Photowalk

1. a leisurely stroll down the beach on a Sunday afternoon.
2. my zany son feeding the chickens in his long johns.
3. a typical day of vices.
4. kayaking with the family.
5. after the gym.
6. her practice is music to my ears.

On the Worktable: Vintage hankies

I so love vintage hankies!

On the Worktable: Old Quilt becomes Gadget Cases

I was happy to stumble across this very weary old vintage quilt. I love her worn feeling, her soft colors. I knew she would make the perfect quilt for the new vintage quilt block gadget cases I have been working on.

Hand dyed velvet and fabric covered buttons add a bit of old world charm.

These are available in my Etsy Store.

On the Worktable: Wristlets

New little wrist-lets are on the worktable.

Made with my favorite, re-purposed fabric scraps, these little bags are the textile equivalent to a beautiful art journal page.

Stitched, doodled, journaled and ready to go!

Photo Walk: Everyday Life

• Sophie, as part of The Youth Orchestra, performs at the Center for the Arts.
• Looking for the Postman to arrive.
• A much needed perk for the afternoon.
• Happy Mail with a surprise feature.
• Waiting for my son to finish Golf.
• A fun night out with the Family.

In My House: Wall of Mirrors

I don't know about you, but I spend more time at my desk than I would like to admit. I have always been a firm believer that you have to "love where you work," so I try to surround myself with things that make me smile, like vintage pots and old wooden cubicles.But really - LIGHT is a big deal for me. It makes me smile. I am very grateful to have huge porches that wrap the front and back lengths of my home, and while they create great cooling shade here in Florida, they also filter most of my sunlight.

My desk sits near three over sized windows in the nook area of my kitchen, but even so it was too dark for me. I decided to bring in more light by adding a pretty mirror over my desk. It reflected the light beautifully and I enjoyed the perk of being part of the living room, just by way of reflection, but...

...but it was so small. Every mirror I picked up was dwarfed by the size of the wall above my desk. I tried hanging vintage plates alongside of and around the mirror, but it just wasn't speaking to me. Finally it dawned on me. I needed a whole wall of mirrors. Sounds weird right? I know, but it is working for me! I have been slowing adding to my "wall of mirrors" and I am loving it. I started with one hexagonal mirror centeredabove my desk. I began adding a few rectangles which are faux gold (you can't even tell they are plastic!) rectangles that I found at my local Dollar Tree for $1.00 each! Yea to that!

Last week I stumbled upon a four pack of miniature mirrors in assorted shapes at Wal-Mart. I hesitated because they were black, but in the end I bought them and added a coat of off white paint followed by a coat of first silver and then gold paint. Without waiting for these to dry,(too impatient for that) I quickly rubbed on a coat of saddle brown leather stain and then wiped it off. I love how it took some of all the layers of paint with it making it look worn and old. I also found a small faux gold filagree square mirror that day at my local thrift store.

And then just yesterday I found my favorite so far. A vintage oval mirror with raised metal sides. I have one similar to this that I use for a perfume tray and I love it. I am so happy with this wall so far and even happier that I have only spent a total of $35.00 to date.

The best part of all? I have a BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL place to work!

Scarves

Loved making these scarves as gifts for my nieces.

Christmas Decor: Ice Skate Stocking

Here is a simple project to make using a tea towel and all of your favorite scraps of fabric, lace and trim. It makes the cutest "ice skate" stocking! 

I used a burlap base for my stocking because I like to use what I have on hand, but you could easily substitute this for another fabric of your choice. I also reinforced for my burlap with a vinyl lining giving it added durability!

Super easy and another way to repurposed and recycle your old materials!

Christmas Decor: Twig Jars

Vintage meets Cabin in these super easy TWIG JARS

I love to have candles burning all of the time - it isn't so much the scent that pulls me in as the homey feeling I get from seeing them glitter all about the house.

During the Holidays I thought it would be nice to have a few pretty jars to hold some of my staple and long burning basic pillar candles - and of course I wanted them to be re-purposed, so I used some old washed out candle jars.

While gathering supplies for this project I decided I did not want a very modern look, and yet I didn't want "country Christmas" either...something more like "vintage meets cabin" is what I was hoping for.

GATHERING SUPPLIES:

• recycled glass jars
• collected twigs & pine cones
• vintage binding or ribbon & tape measure
• Holiday berry picks
• Assorted embellishments
• Pretty trims
• Number brads & plaques
• Silky flower petals
• Gesso, glitter & stain
• Hot glue/ glue gun

THIS IS WHAT I DID:

• Measure height of jar and cut or break several twigs to this size.
• Begin gluing twigs around the jar, alternating thick & thin pieces.
• Continue gluing until outside of jar is fully covered with twigs.
• Twist & glue thin pliable twig or vine to top edge of jar.
• Measure around jar and cut binding or ribbon one inch longer.
• Glue binding or ribbon around center of jar.
• Twist and glue tape measure into desired shape & glue to binding.
• Brush gesso onto tips of pine cones and berries and dust with glitter. Let dry.
• Once dry glue cones and berries to binding near tape measure.
• Add embellishments as desired.

I used rhinestones, holiday stars, paper leaves, petals and number plaques to dress up my jars.

Worried about burning a candle in your pretty new jar? Just drop a battery operated tea light in the bottom and watch it sparkle!

Need a gift for a teacher, neighbor, co-worker or secret pal? Fill your pretty twig jars with wrapped holiday candies,bath salts, potpourri or a bag of tea lights and pop in a pretty bag! (Stay tuned for an easy how to on gift bags!) Now you are ready for any Holiday Gift Exchange!

Christmas Wrap: Gift Card Tags

I love to wrap gifts, so much in fact, that when my children started growing up and asking for gift cards I was crushed. Now how could I wrap those? Well it didn't take long for me to hunt down little boxes and bags. Soon I was wrapping the cards like miniature gifts and they were adorable.

This year I was looking for a budget friendly and re-purposed alternative to boxes and bows. In an ongoing effort to use up my memory making supplies I started digging through unused goodies and this is what I came up with -

        A FEW SIMPLE SUPPLIES:

• a few over sized manilla tags
• a few small manilla tags
• paper borders
• a cut up vintage handkerchief
• bakers twine
• fabric covered buttons
• scrapbook embellishments
• recycled miniature brown bags

         THIS IS WHAT I DID:

• Fold a large tag in half.
• Layer with mini brown bag and hankie scrap & pin in place.
• Lay out paper borders & embellishments and pin in place.
• Unfold your tag and carefully stitch all components, unpinning as you go.
• Stitch up left and right sides of tag. I also stitched up the bottom just for fun.
• Add paper borders to top of tag and stitch into place as well. Add baker's twine.
• Using another mini brown bag, staple a tiny tag or embellishment and insert gift card.
• Cut one small manilla tag in half, add paper, buttons and twine to dress it up.
• Insert bag with gift card into the large tag pocket.
• Insert the small to/from tag into the side (brown bag) pocket.       

This is a super simple way to make a sweet Gift Card Holder at the Holidays AND an easy way to
start using up some of those stockpiled art supplies! Great for teachers, neighbors and co-workers!

 I know it is early, but I am already getting excited, so - Happy Holidays!