Thoughts on Christmas Shopping

Bright lights and Christmas decorations are going up, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. And it's COLD!  But of course the “Christmas” commercials have been with us for what seems like weeks. When I was younger, it was considered quite gauche, tacky, simply not done, for merchants to advertise Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving. Now they hardly even wait for Halloween!

Christmas shopping is in full swing, I suppose, but I’ve always enjoyed waiting until the week or so before Christmas to do mine. Of course, I now do much of my shopping online, and that must be done early enough to allow for shipping. But actually going to stores ~ I think that’s much more fun in mid-December, when it actually feels like Christmas.

As for "Black Friday"... For me, the day after Thanksgiving is for relaxing with family, watching movies, eating turkey sandwiches and finishing off those pies. My sisters-in-law sometimes go with each other and their daughters to the mall at 5:00 am, and have a big time, but you couldn’t pay me to go shopping that day!

I found myself telling my husband the other day how much I love Christmas, and that I would love it just as much without any shopping or presents at all. (Yes, I know that’s a dangerous thing to say to one’s husband ~ but he would never consider not giving gifts!)

Of course I will give and receive gifts ~ they are a way to express love and appreciation and friendship, a way to share joy and generosity, and they are so much fun to wrap (and open).

But really if I have beautiful Christmas music and a holly wreath and my mother’s nativity crèche set up on the piano, and most of all my family around me, I will be joyful and more than content.

Oh yes, and the Christmas tree.  And maybe some cookies....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hannukah!  

Blessings for the upcoming Christmas Season and Winter Solstice!

1950s kitchen divas from the DT

I know it's a busy week, but isn't that a great time to relieve some stress with a little craftiness?  :-)

Channel your inner domestic goddess / kitchen diva and enter my RETRO GALS blog challenge!
1950s housewives, pin up girls, mid-century ladies of all styles are welcome...  the challenge continues until Sunday, so take a break from cooking and company and football and shopping, and get craftin!  Retro women here if you need some.

Here is more inspiration from the Lunagirl Moonbeams DT!

PETRA BERENDSEN:  I completed the second project for the current challenge and it is in two parts: all images are taken from the Retro Housewives collage sheet. First I created the background using some of the images and made a collage. This collage was then used to create the tag-card. I aslo attached an image of the inside with the sentiment.

MICHELE STORMS: Happy Thanksgiving!

MANDY CHILVERS:  a great card and ATC!

VICKI ROMAINE's card is perfect for this week!

Freebies: Retro Housewives for the Challenge!

OK, this lady isn't your typical housewife, but everyone who cooks for Thanksgiving deserves to be Queen (or King!) for a Day. 

Below are some nice old kitchen images.  Why is this lady's refrigerator in her cabinets?  There's a whole cooked turkey in there!

mmmm pie

Tutorial: Emily Summers Design and Nonsense: Pretty Handmade Envelopes

I collect craft tutorials on pinterest, and I thought it would be nice to share some of them on my blog, with credit of course!  Here from Emily Summers "Design and Nonsense" blog is a very lovely and very simple tutorial for creating pretty handmade envelopes from scrapbook paper or any kind of scrap paper -- you could use maps, book pages, even printed Lunagirl images!   She uses a regular envelope as a template by unfolding it flat (see pics in tutorial).

This would be great for holiday invitations or greeting cards or even little envelopes for gift tags, don't you think?
http://emilysummers-designer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/pretty-handmade-envelopes.html

Anything Goes BIRTHDAY Challenge at CraftingByDesigns

I'm really pleased to be sponsoring a challenge starting today at CRAFTINGBYDESIGNS blog!

Their Design Team has been working with some of my Victorian Birthday images, and the Lunagirl Moonbeams DT contributed as Guest Designers.

It's a great challenge going on all week, and a great site, so hop on over to check it out (and enter the challenge to win $15 gift credit to spend at Lunagirl.com!)

New Blog Challenge: Retro Gals!

Our Lunagirl Moonbeams blog challenge #15 is RETRO GALS!

Have fun with images of retro women and girls, 1950s housewives, vintage cooks, retro moms, even pin up girls -- all ladies of the 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s and 70s.  Somehow this fits with Thanksgiving for me -- domestic goddesses and kitchen divas!

You'll find some here, along with other retro style ephemera:  http://lunagirl.com/collections/digital-collage-sheets-retro-40s-50s

Don't miss the samples from the Moonbeams Design Team, for your inspiration!

GUIDELINES:
This challenge (#15) will end at Noon (Central Time) on December 1 (can't believe it's almost December!).

The winner will be selected randomly to win a $10 discount coupon for Lunagirl.com!

Don your sweater set and pearls and get cookin'! 

Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, 

Vintage style is encouraged but not required, and
Please link to my blog and Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 
Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage. 



LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM
Find out more about the Moonbeams DT and visit their blogs! And here are some of their "Retro Gals"!

Mandy Chilvers starts us off right with two ATCs she has created with flirty pin up girls!  Oh my, what would the housewife in the sweater set and pearls say about this?  You never know!  We all have our sassy side, don't we?

And here is a rather nervous (excited?) looking pie baker by Michele Storms!

We're off to a good start with our Retro Gals!












From Petra Berendsen, I love these three cards below! Humor is essential this busy time of year!
Petra writes:  "For the current challenge I created three mini cards with images from the Retro Housewives collage sheet. I kept it very easy adding some background from an old calendar and a housewife quote I found on the web to each one of them."

 

Here is another Retro card from Vicki Romaine!

"The Lunagirl image is placed on a retro-looking piece of designer paper.  The cards from the past were fairly plain and simple.  However, I used a bow to accent my card"

 

Winner of Secrets & Hidden Things Challenge: Denise Pustelniak!

Hello All ~ Lunagirl has pulled a number from her hat to choose the winner of the Secrets & Hidden Things challange (actually it's one of those random number generators, but isn't the idea of a hat more fun?) ... and the winner of this challenge is #10 Denise Pustelniak and her gatefold card above!

Congratulations, Dinese ~ be sure to email me at info@lunagirl for your prize!

Thank you to EVERYONE who joined it and also to the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team... my next challenge theme is RETRO GALS, starting tomorrow (Monday) so be sure to join us again!

I have a secret...... by Vicki

One more "Secrets" piece from the DT!

Vicki Romaine:
"Here is a card filled with texture.  There is a silky sheen piece of cardstock on one side of the background while on the other  side is a piece of Panera's coffee cup protector cut down.  The flower is a newspaper flower which is a little crumpled by the scanner."

Thanks to Vicki!

Enter the Secrets & Hidden Things Challenge!

You have two more days to enter the challenge -- it ends Sunday at noon Central Time.  Any type of media/project is welcome, and any interpretation of the theme SECRETS/HIDDEN.  Get creative, and don't miss your chance to win some free digital collage sheets (winner selected by random drawing!)

The Lunagirl SECRETS AND HIDDEN THINGS blog challenge ends Sunday!

And to inspire you, here are new sample projects by the Moonbeams Design Team.  Petra Berensend created these two tags with the images of two beautiful ladies from my Pre-Raphaelite Art CD. She has displayed them in windows frames and adorned them with lots of lace and flowers. So pretty!

And Michele Storms offers this lovely tag today!

Featured Artist Helen Cant: Jewelry Tutorial

Talented artist Helen Cant used the free postcard image I posted in July to create a lovely vintage style Christmas postcard as a backing/holder for her jewelry.

Her work is featured in Make & Sell Jewellery magazine ~ here is the layout so you can see!  Very beautiful.

You can go to the magazine's online site for Helen Cant's tutorial on creating jewelry with images: http://www.makeselljewellery.com/index.php/projects/vintage_christmas 

Tutorial: Background Removal in Word

Denise of DigitalySweet (see previous post) has invited me to post her full tutorial on Lunagirl Moonbeams... so here it is! BIG THANKS to Denise.

Background removal on WORD

RIGHT CLICK it and save it somewhere on your computer

(I saved my in picture folder)

Now head on over to Lunagirl and get your vintage key and see what other fun stuff she has to offer!

Great stuff going on at Digitally Sweet Blog!

Just FYI, Denise at DigitallySweet blog has created a very helpful tutorial on how to remove backgrounds in MS WORD.  Hop on over and check it out.

And I am VERY pleased to be sponsoring their current challenge.  You can challenge your "inner digital" every Friday at Digitally Sweet! Do be sure to visit to see the beautiful creations of their DT and participants, and enter the challenge yourself! 

It's a Secret ... But you still have time to get in on it!

Here is another little girl with a secret!
from Lunagirl Moonbeams DT Member Mandy Chilvers.  This little girl from an old French postcard seems to have a secret message...


Join our Secrets and Hidden Things blog challenge... it's a fun theme you can take in many directions! (see below)

 And oh my, what has Alice discovered?!

Michele Storms created this charming scene!:

"i was thinking that the alice in wonderland story includes secrets and hidden things so i turned to one of the alice collage sheets from lunagirl.  i colored the image of alice pulling aside the curtain with promarkers and cut it out. but i wanted her to find something a little more surprising than the queen's garden. so while the mysteriously smiling cheshire cat looks on, here is what happened in my alice scene.... what is rudolph the red-nosed reindeer doing behind that curtain? i guess he is telling me i'd better get going on making some christmas cards."

 

 

 

 

You still have all week to get inspired and join our blog challenge!

Your creation can be any medium -- The theme is SECRETS AND HIDDEN THINGS:
think hidden treasures, secret gardens, boxes or windows or doors that open to reveal a secret, a hidden bird's nest, a child hiding or playing peekaboo, wrapped presents, shared secrets, seeds hidden underground, things hidden under snow or in the shadows, things that can hide something inside (like eggs or baskets or boxes or nuts)...

Get creative and join us for your chance to win two Lunagirl digital collage sheets -- and your share of glory of course :-)  Challenge ends Sunday!

 

Seeing Red at Lunagirl.com!

 

I'm not sure what came over me, but I became obsessed with red and created these three digital collage sheets on a RED theme:  Lots of women and girls  in red, red hat ladies, red birds, cherries, frames, roses, so much variety, and a whole sheet of 1x2 images.  And who doesn't love red?

Click on each pic to go to a large size image at LUNAGIRL.COM.

Inspiration from the Moonbeams

"from the pages of a book, 

secrets emerge"

by Lunagirl Moonbeams DT Member Michele Storms

a little something to inspire your own interpretation of "Secrets and Hidden Things" for our blog challenge!

Free Vintage Image: Key with Lock

Thought I would pass along the very pretty free vintage key image I used in my challenge badge.  Use it to create your own interpretation of Secrets and Hidden Things!

Blog Challenge: SECRETS & HIDDEN THINGS Nov 4-17

The theme for Lunagirl Moonbeam Blog Challenge #14 is SECRETS AND HIDDEN THINGS.

One thought I originally had for this theme is cards with little windows or doors or flaps that open up to reveal something inside.  Also altered tins and altered boxed that open up to reveal something hidden inside would work well.

Here are some ideas that come to my mind for this theme: secrets, locks and keys, doorways either closed or half open, windows that open and close ... secret gardens, hidden treasure, treasure boxes, pearls in oysters, wrapped gifts, girls sharing secrets ... something hidden in the grass or the bushes, things hidden in shadows, things that hide something inside such as baskets boxes eggs nuts nests, seeds underground ... spring's promise hidden in winter's sleep, a bird's nest hidden in the leaves, hidden under autumn leaves ... a child hiding, peekaboo, shhhhh, christmas secrets, surprises, animals or fairies hidden in or under things....


That rather rambling list is just my thoughts ... you can take the challenge anyway that inspires you of course!

For my challenge badge this time I layered a lovely little girl photo from my Christmas Photo Postcards CD with pink roses from my Victorian Flowers CD plus photographs of ivy leaves and a stone arch window and a pretty clipart key... and did you find the little wren, rabbit, and fairy hidden among the flowers?


This is a challenge that could get very creative, so have some fun!  As always, the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team has sent some gorgeous sample projects to inspire you (see below).  For this challenge the DT worked with French photo postcards of little girls from my Christmas New Year Photo Postcards CD (currently on sale!) and Victorian Little Girls CD and two Waterhouse paintings from my Pre-Rapahelite Art CD.

GUIDELINES:
This challenge (#14) will end at Noon (Central Time) on November 17.

The winner will be selected randomly to win two free Lunagirl digital collage sheets of your choice!

Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, 

Vintage style is encouraged but not required, and
Please link to my blog and Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 
Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage. 

LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM
Find out more about the Moonbeams DT and visit their blogs! Here are some interpretations of "Secrets and Hidden Things" from the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team.

PETRA BERENDSEN: I made two 'secret' boxes for all those little treasures you would like to give as a present to somebody. The boxes are just covered with patterend paper. For the top I used the images of the two darling Christmas girls as focal point.

From MICHELE STORMS, another charming little secret box!
For this piece i stamped a french script stamp (stampin' up) in brown on some pink designer paper.  i also tore some tissue paper to go under the vintage image from lunagirl, which was cut with patterned scissors.  i added holiday flowers, washi tape and pearls to finish.

 

VICKI ROMAINE:  Here is a candy holder I made and decorated the front with a LG image.  Lacey trim was made with a Martha Stewart punch.  My hidden secret is a candy bar.

MANDY CHILVERS: Listen ... do you want to know a secret?  :-)