Thursday, January 26, 2012

Is it 'Cake' Time Yet at Retro Cafe Art Gallery??

Sure is!!!!


Hi Everyone:)

Valentine's Day is coming!!!
It actually is one of my Favourite Holidays,
as you can 
Celebrate 'Love':)
Doesn't matter who or what you Love, 
you get to 
Celebrate it! LOL.

Those of us who 'Love'

and
Kristin Hubick
also 'Love'
Coffee Break Design Products
at Retro Cafe Art Gallery!

Kristin has been so busy the past few months, 
Designing a Fabulous New Collection of 
Coffee Break Design Products, 
with tons of New Goodies for Valentine's Day!!!

And as many of you know, I call Kristin the
'Giveaway Diva!'
as she's always running 
Fabulous Giveaways and Contests
on her Blog and on 
And today is no exception!!

Woo Hoo!
Kristin is Co-Hosting another
$25 Gift Certificate Giveaway
right here on 
Birdnuts Mixed Media:)

Yippie! LOL!

So here's the Giveaway Info:

Sign on, (if you aren't already)
as Google Follower here on 
Birdnuts Mixed Media,
and 
Leave a Comment
on this Blog Post:)
and you're 
Entered to Win
the 
Retro Cafe Art Gallery
$25.00 Gift Certificate!
But wait!!!!

If you go over to 

(Link attached:)
And Leave a Comment
on the 
You'll be
Entered to Win 
Another
$25.00 Gift Certificate!!!

That's right! 2 Chances to Win
2 Gift Certificates to
Retro Cafe Art Gallery!!

And check out their
Fan Page on Facebook too!
Give a 'thumbs up' 
While you're there!!!

So as many of you know, whenever there's a 
Special Holiday 
I always bake 'Cake'....


Happy Valentine's Day!!!


And of course I've used
my Favourite 
Coffee Break Design's
'Bus Stop Lady'
Cut-out!
'She's a Heart Breaker'!!!
LOL!!


And always love using 
Kristin's Fabulous Assortment
of Trims and Stencils!!
and loved using the
German Glass Glitter!!


And those of you who know
my 'Cakes' knows 
I Love the 
Alphabet Beads!!!
(Actually I use them on Everything!!! LOL)
As you can see, I used the Lid from the largest of the 
Paper Mache Nestled Boxes from
Retro Cafe Art Gallery
to create the plate pedestal and a photograph
of one of my dinner plates of my good china
for something a little different:)

As always, I had a Great Fun
 baking 'Cake' for the Occasion!!!

I've also made a couple of other 
Valentine's Day Projects using
Coffee Break Design Products
from
Retro Cafe Art Gallery:)


Using Coffee Break Design's
Wonderful Shrine Kit
and 
Bus Stop Lady:)
'Sweet Heart'
and again, using Kristin's Fab
German Glass Glitter!
( Got a little carried away with this one! LOL)
And the fun mini-bottle caps, and
the White Alpha Beads with Hearts!!


and Kristin's also just listed recently
these Acrylic Easels!!

But wait!


I still had pieces left over from the
Shrine Kit so I took a CD Case
and Painted the Shrine Kit piece
with Retro's DecoArt Metal Paint,
and used the Metal Heart that
also is from Retro Cafe Art Gallery,
Alpha Beads, and stamped it all with
a 'Music' Stamp and Walla!

So Happy Valentine's Day coming
from Birdnuts Mixed Media
and 
Retro Cafe Art Gallery!!
And get 
Entered to Win
the 
$25 Gift Certificates on Both
Our Blog Posts!!!
Deadline to Enter is
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
and the Winner's
on Both Blogs will be Announced
Friday, February 10th, 2012!!

Thanks Everyone:) 



Enjoy!!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

And There Are Winners!!!!

Hi Everyone!! :)



Well here we are again!
Another set of 
Winner's to be Announced
today!!!

It's always my favourite part of Hosting 
these Giveaways on my Blog!!!
Spreading a bit of Fun!!!

A Big Thank You to 
Melissa Samuels

for having me do this 
ATC Tutorial
to Highlight her 
Fabulous ATC Products in her shop!

I always Enjoy working with Melissa
and LOVE her Assortment of Great Products 
that she carries in her shop!
Do keep checking in with her as she's currently 
getting ready to start listing all the Fabulous New Goodies
that are currently being shown at CHA Trade Fair!!!


So! (GRIN) Here we are with the 
5 ATC's I made for the Tutorial Post, and
they're all needing homes!

And as I stated previously, in the ATC Tutorial Post,
I will be mailing these out to 5 Winners!
I got to thinking after the post, that the 5 Winners
picked will be sending me an ATC that they've
made each to be posted on my blog here on 
Birdnuts Mixed Media, and after realizing 
how long it could take in the mail, I would
still love to have you all send me yours for 
my collection, but how about sending me a picture
first, so I can put together a 
Blog Post in your Honour!!

So here we go! 
The 5 Winners of the
ATC's Are!!!

(Confetti flying!!)

'Monica'!
'Deanna'!
'Rachelle'!
'Annie'!
and 
'Mary Jane'!

Woo Hoo!!! You all are the Winner's!!!
I so wish I could send everyone an ATC this time round!
I was so thrilled to have you all leave such Great Comments, and show so much interest in participating!!!
You all have me thinking 
about getting us together 
here on 
Birdnuts Mixed Media 
for doing a regular 
ATC Swap!!!
Leave me some Comments and let me know 
what you all might think about participating if I was
to hold a ATC Swap here on a regular basis. Or even
Email me at 
GIMPY@telus.net 
and let me know
what you would think of the idea:) 
And include any ideas that you have on a swap!

Well now! We have 5 Winners!!!!
Big Congrats!!! I'll be sending each of you
Email's to give you the Big News and
to get your mailing information!
And in the meantime, get those ATC's
made and photographed and emailed
to me for our 
Special Blog Post to Honour 
Your Work!!!

Woo Hoo!!! LOL.

If you're a regular Follower 
here on 
Birdnuts Mixed Media,

you know that as 
I bring one Giveaway Post with a 
Wonderful Internet Shop to a close, 
there is usually another
Fabulous Giveaway Post 
in the Wings, (pun intended:)
As a regular Follower, you know too, that occasionally
I bake Paper Cakes......
So do check back with me 
tomorrow as I will be Co-Hosting with


'The Giveaway Diva'
LOL!!!
Kristin Hubick 
of 
Retro Cafe Art Gallery 
and
Coffee Break Design Product!!!
So make sure you check 
back in tomorrow and
as always....
bring forks for 'cake' as
I hate doing dishes!!
LOL!!

Big Congrats Again
to all 
5 Winner's of the 
ATC's! 
You'll be hearing from me shortly!!

And as always....

Enjoy!!!












Monday, January 16, 2012

Woo Hoo! ATC's With Melissa Samuels and an ATC Challenge!!!

Hello Everyone:)

How did I get here again so soon!
LOL!!!
Yes, it was just yesterday that I did one of the
largest blog posts I've done in a long time,
but with the Fun Giveaway Announcements,
and all the Wonderful Eye Candy I had to 
share, I wanted to get it all listed before
Todays Fabulous Blog Post!!
(So if you have the time, and a cup of coffee settle in
and have a Boo!:)

I'm so very pleased, as it's been a little while, to share with you todays blog post is with my Dear Friend

Melissa Samuels


Melissa asked me back in December if I would be interested 
in doing some ATC's for a blog post 
Featuring her Shop's
Great Selection of ATC Products and Accessories.
No Problem!!! I love ATC's!

In case you don't know what an ATC is, 
here is my knowledge on the subject. 
An ATC is an 'Artists Trading Card'.
Artist Trading Cards are for the sole intention for 
trading with other artists, and are not for sale.
There are a plethora of websites on the Internet just for the fun of making and trading ATC's! 
And, I believe the only rule in making ATC's is that they 
are to be exactly 2 1/2" wide x 3 1/2" long.
And that's the only rule!
You can use any medium in art you wish to make 
an ATC, as long as you have them the correct size!



Well I have to tell you.
Melissa  has a Wonderful Full Product Line of
anything you might need for making ATC's!


With a Full Selection of Inkssentials Brand
Artist Trading Card Blanks in a huge selection 
from Card Stock Blanks to Black Chipboard
and everything in between!
(Tags too!:)

Melissa so kindly sent me a selection of the 
Inkssentials Brand Blanks and other Products
for making Todays Project:)
And Scor-Tape too!
I hadn't seen the Scor-Tape before in such great
sizes, from 1/8" all the way to 1/2" and above!


And look at all these Fabulous Embellishments!
Woo Hoo!!
Everything from Prima Brand Shabby Chic Treasures,
Melissa Francis Brand Vintage Embellishments,
Websters Pages Sparklers, and even
My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Pad 
of 6x6 Papers
in all the colours I'll be needing, 
as today I'm making 
Valentines Day related ATC's:)

So lets get to it!

The ATC's that I'll be showing you, are all
going to be 3 Dimensional as that is my 
very favourite kind of ATC.
Because I enjoy making Mixed Media 
Altered Assemblages when I can find the
time, I tend to enjoy in other mediums
building layers. So any of these ATC's
I'm showing you today, are just 'my' thing.
When it comes to doing your own, 
do your own favourite type of ATC, 
paint, draw, cut and paste,
staple, sew, glue,
whatever you chose:)

Using the wonderful 6 x 6 pad of 

My Mind's Eye Paper that Melissa sent me, 
I covered the Inkssentials Blank ATC with
paper using the Scor-Tape to secure the paper.
These lovely papers come double sided and 
I kept in mind that the other side was complimentary
to the print on the front, so not to waist the paper,
I would cut a piece for the front, then flip and cut
a piece for the back of the ATC. Always do the 
backs of your ATC's as that is where you'll be 
signing and dating your ATC's for Trading them!
I also chose in this example a
Melissa Francis Brand 
Vintage Embellishment Frame and 
Prima Brand Shabby Chic Treasures Corners.
I had the Red Heart Button and chose a vintage
music sheet to back the frame 
with to offset the button.
Melissa also sent a lovely bag full of 
samples of all sorts of beautiful 
lace and ribbon trims that she also 
carries in her shop! 
Paper flowers, and lovely Pins too! 
(Yummy and so much fun!! LOL)

In this example
the double sided paper had this lovely
graphic of a pair of birds on the other side,
you'll see in the finished ATC pictures what
I did with it:)
I like to use Ranger Brand
Inkssentials Glossy accents to attach my
3D Embellishments as I think it helps
them stay on the card stock well.
And I also always edge my ATC's with
Tim Holtz Distress Inks to give a 
Vintage Edge to my ATC's.

So that's the basics of how I made the ATC's
in Todays Blog Tutorial!

Thanks to all of you for checking in!
wait....what am I forgetting.....
oh yeah...


(grin)

Like I said before, these are just suggestions
of some 3D ATC's 


and everything you see on these examples
you are able to find in Melissa's shop
at


(except this little charm, that was mine, LOL)


And as you can tell these are all about...


Valentines Day:)


So I really hope you all will consider making 
some ATC's or get back into making ATC's!
And check out Melissa's Great Selection of Products 
to get you started and/or back into making them!
Matter of fact.....while I think of it....

Here's a little idea:)

I made 5 ATC's for this Tutorial 
if you all might be interested,
and to encourage you to get into making
your own ATC's:)

Leave a Comment on this Post
(and sign on as a Google Follower if you 
aren't one already:)

And on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
I will pick 5 Winners to send these ATC's to:)
But here's the catch!

The 5 Winners have to make 
1 Valentine's related ATC
of their own to mail back to me:)
When I have received all 5 of your ATC's
I will post them here on
Birdnuts Mixed Media's Blog
to 
Highlight Your ATC's!

Please do leave me a Comment anyway as I always
appreciate hearing from you all, but Highlight
in your Comment if you're throwing your hat in 
for the ATC Challenge!!!
Woo Hoo!!!

I'll Announce the Winners 
in the Challenge
on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012!
And send you an email for your mailing information
to send you one of the Tutorial ATC's!

Big Thanks to Melissa Samuels
for all the Fun Goodies she sent to me
for the making of these ATC's!

Now get to making your ATC's!!!

ENJOY!!!






























Sunday, January 15, 2012

We Have 3 Winners!!!

Woo Hoo!!!!
3 WINNERS!!!

Hello Everyone!!

Well here I am, about to announce the
Winners of the 3 Tutorial Brooches
I made for 
Shabby Cottage Studios
for my 1st Tutorial as
Artist in Residence:)

I had great fun making these brooches,
and I'm so very pleased to be sharing them,
with at least 3 of my Fabulous Followers!
I just wish that I could give every one of you one!

And the Winners are!!!

Marilyn (Tarnished Rose)!
and
Cindi a.k.a. Erickson!
and
Selah Gay!!

Woo Hoo!!!!!

I will be sending each of you an email to notify you
that you are a Winner, and request that you send
your mailing address to me in return confirmation, 
for me to mail the brooch!
I will say, any addresses that are supplied in any
of my Giveaways,
 I will immediately delete upon use, 
and not keep in future or share in any way
with anyone else, as to protect your privacy:)

Woo Hoo!!! Winners!
I was so pleased that so many of you were interested
in Entering the Giveaway for the Brooches
and have decided that in future Tutorials for
Shabby Cottage Studios
I may again offer the Tutorial Project
in a Giveaway again!
Stay tuned as in the coming weeks 
as I will be posting the next 
Tutorial for Gail at Shabby Cottage Studio,
as in the meantime,
I also have other Projects and Giveaways
with my other Fabulous Company's 
I have been so proud to be 'Friends' with!

As I will be tomorrow,
Monday, January 16th, 2012
There will be a New Blog Post
with a Fun Project for
That's right, an ATC Project for
Melissa Samuels
Tomorrow here on Birdnuts Mixed Media!

Wow, what a morning!
3 Winners of the Brooch Giveaway
and an upcoming New Project tomorrow!
So in the meantime....

I'd like to take a few more minutes of your precious time,
to share a few 
Shout Outs, Projects, and Eye Candy,
 while we wait for tomorrow's new Blog Post:)

The Holiday Season may be a Past Memory 
for most of us, but it's been still going on
for me here in Victoria, B.C. long after
the Holidays were over, as my mail service
has been so backed up, that packages are
still arriving for the Holidays!
I'd like to Share with You all a couple of 
Lovely Goodies that have arrived and
tell you a bit about the senders:)

Ms. Gigi Butterfly here in Beautiful British Columbia!
Sent a Fabulous Print to my Husband and Myself
From her Fabulous Gallery here in B.C.
I would love for you all to check out her Online Gallery @
www.GigiButterfly.com
And see so many of her Wonderful Art Prints!!!
Thanks so much for your generosity Gigi!!!

and I also would like to share with you another
of my Fabulous Artist Friends
Sherry Westfall Mathews
Sherry makes these Adorable Creations
and lists them in her Etsy Shop at
dalaimomma@etsy.com
I absolutely love this Vintage Watch Creation
that Sherry made! The snow works just like a 
snow globe:)
Hugs to you Sherry! Adore it!!!

And I am just so overwhelmed this last Holiday Season,
as so many of my Incredible Artist Friends
so many of them on Facebook 
(and what a Fabulous Community of them there are!!!)

My Dear Friend
Mary Jane Chadbourne 
of
Desert Dreams Studio
on Facebook
Mary Jane makes a Variety of Handmade
Incredible Bracelets, and Art Boxes and
also sells on Etsy to boot!
DesertDreamsStudio@Etsy.com
I Love the Bracelet Mary Jane!!
Thank you so much for making it for me!!!

And I also have to absolutely tell you about
my BIAF!
(Best Internet Art Friend)
You all know her as
Kristin Hubick 
of Retro Cafe Art Gallery:)
Among the many things that Kristin so very kindly
sent me for my Birthday in December and the Christmas Holiday,
for which I am so 'gobsmacked' with, this had to absolutely
take the 'cake' so to speak:)
Kristin at Retro Cafe Art Gallery 
made arrangements with the Fabulous
Debrina Pratt of
Land of Enchantment
to send me one of Debrina's Fabulous 
Art Creations that I just adore!!!
Kristin knew that I have always wanted one
of Debrina's Lovely Creations and made
arrangements that both she and I would
have our own Birdhouse's made by Debrina!
As you all know, 
Retro Cafe Art Gallery
sells a Beautiful Assortment of
Land of Enchantments
Wonderful Graphics Sheets!

These are just a Fabulous Assortment of what I call
LOVE
From all these wonderful Artists who I am so proud
to refer to as my Friends:) :) 
Love you all!!!

And wait there's more to share!!!!
(LOL, Longest Post Ever!!! LOL)

I signed up this last December for a Fabulous
ONLINE TUTORIAL CLASS!!!!
AND IT's FREE!!!!

With my Fellow Canadian Artist Friend
Effy Wild of
www.wildpreciouslife.com
Book of Days!

Please check out Effy's Wonderful Project that I am 
currently a Group Member of as it's a Wonderful Opportunity
to learn all about Journaling, and be Motivated by this
Wonderful Artist!
It's a Year Long Project! Which may sound intimidating, but it's a Fabulous way to keep motivated, and the 
Online Community on Facebook as a Group Member is 
a 'Happening' in it's support!!
Here's some examples of my journal pages I've created while
being a Member of Book Of Days...
Trying all sorts of techniques! From Watercolour Washes,
to Stamping, Hand Lettering, and Graphics use!
(Graphics from the Fabulous TumbleFish Studio @
DeviantScrap.com!)
And of course as many of you Followers have learned
I always have a bit of cheeky humour in my pieces:)
(Big Birthday Sock Bash for my December Birthday:)
And I've even been motivated by Effy's Class
to dig out my old Acrylic Paints from my
years of Decorative Painting and begin again
doing some of my own creations through Journaling:)
(This page spread is going back to my sort of 
'childs book' ideas, back when I thought I'd be 
writing children's books. Old dreams anew:)

So Everyone:)
A very long blog post, full of Eye Candy:)
And tomorrow another post with the
Fun and Fabulous
Melissa Samuels!!!

And again,
Congrats to the Tutorial Brooch Winners!!!

Enjoy!!!!