Great Vintage Images

I am very happy to let you know that Twisted Papers, one of my favorite sources for vintage images, is back.  The owners, Russell and Stan, have had some health issues and some other complications due to a move but they have been working on adding lots of great images to the site and things are up and running again.  You can find the Twisted Papers site HERE.

As a welcome back special, you can save 25% on the downloadable images by typing the word WELCOME into the code box at checkout.  This special offer lasts until November 18th.  Most images are $1 and if you find that you want lots of images you can get a 30 day subscription that allows you to download up to 500 images for just $24.95 - an amazing deal!

I have used their images to make simple cards like this one and the Christmas card at the top of this post.  You can find an explanation of how to adapt an image for a card at THIS POST.

Here are a few more cards that incorporate images from Twisted Papers.

I also have done some digital projects that use pieces of images to create my own new images like the floral star above and the butterfly collage below.

butterfly collage

original butterfly image

The possibilities are endless when you start manipulating the images with your computer.  I use the Creative Memories Storybook Creator 4.0 program to create these new images.

In addition to the downloadable images, Twisted Papers offers collections of images on CD.  You can order these from their store site or on Etsy.  You can find their new Etsy Shop HERE.

The Twisted Papers Facebook pages is HERE and they often offer freebies to their fans.  This Christmas collage sheet with four greeting card images is available now.

You can sign up for the email newsletter for even more great freebies.  Scroll down on the Twisted Pages home page and you'll see the newsletter subscription box on the left side.  This beautiful collage sheet with Thanksgiving images is the current newsletter freebie.

Be prepared to spend some time looking - there are thousands of images available (over 1100 just for Christmas!).  There is a good index system to help you narrow in on the sorts of images you are looking for but it is also fun to just browse through some of the other categories. 

image from luggage label collage sheet

I have used several of their images for Artist Trading Cards, including the "tiger" card above.

They also have the Alice in Wonderland illustrations - for this ATC I used a black and white image that I digitally altered and then hand colored a few highlights.  There are also some Alice images that are already colored available.

The sample images I have posted are just low resolution screen shots.  The images that you purchase are very high quality scans.  The preview versions on the site have watermarks in a grid overlay that will not be on the images you purchase for download.  If you have any questions about working with these images,  post them and I will try to answer.  The images are all in JPEG format.

It looks like another storm is headed our way later this week.  I just heard from our former neighbor in Pennsylvania that the power has finally been restored to the street.  There are still so many people without electricity - I hope it won't be too much longer until everyone is connected again.  Take care and stay safe!


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Halloween Lantern with Vintage Images

 If you are stopping by for the Creative Charms Fall Blog Hop, please click HERE to go to the blog hop post.  After you finish the hop come on back and have a look around!

I found another way to use some of the vintage Halloween images from Twisted Papers.  I've had this idea in mind for a while and Friday night I finally had a chance to make a basic prototype version.  

I used this tag from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More on the "TagsMirror Windows" feature to form the lantern frame.  I sized the tag at 8 inches to be sure it would fit on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock.  By using the Gypsy, I was able to tap "weld" and eliminate the tick marks for the scoring (you can do the same thing with Design Studio by checking the "welding" box).

This is the large tag cut removed from the mat.  I cut four of these - two for the outside and two for the inside of the lantern.

I printed out two copies of a couple of vintage Halloween images on vellum.  I made them approximately the size of the openings in the tag frames.  When I printed the images I used the setting for transparency film in my printer and that seemed to work well (photo paper settings would probably put too much ink on the surface).

Once I had the frames cut and the vellum printed I was ready to start assembling the lantern.

I eliminated the tick marks because it is very easy to see where to make the score lines.  Just place the frame against the top of the scoring board and line up the "notch" between the two frames with any line on the board.

Fold toward the "mountain" of the score line - be careful, the frames are rather thin and you don't want to tear the paper.

You can use one of the cut outs left from the frame to help determine where to trim the vellum image so it will fit properly.  I had "guesstimated" on the sizing and it worked out almost even - my images were a bit long for the frame.

Be careful when you trim the vellum with a trimmer - the blade seems tear the paper easily at the start of the cut.  It is sometimes better to put the blade down in the middle of the cut and pull it to both ends to get a smooth result.  It doesn't really matter here since this edge will be sealed in the frame.

I used an ATG to apply strong adhesive all around the frame.  Then I carefully lined up one of the vellum pieces, making sure to have the "good" side facing out.

You might have to trim a bit at the angles on the top of the frame.

When you have all four images secured in two of the frames you can start to put the lantern together.

Add more tape all around the inside of one of the empty frames.

Then, line it up with the inside of the vellum image and stick it down.  The tape is very aggressive, so take the time to line it up carefully the first time!

Add more tape to the other empty frame section and apply it over the second vellum image.

After this step your frames should look like this.

Add more adhesive on the open frame and place the second section with the vellum images on top of the frame.  The lantern will look like this from the outside.  Now you just need to add adhesive to the last open frame and carefully pull it closed, adhering to the inside of the last vellum pane.  This step is the most difficult because it is now a three dimensional object.

When all four sides have been connected, the lantern will be finished (with no exposed edges of the vellum showing) on the inside.

I used four battery powered tea lights to illuminate the lantern.

It is very difficult to take a photo of the lantern in the dark but here you can see the effect of the low tea lights.

Next, I tried a real candle (in a glass container).  The effect is slightly different when the flame is higher.

This lantern looks pretty when it is lit up and also when it is in unlit in the daylight because of the colorful images.  I made this one as a start - I have lots of ideas on ways to "fancy" it up!  You can use different frames, change the sizes, use different images on each side, add lots of embellishments - there's no limit to the variations that are possible. I want to do some of these as hanging lanterns - won't that be pretty?!

We have company for the weekend - my husband's sister and her family are staying with us while the new floors in their house addition are being installed and finished.  There may be some haunted house building happening on Saturday...I hope you have a crafty weekend!


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Merry Halloween! A Fall Blog Hop with Creative Charms

Happy Friday and welcome to the Creative Charms Fall Blog Hop!  The hop officially begins at 9 a.m. so if you are reading this on the early morning email feed, please stop back a little later this morning to follow the hop.  The hop begins on the Creative Charms Blog and there are just ten stops so it won't take too long to get around and see all of the projects.

The grand prize giveaway is November's Kit of the Month and Deal of the Month from Creative Charms. Plus, throughout the weekend, Midori will go to one or another of the blogs on the hop, randomly pick a comment and that person will win a prize. She has tons of prize kits made up just for this weekend. So be sure to leave a post on every blog you visit. All prizes will be announced on Tuesday, November 1st. To win the grand prize, leave a comment on Midori's blog to be entered.

Here is the complete list of blogs in the hop - in case you get lost along the way.

• Creative Charms 
• Lisa
• Kristal
• Diane   (you are here)
• Arlene
• Laura
• Amy
• Ellen
• Angi
• Christine
• Midori 

 So, enough about the logistics, let's get on to my project for today!

Did you know that people used to say "Merry Halloween?"  It sounds funny to modern ears, but there are vintage images that use this greeting.  I love vintage images and it's been a while since I have used any for a project.  One of my "go-to" sources for great vintage images is Twisted Papers.  They have all sorts of wonderful things (over 7,000 images) and I could spend hours just looking through the categories.  While I was looking at Halloween images, I noticed several "Merry Halloween" cards.

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd make a few simple cards and enhance them with some Creative Charms vintage items.  Using vintage images is fast and easy.  I just selected some images that I liked and downloaded them.  The images are jpegs so after downloading you can edit them in your favorite photo editing program and also make any adjustments to size that you need for your project.  Most individual images at Twisted Papers are 99 cents but they have a terrific deal on a monthly subscription which allows you to download up to 500 images in a month for only $24.95 - about a nickel an image!  The subscription does not renew automatically. 

I printed out three images on letter size matte photo paper.  I sized them at 5 1/4 inches tall and kept the aspect ratio locked so they would stay in the proper proportion.  The images were a little narrow for a standard A2 card.  To make things fit neatly I either added a strip of paper, matted the image or added trim along the side of the image.  For the first two cards, I wanted to add some velvet ric rac ribbon so I placed a piece of Scor-Tape in the center of the the contrasting strip of paper and then placed the ribbon on the adhesive.

On this card, I used a brown card base and black velvet ribbon on the orange pearl shimmer cardstock strip.  I aligned the ribbon and then trimmed it at the ends.  The Scor-Tape is a strong adhesive and holds the ribbon neatly with none of the marks that you might get with a liquid adhesive.

On the second card, I layered the printed image on a piece of 5 1/4 x 4 inch piece pf the same orange pearl cardstock.  This time I added brown velvet ric rac ribbon to the strip and used a black card base.

There is something about the zig zags in ric rac that seems "Halloweeny" and the velvet adds some fun texture to the cards. 

The finishing touch for each of these cards was the addition of three small gem stickers along the ric rac ribbon.

For the third card, I used a brown card base and aligned the image with the right side of the card front.   Then I added some vintage trim that I found at a rummage sale.  I think it is actually the edging strip that is used for upholstery.  I thought the curves in the trim worked well with the curves in the font used on the card.

The finishing touch is a vintage velvet poppy, another all-time favorite Creative Charms item.  I replaced the pearl brad in the center with a vintage marble brad in amber.

In no time at all I had three cards finished - they may even get delivered in time for Halloween!

If you are interested in vintage images, be sure to check out Twisted Papers - they have over 1,000 Christmas images and can be used with your Creative Charms items for easy and elegant cards.

My Giveaway -
Thanks for visiting - I have a small prize that I will give to one person who leaves a comment on this post.   I'll send some velvet ric rac, velvet poppies and a few other goodies to use for a vintage card.  All you have to do is tell me which card of the three is your favorite - easy peasy!

The next stop on the hop is Arlene's blog.

Have fun hopping!  Remember, to qualify for the prizes throughout the weekend you need to leave comments on each designer's blog hop posting.  Prizes will be announced on Tuesday, November 1st.

Oh, by the way....

...it did snow here last night!


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Vintage images

Sometimes I start to clean up my computer desktop and discover bits and pieces of projects that I started and never shared - usually because I had an idea to take the project in another direction and haven't had a chance to do that yet.  I was searching for something completely different when I ran across this image.  I created this digitally starting with a cornucopia image from Twisted Papers.  If you are at all interested in vintage images to use for your projects you should definitely check out this site.

Most of the single images are just $1.00 and you can get a monthly subscription for $24.95 that allows you to download 500 images - which makes them about a nickel each!  You do not have to commit to more than a month and the subscription does not renew automatically.  If you are curious to see the image that I used to make the star at the top of this post, you will find it HERE.

I always find it fascinating to see how different an image looks when you change the background color - here are a couple of examples.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to complete this long postponed project on Wednesday - I was busy working on some items for the wedding rehearsal dinner (and using lots of adhesive!)

This is what my work area looked like when I stopped for the day.  I know I should have just tossed all of this but I couldn't resist taking a picture first!  Things will be getting even busier than usual around here as we count down the days to the wedding.  I do have some non-wedding projects to share with you in the meanwhile and there will be lots of photos and possibly some files to share after the wedding.

Today is "Hello Thursday" when new Cricut cartridges are announced.  I don't know if anyone is still trying to collect all of the cartridges.  It seemed like a realistic possibility to own them all when I first got my Cricut four years ago.  I have realized over time that I don't need or want them all.  The good thing is that with the wide variety of cartridges issued, there is something for everyone.  A cartridge that has no appeal for me may be just the thing that someone else is looking for.

I have also been working with other machines and software programs that are allowing me to create totally unique images.  I am finding many new possibilities that I hope to be able to share with you soon.  I still use my Cricuts frequently but I wanted to explore new ways of creating.  I am excited to see what I can do with just my imagination and software that allows me to easily do some of the things that are either not possible or very time consuming with Design Studio or the Gypsy (or the CraftRoom online design tool that is still in beta).

I wonder how many of you are interested in learning more about some of these other options? 

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