{looks so good i could eat it}

Pretty silky petals - all ready to be made into ruffled peonies.

I love the way a jar of these silky petals looks. So bright and beautiful - like a jar full of gumdrops or gumballs. It reminds me of the penny candy jars, all lined up, just waiting for us to reach in a grab a handful. Can't wait to layer these up and make them into the beautiful silky peony pins that adorn my ruffled bags.

{for Mother's Day}

Sweet new bags - just in time for Mother's Day!

{friday fill-in's}

1. What a beautiful sunrise it was this morning!
2. Nothing better than a child's hug - right?
3. It's no surprise I can't find my coffee cup right now.
4. Trying something new here lately wasn't easy, but I am learning as I go.
5. I like to try new and interesting foods.
6. I Can Only Imagine is one of my most favorite songs!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a visit from friends tonight, tomorrow my plans include getting my daughter ready for her Senior Prom and Sunday, I want to take pictures at the Lake!

{reading between the lines}

I am not a painter. I am reader . . .

. . . but sometimes I like to pretend I am a painter. I surround myself with the tools of a painter - canvas, brushes, a palette of beautiful colors, and I pretend to paint. If a canvas were a book, I could paint it all day long. My mind racing across each page leaving a scenic landscape, a solitary figure, a busy street. But a canvas is not a book, and so I choose to read between the lines. I ignore the rules and just paint. I let the brush read and the paint define. I let go and become someone else. Someone in a book. A painter, just for a day.

{you're never too young to repurpose}

Walking through the living room I had to smile . Sophie had repurposed a candle . It was now the dining room table for Barbie and her pals. She is eleven. So you see....you are never too young to repurpose!

live the repurposed life: pretty paper

Whenever I am working on a project that requires dyes or inks, or even paints, I always use a piece of newsprint or watercolor paper as "underpaper." A favorite tip I learned from my very talented friend, Roben-Marie. It saves cleaning up a big mess, but it also leaves me with a great piece of colorful paper to use for other projects. Last week I used some watercolor paper under a dye project. The week before I had used the same piece of paper to catch drips of paint and gesso. This week I cut sweet little hearts out of this paper and used them to make some notecards for Vintage Hip in Springfield, Alabama. Available in my Etsy Shoppe soon!

{recycled tags}

In an effort to not waste such lovely brown paper I decided to "go green" and make some tags for my new cards out of recycled grocery sacks. Besides loving the color, they are made from a really great tough paper. Want to make some for yourself? Fold the sack neatly, as it would come from the factory. Place in trimmer and cut to 8.5 x 11 inches. Slit any remaining folds with scissors. Place in printer and print. I printed on the grocery stamped side as I loved the way it looked. The all brown side would be nice too!

{friday fill-in's}

remnants to ruffles: for the love of reading

Electronic Readers are everywhere today. It seems as if everyone is reading on the go, and lucky for me! I have a new batch of EReader Cases all stitched up and ready to go to Vintage Hip in Alabama, and into my Etsy Shoppe as well!

storage worth stealing: files to fabric

I love office supplies...almost as much as I love fabric. So when I was no longer using this office file folder unit, I couldn't bear to toss it. Instead, I turned it on end and began using it as a fabric organizer. Now I can keep all my current project's fabric on hand. No more digging through the cupboard for somthing. I love it!