Welcome to the September Linky Party and DT Challenge!

Hello, Friends!

Kathy Clement, DT Leader for Crafty Secrets here to welcome you to our September Linky Party and and Fall/Halloween Design Team Challenge!

It's Labor Day weekend  in the USA and Canada so I think a lot of us are enjoying an extra day in our weekend to relax, spend with family and get crafty!  It's perfect timing, because each of the ladies on our design team has prepared a wonderful tutorial to share with you as well as an inspiring project to get your creative wheels turning.  What fun!

Before I get to the DT Projects Party projects, I want to share some news.  As many of you know owner Sandy Redburn wants to go completely digital and has all her printed stock on sale 50% off but she has also just put together 6 amazing theme packs for $19.95  at over 70% off the original retail price! They include: Summer, Girlfriends, Christmas, Little Boy, Little Girl and Halloween. 

  You will find all of these amazing blowout packs on the front page of our online CraftyVintageGirl.com Store.  Don't miss out on these and they would also make amazing Christmas gifts for your crafty friends and family members!

Sandy is also offering a wonderful FREE DOWNLOAD with any order through September8th (when it will change to a new free gift).  So you could order one of these lovely blowout packs and receive these beautiful Seaside Printable Cards for free.  They  would make beautiful gift tags, greeting cards, bookmarks, labels or journaling pages.

   

Fall/Halloween Themed September Linky Party and Guest Designer

Now, let's get this Linky Party going!  We are happy to have another wonderful Guest Designer this month.  Glenda Brooks of Magpie's Corner is our honored guest in this September Linky Party.  Glenda has been on various design teams, and is a recent addition to our Linky parties.  She has fallen in love with the vintage style of Crafty Secrets, and has added her amazing talent for card making and hand made flowers to this sweet Halloween card that uses our Digital Halloween Printables.  She has a tutorial for making those gorgeous flowers, and for adding dimension to that wonderful wrought iron fence.

 

You all know how much I love fall flowers, so I created an 8x10 canvas that combined papers from our Digital Vintage Halloween Jumbo Download with images from our Digital Garden Memories Stamps and Digital Garden Printables.  I was so inspired while working with these images that I wrote a poem about the beautiful fall asters I made to go with the project.  My TUTORIAL is on stamping onto printed paper.

  

Michele Kovack is shaking things up with a complete tutorial for making this darling Halloween Shaker card.  She used our Vintage Halloween Creative Scraps as the base for her project. I love the orange and black sequins peeking through! So fun!

DT Member Shelia Rumney created a great digital Halloween layout using our Creating with Vintage Halloween CD 4.  Her tutorial will show you step by step how to layer these papers and images. 

 

 If you're looking for a cute idea for Halloween treat bags, you'll want to be sure to check out Darlene Pavlick's project!  She also used our fabulous Halloween CD #4 which is loaded with yummy papers, images, Bingo cards and ephemera.  Just look how adorable these little bags turned out!

 

 

Elizabeth Lincoln has a tutorial for making this amazing dimensional fancy fold card. She also used the Halloween CD.  You can see how very versatile this CD is, and how many different looks you can create when using it.

 Also going with a Fall theme, Gloria Stengel has created a delightful gift ensemble using our Vintage Patterns and Vintage Typography CD's.  She also used our Digital Radiant papers and our Down on the Farm and Farm Chicks Art Stamps to assemble this wonderful set.  Her tutorial will guide you through the process of making the box and envelopes.  She'll also share tips for creating a coordinated gift giving set and Gloria also runs the Craft Hoarders Challenge which Crafty Secrets is sponsoring #15 now and again on Sept 15th.

 

I can't wait to share Diane Hover's frightfully fabulous altered clock project with you!  It is so imaginative, so FUN and absolutely beautiful.  Diane used our Halloween CD and put her creativity cap on for sure!  Take a look at this wonderful project! Visit her blog for a complete tutorial.

  

Melody Clement  has a great tutorial on building a Halloween pizza box to hold special treats. She put our Halloween CD to good use, combining papers, ephemera, borders and Bingo cards in making this "Not too spooky"  treat box.

 

  

I've saved DT member Shantaie Caudill-Fowler's beautiful place setting for last.  Burlap is so trendy right now, and she has used it beautifully here.   Shantaie used our gorgeous digital Thanksgiving Collection to create this little silverware pouch that would also serve as a take home gift for your holiday parties.

   

 

Wow!  That's a whole lotta inspiration!  I bet your fingers are itching to get busy creating with your own Crafty Secrets goodies!  Well, that's the whole idea!  Go visit each design team member's blog for inspiration, then create a NEW project that features Crafty Secrets product and link it up here before midnight PT, Sunday, September 14th 2014. You need not follow the Halloween/Fall theme to play along, but it's always fun if you do.  The design team will be visiting your lovely blogs and then one of you will be randomly selected to win a $50 gift card in our online store (sorry the gift card can't be used on the Sale Packs).  Each participant will receive a code for a $6 credit at the store, so everybody wins!  The winner will be announced right here on Wednesday, September 17th.  If you don't have any Crafty Secrets goodies, just look in the sidebar of this blog where you'll find a huge list of free downloads so everybody can play along.

I can't wait to see what you make!

Until next time, on behalf of Sandy (who will be the beautiful mother of the bride this coming Saturday, September 6th!) ....

 

I wish you joy and creativity,

Kathy Clement, Design Team Leader for Crafty Secrets

My Autumn Tree Tutorial, Fall and Halloween Ideas, Linky Winner!

Hi Everyone, 

It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada today, so Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian readers! I always feel like it comes too early as it’s still sunny and I have patio flowers. I wanted more Fall décor so I made a Autumn tree using 2 branches I taped together with hubby’s hockey tape but duct tape would work. 

Now I have something to go with the Luminary Lanterns I made last week. I used a glue gun to add leaves and flowers to the branches from CD 3,Creating With Vintage Topography and have a little tutorial below for you plus more fun samples by our DT Ladies, a great Tutorial by Sheila Rumney and our Linky Winner! 

 Congrats to random.org winner #6 KT Fit Kitty for her lovely bird card, one of 3 she created using our Bird Notes (now a $5.95 digital stamp set) as the clear set has sold out but images are larger!

You can see some great samples entered in our Linky Party and a big thank you to everyone who entered! I must give an honorable mention to Chrissie from Australia who created a fabulous Mini Pocket Album using a mix of our Sewing Ephemera following DT Member Darlene Pavlick's Pocket Album Tutorial - and Chrissie also made a You Tube Album Video showing all of her pages! 

 Okay let me show you how I made my Autumn Tree as it was easy and would work for a wreath, swag or branch over a window. I wanted different size leaves and flowers and remembered we have some on our CD #3. You can see they are a cool design by our designer Cindy van Koll with a mix of text and funky outlines.

 Don't look at the scary pumpkins! I did their faces using a sharpie.

The 2 leaves and flower I used are on CD 3 in the PNG Folder.  Many PNG files look like jpg files but the images are cut out and just have a white background. You can layer PNG Files and this link goes to my post listing the most popular digital programs you can use and many are free.

First you need to open a blank page to add all the images to. I used Photoshop Elements but you can also copy and paste images using Windows

You may as well fill your page with as many leaves and flowers as you can.

                          
Here is my page with the 2 leaves and flower in various sizes. Yep, you do need to cut them out but I did it while I watched Grey's Anatomy.

 I used a jug and wedged a tea towel to hold the branches upright while I glued leaves on. On my  my Halloween lanterns  post I showed the different images for the 4 clear glass sides.  I have the fun Halloween witch ladies page I made on the opposite side of our family photo.

 I also have short Tutorial for you by Sheila Rumney if you want to learn how to add text to a page for a card or scrapbook layout using Photoshop Elements. 

 Here's a fun Halloween card that DT memeber Darlene Pavlick created using our Halloween CD

 I adore the Thanksgiving card and matching lined envelope that DT Member Kathy Clement made with our .75 cent Autumn Cuts and Digital Thanksgiving Download

DT Member Rebekah Faries made place cards for her family dinner using the Halloween CD and she hand stitched little leaves

 I love this Thanksgiving layout and beautiful greeting cards DT Leader Vicki Chrisman created last year using our Thanksgiving Download.

 Lastly I wanted to share this fun pumpkin idea for stuffed peppers by Wing It Vegan. You could also add a baggie with veggie dip to the pepper.   She also has a big list of more fun Halloween theme food.

I will be back later this week with something new! 

Wishing you joy and creativity
Sandy  

See Our  CraftyVintageGirl.com Store
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Our Website: http://www.craftysecrets.com    

Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
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 Crafty Secrets Head Office
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250 H. Street, #436
Blaine,WA 98230

Halloween, Autumn and Floral Samples, plus My Spain Photos

Hi Everyone,  

I have some great Halloween and Autumn samples to share today, plus photos below from our trip to Spain and link for the Markets and Shops in Provence France.  DT Leader Vicki Chrisman had a Halloween Crafty Party with her art group and created these cute treat cups for everyone using our Halloween CD and her AccuCut Bow Die. It's fun to have special treats for special people.

First I have to apologize if any of you received a late order from us recently. We had 2 glitches with problems at the Post Office but 'lost' orders have turned up and all is good now!

We recently released our Costume Cuties as a Digital Stamp Download set for $9.95 and I love how much larger the designs are!

Here are some great samples for ideas

Halloween Labels is also a Digital Stamp Set now and it's perfect for printing on orange, yellow and green paper to create quick fun signs and labels for spooky bottles and festive party drinks.  See the sample photos below.

Here's some fabulous samples

 

Here's a pretty card by DT Member Michele Kovack using our Flower Garden Stamp Set

Look at this pretty Grateful and Blessed card DT Member by Kathy Clement created with a matching envelope using papers from our Halloween CD and images from our Autumn Cuts on sale for 75 cents!

We also have a Thanksgiving Digital Download for $10.99 which includes stunning papers, images, templates and a large Digital Stamp Set.  Here are 2 cards Vicki Chrisman created using the Thanksgiving Collection Printable Papers and images from the download Kit.

Here are the rest of the photos from our trip to Spain and you can see my Barcelona photos if you missed them. Tomorrow I will do the final trip post with Provence France and the markets. Below is the view off our balcony in a house we rented in a little medieval seaside town called Tossa de Mar.

Renting a house can be less money than staying in hotels and a great way to travel with friends. I posted some Budget Travel Tips if you missed them.

The quaint town of Tossa de Mar wraps around the beaches and the medieval castle which you can see off to the right side below. We had great weather but the townspeople were getting ready to close down a bunch of stores and restaurants in October. So it must cool off and be less busy.

Here's a view looking from the other way towards the castle.  There are a couple of entrances and a great private beach on the other side

Inside the castle walls there are old cobblestone streets with buildings that have been turned into restaurants and shops. I fell in love it was so enchanting. Look at the vines covering the entire patio in the photo below.  Let's go for lunch!

A street inside the castle walls and you can see the ocean view at the end.

This is the small beach on the other side of the castle which has an entrance in the town. It was less touristy with beautiful water and a little beach bar.

I loved the tile work on this bakery in town

I had to take a photo of this crazy bar we found called Bar Don Juan in the center of town. Yes - those are hams hanging from the ceiling and the little white funnels are to catch any fat that may drip. They are passionate about their ham - Jamon made from Black Iberian pigs and similar to Italian prosciutto is yummy with bread, cold beer.  Super friendly staff!

One of my other favorite places was  Girona Spain which is only 45 minute drive.

There were some beautiful buildings

This gorgeous art nouveau store sold gelato and candy

  
We ate Spanish appetizers known as pintxos (sounds like pinchos). Yummy but I think they may be the reason people in Spain are heavier than France? 

We found it amazing that you can take your jug down to the corner deli and get a refill of wine for as low as 1'65 to 3'30 Euros for a litre of the good stuff! Now I don't know if many deli's sell wine this way but what a deal.

Lastly , it's time to think about costumes so I couldn't resist showing you this hilarious Chia Peet Halloween Costume by Staci from the Flirty Guide, plus you can see a bunch of other super cute costumes her dog Kitai models including The Dog Whisperer costume worn on  the Today Show.  

Do you dress your pets during Halloween season? I admit - we've been guilty but it never stays on long. Otis would kill us if we made him be a Chia Pet.

Wishing you joy and creativity
Sandy  

See Our  CraftyVintageGirl.com Store
Visit us on Facebook with over 5500 Fans!  
This Blog: http://heartwarmingvintage.blogspot.com 
Our Website: http://www.craftysecrets.com    

Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817
 
 Crafty Secrets Head Office
15430 78 A Ave.,
Surrey, BC V3S 8R4

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