A Vintage Girl

My Tribe: How Lucky I Am To Have An Amazing One!

 

Perfectly Imperfect.  Serendipitous and I LOVE IT just the way it is!

We all have friends, people we grew up with, family friends, co-workers that become friends, girlfriends. boyfriends, you name it.  But there is that one set of friends that stands above all, and often they are people that you don't live near or see often, just co-mingle online and so on.  Which makes the friendship that much more meaningful because we are all overwhelmed with time constraints and it takes extra effort to keep these friendships alive.  They are the ones, however, that keep you afloat when you feel like you are drowning.  These people are members of your TRIBE, and for me, one of those people is Jen Cushman. 

We met through the Craft Industry, I was always inspired by her talent in making Jewelry, and eventually, I got the opportunity to work with Ice Resin, in which she was a part of.  I got to be on the design team which really stretched my imagination because I AM NOT a jewelry maker by any stretch.  It really made me grow as an artist because the product was so amazing to use.  Now she is following her calling of being an intuitive practitioner and I have been blessed with her guidance on more than one occasion.  You can visit her site at SOUL. STIR. MAGIC. to see for yourself.  RUN, don't walk, and let her guide you in the craziness that we call life. Get centered and motivated and back on track!

We became fast industry friends, her calming demeanor allowed me to take a breath and just feel.  Her words were always so kind and caring and knowing what I had gone through during those years, always lent a shoulder and a big hug.  There are not enough thank yous in this world to make it even.  I have been fortunate to not only work with Jen but to also attend her workshops and retreats by sheer luck and chance from the universe.  These opportunities put me in places with people that just filled my life and heart with such Joy and broadened my amazing TRIBE!!

I recently reached out to Jen as I am spearheading an artist campaign in which artists trade art with each other of equal value.  We all know artists struggle financially, often not taken seriously when they put themselves out there.  Artists are always intrigued with the art of others and often want so badly to "afford" their art.  Although we know that art is worth every penny, it is often hard to be able to substantiate spending the money when things are tough for us trying to build our own livelihood in arts.

So I am working on putting together a Facebook Group just for that, inviting artists to join us that are willing to "trade" art with other artists so we can have that coveted piece we have always wanted from them.  Jen is my first and I have been busy working on a signature dress form for her, while I await a specially made jewelry piece that was created for the reason of wearing it in court during my trials and tribulations of justice. I got those pieces today and nothing but tears when I opened it up and it said JUSTICE on the necklace.  I know that I will prevail, I know that my time, money, and effort will all help many others after me and I will not stop until it does!  I am getting close!

Here is a little sneak peek of what I am working on for her, I will be shipping hers this week!

Thank you for being who you are, but most of all thank you for being with me on this journey.  I am ever so grateful.


Candy
www.AVintageGirl.com 

 

Devin's Unicorn....Vintage AND Glow In The Dark?

What a journey it has been...12 years ago I attended my first Craft & Hobby Association trade show in Anaheim, California. I was there with Scrap n' Art Magazine working the floor as PRESS.  I remember walking in and my mouth fell open with the sheer size and amount of vendors of every craft and hobby supply you can imagine. I can't believe I didn't take pictures of that moment. I was just standing there in awe.  I was there for four days and only went down three aisles. I vowed I would come back, and I did every year (and when they had it, twice a year) for 12 years, until COVID 19.  This January was the first show I missed in 12 years and I cannot tell you how much I miss everyone. It truly was the once a year event that refilled the soul bucket!

That first show in 2009 one of the days I was just exhausted and truly overwhelmed with 1000's of people all around me, so I wandered around the huge Convention Center to just find a place to get a few moment of peace and quiet by myself.  As I wondered through the empty areas of the convention center, I heard a faint crying sound coming from a room, as I got closer I realized there was a woman that was sitting on the floor sobbing. I was trying to decide whether I should just leave her alone or say something.  I am so glad that I decided to get her attention and ask her what was wrong.  She told me her story, marriage and babies and all the loss she has had in her life.  That was the start of an amazing friendship that I am so very grateful for with the beautiful Elena Etcheverry!   And here we are this many years later and no more heartbreak, Devin is here and filling our lives with such joy!

Elena, my youngest daughter, Mariah and myself at the 2012 show.  Elena is wearing a paper dress I created just for her for this show.

At {a vintage girl} we create chipboard albums elements, so when Elena invited me to make something special for Devins room, I had our amazing laser cutter, Robert Prince of Old Mans Hat Co. to create a Unicorn laser cut out of wood with dimensional elements.  I started with painting it to primer it and kind of just got stuck right there.  Life and lack of creativity got in the way!  Until last night.  I was cleaning up the craft room as I am determined to be creative again and I looked at this piece sitting on the windowsill for months and suddenly it came to me what I wanted to do.  I had to make sure it was in my vintage style so it represented his Auntie properly.  Then I looked around the room and seen the new Beacon Adhesives Glow In The Dark adhesive and said, hmmmm, that would be a fun addition.  So I went to work on it. 

 

I used DecoArt paints, Prima Marketing acrylic paints, art baubles and Finnabair waxes to give it the vintage look.

 

 

 

 

Thank you Elena Etcheverry and Devin for being such a wonderful part of my journey!

Stencil Girl Products...Beautiful Minds Collaboration

Thank you to Stencil Girl Products and Tina Walker for a wonderful challenge sharing an artist that inspires you in your creative work using StencilGirl Stencils.  My artist of choice is Seth Apter, a talented mixed media artist located in New York City, New York.  I have been following Seth for quite a few years and had the utmost pleasure of meeting up with him at our annual "Creativation" trade show for the Paper Crafting industry and are now creative friends.  



Seth's style is just up my alley, vintage-y, grungy and industrial.  So I tend to reach for his stencils first whenever I am creating an art journal page, etc.  However, for this challenge I wanted to do something a bit different, I struggled for weeks about what to create using his stencils.  Then it hit me one evening sitting in my craft room.  I had pulled out an older art journal that I "played" in with no real direction when it came to me, why not make one of my signature dress forms using these pages.  The pages were already done so only needed to add the stenciling.

I used three different stencils over the already done art journal pages with Prima Finnabair white medium gel to add the dimension, then used Fiskars flag punch to punch out enough pieces to create a 18" dress paper mache dress form.

StencilGirl Products- Seth Apter Stencils
Unfinished | Numbers | StoryTime

I ended up punching out four large journal pages to cove the dress.

I applied each punched flag with Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive and created a dress on the dress form. Start at the bottom, go all the way around then move up a row until you get to the top, turn the flags around to create the top.  I added the wire hole punched edge to make a creative top edge of the bodice.

Thank you for stopping by, be sure to check out the other artists that are participating by visiting at https://tinyurl.com/y4ns74v3

Have you heard of ArtFoamies? Big, Chunky Foam Stamps, OH MY!!

 

Super Excited that ArtFoamies has merged with Rubber Moon Stamps and re-launched earlier this year.  And looking forward to creating more designs to share!

If you haven't used ArtFoamies, you are truly missing out on a fun product that you can use on paper, furniture, many substrates that are much harder to use rubber or clear stamps on.  The foam can conform to different shapes, which are generally bigger and bolder designs.  
Here we are sharing the "A Vintage Girl" range of ArtFoamie stamps.

https://artfoamies.com/collections/artfoamies-by-candy-rosenberg

 

Check out what our Brand Ambassador, Tina Walker created using not only our ArtFoamies stamps but lots of our chipboard from "A Vintage Girl." 
Check out all our great chipboard albums and embellishments at www.AVintageGirlShop.com

Happy Crafting!

{a vintage girl} rubber stamps by Blank Page Muse

Did you know that I have beautiful deep etched red rubber stamps for {a vintage girl}?  What? You didn't know? Well, you need to check this out!   This window set is a personal favorite and was originally produced over 7 years ago.  Due to company issues, they were no longer manufactured, so last year I decided it was time to bring them back.  Blank Page Muse was kind enough to collaborate on this and some other great sets.

This is one of the most versatile window sets I have ever seen.  It comes with three windows and/or shutter combinations, they are made to work together.  You have the window, then two sets of shutters you can stamp, color, and cut out to make dimensional.  You know I am all about dimension!

YOU CAN SEE THIS SET HERE AT BLANK PAGE MUSE!

Take a look at some of the projects that have been made with them by our design team and myself.  The first two are mine from way back and are still my favorites.

 

Candy Rosenberg

This one has the corset and butterfly which are also available at www.blankpagemuse.com 

Tina Walker-Assemblage

 

Michelle Pitre Sanders

Cathy Frailey

DCC Blog Hop: Decoupage with Diamond Art @ Leisure Arts

Welcome to the Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop, be sure to swing by the blog to see all the inspiration from our talented members at http://designercraftsconnection.blogspot.com/

I wanted to share a project that was featured in January at the Creativation Show in Pheonix, Arizona.  This project was made with Leisure Arts Diamond Art product to show as a sample for the show.  When using Diamond Art it is very important to seal the project when you are done to keep all the diamonds in place.  As a Brand Ambassador for Beacon, my go-to product is Beacons Fast Finish Decoupage.  It is not like any other product of its kind, it's a liquid instead of a pasty/thicker texture allowing you to get in small areas, no brush marks, and even distribution.  For Diamond Art, this is perfect as it runs down into the crevices and seals the diamonds wonderfully.

This was a 24" x 12" canvas that I applied the finished Diamond Art Elephant and adhered to the painted canvas. I added some faux greenery to make it look like the elephant was coming out of the jungle.  Finishing touches included Prima Marketing, Inc. flowers, and an interesting piece of wood.

 

Pour the decoupage all over the Diamond Art piece and spread around with a brush, let dry.

Thank you for stopping by!

A Vintage Girl Dress Form Album...How It Began.

Check out the album in the vintage girl shop

The Dress Form Album has a special place in my heart as dress forms are my passion.  I created one years ago with a company that ended up stealing my design.  So years later, when I started to create the chipboard albums I shied away from this design initially.  I wanted to make sure it was mine and unique like all of our products, so it took a year for me to put the design together.  It was like being a momma having her new baby.
The album is comprised of six pages that include chipboard and corrugated sheets that are in the form of gears and a dress form laser cut edge.

Album designed by A Vintage Girl Brand Ambassador, Tina Walker

 

New & "Old" Vintage Collection with Blank Page Muse!

The day is finally here....sorry for my tardiness but I was waiting for the mailman, of which he did not have my package to share photos with you but it's not going to stop me!!!   Over six years ago, I created stamps for a stamp company that is no longer in business, but so many kept reaching out asking if it was possible to make them again...well guess what, thanks to the incredible Blank Page Muse, they are!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, plus a new one and a modified one that I think you will enjoy.  I cant wait to see what you create!!  Thank you all for your support!

Take a look at what Kim, the owner of Blank Page Muse threw together to share using the Windows of Time and Fluttter stamps:



Over six years ago, I created quite a few stamps with a former rubber stamp company that is no longer in business, these were very popular and so many have been asking me how to get them, and here we are thanks to the Blank Page Muse for jumping in and making this a reality!

Windows of Time

https://blankpagemuse.com/products/windows-of-time-vintage-window-shutters-art-rubber-stamps-set-designed-by-a-vintage-girl-bpmvgwin.html

 

"Steamie" Vintage Corset

https://blankpagemuse.com/products/steamie-vintage-corset-art-rubber-stamp-designed-by-a-vintage-girl-bpmvgsteam.html

 

Timeless  Measurement

 

https://blankpagemuse.com/products/timeless-measurement-set-of-vintage-tape-measures-art-rubber-stamps-designed-by-a-vintage-girl-bpmvgtape.html

 

https://blankpagemuse.com/products/flitter-butterfly-against-a-honeycomb-background-art-rubber-stamp-bpmvgbutter.html

Thank you for stopping by, keep an eye out for projects from our Design Team soon!

Creativation January 2020 is just around the corner! Guess what I am teaching?

Creativation January 2020 is only a few months away, where did the time go, holy smokes!
I am proud to announce that I will be teaching a Vintage Floral Necklace with Dress My Craft at the Phoenix Arizona Convention Center.  Additionally, I will be in the booth for Make n' Takes, I will update with schedule closer to the show. Registration is soon so keep an eye out!

 

 

 

 

ArtFoamies Galore! Mixed Media Art Journal Spread

ArtFoamies Galore!!!

I have never really been an art journaler for the most part, however, over the recent years working with stencils and stamps and watching so many amazing journaling spreads it kind of grew on me.  This spread is done in my original art journal and includes some of my earliest attempts, its funny to go through and look at where you started and see how much you have grown.
Now, you add these amazing FOAM STAMPS from ArtFoamies and it is a whole other dimension!  I am not a typical rubber stamper so foam slathered with paint appeals to me more so than ink and rubber.  When I do put ink to rubber however, it is usually pretty non traditional.  And in the case of journaling, well..... this is so much fun!

 Here is a little pictorial walk through of the process, just layer after layer. ArtFoamies stencils and foam stamps, DecoArt Media paints, color sprays and modeling paste, old vintage sewing patterns, A Vintage Girl chipboard pieces and so much more thrown at it!

 

Thank you for stopping by!