Redwood Retro

If you are a scrapbooker/crafter you have probably heard of the Sizzix Big shot series. If you haven't, it is basically a machine that embosses and cuts out shapes using metal dies and plates I don't own one ( I have a mini version) but my mother does and she is forever making the coolest little embellishments using a wide variety of household paper. Can you guess what kind of paper she used this week? Yep! Toilet paper.   Everything in this photo was made with TP  The square was made with embossing plates and the cats are made with metal dies. Embellishments using toilet paper Die-Cut Toilet Paper Embellishments  Big Shot Kick Machine I got a chance to play with it last month before the world shut down and did some experimenting with magazine sheets. The glossy pages make the embossing "pop" similar to using tinfoil or metallic craft paper.         For this one, I found a magazine sheet with a grass pattern and used a metal

*Updated Mar20/20 Most of these are Graphics from newspapers and magazines circa 1890-1930.  I love the detail on the woodcut drawings! Don't forget Mother's Day is coming up. These would make great card fronts and journal pages. This one always makes me think of Downton Abbey! Click here for more free vintage graphics

A collection of Vintage Toy ads Toy ads and retro catalogues are great resources for eBay /Amazon resellers and collectors to help identify years and original sets. I sometimes use them as a "checklist",  like the Sesame Street playset below to try to put together complete sets.  1972 Click here for more Fisher-Price ads Click here for more LEGO ads

We're very sad to hear that Jens Nygaard Knudsen, the creator of the LEGO Minifigure, has passed away. Thank you Jens, for your ideas, imagination, and inspiring generations of builders ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7YixYvHtRW — LEGO (@LEGO_Group) February 24, 2020 Link to the full story  

I want to share this awesome Junk Journal my mother is currently working on for a gift. The cover is a stretchy fabric and the embellishments are made from premade foam stickers ( the wee sea life creatures are made from polymer clay using a mold) The mermaid on this page is a rubber stamp. These pages are made from National Geographic type books and magazines