Frosty Windows

The new camera captures amazing images.

I love the contrast of David's soft organic fingers to the rigid icy fingers growing on the glass.

I used my new Canon Rebel to take these gorgeous pictures, it's been about 2 weeks of -20c or colder, and this is about the only thing that still looks pretty no matter how cold it gets. I'm hoping that before they disappear I can get a few with blue sky or sun behind them, wishful thinking....
Ok, that's enough posts for one day!
Cheers,
V.

Frosty Tips and Blue Sky=Beautiful!

Lines: The cold earth slept below

by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The cold earth slept below;
Above the cold sky shone;
And all around,
With a chilling sound,
From caves of ice and fields of snow
The breath of night like death did flow
Beneath the sinking moon.

The wintry hedge was black;
The green grass was not seen;
The birds did rest
On the bare thorn’s breast,
Whose roots, beside the pathway track,
Had bound their folds o’er many a crack
Which the frost had made between.


Enjoying winter,
Viviana

Some Valentine Freebies

Isn't he a dream?? Oh that picture sure made me laugh out loud, so much so that my son came upstairs to see what was so funny....



These all came from Heidi at Shabby Chic Papirskatter Looking through her archives makes me happy!!

Now This BLOG is FABULOUS!

I have been lifting ideas, images and inspiration from this blog for a few months now, so I suppose it's time I gave her props and shared with all of you how fabulous Cathe Holden and her blog Just Something I Made really is.
I have used no less than 6 of her tutorials and ideas in my own household, and that is really amazing since I always thought I has some great things going.
One of my favourites and latest finds deep in her archives is this, which I will share with you because I'm sure she won't mind, and I am using today. I have tons of fabric and leather renmants lying around in piles and in drawers, last night I gathered them up and I am in the process of printing the pdf file for Organizing Fabric Renmants as we speak (I'm multi-tasking!!). It is time to get them rolled up and sorted in my newly acquired giant drawer filing cabinet.

You can get the PDF format labels to print yourself from her tutorial.


Another one of my favourite tutorials was this one,

called Leather Mounting Plaques, using the free pdf file (which you can get from Cathe's blog)
I made a few brooches and it gave me the idea for using some die cuts for a similar look.

I have too many charms and just wasn't sure what to do with some, so this was a perfect way to make unique gifts and items for my Etsy Shop.



For my next project (as soon as I get my sewing machine back) I will be making this!

I happen to have a few placemats in a blue flower print, which I picked up more than 5 years ago for 10cents each at liquidation world. I'm tired of squashed tissue boxes in my mini-van, and using this idea will save me from the frustration of muddy/slushy boot prints on my kleenx next time I go use one. I will eventually post a picture for you all to see the finished product.

Anyhow, if one day you find yourself bored and looking for some wonderful inspiration from a great designer, go visit Cathe at Just Something I Made, you'll find yourself lost in her blog for hours!

It's Never Too Early For Love

Just thought I'd share, can't remember where I got these from, they've been in my collection for a long time now, so enjoy!

Cheers,
Viviana

Roses, my favourite flower

For a long time, I used to say sunflowers or violets were my favourite flower, maybe for fear of sounding too cliche, but after so many years of admiration, I decided that a rose is my flower of choice, it always had been. I got my first bouquet of roses from my good friend Renay many years ago, she thought it fitting for my birthday, which happens to be on Valentines day. Since then, it's not been often I've received a rose, but I love them, and actually, feel so sad once they start to wilt, that I am happy to not any at all rather than suffer the pain of watching my beloved rose die and dry up. With all the amazing vintage images and postcards out there for me to find, they fulfill my needs when it comes to the beautiful rose.

I came across this great website, called Vintage Holliday Crafts, She has a very sweet collection of images, and I loved some of the roses, which I will share with you here today.




Please read her terms of use too, for if you are grabbing them to use for your crafts. Remember to click on the image so that it shows you the actual full size, before right clicking to save it.



THE HISTORY OF ROSES"
(I came across this bit of history, it is quite concise in illustrating how the rose came about to be so loved)

Roses have a long and colorful history. They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics. The rose is, according to fossil evidence, 35 million years old. In nature, the genus Rosa has some 150 species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Alaska to Mexico and including northern Africa. Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, probably in China. During the Roman period, roses were grown extensively in the Middle East. They were used as confetti at celebrations, for medicinal purposes, and as a source of perfume. Roman nobility established large public rose gardens in the south of Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the popularity of roses seemed to rise and fall depending on gardening trends of the time.
White Rose of York

During the fifteenth century, the rose was used as a symbol for the factions fighting to control England. The white rose symbolized York, and the red rose symbolized Lancaster, as a result, the conflict became known as the "War of the Roses."

Roses were in such high demand during the seventeenth century that royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender, and they were often used as barter and for payments. Napoleon's wife Josephine established an extensive collection of roses at Chateau de Malmaison, an estate seven miles west of Paris in the 1800s. This garden became the setting for Pierre Joseph Redoute's work as a botanical illustrator. In 1824, he completed his watercolor collection "Les Rose," which is still considered one of the finest records of botanical illustration.

It wasn't until the late eighteenth century that cultivated roses were introduced into Europe from China. Most modern-day roses can be traced back to this ancestry. These introductions were repeat bloomers, making them unusual and of great interest to hybridizers, setting the stage for breeding work with native roses to select for hardiness and a long bloom season. Many of these early efforts by plant breeders are of great interest to today's gardeners.



Enjoy,
Viviana

Sharing Images from "The Last Door Down The Hall"

The Last Door Down the Hall is one of my favourite places to go when I have time. This blog is not just full of inpiration, she has so many wonderful vintage images, photos and postcards, I just can't get enough. I'm sharing some of the images she has shared with us from a couple years ago, but like with any vintage piece, they are as beautiful today as they were 2 years ago when she first posted them. So if you are looking for a blog filled with inspiration, ideas, creativity, recipes and more....this blog is the place to go.





Aren't they great? I sure hope she keeps on sharing for many years to come!

Cheers,
Viviana

In keeping with the mood of the season, I thought I'd share this lovely little holly sprig. I love it because it has a wild rose on it, I live in Alberta, Canada, and the provincial flower is the wild rose (our license plates read "Wild Rose Country"). I am using it on our Christmas cards, which I will post as soon as I am done.

I'm thinking that maybe I should have started on them sooner, but the idea didn't really blossom until a few days ago, when my son and I were outside and I kept on thinking of all those little sepia pictures done in a studio with fake snow, and here we have tonnes of the real stuff to work with. Anyhow, I'll leave it at that, and I'll post it when I'm finished.

This next picture is so wonderful, I don;t even know how to express how I feel about it. The artists name is Billy DeVorss. Who wouldn't want to pose for him? Oh, if only he could paint me looking so stunningly beautiful!



This last one is for all of you who even though it is Christmas season, are still making and creating for other reasons too.
Thanks for looking and comments are gretaly appreciated.

More Vintage Images

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This first one is not a Christmas one, but I just though it's such a great lable, I love the style and the pink, it's my favourite colour of course!



This image is just so darn cute, the little guy reminds me of an elf....



This one brought back memories of living up north and learning to cross country ski, though me thinks this little babe is not dressed well enough for the weather where I live!!
Enjoy using them for your projects and artwork to sell, but remember to not sell the image itself alone or as a group, thanks!