Cottage 6 Studio

OWH Embossed Flowers

Happy Friday!!

Wasn't sure I'd be able to post today with the lousy weather, it was so dark earlier.  We're having rain and wicked wind here, enough to kick up 7 to 10 foot waves on the south shore and give us some sideways rain this morning.  So, a cheery card was definitely in order.

I made my card following a tutorial on the OWH Stars & Stamps blog, which you can find here.  I had something completely different in mind when I started, but for that card, I will need to borrow some of my mother's flourish stamps, mine were too small.

Seeing that my stamps would not fill an entire card-front, I grabbed these smaller flowers and set to work on a new design.  This took some time, I reeeeeally wanted my sentiment on an oval, but the smaller ovals on the shape cutter were not friendly today.  I couldn't get a clean edge to save my life.  In the meantime, I dyed some thin ric rac with staz on reinker and then settled for a ticket shape.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results, and the fact that I was able to used some dp scraps in the process.

Its pretty warm, but the nasty weather is giving me a chill.  So, I'm going to get myself a cup of tea, clean my mess and hit the books!  See you soon.

Anna

VTT - Grandpa Smith's Albums Part II

Thanks for coming back for another look at these wonderful albums.  Today I actually remembered to get some pictures of the albums themselves.

 

 

 

Today I am sharing some scenic and outdoor photos without people as the focus; scenery, events, happenings, like that.

BCS

Massawippi River

 

 Jack's Brook

 

Jack's Brook

 

Sometime in 1914 there was a wreck of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in Lennoxville.  I haven't been able to find anything about it online, but I keep hoping.  Anyway, my grandfather took quite a few pictures.

There was also a fire on campus in 1916.  No info on that either, but it must have been scary back then.

 

Westmount Park

And finally, here are four pictures that are really fun.  Men collecting ice from the local river, those were the days, eh?

 

As I have said, these albums mean the world to me because they are family heirlooms, but they're also special just because they're a window into the past.  That's why I love this group of pictures, they let us take a peek at a way of life that no longer exists.

I wish you could all see these photos in person, so if you're ever on Long Island, feel free to stop by for a cup of coffee and a little trip back in time.  In the meantime, join the party here to see lots of vintage goodies.

See you next week with "The Ladies of King's Hall, Compton."

Anna

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #90

Well, things are certainly very different in my craft room today!

Feels so much better to see a busy-looking space than what was here before!  It took some doing and a bit longer than I expected, but I was finally able to start making cards again Monday night.

My laptop is still out so I could play DVDs while I was cleaning.  Usually I listen to music or NPR while I create, but for an extended cleaning I needed something else.

Some of my unmounted stamps are still hanging out on my desk because I have to finish a reorganization that I started in January.  With everything else I have going on at the moment, they may be in every picture 'till Labor Day!

Also out are some of my least favorite designer papers for an "Ugly Paper Challenge" at OWH, I have to pick one today to send in.

Here are some of the Easter cards I have going at the moment for Operation Write Home.  I'm making a dozen; four each of three designs.  Four are finished, four in-progress, and four to be made with the stamps there above my ugly placemat.

That's it from me - I need coffee!

Anna

Quick Hello

Good morning!

Just popping in for a quick post in the midst of card-making for OWH.  Unfortunately, I won't get my cards done in time for the Spring Thaw Challenge, but I am making some Easter Cards which don't have to be to the shipper until March 18th.  I'm planning to make a dozen, four each of three designs.

Here is the first.  This took me forever since it is a bit out of my comfort zone and I haven't made a card in two weeks.  The stamp is from Stampendous.  Until now, I've only used it for the sentiment, but this time I thought I'd ink it up with kids in mind and paired it with some springy dp from DCWV.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you the current state of my workdesk and again in the evening with some more of my grandfather's photos.

Stay warm till then!

Anna

And The Winner Is...

There were 109 comments left for this drawing, but two were left by the same person, for a total of 108.  The winner of my mixed media wall hanging is....

Number 56 - Michelle at Que Bella!  (I was not able to get a screen shot of the random number generator - I thought I had it, but when my post published it had reset.)

Michelle, please contact me with your address so that I can mail your prize.  I will be emailing you shortly as well.

Congrats!

Anna

VTT - Grandpa Smith's Albums

Hi Again and Happy Thursday!

My Great Grandfather, George Robert Smith, was an American born in Newark (then pronounced New Ark, as if it were two words) in 1860.  He would later emigrate to Canada and become, among other things, a member of the Quebec Parliament.  He was still proud of his American heritage, however, so when he had a son who was born on the 22nd of February, he named him George Washington.

George Washington Smith was my maternal grandfather.  If you've visited my VTT posts before, you've read about him here and here, but with Presidents' Week fast approaching I thought I'd bring out his photo albums.

When my grandfather developed an interest in photography in his teens I'm sure he never thought that someday his photographs would come to mean so much to his granddaughter. 

There are three albums and each one is just bursting with photographs.  They're not all in great shape, but I love to look at them.  The albums themselves are a bit battered and beat up, but it only gives them more character.  I'll have to wait until my next post to show them to you, I forgot to get a good shot of them when we still had light.

Meanwhile, I thought I would make three posts out of this.  Since most of the pictures were taken at his boarding school, this week I'm showcasing some of the characters, teams and clubs around BCS (Bishops College School).

 

2nd Hockey Team - 1914

 

Physical Squad

 

Officers & Non Coms 1914

 

First Football Team 1912

 

Cricket Team - 1914

 

No caption on this photo, but the character fourth from the left is my Great Uncle Herb.

 

Dormitory Football - Tear 'em up!

 

Boozie, Louie, Herb

 

Lennoxville Home Guard '14

 

Sporty Sunday '16

 

Prefects '14

 

Prefects '15

 

Hockey Team 1913

 

Old Boys

 

Middle Break

 

Pip

 

Scottie

 

Interschool Sports 1914

 

Knappie

 

Bumpy Lewis

 

LCC vs St Albans 1915

 

 

And there's my grandfather - possibly the only picture of him in the whole album.

Reading Room

 

And last but not least, Camera Club 1913.

 

I hope you enjoyed flipping through these albums with me.  Next week I'll show you the albums themselves and some pictures of family.

In the meantime, join the party here.

Anna

What's On Your Workdesk?

In my last post I mentioned something about the disaster that is the current state of my art room.  Its just the same today, I hate to say.

Shamefully, I didn't make Valentines for Donald or for Mum.  Really bad!  All weekend, my brain was stuck on the left side and I spent most of my time studying.

I'm hoping that sharing this picture will motivate me to clean up, especially since I would like to spend some time creating tomorrow and/or Friday.

OK, so here it is.

I hate to admit it, but that isn't even the whole mess.    There are craft keepers on the floor around my chair and boxes of stamps and wallpaper scraps on my sewing desk.  Ahh!

I'd better get DJ out for his walk so I can get the laundry done, otherwise the whole apartment will be looking like this soon!

So, I'm linking up for the first time over at What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, and hopefully I'll be able to show you a whole different workspace next week!

See you later for VTT - I have some very vintage family photos for you this week.

Anna

Best Wishes

Happy Friday!  The weekend is almost here and the Northeast is starting to warm up a bit.  Still chilly today, but the current forecast for next Thursday is for a high of 51 degrees! Yay!

In the meantime, I have been studying, visiting the chiropractor and making a horrendous mess in my art room.  It is so bad, that I had to do a lot of this banner at the dining room table.  No lie.  Its scary in there.  Who did it and ran.  Know what I mean?

So, one of the yahoo groups that I belong to is called Vintage Bliss.  We make little books, called decos, in vintage themes.  Each one is a round robbin, where all the signers create a page on a given theme.

Once a month, we also have Art Challenges and for this one, we were to create a banner with our Best Wishes for the recipient.

At first I couldn't decide what my wishes would be.  Single words...quotes...sayings?  Then I decided I would have a look through my vintage images and let them tell me what kind of wishes they would be (much better than scrambling to find images for words or sayings I'd already chosen).

The Love and Friendship panel features an adorable image.  And the alphabet set is an old one from Hero Arts.  The dp is actually vintage wallpaper.

Here I used an Artists' Signatures background stamp from Judikins and a scan of one of my favorite old postcards for Inspiration.  The image shows artists selling their work along the Seine, so I continued the Paris theme with an Eiffel Tower stamp and a fleur-de-lis, both from Stampington.  On the bottom I used the Cuttlebug Highlights technique from the TJ newsletter.  The label is from Purple Onion Designs, as are all the labels I used in the banner.

The picture definitely tells the story here.  His laugh is so contagious, you can't help but smile.  Oh, and he's also my dad.  I used a vintage album page scan from Inka Stamps (now Altered Artifacts) to frame the image and embellished the piece with some vintage wallpaper.

Now, I'm sure in its day, this look was very glam, but now, its just silly.  This is a simple panel of designer papers embellished with two bingo markers.

This is another great image.  I've used it before in a gift for my niece when she celebrated her First Communion.  I framed it with another vintage album page image from Inka Stamps.  The background was made using the Distressed Enamel technique by Tim Holtz.  You can find it on his blog, here.

The last panel is very much the same as the first, except for the image, to "frame" the banner.  I thought this was a great image, and since these ladies look so happy doing their yardwork, I thought I would wish Terri joy in those everyday tasks that can sometimes seem like monotonous chores.

There you have it.  I loved this project, it was so much fun to choose the theme for each panel.

Once I get the mess cleared up in the art room I'll be working on some more Valentines.  I'll be back with one of them over the weekend, the other will have to wait until after since SOMEONE reads my blog.  No sneak peaks, Mum!

See you then.

Anna

VTT - Be Mine!

Happy VTT Everyone!

We're just five days away from Valentine's Day so I decided to pull out some more vintage valentines.  You may have seen a few of them recently when I joined Very Merry's linky party.

First, the postcards.

And some cards...

Now, the rest of these are a bit newer, like the 70s, but I couldn't resist sharing them, they're too cute and they bring back great memories.

You can join the party here.

I'm almost done with the banner for the swap that I mentioned in my last post, so I'll be sharing that on Friday.

See you then!

Anna

Best Wishes

I am participating in a banner swap on my Vintage Bliss yahoo group.  The idea is to make a banner with your best wishes for the recipient.  Mine should be going out today...we'll see.  My back and right hip have been giving me grief for the past week, so I'm a little behind.

Anyway, I received the lovely banner from Karen last week, so I thought I would share it here.  Karen doesn't have a blog for me to share with you, unfortunately, but you can see from this banner that she does lovely work.

Unfortunately, since I chose to hang it over the window in my art room, I wasn't able to get a good shot of the entire banner, but here are the panels.

 

I just love this new addition to my art room.  Aren't the flowers great??  And I really like the images she chose, and those stars.  So much work!

OK, see you for a Valentine's Day VTT!

Anna