tutorial: mirrored perfume tray

{  M A K E   T H I S   S W E E T  M I R R O R E D  T R A Y  F O R  $ 1  }

Hang this framed mirror for a touch of pretty anywhere, or use it as a

perfume tray, jewelry collector, or catch all for your vintage lovelies...

home made: awning stripe tote

As I was wandering through the fabric department one day, I fell in

{ L O V E } with this awning stripe canvas. It had a fantastic texture

and slight coating on one side. I am sure it was intended for use on

outdoor furniture. I did not have any outdoor furniture to recover, but I loved it.

...it turns out it makes a great and sturdy tote bag...

 ...it would be a great bag to load up with fabric, books, beach goods...

 ...suddenly, it seems { GOING GREEN } is beautiful!

home made: recycled & repurposed wreathe

There is something soothing about the color white. It is simple. It is pure.

It is stark in it's beauty...but bringing together the many different shades

of white can be resplendent in itself.I have always recycled, repurposed

my {laundry sheets}...dye catching sheets, fabric softener sheets.

I have dyed them, cut them, sew them into projects.

 No matter how many times I have tried, I just can not bring myself to throw them away...

...each time a fresh new load of wash is complete I add another dye catching square to my growing stack of {laundry sheets}.The same goes for softener sheets. Fresh out of the dryer they are soft, they are wispy and they hold just a hint of that lovely smell they started with...

 

...so the other day I had an idea. I would use this beautiful pile, in shades of white, to make a new wreathe. I have been wanting a new one, in shades of white, of course...{take a peek at the end result}...

 ...the result was this beautiful wreathe in {shades of white}...

 ...if one {laundry sheet} felt gray or dingy, I didn't let it stop me...

 ...because in the end, when it was cut and twirled, it was just as beautiful as the rest...

 ...there were tinges of the palest pinks and yellows...

 

 ...it is so dreamy...

tutorial: gauze rosette earrings

A yummy new batch of inky vintage gauze trim just hit the etsy shop shelves and I couldn't wait to share this {SWEET & SIMPLE} earring tutorial with you all.

These charming little rosette studs are easy and quick. You will want to make a dozen pairs! They only took me a half hour to complete, including gathering my supplies...so grab some {VINTAGE TRIM HERE} before it is all gone!

First, gather your supplies. Don't worry about having each item in the photograph...as long as you have the inky vintage trim you can use anything you love or have on hand to embellish your rosette...you will need:

 *scissors
 *glue gun or strong adhesive of your   choice
 *silicone pad for creating a circle of hot glue
  * two earring posts and two backs
  * something you would like to use to cut out your leaves from.(this can be cardstock, fabric, canvas, or anything else that will give you a good leafy texture) I used a leftover prima leaf I had on hand.
  *small hole punch (size will depend on how large you create your rosette)
 OPTIONAL: tweezers, string or yarn, rhinestones, buttons, etc.

 

For my rosette earrings, I cut two 6 inch lengths of {plum pudding inky vintage trim}

and tied a small knot in the end of each piece. Trim end of knots. 

 Next, using your silicone glue gun pad, create a small circle of hot glue. 

 Make sure it is pretty thick. Squeezing gently with constant light pressure works best. 

 

Place your knot in the center of the glue and let it set for 10-20 seconds. This just helps the glue gel a little bit.

Now start GENTLY twisting and wrapping your inky gauze trim around the center know, patting it in close to the trim it is wrapped around. You want a nice tight rosette when you are finished. Continue wrapping until your trim has covered your entire glue dot and then trim with scissors. Press flat gently and peel SLOWLY off of the mat. Tack end of trim to back side of rosette.

Now take your fabric or cardstock or leaf material and cut four small leaf shapes. These DO NOT have to be perfect. Flowers in the wild are not perfect and this gives your earrings character. 

Choose two leaves and layer them until you have your desired effect. Glue them together.

Set your leaves aside and go back to your rosette. Use whatever embellishment you like here (or none if you like...the pair I wear has NO BLING or anything, just SWEET AND SIMPLE!) and add it to your rosette's center. I used some inky dyed string for my center (coming soon to etsy shop) to give my center a little nesty look. Just twist and twirl the string until you have the shape you want and tack down with a dot of hot glue. Then I added a small rhinestone with a dot of hot glue.

Now take some old leftover cardstock or thin cardboard. ( I used some recycled packaging from my rhinestones ) Punch two circles and adhere one to the back of each earring. This will help disguise all of your layers of glue and leaves and flower.

Now take your earring post and clue that to the center of your cardstock. Let dry for a few minutes or until hot glue has completely cooled.

Your beautiful {INKY VINTAGE GAUZE TRIM} has been transformed into a darling pair of rosette earrings.