Thursday, April 30, 2009

Vintage Travel Samples, $60.00 Winner and News!

Hi Everyone,

I have some new samples to share today, a winner to announce for our last Give-away, a challenge, upcoming Show dates and some exciting news!

First, I better announce the winner of our $60.00 Gift Certificate and free shipping!
There were 179 people who entered and thank you all so much for your wonderful comments! It really means a lot, as each and every new item we create is a labor of love! I also know our Design Team ladies loves to hear that you enjoy the fabulous samples they create!

My daughter Chelsea picked her age (#22) as the the random winner, so the lucky lady is Barbara Bennett who said: "I love your vintage style! Great Mother's Day projects that I know my mom would love to receive. Thanks for the chance to win! "

Our design team has been playing with our 6 new Creative Scraps and they have created some great samples like these vintage inspired travel ones which have such great retro appeal!

You can see on the Travel set below you get lots of images as it folds out to 19" x 8"
I thought I would focus on a travel theme today with the nice weather and thoughts of fun road trips. I'm taking one this weekend and plan to take lots of photos!
Who hasn't heard this expression when traveling with kids! DT member Michele Kovack created this cute card using an image off our Travel Creative Scraps. I love the little fishy she added with the mini rod.

Michele also designed this pretty card using the Travel Scraps, which would be perfect to give friends heading off on vacation. You can get more details HERE on her blog.
I love this cute retro card that DT member Vivian Peters created with this retro couple from the Travel Creative Scraps and the flower paper is from our Earthy Paper Pad. You can read the details on Vivian's blog here

This is such a cool page that DT member Michele van Etten designed with her husband and son using the tag and souvenir card from this set and the bear is from our Summer Homespun Cotton Scraps. The pattern papers are from our Earthy Paper Pad. The piece of net Michele added in the left corner really adds to the page.

DT member Vicki Chrisman scrapped this page using the Travel Creative Scraps and our Artsy Alphabet set to stamp CRUISE. The photo was taken when we went on a scrapbook cruise a few years ago to teach classes to store owners. It was a really fun cruise and we need to do another!

Vicki also created this layout while we were on that cruise using the seashore image from our Joys of Life Booklet. I love this page. It's my husband Scott in the photo with his dad, who passed away when he was 13 and this is his favorite photo.

Lots of people go fishing when on vacation, so I wanted to show you this adorable card that Julie Cambell created using our Clear Art Stamp Kewpie Fishing Buds set.

Marcy is hosting a fun challenge over at Splitcoast this week to make a sentiment, word, or words on your project the main focus. You can get more details HERE and check out the gallery of great samples HERE.

DT member Marisa Grosson entered her pretty card as she used this sweet poem from our Girlfriend Creative Scraps on her card. Check out the wonderful flowers she created using Funflock glued to some little brown twigs for stems!


Our website got a new mini face lift! There are still some pages that haven’t been changed yet as we are having a brand new website built! I just couldn't’t stand to wait and it will take time. Come have a look HERE

Show News!
Here is some news on upcoming Shows where you can find our Clear Art Stamps Sets and our Heartwarming Vintage Collection products!

This weekend – May 1 & 2, Scrapbook Expo San Diego Show. Look for the Scrapyard 329 booth, as Judy will have a large selection of our things. She takes our products into all of the Scrapbook Expo Shows and carries a good selection.

May 7-9 – The Mega Meet Show in Novi, MI. Look for the Stamp On It booth as Deb will be selling our products

May 16 & 17 – Puyallup WA, Heirloom Stamp & Paper Arts Festival. We will be there and our 15’ booth will be jam packed with all of our products, demos and LOTS of inspiring samples to dazzle you with ideas!

June 4, 5, & 6 – Great American Scrapbook Show in Arlington TX. We will be there and this is our busiest show of the year, so our 20’ booth will be jam packed with all of our products and samples! Plus - Vicki Chrisman (our DT leader) will be there to inspire you with some fabulous ideas!

I had to show you this pamphlet photo of my new office furniture!
I've been trying to write down my goals and one was to get rid of our old ugly miss matched office furniture. We had desks I bought for $7.50 at the Goodwill years ago, so when I saw this furniture at Office Depot I fell in love - but it was way over my budget for all the pieces I needed. I brought the flyer home and pinned it up and said - one day! Then I walked into liquidation dept at Hardware sales in Bellingham WA last month and found it all marked WAY down! Yippee - dreams come true! We have been bringing it back across the border 1 piece at a time. It's a good thing because I never realized how much stuff I had to pack up and move out! I have 1000's of antique postcards, old books, prints, etc - plus years of clutter. I promise to show photos as soon as it's done! This is the flyer photo but yes, I even scored the lighted bookcase to show off samples!


I'm also very excited to be taking my 3 daughter away on our 2nd annual mother-daughter road trip to Portland, Oregon this weekend. We leave this morning and I have travel games again and prizes for the 5 hour drive. My girls are grown, so I found Travel Bingo at the dollar store and printed off circle word games and Sex & the City trivia sheets from the internet. Prizes include chocolate bars, hair stuff, a couple of bottles of wine and some American $5.00 bills!

We love the Portland Saturday Market, the cool stores & restaurants, the no sales tax, Hawthorne Street, Nob Hill and other fun places, so Portland won the vote again this year.

I plan to take lots of photos and make a little scrapbook that I will share. This is a photo of my girls. Holly is 23, Katie 26 and Chelsea 22. I'm so happy that they have become best friends because they fought like crazy when they were kids!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sandy Redburn
Owner
Crafty Secrets

Our Online Store Locator
Our Shopatron Store

Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817

Head Office
15430 78 A Ave., Surrey, BC V3S 8R4

USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine, WA 98230
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Mother's Day Projects, Copic Tips & Enter to Win!

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted but hopefully I can start to make it up to you today! I have lots of great samples projects to share, a Copic coloring link and Blog Candy! To enter to win a $60.00 gift certificate and free S&H just leave a comment on this blog post! Draw is April 30/09.

With Mothers Day coming soon I thought I would round up a bunch of inspiring cards, layouts and keepsakes that honor Motherhood. You may be looking for something to create for your mother, or a mother figure in your life, or maybe just for yourself to remember and celebrate your joys as a mother.

DT member Melissa Phillips created this pretty Mother’s Day card using a floral image with the script writing from our Garden Creative Scraps and an embossed die cut frame from Tattered Angels she glittered up. You can see more photos and details
HERE on Melissa’s blog.
I also began reading one of Melissa's earlier blog posts on the joy she feels being a mother and it made me get all teary eyed when she spoke about the love that is shared between a mother and child. It really is one of the greatest joys in life! You can read her Lucky to Be Loved post HERE.

I also adore this pretty card that one of our long time customers Denise Dillman created using the motherhood image from our Family Cotton Scraps. I'm not sure of the printed paper but it all looks wonderful together!
Some of these projects you may have seen in the past but we have so many new subscribers I had to share a few again. Gift certificates are so popular and I love DT member Lisa Zappa’s library pocket idea here to hold a Starbucks Gift Card for Mother's Day.
Lisa used a Bazzill Library pocket for the holder and added the yellow ‘crackled wood paper’ from our Radiant Paper Pad to the bottom. She mounted a seed pack image from our Seasonal Booklet so that it hides the gift card behind it. "Mom" is stamped with the letters from our Artsy Alphabet Clear Art Stamp Set. The white flowers are colored with a Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Glitter Pen. She used Pink Making Memories Glitter around the edge of the seed packet image, May Arts Ribbon, a corner punch and a slit punch for the insert inside the pocket.


Look at these pretty tins that Lisa Zappa also created last year using 2 images from our Summer Image & Journal Notes Booklet and a combo of our stamps. I love the way she used our sheet music stamp on her flowers! You can see more photos, supplies and her technique HERE on her blog.

This wood frame that DT member Vicki Chrisman altered is a few years old but it's still my fav project using alphabet our older Divine Alphabets & More Booklet. The word Wonderful is off the top of the W page and I love the way she stitched it to some frayed muslin. All 6 old Alphabet Books are on sale for $4.95 each to make room in our little warehouse. You can read about them HERE (2 pgs)
I also had to show this layout Vicki did of her mom by stitching paper together from our Pastel Paper Pad on pink cardstock cut with an Accucut scallop die. The colors looks so pretty and have such shabby appeal. Past DT member Janel Brown said this layout was quick and fun using our Homemade Images & Journal Notes. She also used our Flourish Clear Art Stamps for the photo corners. Janel created her music paper by scanning a page of her Grandmother's vintage music. The photo is of her mother, sister and Janel is the baby!


DT member Marisa Grossan created this pretty frame using some floral paper from our Classic Paper Pad and stamping the letters MOM from our Artsy Alphabet Clear Art Stamps. Poor Marisa is having problems with her computer and blog but she has been able to upload samples in our online gallery here. Some of the other members are having problems but - we are getting a website make over soon!

Look at this cute kitty image from our Joys of Life Booklet that past DT member Lisa Strahl used to create this fun card. I even have this kitty as a magnet on my fridge as a reminder to all who may forget!

See these sweet little inspiration bottles DT member Pam Hooten created with angel wings you can read about HERE! on Pam's blog. This idea would make a fun gift with a photo of ‘Mom’.
Jars and containers of all sorts can be dressed up to hold all sorts of goodies. How about this cute canning jar that Vicki embellished with an image from our new Domestic Goddess Creative Scraps and a scrap of fabric and ribbon. You can see more fun container ideas HERE on Vicki's blog.
Copic Coloring Fun with Linda Duke!
Several people love the way Copic Markers work for coloring in stamped images but they are not sure how to do the shading to achieve a real artistic look. DT member Linda Duke has begun creating little videos on youtube showing how she shades and blends her colors! You can watch Linda's video HERE and see some great samples on her blog! This is also a LINK to frequently asked questions and tips from the Copic site.
Before I leave - I have to tell you to check out the very cool challenge Pammyjo is hosting over at Splitcoaststampers.com using our products with pleats, buckles and jewels! Some fabulous samples are arriving in the Gallery HERE!
Don't forget to enter our Blog Candy Give Away for a $60.00 Gift Certificate with free S&H! You just need to post a comment here on this blog!
PS - Our regular newsletter will go out later this week and include some free vintage printable poems and verses for Mothers Day projects!
Wishing you joy & creativity
Sandy Redburn
Owner
www.craftysecrets.com

Our Online Store Locator
Our Shopatron Store


Crafty Secrets
Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817

Head Office
15430 78 A Ave., Surrey, BC V3S 8R4

USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine, WA 98230
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Easter Samples & Freebie, New DT Members & Winner!

April 1st Blog Candy Winner
Melissa Phillips & Michelle van Etten Join Our DT!
Easter Samples by Marlene Bender
More Cute Easter Cards & Keepsakes!
Join in Fun Challenges!
Anna Wight's Chick and Link


Hi Everyone,

Wow - we had over 410 entries for our this April 1st Giveaway! There were so many nice comments, it looks like everyone really enjoyed the March Mix promo we did combining our design team ladies with the Tattered Angels design team! I asked my hubby to pick the winning number and the winner was # 210, so Diana from Washington wins the main prize of 3 bottles of Glimmer Mist, a Fairyland stamp set, a Birds & Botanical Booklet plus our Easter and Garden Creative Scraps!

Okay, now I have lots of fun stuff to share with you! First I would love to introduce our 2 new Design Team members Melissa Phillips and Michelle van Etten. Both of these ladies are incredibly talented and I’m thrilled they have joined our team!

Look at this beautiful tag Melissa designed using our Baby Girl Cotton Scraps! Melissa also designs for Emma’s Paperie, Melissa Frances, Papertry Ink, Pink Paislee and Tattered Angels! You can see more of Melissa’s fantastic creations here on her blog
http://lilybeanpaperie.typepad.com/


I love this layout Michelle created using our new Girlfriend Creative Scraps! Michelle is also on the Prima and Tattered Angels Design Teams and teaches classes for stores and various companies. You can see more of her fabulous creations here on her blog http://trendyscrapper.typepad.com/





Marlene Bender was one of our guest designers this month and you may have seen some of her wonderful samples I posted on my last post HERE. I have a few more to share!

Look at this adorable tic tac toe game board Marlene altered using our Happy Easter Clear Art Stamp set.


I also like the way Marlene stamped this little tag using the Easter stamps for her chocolate bunny and added the flowers.

Marlene also designed this beautiful little framed piece of art using paper from our new Serenity Stamp set. I really like the way she stamped over the hydrangea paper from our Radiant Paper Pad. This is such a wonderful inspirational prayer and it would make a fantastic gift!


Here are some more fun Easter samples. DT member Heidi Blankenship created this super cute Easter cookie cutter candy shaker and used our some of the bunnies from our Happy Easter Clear Art Stamps to decorate her tag. You can get all the details HERE on Heidi’s blog.

DT member Vivian Peters has been creating all sorts of adorable Easter cards like this one where she used this cute bunny from our new Easter Creative Scraps. You can see Vivian’s other cards HERE on her blog.


Last Easter we offered a free printable poem and a beautiful angel image and we ran a little contest and Joanne Allison won for creating this stunning card. You can download our free poem and the angel HERE and save it to a picture file to create cards and keepsakes for your own personal use. The link also provides links to the other samples entered.You can also see all sorts of wonderful Easter cards, layouts and keepsakes HERE in our Crafty Secrets Gallery.

Here is a link to the new 'Show Me Your Metal' challenge over at Splitcoast that Lori Lynn is hosting this week. You can read all about it HERE and watch as the gallery grows with cool samples this week. You can also post a sample you may be inspired to create or already have! HERE is a link to last weeks Home Sweet Home Challenge gallery with some very cool samples!

There is also a Crafty Secrets/Heartwarming Vintage group over at Papercraft Planet HERE and they have really fun challenges as well that you can join in on!

It’s been busy around here as we are training a new lady, Amy, in our office. Our office manager Nicole is moving back to Alberta and we wish her and her daughter Teana all the best in their new adventure! You will see several changes over the next 6 months including a brand new website and some really cool new products! Geez, I just realized I say ‘cool’ way too much. I’m 51 and I think it’s time to broaden my vocabulary!

Lastly I want to leave you with an great photo that one of our Design Team members Anna Wight took of a new chick on her farm. Anna is an amazing photographer as well as designer and her blog is filled with a mix of fabulous photography and inspiring samples she creates! The photos and stories about the animals are her farm make me laugh out loud and all her galleries like 'Photo of the Day' are filled with some of the most beautiful photography I've ever seen! Definitely worth a visit to Sweet Miss Daisys Blog HERE

Remember you can always check our online Store Locator HERE to find a retailer who carries our products, or you can tell your fav store about us! If you wish to buy online you can get all of products buy HERE in our Shopatron Store

Wishing you joy & creativity
Sandy Redburn
Owner

Crafty Secrets - Heartwarming Vintage Co.
Our Online Store Locator
Our Shopatron Store

To
ll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817

Head Office
15430 78 A Ave., Surrey, BC V3S 8R4

USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine, WA 98230