Vintage Scrapbook

Hey bloggers, today I'm going to give you an insight into our new workshop that is coming up in a couple of weeks, called 'Vintage Scrapbook'. This project is perfect for scrapbooking memories from a special occasion such as weddings, birthdays and christmas. It can also be used to scrapbook favourite recipes or ideas or maybe you just want a book to collage all your favourite photos. This project is different to other scrapbooks because you can use special effects to age and distress your photos, making them appear vintage, as if they were taken years ago. The size of the book is just larger than 6" x 4" photographs so its small enough to fit into a bag and could be used as a brag book to show all your friends when you're out.
There are a few photos below of some of the pages from my example of a book that I've made scrapbooking my California holiday.

 

 

 

On this page I made a pocket from an old dictionary sheet, which is a good way to scrapbook photos or bits of ephemera that you don't want to stick down permanently.

You can see on the edge of the photo that I used a hinge clip, these are very useful for clipping bits of ephemera to pages. On this page I used some of Tim Holtz ticket stamps to add a memento.

 

For this page I used memo pins to hold my photo in place, they look very vintage and are also another way of placing photos into the book without sticking them permanently.

 

As you can see from the photos in my book, I have made them look nostalgic and vintage. This technique can be achieved by uploading your photos to a website called Fotoflexer. Its really simple to do and doesn't cost anything. Below is a step by step video on how to upload your photos and apply these effects.

 

You can also add text to your photos through fotoflexer, which allows you to write memories or captions on your photos. Well I hope that was a good insight into our new workshop and those that are attending I hope you have gained some inspiration for your own vintage scrapbook.

Until next time........

Sue & Sarah

Configuration Craft Day

Hey bloggers, sorry I haven't posted in a few days, been busy learning tips and techniques about face painting. Another new venture and creative area that I am currently dabbling in as a favour for a friend.
Anyway, today's post is about our last craft workshop which was inspired by the Artsycrafts event that me and mum went to back in February with Tim Holtz. We had hosted craft days before for friends and family, but they were more informal and they could make whatever they wanted with the mountain of supplies we had around the house. However this time we wanted to teach them how to make a whole project, which was one of Tim's configuration boxes. We couldn't believe how much of a success the craft workshop was, everyone enjoyed themselves and loved the fact that we were teaching them new techniques with products they hadn't used before. I have to say the results were amazing, everyone's configuration box turned out so different, according to what theme they were going for and really reflected people's personalities. Here are a few photos below of the craft day and also examples of some of the configuration boxes made on the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this workshop was successful, me and mum decided to host another workshop which will be coming up in about 2 weeks time. Its called 'Vintage Scrapbook' and next time I'll let you into a few insights into what the project is all about and a few tips and techniques that you can use to make your own at home.

A quick update...........
I thought I would let you see how I transformed my library drawer that I bought last weekend at Stable Antiques. I used some Annie Sloan paint in duck egg blue and just look at the transformation.........

Before, in its original condition

After

 

This paint can be distressed so easily and sands off like a dream to create a beautiful shabby chic design. Hope you like.

Until next time.......

Sue & Sarah

King of Craft

Hey bloggers, I thought I would share with you today one of our biggest inspirations in the craft industry, a Mr Tim Holtz. A couple of years ago, mum told me to watch a video by Tim Holtz to have a look at some of his techniques and then from there on, I've been addicted even since. For those of you who don't know him, then you must visit his website, find out about his products and watch his demo videos. He is the creative director for Ranger Industries, which is one of the leading manufacturers of innovative inks, paints and embossing powders. He recently released a book called 'Compendium of Curiosities' which is full of techniques and ideas for all sorts of projects.
Back in February, we were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Artsycrafts event with Tim Holtz in Newport Pagnell. I have to say this was probably one of the best days of my life. Not only did we get to meet our idol but we also had a 4 hour workshop with him, making one of his configuration boxes, which is like a shadow box to keep all sorts of bits and pieces in. Here are a few photos from our day with Tim and the boxes that we made.

 

 

Our supplies before we started creating

Mum's configuration box

My configuration box

At the beginning of our 4 hour session with Tim, we were all sitting at the table excited with the materials that were laid out in front of us. Tim gave us step by step instructions for decorating the configuration box, with some secret tips and techniques along the way. 
When we came back from our tea break we were surprised with a bag of treasures that we could use to put in our configurations box. It was like christmas morning for everyone, you could see the excitement on everyone's faces in the room. Most of the bits that you see in the box are from Tim's ideology ranges or from his own vintage collection. It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the workshop because it was such an amazing experience that no one wanted to go home but all we could do was look forward to another workshop in the future, which we have our fingers crossed for.
When we got back from this craft extravaganza, we were so inspired that we decided to do our own craft workshop making configuration boxes. I will share more details in the next post.

Until next time........

Sue & Sarah

Off to the Stable......

 

Hey bloggers, today has been another day of exciting vintage hunting and the location was Stable Antiques in Storrington, which we have visited on numerous occasions. This is one of the best antique shops in Sussex, it has two floors of jam packed treasures, hidden in little nooks and crannies, hanging from the ceiling and even a garden out the back for vintage garden tables and chairs. Well worth checking out if you're in the area. So what did we find? Feast your eyes on these beauties!

Well I am sooooo excited that I have finally found a vintage library drawer. After being inspired by a 7gypsies library drawer that they released last year I have been on the hunt for a genuine vintage drawer and I couldn't believe it when I saw it sitting on a table as I walked through the door and at £16, it was definitely a bargain!!!

Mum's find of the day was an old tin full to the brim with buttons on cards, also at an astonishing £16. Though I think we now have enough buttons to last us a few years but heck no one can have enough buttons, surely?

We also found a small chest of drawers that will be perfect for storing mum's excessive over flowing vintage haberdashery items in.

After stashing all these items in the boot of the car, we headed down to Hove in Sussex to hunt for a shop that stocked the Annie Sloan paint, which I discussed in the last post. Well I did warn you that we would be buying more colours. However they were running low on supplies and we only managed to walk away with only one tester pot of the colour Versailles, which is a yellowy green shade. I was desperate to get a large pot of the Old Ochre so that I could paint a chest of drawers in my room but that will have to wait until another day.
Can't wait to get painting again, it can be quite addictive. Probably the old library drawer which I will keep you posted with.
Until next time...........

Sue & Sarah

Oh so shabby

 Hey bloggers, well its been quite a sunny day here in Crawley and I thought what a perfect day to do some painting and upcycle those lovely vintage treasures. Its amazing what a coat of Annie Sloan paint can do and a bit of wax, creating the perfect shabby chic look. There is a bit of a story behind finding this Annie Sloan paint and I would suggest it to anyone who desires this shabby chic effect. When we were on holiday we found a beautiful shop in Falmouth called Sweetpea and Betty, full of shabby chic accessories for the home which they had upcycled and repainted. The colours they had used on the furniture were gorgeous and it wasn't long before we were in an in depth discussion about how to achieve the best effects from Annie Sloan paint which they sell in the shop. Well, I have to say I think this paint has changed my life, its a chalk paint and comes in very subtle colours, perfect for vintage decor.

As you can see we bought the tester pots and honestly it won't be long before we buy a tester pot of every colour. The bonus of these paints is that you don't need to prime or sand the items before you paint them because this paint will stick to most things including plastics, stone, brick, concrete and metal. And because it is a chalk paint it is so easy to sand off to create the shabby chic look you desire.
So what did I paint today? Well remember the old vintage letter rack I bought in St Ives (if not there is a picture underneath to show what it looked like before).

A bit of duck egg blue and some wax and hey presto, a total transformation................

 

 

I also painted an mirror frame that was in desperate need of a makeover, unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture but I'm sure you could imagine. Anyway here's the result.......

 

All I need to do now is add an old brass chain to the back to hang it up, just need to find the perfect chain, better start hunting.
Until next time......

Sue & Sarah

A Little Insight

So what do we make with all this vintage ephemera and fabric? Well I thought it was time that we gave you a little insight into the types of things that we make to give you a flavour of our style. Mum makes a lot of different items for the home using the vintage fabric, such as peg bags, door stops, shopper bags, cushions,  bunting and noticeboards. Whereas I tend to focus on a lot of handpainted items for the home, including trinket boxes, mirrors, photo pegs and also notebooks and journals. I like to give a romantic vintage style to my painted items, drawing inspiration from a romantic prairie style.
Here are a few examples of the different things we make, hope you enjoy!

 

 

I also like to try my hand at card making and below is an example of the type of cards I create.

I use stamps by Oxford Impressions and Tim Holtz in a lot of the cards I make and in a future post, you will get to learn how inspirational Tim Holtz is in our lives. He is the reason why I am craft mad and he really got me to think about things in a whole new light.

I have to say we do dabble in quite a few different materials and ideas because we love to learn new techniques and experiement with different textures, which is why our stock can change quite regularly depending on an idea we have or inspiration from something that we have found. Unfortunately we don't sell any of our products online yet, we just mainly stick to craft fairs and have a few coming up nearer the end of the year.

Well I hope some of these pictures have tickled your tastebuds for more of our vintage style and we will keep you posted when any of our craft fairs are coming up.

Until next time......

Sue & Sarah