Tag Archives: Vintage

My wish for you

My wish for you

No one is too old to have a Christmas wish list, even if it is not the traditional list. Maybe your wish is for a new sweater or maybe you hope you can see a loved one soon.

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Shake that Snow Globe

Shake that Snow Globe
Shake that Snow Globe

Just to shake things up a bit, I diverged from my usual art and made this cute holiday greeting shaker card. It reminds me of vintage snow globes, and it was a fun and easy project.

Visit Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog  to see the tutorial or just follow below. Read the rest of this entry

Melt hearts with upcycled snowmen

Melt hearts with upcycled snowmen
Melt hearts with upcycled snowmen

Christmas is the perfect time for upcycling objects. Vintage salt shakers, sandbakel tins and wooden spools are ideal for creating adorable snowmen (and women!). Add in glittery snowflakes and things get really chill.

Sorry I am so flaky that I simply cannot resist a few snowmen puns. You will just have to roll with it.

 

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Brighten up your laundry room by making these retro signs

Brighten up your laundry room by making these retro signs
Brighten up your laundry room by making these retro signs

 

GSL-Retro-Laundry-by-Betsy-Skagen-407

Two of my favorite things in the world are mid-century graphics and snarky humor. I recently combined them to make one of my least favorite things in this world–doing laundry–a little more fun.  Read the rest of this entry

Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC

Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC
Hippity hoppity back in time with a vintage ATC

Hippity hoppity Easter’s on its way. With Easter approaching, it is the perfect time for springtime tales and bunny tails.

Easter-ATC-by-Betsy-Skagen-0793

I combined these themes with my take on a time-honored altered art form–the Artist Trading Card (ATC). Read the rest of this entry

Fill your eyes with wonder at the Kringle Toy Store

Fill your eyes with wonder at the Kringle Toy Store

Christmas-Toy-Store-by-Betsy-Skagen-181556

Christmas is nearly upon us. Part of the magic of the season is when children fill their eyes with wonder while window shopping.

Make sure you leave time to stop by Kringle Toys, where the glowing chandelier casts a warm glow as shoppers come in from the newly fallen snow.

Christmas-Toy-Store-by-Betsy-Skagen-0040A

Approaching Kringle Toys, visitors see the faded ghost sign on the brick wall–a testament to the store’s longevity.

Christmas-Toy-Store-by-Betsy-Skagen-40

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A Christmas Love Story

A Christmas Love Story

gsl-Christmas-kitsch-angel-by-Betsy-Skagen-0028Nothing sets my heart aflutter like Christmas decorations made from the 1940s-1960s.

Since this era was before my time and people typically collect things from their childhood, my infatuation may not make a lot of sense. But as the youngest child of older parents, most of my family’s Christmas decorations came from the 1940s and ’50s.

gsl-Christmas-kitsch-angel-by-Betsy-Skagen-0046 Read the rest of this entry

A pink retro laundry room? No problem (if it’s in miniature)

A pink retro laundry room? No problem (if it’s in miniature)

Miniature-retro-laundry-room--by-Betsy-Skagen-0031

Let’s face it, doing the laundry would be so much more fun with a retro pink washer and dryer. Read the rest of this entry

Memorializing a Mid-Century Updo

Memorializing a Mid-Century Updo

GSL-Midcentury-Book--by-Betsy-Skagen--3

A talented friend of mine has taken on the challenge of giving her entire house a Mid-Century Modern updo with only inexpensive secondhand goods.

Her ingenuity impressed me so much that I though she should memorialize her project with a mini album. As as surprise for her, I made a little album so she could paste in before and after pictures, make notes of her awesome estate sale finds and even add in inspiration and ideas from magazines. Read the rest of this entry

My Swedish heritage & my multicultural family in light of today’s hate for AALL and Create Challenge #1 Europe

My Swedish heritage & my multicultural family in light of today’s hate for AALL and Create Challenge #1 Europe

Family-Bible-MultiCultural-by-Betsy-Skagen-0171

I was thinking about the AALL Challenge #1 Europe one day and inspiration came to me throughout the day. First, while visiting my elderly mother, I spied the family Bible–a massive tome in Swedish that no one in our family can read. Later, while preparing photos for digitizing, I came across both a stoic picture of my Swedish ancestors and a colorful picture of my own multicultural children with impish looks upon their faces. The day concluded with racist hate spewing across the news channels. Read the rest of this entry