Vintage European Christmas Cards, New!

Continuing to share the new digital collage sheets I've created using vintage Christmas cards I've collected. Most of what I have are French and German, but here are some from other countries. Dutch Santa Claus on a snowy night, Czech holiday cards featuring sweet angels and children, Scandinavian Christmas cards with greetings in Danish and Swedish, and serene vintage Christmas greetings in Italian (with mostly religious themes).   Available for download at Lunagirl.com.

Christmas in September at Crafting by Designs!

Crafting by Designs current challenge is themed "Get ready for Christmas!" The fact that we're starting to think about Christmas (when I swear 2016 JUST started) is terrifying, isn't it? Guess that's my scare for Halloween... it's "almost" Christmas? :-D

I always enjoy sponsoring at CBD... I hope you'll visit and join in the fun.

Below is Michele's snowy winter creation for the Crafting by Designs challenge, to inspire (and maybe slightly scare) you!

A Little Messenger to Remind You...

The Angels challenge continues until December 31, so you still have time... Enter up to three creations, and you may win the drawing for $15 store credit at Lunagirl.com!

See the beautiful angels created by my readers and the Lunagirl Design Team so far, and link up your own, HERE.

And here to share with you is a lovely little snow angel with pink wings, helping a little bird friend by protecting her nest. Snow angels are among my favorites, especially this time of year... find many vintage angels ~ majestic messengers, sweet snow angel children, bright holiday angels, and more ~ at Lunagirl!

Second Week: HOLIDAY CHILDREN theme

MICHELE STORMS artfromthewell.blogspot.com

Monday is upon us again -- and it's the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend so it's like a "double" Monday! Hard to get up this morning!

Here is something to get you going this week (besides online Christmas shopping!) -- create something wonderful for my Holiday Children creative blog challenge. My Design Team have sent some inspiration for you today...

And while you're doing your online shopping (it is "Cyber Monday" after all), you can  hop over to LUNAGIRL.COM to pick up some Victorian holidays images and other vintage images and ephemera for your projects...

my blog readers are invited to use discount code MOONDAY-14 for 50% off today only.

VICKI ROMAINE cheerfulstamppad.blogspot.com
A completely digital card! The snowman image is from Lunagirl Winter Fun digital collage sheet.
Vicki is having an "all-digital" challenge on her blog this week -- Go see!

Vintage Winter Freebie: Antique Snowflake Photos

In 1885 a Vermont farmer, amateur scientist, and photographer named Wilson Bentley started taking photographs of snowflakes.  This was obviously not an easy thing to do, but he developed a method of capturing snowflakes on boards covered in black velvet and then quickly transferring them to microscope slides to take the photographs.  Above are just a few of his amazing results.

Wilson Bentley was also the first person to propose that no two snowflakes are exactly alike ~ each and every one is unique! Thanks to Mr. Bentley's curiosity, persistence, and ingenuity we can enjoy these beautiful antique images of nature's artwork.

And here from the Old Farmer's Almanac is a simple tutorial for creating paper snowflakes!
http://www.almanac.com/content/how-make-paper-snowflakes

First Blog Challenge of the New Year: Vintage Winter & Happy New Year

The first Lunagirl Moonbeams blog challenge for 2014 will be Vintage Winter / Vintage New Year.

Don't miss the samples from the Moonbeams Design Team below, for your inspiration!  The DT will be working with images from my Winter Fun digital collage sheet and Christmas Children digital collage sheet (many pictures of children in the snow are also on Lunagirl Christmas New Year Photos CD ~ currently on sale!).


GUIDELINES:
This challenge (#18) will end at Noon (Central Time) on January 12.

Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, 

Vintage style is encouraged but not required, and
Please link to my blog and Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.

The winner will be selected randomly to win a $10 coupon for Lunagirl.com! Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  However, starting with this challenge, if you use a Lunagirl image in your creation, you will be entered TWICE in the drawing! I want to welcome everyone and every style but also give a little something extra to my wonderful customers! 


LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM
Find out more about the Moonbeams DT and visit their blogs!

Below are "Vintage Winter" projects shared with us by the Lunagirl Moonbeams Design Team.  They have all done a lovely job of combining the Lunagirl images with papers and elements.  

PETRA BERENDSEN: Birthday wishes!
"For the next challenge: Vintage Winter I created a Winter themed card with lots of distressed edges
and one of your adorable images from the Christmas Children 1 collage sheet."

MICHELE STORMS: Happy New Year!

MANDY CHILVERS: What a sweet bunch!

VICKI ROMAINE:  Whee! and more Birthday wishes

"I used a great Lunagirl image for a winter card.  The card itself is embossed with snowflakes and a variety of snowflakes were cut with die.  I know the children are having fun-therefore the sentiment.  I have made this into a birthday card for one of my friends whose birthday is Jan 1."  

Snow Angels Challenge Winner: Judith W

And the winner of the Snow Angels challenge, chosen by randow drawing, is #7 Judith W!

Congrats to Judith, who wins a $10 credit to Lunagirl.com, and thanks to everyone who played!  Please be sure to enter the next challenge with the theme Blue Christmas.  :-)

One more little snow angel...

Here is one last little snow angel that didn't make it in time for the end of the challenge (that's my fault)!  But Vicki Romaine's ornament is so sweet I'm sharing it now.  Here's what Vicki wrote: 
"Here is an ornament using a snow angel.  The base is a coaster covered with cardstock with a Lunagirl image in the middle.  This piece is fairly fragile as the lace was hard to place around the edge on both sides.  Embellishments include a snowflake, a bow, gold leaves and half pearls."

I'll announce the winner of the Snow Angel challenge shortly...

DigitallySweet Challenges: Frosty the Snowman

I'm pleased as pie to be sponsoring another challenge over at Digitally Sweet Challenges!  DSC lets you "challenge your inner digital every Friday"!  The challenges focus on encouraging and celebrating digital creations, although your work doesn't have to be 100% digital to enter.

The theme this Friday is Frosty the Snowman, and the DSC Design Team has created some truly wonderful samples using Victorian snowmen images from Lunagirl!  Who doesn't love snowmen? 

There are lots of vintage snowmen on my Victorian Holidays Christmas New Years CD!

I hope you'll hop over there to see their work and to enter the challenge.  It's a fun theme, and one lucky winner will receive all the snowmen images used by the DT! (6 snowmen pictures) Plus all entries qualify for Top 3 and giveaways...


DSC owner Karen Wilson enters our Lunagirl Moonbeams challenges, and I'll hope you'll visit her at DigitallySweetChallenges.blogspot.com and also creationsbykw.blogspot.ca. As well as DSC designer Denise Pustelniak at thruthelookingglass-glassgraffitix2.blogspot.com!

More Christmas freebies!

I'm already getting a few orders for Valentines images -- I know many of you who sell crafts are already thinking of Valentine's Day (always a season ahead!), but as we're in the midst of this beautiful Christmas holiday season, here are a couple of free images for tags, cards, place cards, etc.  (Click on the pictures for full size).

And don't forget we have many Christmas and winter collage sheets available for INSTANT DOWNLOADING at Lunagirl.com  (plus cupids and hearts and roses and romantic couples and sweet girls in pink and red if you simply MUST think ahead to February!)

Snow Angels from the Moonbeams

Well, I don't have any snow yet but I do have lots of snow angels.  The entries in the blog challenge gallery are so pretty!  And the Lunagirl Moonbeams DT has been inspired and busy creating more gorgeous samples for you!  I'm sure you'll enjoy them.  You can always see more of the DT's work at their blogs.  And I hope everyone will link up their own angels for the Snow Angels challenge, which continues until Sunday...

This very Christmas-y card was created by Michele Storms.  Lovely details ~ see the little heart the dove is carrying?

Petra Berendsen created this beautiful snowflake ornament featuring a snow angel with glittering gold wings ...


and the pretty Winter Wonderland tag below!

Vicki Romaine sent this sweet little angel card:  "This card puts a Lunagirl Snow Angel on a Cheery Lynn diecut. which has been placed on a piece of designer cardstock.  The flourishes are cream-colored which works well with the beige designer cardstock.  They are made of thick acrylic."

 

And from Mandy Chilvers, two pretty star shaped snow angel ornaments.  

I love the soft vintage pink colors.

Pretty Snow Angel Tag by Michele

Gold and silver seem to be popular this Christmas season, and Michele Storms has used them well in her snow angel tag:

"i covered a green tag base with this cool embossed kind of vellum-y pale white paper and decorated it with the vintage snow angel, a golden snowflake and golden stars.  it seemed right to keep it sweet and simple."

Now it's your turn!  Submit your snow angel creation to the current blog challenge and win a $10 Lunagirl.com gift credit!

Need some snow angels to work with (and need them quick?) I offer a set of five snow angel images on etsy for just $2, instant download!  They will charm and inspire you!

New Blog Challenge: SNOW ANGELS

For my next blog challenge, I've chosen a theme that highlights one of my favorite types of Victorian images: the lovely little Snow Angels.

You've probably seen these sweet little angel children, bundled up against the cold, holding candles or flowers, Christmas gifts or bells, maybe even a bird's nest.  I have 27 of them available on my Lunagirl Angels Fairies Fairy Tale Art CD ~ and a little download pack of 5 snow angels on etsy!  Plus photos of Angel Children and more... Or maybe you will create your own style of Snow Angel.  Whichever way, I love these little symbols of warmth and hope in the winter, and I hope you'll have fun with this theme!

Don't miss the samples from the Moonbeams Design Team below, for your inspiration!

GUIDELINES:
This challenge (#16) will end at Noon (Central Time) on December 15.

The winner will be selected randomly to win a $10 coupon for Lunagirl.com!

Any craft or medium is OK,
No more than 3 entries from one person in each challenge, 

Vintage style is encouraged but not required, and
Please link to my blog and Lunagirl.com on your site if you have one.
 
Of course I love if you use at least one Lunagirl product, and I hope you'll go take a look at my collection... but that's not a requirement!  Most important is have fun, get creative, enjoy vintage. 




LUNAGIRL MOONBEAMS DESIGN TEAM
Find out more about the Moonbeams DT and visit their blogs!

This little charmer is by Vicki Romaine:
"I love this Lunagirl Snow Angel.  It is one of my many favorite Lunagirl images.  I placed her on a card on which I have decorated with a number of embellishments.  There is sequin waste, cloth ribbon, silk flowers and snowflake stickers.  This is really the first Christmas-looking card I have made for this year.  I need to get busy."

Michele Storms uses two snow angels on this pretty winter card.

 And here is an altered notebook by Mandy Chivers, with sparkly snow angel. Gorgeous, don't you think? 

I hope you'll get inspired and get creating!

Enter the Secrets & Hidden Things Challenge!

You have two more days to enter the challenge -- it ends Sunday at noon Central Time.  Any type of media/project is welcome, and any interpretation of the theme SECRETS/HIDDEN.  Get creative, and don't miss your chance to win some free digital collage sheets (winner selected by random drawing!)

The Lunagirl SECRETS AND HIDDEN THINGS blog challenge ends Sunday!

And to inspire you, here are new sample projects by the Moonbeams Design Team.  Petra Berensend created these two tags with the images of two beautiful ladies from my Pre-Raphaelite Art CD. She has displayed them in windows frames and adorned them with lots of lace and flowers. So pretty!

And Michele Storms offers this lovely tag today!

Snowflakes

These are some of the amazing snowflake photomicrographs taken by Vermont farmer, scientist and photographer Wilson Bentley. It was Wilson Bentley who first proposed the idea that no two snowflakes are alike! As snowstorms blanket the East Coast and the Rockies this weekend, look around at all the white, millions and billions of snowflakes, and really think about how every tiny snow crystal is unique and one-of-a-kind!

Starting in January of 1885 Bentley took over 5,000 photographs of snow crystals ~ not an easy thing to do before they melt to water or sublimate directly to water vapor! After some experimentation, he developed the technique of capturing snowflakes on black velvet-covered boards and then quickly transferring to a microscope slide to take the photo. His work is an amazing intersection of science and art and a testament to the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

Free Christmas Images for Last Minute Projects

I know many crafters are already in the back of their minds thinking of Valentine's Day (always a season ahead!), but as we're in the midst of this beautiful Christmas winter holiday season, here are a couple of free images for last minute tags, place cards, etc.  And don't forget we have many holiday collage sheets available for instant downloading at Lunagirl.com http://www.summertownsun.com/lunagirl/W-Lunagirl-Collage-Sheets-Holidays.htm (plus lovely cupids and hearts and romantic kisses and sweet girls in pink and red if you simply MUST think ahead!)

Christmas Children Photo Collage Sheet: Brand New & Just in Time for Holiday Cards and Crafts

I'm feeling inspired to create some new collage sheets lately. I created this one yesterday using some of the charming postcards from our Christmas New Years Photo Postcards CD.  Lane (our fabulous shipping clerk) has suggested nativity scenes, so maybe that will be next!  Click on the sample to go to CollageSheet.com to purchase and download this design.

Moonday Free Image: Christmas Victorian Girl

A freebie to brighten your Monday! Isn't she sweet? You are welcome to print for personal non-commercial projects.

Poem for December's Dark

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring
Then we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

- Oliver Herford

Remember to put out food for the birds this time of year, especially when there is snow on the ground!

I'm gathering some winter folklore and Victorian Christmas tidbits to share in the coming days.... with pictures of course!