live the repurposed life: lemon frogs

We already know I am of the nature to re-purpose anthing I can. Glass jars are by far my favorite recyclable though. I use them for just about everything, in every room in my house as you will see here, here,  here and here. So rather than buy a vase - grab an empty candle jar and some fruit!

Once I have my stems inserted into the slits, fill a jar with water and gently place your new lemon frog in the bottom. Add a bit more water to cover top of lemon if needed. Try this in the Fall with a miniature pumpkin or squash!

Pretty - Functional - Recycled. Enjoy!

Live the repurposed life: flowers & zippers

It is no secret i like to repurpose anything I can get my hands on....well -

a while back I was gifted these tiny paper flowers....
and more recently these cool vintage zippers.....

I wonder what their new lease on life will be?

{Be Mine}

{Valentine's Day}, a day of romance, flowers, candy and love ... it is one of my favorite holidays. Not for the candy or the flowers, but for the air of mystery surrounding this special day. There are many different theories to just how this day got its' start, but only St. Valentine knows for sure. What I {love} is the anticipation and secrecy ... a day when we, as adults, can relive the giddiness of a child, waiting and hoping for a certain {note} or treat from a special someone ...

... to receive a special {Valentine} at this time of year is intoxicating. There are so many little delights to be had in these love notes ...

 ... so each year I make my {Valentine's} ... something that speaks of the past, a time when these notes were made with distinct care for their intended recipient ...

... this year I wanted to create a {Valentine} that was representative of a vintage {memory book} ...

... a miniature collection of mementos - vintage tinsel, cupcake paper flowers, stitching ...

 ... vintage book paper, ruffled and painted with a glittery coating and a petite silky flower ...

... itty-bitty letter beads and layers of pretty papers ...

 ... and lots and lots of sparkle ...

... a recycled fair ticket is cut into a stacked heart ... velvet and glittered ribbons are added as 

whimsical tabs ... a heart fashioned from vintage fabric is stitched to the card ...

 ... the pretty blue floral paper is another cupcake liner . The puffy fabric heart has been stitched across. My Sophie said it looks like {lips} ! ...

... the {Valentine} itself is an over sized tag shape with pretty pink & red stitching around the edges ...

... the top of this giant {tag} is embellished with either a shabby linen tie or a loop of hand dyed vintage seam binding,  and a glittered clothespin ...

... a hodge podge of {Valentine} mementos ...

... that will be a {sweet treat} for someone I {LOVE}.

 ...made with {L O V E} for all of my very special Valentine's!

home made: burlap & ruffles

I am a lover of {pillows}. Toss pillows, small or large are generally an inexpensive way to dress up a sofa, change up a bed or soften a porch swing. Today I made this luscious beauty!

The added touch of silky {peonies} was such a lovely contrast to the burlap.

Recently I made these two pillows for afriend of mine ... I loved the mix of burlap and muslin, but wanted a pop of something a bit {dressier} for my own pillow ...

... on my newest pillow, the ruffles of shabby white muslin give the flowers so much added punch ...

 ... by extending the burlap over the end on the back side of the pillow and adding long tie closures the pillow has lots of extra {ruffly fluff} at one end ... which I {love} ...

... the floral center of the pillow is bordered with a vintage gauze like trim in a {fold-and-pleat} style ...

... the mix of textures is a great love of mine. The coarse burlap combined with soft muslin and a silky fabric just makes me want to reach out and touch it ...

{woolie love}

There is some new {woolie love} in my studio. I have just finished dyeing a new batch of roving

and the results are in...{LOVE}. {Sweet Sherbet colored rings for spring. $8.}

 {Tiny beaded centers and adjustable bands}

...they remind me of tiny beautiful nests...

{Marbled Colors beautifully needle felted together}

{A brighter shade in the name of color}

 

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!

{grocery bag goodness}

No one ever said that {grocery bags} had to be green!

I fell in love with this utility fabric and decided to try my hand at creating a {reusable bag}.

It is nice and roomy and embellished with a pretty hand crafted peony, dyed velvet and canvas leaves.

{the sweet sound of silence}

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays it is always nice to think of the {sweet sound of silence}...

...there is no better way to relax than with a long, hot bath...maybe a few candles, some music, a book...to each of us it is something different that soothes the soul.

...a dear friend of mine shared her recipe for {lavender bath salts} this holiday...

...I tweaked the recipe by adding {rosemary} which is said to relax the nerves and ease muscle pain...

...{lavender} is also widely known for reducing muscle pain and relieving stress by calming brain waves...a gentle touch of food coloring adds the palest of colors to the mix...

amd of course, dolling up the jars is always one of my {favorite delights} when it comes to creating a hand crafted gift for someone special...

...a sweet and simple gift...

{day 4 . a gauzy ruffled wool pouch}

Here I am with another project using this beautiful {inky vintage gauze trim}...

... and as adorable as I think it is, I must preclude this post with a confession. I love this little pouch because it's style closely resembles the beautiful little bags made by my friend, Roben-Marie over at Every Life Has A Story. She always creates the most beautiful bags and journals. I love everything she does...

...so while I did not start out this little bag thinking that it would look like one of hers, it just took a turn somewhere along the way because that is my favorite style.

 I was actually practicing a little sewing and one thing led to the next...

 ...I even remembered to line the bag - well half of the bag. Yes, you heard me right. I only made enough liner for one half of the bag...don't ask, because I just don't know!

 ...hence, the practice pouch.

 I used some hand dyed wool I had leftover from a recent pillow project, and added three yummy rows of that sweet and simple {vintage hand dyed trim} that I have been featuring in my etsy shoppe, all week long.

 I layered on a ruffled silk flower I made with a center that I created using leftover dyed muslin.

 I did a little free form stitching {love it} on the front panel of the wool...

 added some leaves, a vintage button, and some french knots tied with some vintage baker's twine I had in my stash...I used another piece of the {peony vintage dyed gauze trim}to create a tie. I use this to wrap around the button for a casual closure to the pouch.

 More {vintage gauze} in that delicious {peony color} was used as a lip on the pouch, for the finishing trim. While digging in my treasure trove of old thread, I found some pink silk that was actually in great condition...Love it!

 Lovely photograph showing the top panel of this little pouch lined...bottom panel NOT lined...

You can also see that my stitching is not perfect, but it is okay. I like the "timeworn" look.

{that is what I like to call it when I can't sew so great - "timeworn!"}

 

A hand dyed piece of muslin, in pale mustard adorns the bottom back panel. I hand stamped it with a stamp that I actually carved at a recent retreat with friends. I LOVE IT!

 

...so it is not a perfect pouch, but a practice pouch...and I think it is super sweet!

The look of it is just what I wanted...my daughter is already asking for it for her birthday!

That made me feel pretty good...half liner and all!

{day 3. pin cushion with vintage gauze trim}

So I know that I have been going crazy with this {inky vintage gauze trim} but I just can't get enough of it. Today I used it as a shabby ruffled trim on a pin cushion I fashioned from a few scraps of muslin.

That tiny cream colored flower is from my vintage findings collection. I use them sparingly as they are so hard to find anymore. This one was part of a tiny "boquet" that still had the stems in tact. I just sewed over the stem a few times to adhere to the front panel of my pin cushion.

 Remember that hand dyed vintage seam binding that I used on that tiny package?

That is the creamy blue trim used to make the tiny rosettes...

I love this paper flower...it was stamped with letters in a really cool circus style font.

 I have been really great about using up what I have on hand lately, so I filled my pin cushion with some leftover "beads" that we needed for a school project. They are most often used to stuff fabric dolls.

Since the muslin is a very think fabric, the beads worked better than the traditional "sand".

No leakage once you have a few pin holes in your fabric.

 Another perk to using the beads, is that the pin cushion will stand quite easily too...

 Of course, the vintage style pins don't hurt either!

 I love the look of the free form stitching, so I just zig zag back and forth over anything I am stitching numerous times...this way it looks random and sweet at the same time.

 See how I stitched the stem? Just a few lines back and forth to tack it down.

 The same with the paper flower...{isn't that dyed gauze trim just yummy?}

 I have made more than a few pin cushions and I like to leave one whole side unstitched to fill it...this way I can hand stitch the last side to look gathered, or ruffled. I love this look. Makes me think of a vintage sack filled with some yummy textile.

 This little project only took about 40 minutes, including gathering supplies. I always take a bit of time laying my design out, so it could go quicker depending on how involved you make your front panel.

If you decide to make a pin cushion with your vintage hand dyed trim I would love to see a photograph of it when it is complete!

Happy Sewing!