Retro Cafe Art!

I am so excited to be able to share an awesome web-site with you today.

If you haven't guessed already it's called ~

Retro Cafe Art Gallery

by Kristin Hubick

I found Kristin's site by chance one day while I was crusin' around the net looking for collage goodies. Boy did I ever strike gold here! Kristin specializes in collage sheets and all sorts of items for collage, altered arts and more. It's an awesome place to explore so I contacted her and low and behold she's a Hoosier too!!! Well, right then and there I knew I wanted to share her site with everyone :)

I had a lot of fun admiring Kristin's art so I asked her how long she'd been crafting. Kristen's reply was "I've been arting and crafting since I was a little girl. My first memories growing up include rummaging through my mom's craft room, creating art, and selling it on the corner of our block! Once I sold two pine cones covered with glitter to a man in a limo who said he was on his way to a wedding and was going to give them as gifts! Surely my most memorable sale and I was about 6 years old. I can also recall creating "worry doll" earring and having my mom put an ad in the back of a craft magazine. I only sold one pair, but it was thrilling. It was inevitable that I would have my own site as an adult."

I asked her how Retro Cafe Art go it's start - like so many of us she started with one medium but got sucked in to the black hole of the art world. "I began selling my art on EBay in 2004. Initially, I was selling my retro inspired paintings that often featured coffee cups and "café" style. That is how the name "Retro Café Art Gallery" came about. I soon discovered art cards and was drawn into the world of altered art. When I was younger I often created collages and decoupage items using magazine pictures. I was drawn to the variety in altered art, and the ability to use ephemera and items that some people would consider trash, to give them new life. As my business began to grow, I was determined to have my own space on the web. Retro Café Art Gallery http://www.retrocafeart.com/ went live February 2008 and I have big plans for the future!" Pretty darn cool huh?

A large part of Retro Cafe Art are the collage sheets. Images of all shapes, sizes and themes. I asked Kristin where she comes up with her ideas for her collage sheets. She replied, "Basically, I select images that I might like to use in my own art, while abiding by copyright laws. Hunting down the vintage ephemera and photos is part of the fun!" she also added, "I have a small selection of collage sheets that I sell through a license I purchased a few years ago, but most of the collage sheets I design myself."

Some of the themes offered include: Fairies & Children; Butterflies, Moths & Birds (great selection of wings here!!); Cabinet Cards and one of my favorites...HALLOWEEN!! Of course there are many more...I just wanted to give you a taste ;) You'll have to explore the rest for yourself.

These collage sheets are available on a variety of materials - Semi-Gloss Paper; Transparency Film; Fabric Sheets; Sticker Paper and Vellum.

If you like to print collage sheets yourself Kristin also offers her sheets in a digital format. You have the option of purchasing Digital 8 1/2" x 11" Sheets; a new Halloween CD including 8 collage pages or a selection of Individual Digital Images.

If you've got a need for a specific collage sheet you don't see on the site, drop Kristin an e-mail. She takes requests and mentioned that some of her favorite sheets were born from special requests!

Now, Retro Cafe Art isn't limited to collage sheets ~ they have an awesome variety of altered art and ATC goodies as well. Kristin is one of the few companies that offer Coffee Break Design Stencils; Shrines and more. R.C.A. also offers a wide variety of other collage items including Vintage Finds; Original Artworks; Antique German Doll Parts; ATC & Inchie Supplies and....well I could go on but I'll let you find out for yourself what else Retro Cafe Arts has in store for you.

Kristin wanted me to be sure and let you know that she is more than happy to ship orders internationally and always charges actual shipping costs. Not something you find everyday let me tell you!

Be sure to stop by their Design Team Gallery and check out the amazing creations from her Design Team!

So, it's time for you to go explore and see what you can see :)

Be sure to report back here because if you tell me what you love

because....

you may just be the lucky winner of one of THREE digital collage sheets

courtesy of

Kristin and Retro Cafe Art!!

You have until November 25th to let me know what you found!

Have a wonderful Day Friends!!