Category Archives: Vintage Photo Cards

Graphic 45 Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card

Graphic 45 Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card

Hello, Friends!  I’m kind of excited about today’s post, because I think a LOT of you are going to have loads of fun with this quick and easy idea.  Today I’m going to share a Graphic 45 Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card with y’all.  When my dear sister-in-law celebrated a “landmark” birthday, my husband and I wanted to give her a really personal and special gift.  I was digging through old black and white family photos and found this great picture of Dale and Becky.  Then I found the perfect paper collection and sentiment to go with it.  Take a look!

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 01

Dale and Becky have always been best buddies.  When I found this “Forever Friends” Tag from PPDF Tags and Pockets, I knew I was on the right track!  I really love the way this adorable photo taken in 1956 pops against the vibrant colors and patterns found in Penny’s Paper Doll Family. This 5” x 7” easel style card will look great on a shelf, mantel or side table. It’s great when a card can double as a gift, isn’t it?

Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card: Tips for Working with  Old Family Photos

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 02

TIP: Scan old photos  into your computer and print out on photo paper, or take it to a photo developing booth to make a copy. This way, you preserve the original.

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 02 03

 

TIP: Amateur photography can be challenging to work with.  The subjects of this photo were not framed well, making the composition a little unbalanced.  To fix this, I adhered the buckle from PPDF Tags and Pockets on the right hand side of the image, added a Staples Metal Key and a burlap string bow.  This fixed the photo problem, and added an interesting element to the card design at the same time.

 

TIP: Easel style cards are a great design choice for cards that feature a cherished family photo because they can stand upright for display.

Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card: Make it easy on yourself!

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 04

Tags and pockets are a quick and easy way to add a designer touch to a card.   They are also very easy to modify.

TIP: Don’t be afraid to alter, fold or cut pockets, tags and ephemera cards to make them work with your design.  It was easy to cut this pocket right along the pre-scored fold line. Then I was able to use the other half on the inside of my card.

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 05

TIP: When choosing embellishments like flowers and ribbons, let the color palette of the paper guide you.  I chose buttery yellow and faded blue flowers for this card based on the colors in the chipboard frame.  I knew all these colors would work well together, because they look great on the papers I used.

TIP: Create a “stopper” or a “brake” to keep your easel card standing upright.  I did this by adding a layer of waste chipboard to the green striped paper layer. Then I topped it with this pretty chipboard wreath from the collection.  

Penny’s Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card: A Peek Inside

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 06

TIP: You can extra color and design to the inside of your easel card by covering the top half with complementary papers.  Just be sure not to adhere papers over the fold line, or the easel mechanism won’t work.  And don’t forget to create a space where you can write in your own personal greeting.  This journaling ephemera card works perfectly for that assignment!

Graphic 45 Penny's Paper Doll Family Photo Birthday Card by Kathy Clement Photo 07

And where did the other half of that pocket end up?  Inside the card! I backed the edges with small foam tabs, punched a little thumb hole, then turned it on its side to be used as a chocolate pocket.  

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas that you can use in your own crafty adventures!  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

 

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags

RRR Heart Challenge: Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  It’s time for a brand new challenge over on the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog.  With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Bonnie wants to see projects that feature hearts and trim.  I printed out some digital files from Polly’s Paper Studio Etsy Shop and put together some darling Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and tags.  These simple cards and tags can took just minutes to make, but look like you spent hours on them.  You have to love that!

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags by Kathy Clement Photo 5I paired each card or tag with some of my favorite ribbons from RRR.

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags by Kathy Clement Photo 4This black and white houndstooth plaid is a perennial favorite ribbon for me.  It’s soft and supple and ties the most beautiful bows.  it also looks great paired with the striped background of the Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine images.  This Graphic 45 Staples Tag is turned upside down for a fun presentation.

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags by Kathy Clement Photo 3It also looks great turned right side up!

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags by Kathy Clement Photo 2For this sweet little 4×6 card, I topped a 1/4″ micro gingham ribbon bow with a pretty red rose. The black buttons and the plaid ribbon help to anchor all the elements on the card.

Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and Tags by Kathy Clement Photo 1I love the way this 3/8″ red gingham picks up on the pattern of this cutie pie’s dress.

These lovely little  Schoolhouse Vintage Valentine Cards and tags are being tucked into my Kathy by Design ETSY Shop orders this month as a special Valentine treat.

Now it’s your turn to join the party!  Create your own project with hearts and ribbon or trim and link it up on the RRR Challenge Blog so we can all enjoy it.  Here’s the link with all the information.  I can’t wait to see what you make!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

RRR Pretty Bows Challenge

Really Reasonable Ribbon Pretty Bows Challenge

RRRChallengeBadge

Hello, Friends!

There’s a brand new challenge up on the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog.  Show us your prettiest bows in out Pretty Bow Challenge!

Kathy by Design/Vintage Beach Flapper CardOh yes!  Pretty ribbons make this card sing. Don’t you just love this gorgeous bow made with Bluebird Plaid and Ivory Burlap String? It was the perfect match for the vintage bathing suit in this Vintage Beach Flapper Girls Digital Collage from Polly’s Paper Etsy. I dug into my vast hoard of papers and found this beautiful Blue Awning paper from K & Company, which picked up on all the great vintage blues found in the project.

Pretty Bows Challenge 03I die cut a burlap seahorse and starfish to embellish the page, along with a big blue polka dot flower that I found in my stash.  I glittered it up with Diamond stickles and Prima Pearls, and surrounded it with some Petaloo Sugared blossoms.  The silver star brads are from Stampin Up.  The leaves were freehand cut from an old book.

Pretty Bows Challenge 04I love to layer on texture, so I wrapped a couple strands of white netting around the card base.  It makes me think of fish nets, and I love how it lightens up the card. To add even more texture, I put down a row of Elise Crochet lace on top of the Bluebird Plaid.  It was a little brighter white than what I wanted, so I just lightly tapped it with Vintage Photo Distress ink to make it perfectly vintage.

Pretty Bows Challenge 05This Vintage Beach Flapper just makes me want to say boop-boop-be-doop!  How does she tie such gorgeous bows, you may ask?  With my trusty Zutter-Bow-it-All tool, that’s how! It makes a perfect bow each and every time.  I loooove this tool!

Pretty Bows Challenge06I layered in more papers on the inside and stamped a quick sentiment.

Stop by the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog for more inspiration from the team, and don’t forget to link up your fabby project to the Pretty Bows Challenge at RRR.

And, if you’re interested in purchasing this card, you can find it in my ETSY shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

 

Beach Babes Banner

Beach Babes Banner with Polly’s Paper Etsy

Hello, Friends!

It’s sizzling hot here in North Carolina.  It’s been in the mid to upper 90’s with high humidity for the past couple weeks and all this heat has me dreaming about escaping to the beach.  But alas, I already had my vacation in May…so here I remain.  What’s the next best thing to being at the beach?  Making a Beach Babes banner with Vintage Beach Flapper images from Polly’s Paper Etsy, that’s what!  Go grab your suntan lotion and flip flops and take a mini beach break with me this morning.

Beach Babes Banner/http://www.kathybydesign.comDon’t you feel cooler already?  I created three pennants. each sized at 4.5″ x 7.25″.  I cropped my beach babes from the digital file, and then sized them to measure 3″ x 4.5″.  I could have gone bigger, or smaller…or printed them exactly as they come on the collage sheet.  That’s the beauty of digital.  It gives you loads of options.

Beach Babes Banner 02Each beach babe was stitched onto a beachy blue/grey cardstock, white burlap, Blue Awning paper from K & Company,  and then matted onto another beachy blue pennant.  I am completely nuts over these beach babes in their vintage bathing suits and parasols!

Beach Babes Banner 03I stitched my pennants onto 2.5″ wide nautical natural ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  The end pieces were torn into strips.  Then I added streamers of light navy satin, and topped each streamer off with a poufy grey plaid bow.  Ivory burlap string was tied into pretty loops and then topped with a vintage red button from my stash.

Beach Babes Banner 04I found some great vintage lace  that made me think of waves on the ocean, so I stitched that along the top of the banner.  Then I added red paper clips, metal clips, painted stars, rhinestone swirls and pretty posies to play in the surf with my beach babes.  Once everything had been added to the pennants, I covered up the stitching on the back with a navy cardstock pennant.  This way, the back looks finished.

Beach Babes Banner 05I wish they still made bathing suits to look like this, don’t you?  They are pretty, and feminine and would cover up a fair amount of “jelly.”

Thanks for stopping by and taking a break with my Beach Babe Banner and Polly’s Paper.

Cheerio,

kathy

This item is available for purchase in my Kathy by Design Etsy Shop.

Craft Hoarders Anonymous March Challenge

Craft Hoarders Anonymous March Challenge and an Important Announcement

Hello Friends!

It’s the second Monday in March, and time for another great challenge over at Craft Hoarders Anonymous.  This month we are doing a great color challenge based on this inspiration photo:

CHACB March

Oh, Spring!  Green growing things and sweet baby leaves on trees and white puffy clouds in the sky!  What a perfect color palette for this time of year!  Yeah…I’m loving this color challenge.

CHACB March 2015 01I wanted to pick up on the creamy green/white tones in the color challenge and to really keep true to the spirit of Craft Hoarders, everything on this card came from my little scrap cart.  I have no idea what these papers are…or where they came from.  I can tell you that I made the roses with my Spellbinder Bitty Blossoms die and some pearlized cream paper.  The ribbon is moss green micro ribbon and iridescent white metallic string.

CHACB March 2015 03I colorized the vintage black and white photo using my alcohol ink pens.

CHACB March 2015 02The roses were painted with bundled sage distress ink and then coated with Clear Rock Candy Distress paint.  The leaves were spritzed with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.  I painted the gold metal roses with the Bundled Sage paint as well.

CHACB March 2015 05I followed a wedding or anniversary theme and added a little stamping on the inside of the card.  Easy peasy!

CHACB March 2015 06

 

Now for the important announcement.  Sadly, this will be the last challenge over at Craft Hoarders.  Gloria, our chief hoarder in charge and fearless leader has taken on some demanding design assignments that have really stressed her schedule.  In order to maintain a healthy balance between family, health and work, she is having to make some hard choices and step away from some of her crafting obligations.  Shutting down the challenge was not an easy decision, but it is the right decision for her….and we wish her well.  You can read Gloria’s personal statement and all the details over at the Craft Hoarders Blog.

So, let’s go out with a bang!  Dig deep into your crafty hoard and come up with something totally fabby for the Craft Hoarders Anonymous March Challenge.  You have until midnight PT on April 12th to link your project up to the CHACB blog.  We’ll be popping by to leave you some bloggy love and pick our favorites for one final time.

To everything there is a season, right?

Be sure to visit the rest of the team’s final projects…I know you will be inspired:

Amber ♥ Christy ♥ Debbie ♥ Donna ♥ Ginny ♥ Glenda ♥ Gloria (blog owner)
Pam ♥ Teresa  ♥ Wendi

Now go get your craft on!

Cheerio,

kathy