Happy Christmas! ... it's snow much fun here!

Happy Christmas friends! I hope you are certainly having a special time with family and friends as you enjoy all the good things that the season brings ... and if you live anywhere on the east coast of the USA, that probably includes snow ... and a LOT of it!

It's SO different to experience a white Christmas, because where I'm from (Sydney, Australia) we would normally be surfing or sunbaking at this time of year ... but instead ... here we are SNOWED IN (literally) on Boxing Day, and loving it!

Jodie & my daugher Georgia (9), boxing day 2010.

It's given us lots of time to be creative (I've been working on my new Dover Book, due for release Spring 2011), and to enjoy some fun times together at home ... Check out the Gingerbread House we made with a fabulous kit from my favorite gourmet grocery, Trader Joe's. It took just a couple of minutes to put together, but a couple of days to completely devour :). Isn't it adorable?!  Yes, that's the old witch in the corner. We ate her first so she wouldn't eat the children before we got to :)

{worn photo overlay courtesy Vera Lim}
Trader Joe's GingerBread House Kit Authentic German "Hexen Haus" with Candy & Cookie Decorations.

And of course, we've had our favorite music playing in the background every day this week - the latest Christmas CD from Starbucks.  LOVE this album! Seriously RETRO, but funky ...  even caught myself doing an Elvis Presley impression to 'Blue Christmas' - much to the embarrassment of my hubby and kids :).

Starbucks Collection Presents Sleigh Ride, Side by Side

The real HIGHLIGHT of Christmas for me though, was putting my kids to bed after reading the Christmas story to them from 'The Jesus Storybook Bible'. It is a beautifully illustrated book that tells the inspirational story beneath all the stories in the Bible. Before going to sleep Luca (6) said to me 'Mummy, I know why we give gifts to each other at Christmas.  It's because God gave us the best gift of all when he gave us Jesus'. Thank you Luca, for that precious reminder of what CHRISTmas means to us.

Happy Christmas, happy Holidays, and Season's Greetings to you all! Check the blog for a new FREEBIE arriving tomorrow! :)

Freebie: Christmas Angels with Harp Vintage Postcard!

Here is another gorgeous restored antique postcard from my collection! I thought you might like to use this stunning image for your Christmas crafts or cards. Click on the image to go to the larger preview, click again, then right click to download and save the image to your computer.  Personal use only. You can purchase a limited commercial-use copy (10x7 inches!) from my Etsy Store (Vintage Scrap Box) HERE.

© Gypsy Chick

Happy Birthday to Me :) 40 years old today.

Yes friends, there's no use denying it, and I can't escape it, so I may as well celebrate it :) I'm 40 years old today. My birthday is actually the 18th of December, but since I was born in Australia (they are a day ahead), and I live in the USA, I'm celebrating it today ... and tomorrow :) ... excuse me while I get a little nostalgic here and show you some 'vintage' photos :)

Jodie, 1971.

Jodie, 1972.

Jodie, 1973.

Jodie, 1977.

1979.  Mum & Dad - love you!

20 yrs old.  Long live the 80's!

Me (40) with my little cuties, Luca (6), Giorgia (9), 2010.

Winner Announced: Father Christmas 6x6 paper pack!

REBECCA LOVELL of Rebecca's Scraps:
http://rebeccasscraps.blogspot.com
is our winner of the Pink Paislee/Gypsy Chick 'Father Christmas' 6x6 paper pack!

Check your mailbox Rebecca!

Thank you to everyone for leaving your wonderful comments on the pack here on the Gypsy Chick Blog. I really wish I could send all of this pack!

I did notice that if you do a google image search for 'Pink Paislee Father Christmas' you will come up with a few small online scrapbooking sites that still have the 6x6 inch paper pack in stock.

Tutorial: Design your own cards from vintage images!

It's easy to create your own collage-style cards from vintage images ... and the results can be quite enchanting, as I'm about to show you. One recent creation of my own is this free 'French Bird Christmas Card' which you can download HERE (pictured in the final image below).

Here are the ingredients I used to create this card in Photoshop, but you could also figure out how to create a paper version without too much difficulty.

Easy Directions for Photoshop:
1. Take an old illustration of a bird or other animal/object. You can find vintage images to download on Etsy. Try searching 'digital collage sheet' + 'bird'.
Choose an image that would create a nice silhouette. Select the background area behind the bird with the magic wand tool. Inverse the selection.
2. Open another image of vintage flowers, or foliage or other design. Choose an image that would bring out the character of the bird shape, or create a crazy abstract effect. You might find the perfect vintage image in my 'Vintage Scrap Box' store at Etsy HERE.
3. Copy and paste this image into the selected area of the bird image (edit > paste into).
4. Select the background area again, fill with a color, then stamp with vintage text and antique printer's ornaments.
5. You may like to add a background pattern (I've used damask here), and a calligraphic style box with text. These books by Dover have some gorgeous calligraphic boxes!


6. You can then print, paste onto cardstock and embellish further if you like.

That's it! How fun is that? So, please try it out, and email a picture of your creations with a link to your blog to gypsychickdesigns@yahoo.com, and I will post them here.

Freebie: French Bird Christmas Card!

I worked up a little Christmas card design to send to some friends today, and I thought I'd share it with you as well. There should still be enough time to print, paste and post before Christmas! You get two different colored versions of the card in this freebie (see below).

I can't get enough of the 'French' and 'bird' motifs so popular in design these days, (that, plus this Aussie girl is not used to these freezing North American winters, so I'm dreaming about warm Spring weather, lovely  twittering birds, pretty blue sky, ... etc, etc :).

How To: The image is 4 x 5.5 inches in size. Print onto either watercolor paper for a softer effect or glossy photo paper for a brighter effect. Attach to a 4.5x6 red or yellow card, add ribbon, embellish.

You can click on the images below to see the bigger previews, but you must come back and click HERE to download the French Bird Christmas Card, and please leave a comment below.  I always love to see photos of your creations, please send to gypsychickdesigns@yahoo.com. This card is personal use only.

Want to see a tutorial on how I created this card? Go HERE to see how you can create your own cards from vintage images!

© Gypsy Chick

© Gypsy Chick

Freebie: "Santa Calling" Digital Scrapbook Paper!

Got a little freebie for you today ... a 12x12 inch digital scrapbook paper by Gypsy Chick.  Click the preview to see a detailed image of what you'll be getting, then simply download HERE, and enjoy!

Feel free to leave a comment if you like it! :)

© 2010 Gypsy Chick