Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October Linky Challenge Winner!

Hello, Friends!  Fall has fully arrived here in North Carolina where the skies are a brilliant blue, the air is crisp and the leaves are starting to fall from the trees.  What a glorious time of year!  It just makes you glad to be alive!  I'm popping in today to share the winner of our October Linky Challenge and Blog Hop, share some news and some wonderful samples from our fantastic design team.  First things first: announcing the winner of the Linky Challenge and Blog Hop!

I put all the numbers into Random.org and the lucky winner of the $25 digital shopping spree this month is #2: Sierra Winters from Sierra's Gift.  Sierra created a sweet primitive style tag using one the images from our Seasonal Vintage Image and Journal Notes Booklet.



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHbJabHqb8Hi2_t8DanvIsyGM4jPDs-cHLvrvSlP9iGPRNjpVqDsQhrNwTgns1LfW9bVISTaJdbd0IscnFzhLdVRWS0iZnH8DVUChCJRibT-5Jy3E-4Yx4Y3kL-ScAxtUqIHnkHtyXQtQ/s400/TagHalloween.jpg 

Thanks for joining the fun with us this month, Sierra, and congratulations on your win!  Please contact craftysecrets@telus.net with your e-mail address so we can get your shopping code to you.  Thanks to everyone who played along!  I loved each and every project, and was so happy to see some new people join the fun.  The next Linky Challenge and Blog hop will be held on Monday, November 2nd, so be sure to tune in, get your free digital download and take another spin at winning that $25 digital shopping spree!

Our design team has been busy making all sorts of wonderful goodies and I have a few to share with you here today.  Get ready to be inspired!

With Halloween right around the corner, I know many of you are busy getting ready for parties and trick or treaters.  The team has put together some very cute Halloween projects that you might want to add to your last minute preparations.

What could be more fun than a pair of frightfully fashionable Witch Shoes?  Our Creating With Vintage Illustrations CD has a wonderful shoe template that you can print out onto cardstock, cut and assemble.  It's a super easy project that would make a great decoration for your party table.  Using the papers from our Jumbo Halloween Digital Download with the template makes short work of this fun project. You can find all the info and lots more photos on my blog, Kathy by Design

http://www.kathybydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Witch-shoes-Crafty-Secrets-02.jpg 

No one loves Halloween more than our Ginny Nemchak!  She has been blowing us away with all the spook-tacular projects she's made with our Halloween goodies!  This fun Halloween Stocking tree uses papers from our Creating with Vintage Halloween CD and images from our Halloween Digital Scraps.  Wouldn't this be adorable on your Halloween table, or a great way to hand out candy to Trick or Treaters?

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12140655_1007435749308464_2163081927970806670_n.jpg?oh=5c9269a400209244a8017e880efb85f9&oe=5691A989 

Ginny used the Halloween CD again when she made this spook-tacular Halloween ornaments.  She loves Halloween so much that she actually decorates a tree for her living room.  These tag ornaments would also be super cute strung together as a banner!  Take a peeky:

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/t31.0-8/s720x720/12006489_1005882556130450_5262140988224982213_o.jpg 

I love the orange Halloween trees, don't you?  If you'd like to take Ginny's Halloween tour of her home, you can find that link HERE.  She has loads of great ideas for decorating your home for Halloween ghouls and goblins! 

Diane Hover created some spooky cute Halloween Party Shakers using our Creating with Digital Halloween Papers and Digital Halloween Scraps.   I think there will be a "whole lotta shakin' going on" when these arrive on the party scene!


Darlene found a way to add Halloween fun to a most unexpected household item!  Take a look at this cute tissue box cover she created using images from our Halloween Printables and our Halloween Digital papers


That should be enough to get your creative juices flowing with ideas for Fright Night!  Now let's move on and see what other members of the team have been up to!

Look at this gorgeous watercolored rose that Michele Kovack made using our Roses Digital Art Stamps! I can't get over how beautiful this is!  She's sharing it today on her blog, so be sure to pop over and get the details on how she made it.  I know I'm going to! 

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12074541_10208207147235399_3763597064773870271_n.jpg?oh=c7ac5b47fb124017857755491a9b9779&oe=56875598 

Our Creating With Vintage Illustrations CD is loaded with papers and images that can be used year round.  Look at the gorgeous Digital Layout Sheila Rumney created to celebrate the beauty of fall. Sheila has such great, easy to follow tutorials on her blog, so if you are new to digital scrapping, you'll want to be sure to stop by and read how she creates all these gorgeous digital layers.


https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-9/12143146_10153377762553143_2243857888440332446_n.jpg?oh=1972fb89a89da513dbec1c5b444c9e1c&oe=56CAA820 

I have one last sample to share with you along with a little tip for organizing your crafting scraps.  Some time ago, I decided that when I was cleaning up the aftermath of a project, I would use paper clips to bundle together scraps of paper, images and ephemera that worked well together.  I use a plastic storage bin and toss them in there.  Then, when I need a quick card, I pull something out of the bin and put it together.  It means that scraps that would otherwise lie around gathering dust get used, and it's all really organized.  I put this fun "Forget Housework" card together in about 20 minutes.


 All I had to do was add some ribbon and a couple of die cuts.  If you feel like you are drowning in scraps, you might want to take an afternoon and a package of paper clips to create your own little scrap bundles!  The scraps on this card are the black lace paper from our Halloween Jumbo Download,  Pink Stripes and Pink Polka Dots from our Radiant Digital papers, the Eiffel Tower is from our Mini Vintage Scraps,  and the image is from our Girl Time Homespun Cotton Scraps.

With the changing of the seasons, we have some changes happening at Crafty Secrets, too.  We have 3 design team members who are stepping away from the team for various reasons.  I'd like to thank Darlene Pavlick, Teresa Horner and Melody Clement for all the wonderful projects, team spirit and support they've given to Crafty Secrets during their time on the team.  We've been so inspired by their beautiful work and wish them well as they move on to new adventures.  I hope you'll take a moment to wish them a fond farewell below.

Sandy Redburn has been busy moving and getting settled into her new home.  I've been in touch with her, and know that she's working on some great new coloring pages as well as more fantastic vintage printables that she'll be sharing here soon.  Moving house is such a huge job, that I told her to just focus on that, and I'd handle the blog and daily duties for her.  I hope she comes back soon though!  

Don't forget that Crafty Secrets now offers FREE SHIPPING on all US orders of $35.00 or more.  We are still trying to empty our our warehouse and move ever closer to providing all digital stamps, papers, printables and kits for our crafty friends all around the world.  Take a tour through the online store and you'll find some fabulous closeout bargains there!  With Christmas sneaking up on us, it's a great time to stock up on stocking stuffers and gifts for your favorite crafter!

We'd love to hear from you and know what you're currently working on so don't be afraid to leave a comment below.  

On behalf of Sandy Redburn, I wish you joy and creativity!

Cheerio,
Kathy Clement
Design Team Leader, Crafty Secrets


Monday, October 5, 2015

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart: October 2015 Linky Challenge and Blog Hop

Hello, Friends!

It's the first Monday in October and time for a new Linky Challenge and Blog Hop.  Fall is in full swing, Halloween is coming up fast, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  With that in mind, the theme for this month's challenge and Blog Hop is "Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart."  We challenged the design team to create a hostess gift, card, wall hanging, mixed media project, altered art or mini album with a Thanksgiving/Thankfulness theme.   I've had a sneak peek of all the different projects, and I can tell you, there's some fabulous inspiration coming your way in today's post.

But before we get started with the hop, we have to announce the winner of our Halloween giveaway.  We had asked you to share your favorite Halloween traditions with us, and you all had so many great ideas to share.  It was wonderful to hear from you all.

The winner of the TRADITIONAL prize package is Susan McMenamin who said,
"I would love to win your traditional prize package.It would fit right in with my favorite Halloween activity-surprising friends and coworkers with cards and treats!"

September 28, 2015 at 8:03 PM
Delete


 The winner of the DIGITAL prize package is LeAnne who said, 
"We don't get any trick-or-treaters because we live in the country too, like Margie! So my favorite tradition is carving out jack-o-lanterns and putting them on our porch. Nobody sees them but us, but it's still fun! And I have lots of Halloween decorations that I like to arrange around the house, and that makes me happy! I love Halloween! And I love CS stuff, in fact, I already have that cute little stamp set, to have it digital so I could re=size it would be awesome!"
September 27, 2015 at 5:17 PM


 Congrats, LeAnne and Susan!  Please contact Sandy at craftysecrets@telus.net to claim your prize! 

I wish we could have sent a prize package to everyone who commented.  But the good news is that all these Halloween Goodies are available in our online store and most of them are on sale!  And did you hear the news?  We now offer FREE SHIPPING on all domestic US orders over $35.00!  

Now, let's get see what inspirational ideas our fabby design team has prepared for this month's blog hop.  You'll find a sneak peek of their project below along with a link to each designer's blog where you'll find a little tutorial, lots of pictures and loads of inspiration.


Kathy Clement, Design Team Leader, created a vintage album filled with her family's favorite pumpkin recipes. Visit her blog, Kathy by Design where she shares her method for assembling this keepsake album.



Ginny Nemchak created a fabulous fall wall hanging and will show you how to create the pretty wreath that decorates it.  Visit her blog, Polly's Paper Studio, for more pictures and instructions.


Teresa Horner altered a jar to write down each day the things she is thankful for.  What a great idea and a reminder to be thankful each and every day.  Visit Victorian Paper Queen for more photos and details. 





Darlene Pavlick knows that we all need thank you cards, so she created a cute set of them with our Birds and Blooms Digital Paper Kit.  Visit Dar's Crafty Creations to see how she did it.


https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/l/t31.0-8/12034457_10153232454822297_8122968265341010158_o.jpg 

 Sheila Rumney inspires us with a beautiful altered project and has a great PhotoShop tutorial that will teach you how to use the Color Picker Tool.  Learn all about it at Sheila Rumney Design and Photography 

Shantaie Fowler got out her glitter, chalk paint and pretty embellies to make her altered project.  She'll teach you how to add color to chalk paint on her blog, Inking Pink


Diane Hover had this great idea to ask each of her grandchildren (and great-grandchildren!) "What is Thanksgiving?" and then record it in a keepsake journal.  She'll share the process (and hopefully some of their answers!) on her blog, Nellie's Nest. 

 https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/t31.0-8/12068765_10205493876209473_4590792856474731160_o.jpg

Michele Kovack has created the most precious card...and you will love seeing all the beautiful details on her blog Thoughts of  Cardmaking Scrapbooker.



What beautiful creations and what great reminders to be thankful!

We'd love to invite you to play along with us this month.  Simply create any project of your choice that features Crafty Secrets Products and link up with the Linky Tool at the bottom of this post.  

You don't have to follow our theme, but it's always fun if you do!  To win the $25 DIGITAL shopping spree, you MUST use Crafty Secrets Products in your creation.  To help you with that task, and to thank you for playing along please enjoy these free downloadable images.  Just right click and save the images to your computer.   These images are ONLY for those who are playing along in the challenge this month and cannot be sold, shared or otherwise reproduced. 

I love the beautiful papers and images in our Digital Thanksgiving Collection.  You'll find 10 designer papers, 34 PNG files (images that you can overlay and layer on other images) Thanksgiving stamps, and 5 full color files with ephemera, place cards, menu card, post cards and more.  It's available for instant download for just $10.99. 

https://craftyvintagegirl.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/512x512/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/h/thanksgiving_samples_4.jpg

Since our theme this  month is "Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart" I thought you might enjoy creating with one of the beautiful  papers and this lovely Autumn print from the set. 







Link your project no later than midnightPST on Sunday, October 18th.  The design team will be stopping by to take a peek at your lovely creations and a winner will be randomly chosen to win the $25 DIGITAL shopping spree.  We'll announce the winner here on the blog on Wednesday, October 21st and will share the lucky winner's project on our Facebook page and blog.  

We're so thankful for each one of you!  

On behalf of Sandy Redburn, this is Kathy Clement wishing you joy and creativity!

LINK YOUR PROJECT BELOW:



Delete