample I wanted a chic look, rooted in the forties.  The chalkboard look is one of my favorites--this fancy girl's must have pearls!

"Sassy Girl" Stamp Set

Thanks for viewing and please do come back and link up on Sunday!  Happy New Year to everyone!

Laura

Tag Tuesday: Christmas Card Tag

Happy New Year to my dear blog friends! We are visiting family in the South, and I took no supplies with me.  It was just killing me to miss Tag Tuesday this week, so finally I went through my sister-in-law's Christmas cards and set to work. (Love that I found one with a piece of ribbon and a sentiment so perfect for Christmas and the New Year!) I first cut a properly sized tag from one of the large cards. I fussy-cut the birds and the tree on the right from remnants of the card and added dimension with foam tape (hard to see in the picture). There is also a lot of sparkle from glitter, also hard to see.  The plaid strips were from part of another card. You can see the dried glue on the left where I detached the ribbon from the original card.

Wishing everyone blessings, joy, peace, and many more beautiful tags in the new year!

Laura

Merry Christmas!

Christmas activities and life took me away for a few days, so I didn't post the blog party on Sunday, as you might have seen.  I hope you are well into celebrating Christmas, or maybe you're at work or are still preparing.  We will leave on Christmas Day to fly to the South to visit our families.  So for us, the excitement is yet to come.

As I looked through the last blog party posts, I so enjoyed the variety of styles we use to express the beauty of Christmas.

Sally at Salmagundi decorated with a rustic, folkart style:

Debbie at Debbie-Dabble decked out her kitchen in a retro-vintage 50s style:

Aimee at Refresh-Renew styled her decorations in French white and gray:

Sherry at Charm of Home incorporated Christmas decor in a traditional, cottage style:

Patti at Ivy and Elephants celebrated with the elegance of silver and crystal:

All unique, all beautiful, and all representing the joy of this season of grace.

Merry Christmas!

Laura