A Vintage Valentine- a day of creating with friends

Valentines Day is not just a day for lovers, it is a day to celebrate the things you love. I couldn't think of  a better way to spend it than celebrating with my friends doing what we love, creating. My friend Andrea Villarreal is an amazing hostess and from time to time we put our heads together and come up with a reason to have a crafty party. Andrea came up with A Vintage Valentine though all on her own, a FULL day of creating, crafting and socializing.  Andrea invited me, scrapbook queen Jennifer Priest and jewelry designer Ruby Walker to lead the classes. Here are some pics from the event. Keep an eye out on my blog for Andreas next soiree maybe you can squeeze in!

{soldering stations all set up}

{my kit and a canvas love bag from Andrea filled with Valetines paper goodies and glitter!}

{Andreas beautiful decor}

{paper table, everyone chose their own image to put in their necklace}

{i was busy helping so I just got pics of some finished projects- Julie Wellers cute Kewpie}

{Annettes}

{Ruby}

{whats this? A future jar of hearts! Andrea had a swap too where we all brought 18 hearts and got 18 different ones in return. And below are the hearts!}

{mine, I hand wired a heart}

{Cheryls- now dangit if I didn't separate them from their packaging, I would know who's was who's. I DO remember some though.....}

{love the burlap and pink trim}

{love the doilies and bling!}

{love the felt and blanket stitch!}

{this one was Taras, WOW good job first time swapper!}

{ I love bakers twine, so cute and with the little envelope-love!}

{more burlap and vintage lace and buttons!}

{so cute you could eat it}

{Terry soldered ALL of hers.....love it!}

{Annettes...where DID she find all those cute heart shaped tins!}

{Kims creamy lace Love it!}

{this was my neighbors, all of hers were different! Awesome }

{Miss Julies, love the image!}

{all filled with love now....but I have another Idea}

I know just the place for these!

YES! My Christmas tree I still have not taken down! Don't they look cute? I think I will keep them up. Lets see Easter tree next? Why not? Stay tuned I'll have some more pics from the other classes that day. And I truly want to say thank you to Andrea for making my day extra special. You see I am a very lets say picky eater, and Andrea made THE best fettuccine that only had "Denise" friendly ingredients in it. It was sooo good! I wish I would have got in line earlier and got more because it was delicious, and seeing the empty dish, I wasn't the only one who loved it. Thanks Andrea {{{{HUG}}}}}}

-Denise

CHA-inspiration

{Jenny Doh, Cheryl Stoneham, Kim Caldwell, Me, and Jeannine Stein}

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to attend CHA, the Craft and Hobby Associations trade show. It was a bit overwhelming, yet monotonous at the same time! So many paper companies and everything was cute! Stamp companies... a gazillion.  Beads, oh yes! Supplies, oh my! I have to say, it must be hard for companies and especially independent lines to stand out amongst the crowd. What I was really looking for though were products and samples that inspired me, things that were different, and supplies that I wasn't familiar with. Hopefully some of my favorites I will be able to order from retailers as some of the minimums were beyond what I would need even for a full class! A few spaces really stood out for me, the EK success area. It took over the whole center of one area and had an espresso bar, full classroom with demos going all day, and everyone on of their lines from jewelry to paper crafting. I will say the highlight of the day came when Kaari Meng from French General found me sitting at one of the demos and asked me to teach at her shop! Kaari has a new line of paper crafting embellishments that are to die for. She is going to get me some samples to play with, and I have so many ideas for classes! Look for me to be teaching their in April of this year! {{{{{And thanks to by GF Terry for referring Kaari to me hugs!}}}}
Here's my pics:

{La Blanche stamps} I loved her artwork these are just amazing!

{she makes these with stamps, inks, and UTEE, I was so inspired by the use of the UTEE I have already ordered some{

{http://www.lablanche.eu/blog/ is her blog and she has way better pics form CHA!}

{The lovely Andrea under the chandelier at 7 gypsies}

{really liked these, Melissa Francis had some mini ones I want to order for a class}

{love this tissue paper-7 gypsies}

{a few fun tiaras, dont remember the booth}

{tiara}

{Prima Marketing!!!! Their booth and their lines are awesome! La Blanche used a lot of pieces like these in her picture frames}

{Prima marketing birthday cap, their flowers were to die for!}

{this was a small indy company, but loved his lace tape!}

{more Prima}

{for anyone that wants to make beautiful Jewelry from kits, this line from EK Success is gorgeous!}

{here are some of the pieces you can make}

{Dangit, my French General display came out terrible! Trust me though these are amazing and I am so happy that Michael's is going to carry some of it! Go Kaari!}

-Denise

The Art of Craft at French General

{Pam Garrison's fun embroidery, would love to get to this level!}

French General, is a wonderful little shop tucked away by a freeway underpass in Los Angeles near the Silverlake district, it small only in size. Owner Kaari Meng has it filled to the brim with her fabrics that she designs for Moda. Along with that are tons of vintage beads, millinery, vintage paper, ephemera, and the list goes on. This is the second year that Kaari has hosted the Art of Craft weekend at French General, and it just so happens that they always fall near my Moms birthday. Now attending has become a tradition and as long as Kaari hosts them, we will be there for Moms birthday. I chose the Sailors Valentine class with Charlotte Lyons and Pam Garriosn. I like to do things a little outside of the box and I am NOT a embroiderer although I do enjoy sewing. We started off with a little instruction and then were cut loose to hit the "share" table. A table filled with goodies that we could use for our projects. After the initial throngs cleared away, I went over and chose some stuff for my heart. I did bring some of my own vintage fun though. I bought this baggie full of vintage fabric covered buttons and have been looking for someplace to use them. As usual I was speed crafting, I just have this thing that I must finish the project, because I find it hard to get motivated to finish them when I get home! Mom, didn't get as much done, but I know that when she gets home she will be "playing" with it and putting her own spin and little touches on it. Here are some pics from the class. Can't wait until next years classes!

{okay this was so wierd, the open seat had a book on it that said "Hahn", then when i looked up higher were the words "DE VENISE" which is reallly close to my name!}

{hey, who made this mess??????}

{Me and my Mom}

{the share table..oh la la!}

{My little heart and vintage buttons}

{Moms work in progress}

{my girl Terry, we were at different tables, but I see her ALLL the time!}

-Follow Kaaris blog and the French General website for info on upcoming events.

Valentine Crafting

I think Valentines Day is second only to Halloween for me when it comes to crafty inspiration. Pinks, creams, whites and reds! I just love the colors that Valentines Day brings. Here are a few of my creations. I made them at our girls crafty Sunday. The last Sunday of the month each of us hosts craft day at our homes. This last Sunday was at Holly Stinnetts lovely home in Los Angeles.  I dont really have any pics of the day though....why you ask? For some reason when I bring my camera I feel sort of like a reporter for my blog instead of a guest just enjoying the company. Does that make sense?

{this first little banner is easy and fun to make}

 Cut out some .25 inch foam board into pennant shape

apply modge podge with a foam brush

lay tissue paper on top and gently tap down

set aside to try

Cut smaller pennants out of vintage book paper

ink the edges

After your pennants dry distress the edges with ink

stick on vintage book paper

Punch holes in upper corners

attach letters

string seam binding through, making sure long enough to hang

{now where to hang it?----too busy here}

{too up high here}

{ahhh just right! The door to my craft room}

{here is another cute one I made from Vintage valentines Holly provided for us}

{so cute, a little doggie banner}

This one is super easy to make

Cut out 5 like sized hearts from decorative paper

cut out card stock in a rectangle, big enough to show from behind your image, yet small enough not to cover too much of the heart base

Ink edges of everything

find some cute vintage valentine images using google image search- print and cut out

assemble using foam board pieces or pop dots

add a little glittery flower embellishment between the valentine and cardstock.

Punch holes and string with ribbon or seam binding

And then this cute little book I made with goodies that all the girls brought! Of course we all bring extra little goodies to share with each other. After I finished my banners I decided to make a little scrapbook to put all of the goodies in. 

{I hade everyone sign my valentine!}

{inside here are some of the goodies!}

{Holly gave us these cute little red and white straws, I just had to incorporate them!- I used a binding technique I learned in the book. ReBound.

{as always it was a fun day topped off with tasty birthday cake for Holly and Erin. I feel so fortunate to have all of these girls in my life!}

-Denise