remnants to ruffles: linen ereader case

New Linen Ruffled Ereader case with giant silky peony embellishment.

live the repuposed life: beautiful reinventions

{Creativity is allowing yourself tomake mistakes.  Art is knowingwhich ones to keep.  ~Scott Adams}

I have long since learned that this

is the beauty of {ART}. There is

no right or wrong. No proverbial

black or white. We, as creators

of art, are free to claim our

mistakes as much more. We are free to scoop them up, recycle them, re-purpose them,

reinvent them ... make them into something beautiful once more.

... but first let me take you back a bit ... 

I have long since been a lover of the primitive arts. Years ago I bought a simple set of

directions, a rug hooking frame and some scraps of wool. I was literally {hooked} if

you will! Armed with a new cutter and a notebook full of designs I began creating rugs. 

They took hours and hours and hours and hours to make, but they were {real}. They

were going to last a lifetime. A craft of the past. When someone ordered a custom

designed rug they were in fact getting an heirloom.

... fast forward ...

I recently started what was to be a miniature {rug} for a wall hanging. Somewhere

along the way it dissolved into something smaller than miniature. A mistake. {or so I

thought}. So I tucked it away for another day ... after all, the wool had been dyed,

stripped and partially hooked. I could abandon it, but I have never had to heart to

take a rug apart ... and so that day came. Last week, as I rooted through a cupboard

I stumbled across the partially finished {miniature rug}. The colors were wonderful

and since I have been a fanatic crazy woman making bags left and right, around here

I decided then and there it might not be a rug, but it could certainly be a bright and

cheery panel on a bag.

... and so it was ...

I remounted it on the frame and finished the hooking. It was satisfying to be holding

the hook again. Once it was complete I sewed it to one of the panels of a duck cloth

tote bag I was working on ...

... a fresh and funky design. Birds, hearts, arrows, scallops, flowers ...

 ... as I am huge into {re-purposing} these days as well, I gathered up some cool

vintage fabric my sweet, sweet neighbor gave me and used it as a liner for the

tote bag. Some canvas straps, a shabby muslin ruffle and of course, a {great big

huge ruffly silky flower}. I even threw in a hand dyed velvet center for the flower ...

 

...the reverse side of the tote is embellished with a tiny felted heart with wings ...

... and so there are no mistakes.

 Just {beautiful reinventions} ...

 ... and always a reason to {CREATE} !

 

 

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 ...

{a birthday surprise}

Just when I resign myself to the fact that the days of {birthday woo-hoos!} are a thing of the past, my sweet daughter's surprise me with a very special gift. ...

... there is no end to the nice things that these three {young ladies} have done for me as of late. They have stepped in and taken over the most undesirable chores. They have goofed and joked and hooted until I have no choice but to hoot along. They have gone out of their individual ways to make me {smile} lately and I love them even more deeply for this. ...  

... for a long time now I have wanted this  - {see below}          

... a {kindle fire}. I am doing a major happy dance over here! 

I {LOVE LOVE LOVE}  to read and my {sweet girls} know it.

I decided to make a pretty case for it.

... you know I {LOVE WHITE} and {VINTAGE} anything,

so I dug around my studio and found some fabric

that was perfect for the job.Quilted. Antique white. Perfect.

... I ruffled four layers of antique gold tulle,scrunched silky floral trim, looped vintage pink seam binding, and vintage eyelet ribbon for a tie closure ...

 Super easy...super pretty...and a wonderful birthday surprise!

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!

More Ruffles....these are one of my favorite things!

...if I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times.......I LOVE RUFFLES.....especially WHITE ruffles...
and so this sweet ruffled drawstring bag was born....I just love it and think it will be a dreamy carryall this summer! (oh yea- I love bags, boxes, containers of any kind too- especially white ones!) Enjoy!

Sweet Ruffled Satchels

 I hope this week finds everyone rested after a long holiday weekend. My family and I were invited to the beach by a long time friend and we were blessed with wonderful weather, great company and each other. A much needed reprieve for all! It was while I was on this "mini holiday" that I realized I needed something small and light and summery looking to carry as a little "purse." I dug through a drawer deep in "carry all's" but nothing seemed right...so I survived the weekend with my Burt's Bees in my pocket and my money in my husband's pocket! Today I decided to remedy that situation once and for all. I found these adorable, plain duck cloth zipper "satchel's"{check out the beautiful tray Erin at Peony Wire Works created for me!} as my Olivia likes to call them at a local craft store. All they needed was a shabby white muslin ruffle and a twisted shabby rosette. I love the rope like handle and the overall simplicity of this little tote. It measures 6 x 9 inches. Perfect for the summer here and there's!

{check these "SWEET SATCHELS" on etsy}

Bedroom Beauty Continued

Remember the vintage plates that I wanted to replace in the Master Bedroom?

...Well I did hang the piece of ironworks this weekend, but it didn't quite fill the available space as I had hoped...I still like the simplicity of it though...The piece itself is just so pretty! I also made myself a shabby hooked heart pillow and replaced the rosette satin pillow for a time!

Bedroom Beauty

I have been wanting to change these vintage white plates that hang over my bed for a long time...I love them, I just love change more! I found a beautiful scrolled piece of iron work in Wisconsin last year and I have decided to hang it place of the plates. I think it will make a pretty pediment to the headboard. I struggle with the furniture as it is so dark, but to date, I have not had to heart to paint it white...since my husband shares this room and loves the dark furniture I have to make allowances for his happiness too! I will post photographs when I hang the ironwork!

home made: hooked heart pillow

All things white...any shade of white, make me happy. New shabby vintage chic heart pillow is no exception. The heart was hooked, as with the wool rugs I do, but instead, I used shredded muslins...a wonderfully chunky feel to it. Available soon in my new etsy shop!