A Scoop of Pink, Please

I'm sitting here watching "The Count of Monte Cristo". My youngest son is spending a few days with his older brother who lives about an hour away. My husband is on his work-away shift. So I have the house to myself and am a craftin'-fool! I just finished this sweet little bird, intended as a hostess or thank you gift. It will find a home on Etsy.




And another little bit of frivolity...a minature watering can with flower whimsy.

Dream

I've been having fun with some "Flora and Fauna" themed items. Lush floral detailing combined with the softer watercolor illustrations of Beatrix Potter's woodland creatures. I love the look. Whimsical, yet elegant. I'm putting some of the pieces on Etsy and some on Ebay. I'll post them here as I get them listed. The links to Ebay and Etsy are in the sidebar.

On Ebay - Dream Banner



On Ebay - Fishing Frog Box - SORRY, THIS HAS BEEN SOLD



On Etsy - Nest Box w/Two Tags




On Etsy - Froggie Collage on Twig Hanger



On Etsy - Lots of Tags

Now Coming to You...The Beauty of Smocking!

Do you love the look of sweet little girls in old-fashioned smocked dresses? The exquisite beauty of heirloom sewing? Want to create beautiful garments for a special little princess?











I was going to list this on Ebay, but thought I'd try selling it here first. Yes, it's all about fee avoidance. :) I have a brand new Dr. Joe's 24 Row Smocking Machine. It has only been taken out of the box one time. It sells for $225 new, but I am selling it for $175 SHIPPING INCLUDED! As a bonus you will receive an instructional video, a ton of Sew Beautiful and Creative Needle magazines, some smocking dress patterns, a Martha Pullen heirloom sewing book and a Christmas-themed ready-to-sew smocking insert. Email me at lovelace@mtaonline.net if you're interested, have questions or want to snag this before someone else does!

PS - The smocked items pictured above are to give you an idea of the kinds of things you can create. They are not actual items included in the package.

Tags

These are some tags I made last night. They are very differently themed. I was just creating spontaneously and going from the gut. Not pre-planning like I usually do. The fronts have a "Neoclassical/Gothic/Victorian" feel to them. Is that a style? LOL! And the backs have a sort of "Mardi Gras/Harlequin/Jacobean" aesthetic. I will probably put them in Etsy some time today.

Favorite Things Redux...Vintage Decals

Most of my favorite things seem to arise from the 1930s-1950s. I love the homey, slightly kitschy graphics of that time. In particular, I am fond of the decals used on wooden home goods. The colors are cheerful. The designs heart-warming. They're a "feel good" experience. Below are some decals on objects I own and then a few I've been drooling over online.








And found online...

Froggy went a....fishin'

On evenings when I am tired, I enjoy putting on a somewhat mindless DVD and putter away at my crafts, sitting splay-legged on the floor surrounded by mounds of "good stuff." Tonight I watched a BBC series that I half-heartedly checked out from Blockbuster, being as I have exhausted every Jane Austen-inspired movie ever filmed. The title was Monarch of the Glen and it was even more mediocre than it appeared on the shelf. If you have any suggestions as to period, literature-based pieces I am all ears. But I digress...tonight's project was this Beatrix Potter-inspired embellished box. I had great fun creating the effect of water depths by tearing strips of paper in deepening shades of blue. I was happy with the result of this projects. The frog was cut from a book of Beatrix Potter illustrations. The rest of the illustrations were carefully cut from vintage ephemera, book illustrations, calendars, etc. The little frog even has a pole with copper fishing line if you look closely enough. A nursery rhyme encircles the box sides. Tommorrow, after lining the inside with vintage music, it will be put up for grabs on Ebay.

Laundry Day!

“I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?" ---Anonymous

I LOVE that quote! But despite that, I am doing laundry today. I have only a tiny closet with bifold doors for a laundry room. It barely fits the washer and dryer side by side. Not that I'm complaining. In some part of the world women still beat clothing on rocks by the river side. And my own mother, as a newlywed, washed diapers in the bathtub and then hand-cranked them through a wringer before drying them on the line. So, truly, I'm grateful for the modern conveniences afforded to homemakers today! But if I WAS going to have a laundry room, these are lovely, don'cha think?

Bottled Girliness

I have been fascinated by Altered Art bottles ever since I discovered the gorgeous vintage creations on Brenda Walton's website (see link in sidebar). Last night, while watching "Down With Love", a frivolous bit of retro movie fluff, I made this saccharine little bottle, a tribute to girlfriends. It will join the box below on Ebay.



Tiny tags, flowers and buttons inside the bottle


I'm finishing one up in black and white that has a bit of a "bite" to it. I will post it in a couple of hours.

Charity

Vintage Wallpaper Gift Box

One of my favorite finds was a roll of 1940s wallpaper in a beautiful floral stripe featuring huge cottage roses and luscious shades of aqua, turquoise, pinks and greens. I have used it in several projects and the box below was its most recent incarnation. I also used vintage music, various florals and of course...it had to have a bird! I've put it up on Ebay. You can find the link to my auctions in the side bar if you're interested.