Tag Archives: Vintage

Jun10

Part 2 Tutorial on making the Never Ending Book plus secret forgotten pages

Have you ever felt something similar to a panic attack? Writing Part 2 of the Tutorial for the Never Ending Book certainly brought it on for me. First, I misplaced my notes. This book is ginormous, so if I did not have my notes, there would be no way I could recall how to make the pages.

After searching through my my messy office and then my even messier studio, I finally remembered I had written Part 1 of the Tutorial while sitting in a hospital waiting room. I looked in my book bag and found my notes. Phew!

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Feb11

Hoping you swoon over this vintage Valentine wreath

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Betsy Skagen

Hoping you swoon over this vintage Valentine wreath

Sorry I have been AWOL lately. I was luxuriating away in a hospital bed. All is well now and I am back crafting and blogging away. As any crafter will tell you…wreaths aren’t just for Christmas anymore. I created this Valentine wreath after being inspired by the wooden spool in Cherry Nelson’s lovely project last month. Read the rest of this entry →

Feb9

Inspiration Freebie for Ordre du Jour

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Betsy Skagen

Inspiration Freebie for Ordre du Jour

I recently published the tutorial for this Miniature Inspiration Cabinet on the Canvas Corp Brands Blog. In it I offered this Free PDF of Inspirational Sayings that you can print onto the 8 x 8 Ordre du Jour notebook page.

Use a light-adhesive masking tape to adhere two sheets of the Ordre du Jour notebook-looking paper to the top right corner of a blank 8.5 x 11 inkjet paper so that you can run the paper through your inkjet printer. I created a free pdf of inspirational sayings that you can use to print onto the Ordre du Jour sheets. Please make sure you run a test page on your own printer for alignment before using one of your Ordre du Jour sheets.

Jan14

Sorting Valentines at the Postal Station

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Betsy Skagen

Sorting Valentines at the Postal Station

Hello! After serving as a guest designer for a couple years, I could not resist making the leap to joining the official educator team team in 2017. The opportunity to work with so many talented artists and play with the boundless creative opportunities of Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts products was a dream come true.

To kick off the year, I created this miniature Valentine Postal Station. I hope you tour all the tiny details–from the miniature millinery cabinet, to the mail bags filled with itty-bitty love letters, to the minuscule chocolate kisses.

Designed in 1:12 scale, this sorting station is a mix of old and new. There’s no computerized robotics to sort the lovelorn postcards, the cute Valentine puns and the packages filled with chocolate truffles; yet you can see a few a few modern-day postal boxes. Read the rest of this entry →

Nov23

Have yourself a merry monochrome Christmas

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

Have yourself a merry monochrome Christmas

Happy Wednesday and Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the U.S. You know what this week also means don’t you? Yes indeed, it is time to break out the holiday decorations! I won’t admit how much dismay this brings to my husband and kids because of the work involved. Yet last year when I was the one who insisted on scaling back, they were the first to revolt.

It has been such a delight to work with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. For my last project as Guest Designer, I thought I would share with you a mostly monochrome Christmas shadow box.

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Nov12

Oh how I love to putz around (and how that relates to crack)

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

Oh how I love to putz around (and how that relates to crack)

Long before they were trendy, I treasured my putz houses. As a young girl I took these battered Christmas decorations that my family had abandoned and set up a tiny village. Granted, there were only four or five houses, but I loved them.

I never had the budget to add many authentic putz houses to my collection over the years, but my little village grew nonetheless. Frosted trees and 1940s era cars in a variety of scales joined the village. Mid-century children skating and sledding loomed like giant toddlers about to devour the putz homes.

Perhaps the putz house I most treasure is the one I made this year. I stuck true to the simple mid-century stye adorned with lots of glitter. Read the rest of this entry →

Nov2

Come visit the North Pole in this altered album

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

Come visit the North Pole in this altered album

At this time of year there’s no place on earth busier than the North Pole. Santa’s elves are frenetic–making toys, grooming reindeer and loading the sleigh. However, those elves are so thoughtful that they still left room in this altered album for your photographs and journal entries.

I am thrilled to be invited back for a second year as Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts guest designer. My projects will be featured at Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts each Wednesday in November. I hope you visit there and see my projects. I will be especially grateful if you leave some love.

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Sep7

A time of magic and dragons in a miniature Merlin’s room

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

A time of magic and dragons in a miniature Merlin’s room

In a land of myth and a time of magic lived Merlin. With his room deep in the heart of Camelot, Merlin had a special connection to powerful dragons. If you look closely, you can see that one has appeared in Merlin’s mirror, ready to speak to the fearless wizard.

Meanwhile his cupboards are filled with frightening potions and books of spells and other wizardry.

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Jul23

Make vintage coasters for summertime drinks

Posted on July 23, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

Make vintage coasters for summertime drinks

BSkagen-JulyCoaster-

I wanted to share with you this fairly easy vintage beverage coaster project that makes a perfect summertime accessory for your home. Make a bunch ahead of time and you will always have last-minute hostess gifts on hand.

BSkagen-JulyCoaster-6 Read the rest of this entry →

May21

A feast for the eyes

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Betsy Skagen

A feast for the eyes

So it turned out to be serendipitous that Alpha Stamps asked its designers to create something Alice-themed this month.

Because my daughter will be a unicycling performer in an upcoming Alice in Wonderland Circus production this summer, Alice has been on my mind a lot more than usual. Considering that Alice was never on my mind before now, this isn’t exactly an earth-shaking change.

I decided to make an Alice-themed paper cake. In a strange turn of events–as if we could expect anything else from Alice–a fellow teammate also created a paper cake. What’s wonderful is that both cakes turned out completely different from one another. Read the rest of this entry →