Brenda Walton

Miracle and Wonder

Wishing you and your loved ones an inspired and joyous New Year!

The Eye That Sees Beauty

It all began with a fascination for Asian art, and a talent for finding fabulous items at yard sales. My inspiring friend Paulee Gomke is the ultimate treasure hunter. She has taught me everything I know about yard sales, antiquing and how to find a diamond in the rough: choose your destinations carefully; start early in the morning; only buy things you really love; and always ask politely for the “best price”. Paulee began combing yard sales in the 1960’s, before it became fashionable. Her standards for collecting have always been very high; the piece must be in tip-top shape in order to be seriously considered.

Over the years, Paulee has filled her beautiful home with museum-quality furniture, artwork, pottery and textiles, all with an Asian influence. Her workshop reflects her passion for collecting: shelves filled with an array of luxurious silks, satins, suedes, handmade laces, antique buttons, hand-dyed silk ribbons, and Victorian-era ornaments.

Living with all of these fabulous pieces compelled Paulee to start creating things herself. In her words, “I just had to do it!” Nearly 50 years ago, she started fashioning elaborate Christmas stockings and birthday crowns as gifts for close friends. Beginning with a foundation of vintage textiles, she lovingly stitched layer upon layer of beads, pearls, and buttons, making magical gifts that seem to have been woven by fairies in an enchanted forest.

Sometimes Paulee finds a beautifully embellished vintage textile piece and removes portions of it to add to her creations. For the teal stocking (left). for example, she cropped the embroidered chenille vine and satin flowers from a lovely Victorian curtain valance, and found it was the perfect shape. Gold metallic ribbon and silk beads add a playful touch. She stitched tiny sparkling beads, so small that she had to use special Japanese needles. Paulee experimented with marbling fabric (right) to create a butterfly shape embellished with beads, and carefully machine-stitched the organza circles of fabric. “That was the hardest part!” she said.

A finely detailed Chinese embroidered element became the focal point for this tiny slipper (left). Inspired by Chinese bound foot shoes, she created this lovely shape and embellished the border and foot (right) with metallic gold laces and floral trim.

The antique boot buttons bordering the red silk velvet stocking (left) were manufactured in 1908. The Chinese embroidered ribbon squares (right) are perfectly complimented by the contemporary ribbon border and antique petit point floral accents.

I am continually amazed by Paulee’s marvelous imagination and her ability to bring together so many elements into one magical creation. It’s as if she can clearly visualize the final piece even before she begins sewing. The Italians call it “bell’occhio”, or “the eye that sees beauty”. In her work and in her life, Paulee brings timelessness and beauty to everything she touches.

(Paulee's birthday crowns were the subject of a post in July.)

Letterpress Trendsetters

And, the winner of our Peppermint Twist drawing is Susan P. from Texas. Congratulations, Susan! Thanks to all of you who posted comments. We truly enjoyed your letters! Happy Holidays to everyone.

As a longtime admirer of Hammerpress in Kansas City, I was thrilled to have been invited to tour their letterpress workshop with designers from K & Company. Located in the heart of the trendy Crossroads Art District and surrounded by galleries and artsy boutiques, Hammerpress is the Midwest's creative hotspot.

Designers Lindsay Laricks and Brady Vest are so super-talented that everything they touch becomes hipper just by association. These are the groovy kids you always wanted to be friends with in high school.

Lindsay and Brady reinvent the traditional wedding invitation. Bold designs, quirky colors and exquisite typography combine to create an invitation to an event that no one would want to miss!  One-of-a-kind Hammerpress posters, stationery, journals and greeting cards are equally delightful and collectible.

The process involved in setting up type for letterpress printing is painstakingly precise. Each of the elements in a design is selected and then laid out as a mirror image, ready for inking and printing. The collection of type and images shown here is just a small sampling of the options available. Every available drawer and box in the Hammerpress workshop is filled to the brim with beautiful typography and antique images.

Originally developed in the 1400’s, letterpress printing produces a slightly depressed image on to the paper, and imbues the finished piece with a quality that is unique and impossible to mass produce. These fabulous tags showcase the style that has earned Hammerpress a reputation for innovation, with multiple, complex layers of color and image. Historical elements and contemporary design are masterfully combined in these pieces to create a work of art that is refreshing, intelligent and completely compelling.

Thanks, Lindsay and Brady, for a very inspiring tour!

Twinkle, Twinkle

This weekend I’ve been having lots of fun creating gifts of Victorian-inspired ornaments, using vintage French postcards I recently purchased in Paris. The finished pieces are small enough to hang on the tree or to send in the mail as very special gifts, yet big enough to decorate the front door as a cheery greeting for holiday guests.

The three ornaments shown in this post were relatively easy to make, but they did take quite a bit of time. Still, they are well worth the effort, and the results are really stunning. I’ll provide a few notes about elements used in each project, just in case you’d like to create something similar.

Because of the complexity of the background behind the two girls in the postcard above, I bordered it in monochromatic, textural layers. The end result is easy to look at, and brings the focus directly to the beautiful faces of the girls. I used embossed scrapbooking paper as the base layer, and scalloped the edges using an antique edge trimmer. The middle layer is metallic gold giftwrap, adhered to card stock. I used ivory satin ribbon, 3/4 inch wide, for a touch of elegance. For accents, I used a vintage pearl button, vintage velvet flower, vintage French newspaper, and a vintage rhinestone cabouchon.

I wanted to create a shadowbox effect for this project. Beginning with double-sided heavyweight paper from my Peppermint Twist Speciality Paper Pad, I cut out a piece that was 3/4 inch larger than the postcard, on all four sides. I scored and then folded it to create the sides of the box. The half-circular fan at the bottom was created by cutting a strip of paper, 1½” by 6” and then edging it with pinking scissors. I folded the paper at 3/16” inch intervals, alternating the direction with each fold. Next, I spread the paper into a fan shape and adhered it to the box using a glue gun. The silver metallic pipe cleaner was curled into a decorative shape and adhered to the top of the box with hot glue.

The frame for this darling image needed to stay informal and playful. I rubberstamped a floral image I designed for Inkadinkado in white ink, then I applied clear glitter. The result is an enchanting, diaphanous layer of sparkly stardust. I used pearl buttons around the perimeter, and adhered each of them with a dab of hot glue. I love their pearly sheen and reflective quality, and they give the ornaments a substantial weight and dimensional feel. For a metallic border accent, I used inexpensive florist’s foil from a local floral supply shop. Sold by the roll, it’s usually double-sided, embossed, and comes in an array of brilliant colors, like this hot pink foil.

Below are a few general paper crafting tips that may be helpful in creating the holiday ornaments in this post and for other holiday crafting projects. Click here to review additional tips for paper crafting.

• When working with vintage paper ephemera, I almost always use color copies of the originals. I scan the originals at 300 dots per inch and print on good quality card stock so that they look and feel just like the real thing! I use Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight paper to get reliable results every time.

• I run all prints, giftwrap and decorative papers through my Xyron and then adhere them to heavyweight archival cardstock, which provides a more substantial and durable finished product. The finish is very smooth and perfect (difficult to achieve with liquid adhesives).

• I use a glue gun to adhere layers of card stock to each other. I also use a glue gun to add accents like ribbon, flowers, buttons and pipe cleaners. Once the glue is dry, the positioning cannot be changed. The upside is that it won’t fall apart…ever!

• To add dimension between layers, I use foam dots.

• For tiny jewels, I use Adhesive Rhinestones from my Peppermint Twist, Neopolitan, and Maison Collections. Because these rhinestones are already adhesive backed, they’re very easy to use and available in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors.

• For glitter, I prefer the superfine variety, available at many craft stores . I prefer to use superfine glitter because it’s great for small, detailed areas, as well as larger border areas.

• In addition to making the front of your holiday ornament sensational, you can also do something special on the back - cover it with vintage newsprint or decorative paper. Attach a glassine envelope and enclose a note to the recipient. I love the idea of a special message that might not be discovered until some later date.

To view some very creative holiday season projects created with Peppermint Twist, click here.

Have fun, and please send me photos of your own work. I always enjoy seeing what other paper crafters create!

'Tis the season for giving, and this month I'm hosting a giveaway of goodies from my new holiday collection, Peppermint Twist. To enter, simply leave a comment on any post, dated between November 25 and December 10. The winner will be announced on December 11, so that I can mail the prize to arrive well before Christmas. Happy Holidays!!

Postcards from Paris

As a long-time collector of vintage postcards, I feel a rush of excitement every time I see a stack of them at a flea market or antique shop. Recently, I had the opportunity to make some wonderful additions to my collection.

Paris is alive with open-air markets of all sorts, taking place every day of the week rain or shine. I love seeing all of the colorful produce available. The colors and smells are sensational, and it’s a cultural experience just to stroll down the aisles and hear accents from around the world as everyone tries to speak their best French!

While selecting lettuce and carrots at our local neighborhood market, Doug told me about an adjacent market with antiques, clothes and vintage French novels. Upon hearing this good news, and then abandoning my vegetables, I made a bee-line for the brocante (bric-a-brac market). There, I found a wide selection of wonderful antique postcards.

The softly hand-tinted charming images of children and couples are just delightful! The script and postmarks on the backs of many of these cards are a work of art, too. I plan to transform some of my new treasures into gifts for friends, embellishing them with glitter, rhinestones and ribbon. Stay tuned for the results!

To read more of the series of travel posts I am writing about my trip to England and France, click here.

'Tis the season for giving, and this month I'm hosting a giveaway of goodies from my new holiday collection, Peppermint Twist. To enter, simply leave a comment on any post, dated between November 25 and December 10. The winner will be announced on December 11, so that I can mail the prize to arrive well before Christmas. Bon Chance!!