Finally Another Post

More slacking on the blog front.  I just can't seem to make myself sit in front of the computer these days.  Soon enough the weather will turn colder here in Atlanta and I will be cooped up inside for the duration of the winter months so I will probably post more regularly.  I have been busy making Christmas cards.  I have about 8 cards made so far.  I need a lot more than that so I better get busy!  The first card is a stamped card with a little rhinestone star on the top of each tree. 

The colors are non-traditional, but I do like the combination.  

The tree stamps are from Hero Arts.  

The next cards are made with die-cut fabric and vintage and new trims.  They are very simple but festive.   

Friday Favorite

I have been a total slacker on the blog front lately.  The weather has been so nice here that it is hard to sit in front of the computer during the day!  I have been in my office creating on and off for the last month.  I find that

 my creativity is more sporadic during the summer when the weather is good and I am out an about more.  I did create a pin cushion that I think turned out rather well.  I found the silverplate creamer at the thrift store, sewed up the fabric into a round shape, stuffed it with batting and then stuffed that into the opening of the creamer.  Before I stuffed it into the top of the creamer, I sewed a vintage button on top of the pin cushion.  I did not want to permanently affix the pin cushion to the creamer because I know the creamer will tarnish and I will want to polish it when that happens. 

Friday Favorite

Summer has been flying by and I have not spent much time on the computer.  I guess that is why my last post was almost a month ago.  My Friday favorite today is another thrift store find. There is a story behind this one.  I was in the thrift store and saw a lady carrying this silver champagne or wine cooler in her cart. She kept picking it up out of her cart and looking at it.  I could tell that she was undecided about whether or not to purchase it.  I am normally not a stalker, but I stayed in the aisle hoping that she would put it back on the shelf instead of back in her cart.  She did put it back on the shelf and I waited about 3 seconds until she had gone into the other aisle and put it in my cart.  It did not look like the photo you see here.  When I purchased it, it was black with tarnish from top to bottom.  I spent about an hour and a lot of elbow grease polishing it up and I think it was worth it.

I also made a card for my friend's birthday and I like how it turned out.  I love the bright colors. 

Friday Favorite

I love vintage linens and try to purchase them whenever I can.  I especially love linens with embroidery and monogramming.  I have lots of hand towels monogrammed with an initial other than my own.  I just love the look of them so it does not matter what initial these towels feature.   Here are two photos of some of my favorite pieces of linen.

   

I also worked on some cards this week.  Here is a photo of a thank you card I made for my in-laws.  The flower pot in the photo is reading red, but in reality is pink.  It looks funny in the photo with the pink rick rack. It definitely does not clash like that seen in person.  This is the first time I have made a card using fabric.  The flowers are made with a Moda quilt fabric and the flower pot is made out of felt.   The stems and leaves are stamped.  I also used Fiskars new border and corner punch to make the green mat piece.  It was much easier to get a decorative edge on the

mat using this new punch.  

Friday Favorite

Just a quick post today before starting the Fourth of July festivities here.  Today's Friday favorite is a shadow box filled with vintage costume jewelry.  I don't collect vintage costume jewelry, but do have a few pieces from my Grandmother as well as some pieces picked up at antique stores and flea markets from time to time.  I bought this shadow box at the thrift store for $2.   It was stained brown and was a little beat up.  I loved the size of it and just gave it a few coats of white paint and used some pretty paper to fill in each of the niches.   Lastly, I selected the pieces of jewelry to go in the case which now sits on a desk in a guest room.  I like the fact that I can see the jewelry now and it is no longer hidden away in a box under the bed.  

Friday Favorite and Other Stuff

My Friday favorite this week is a hand towel I purchased in Barcelona, Spain.  It has my initial and flowers embroidered on it in shades of blue and white. Blue and white is probably my favorite color combination.  We found the towel in a linen shop near the main Cathedral.  The shop was filled with all sorts of lovely vintage linen.  This towel is not vintage, but I love it just the same.

I have been experimenting with Glimmer Mist and have to say I really love the subtle sparkle this product provides. The tag pictured has a background of mustard Glimmer Mist (back and front).  On the front of the tag I used a copy of a William Morris designed wallpaper as the background for the vintage photo. I also made the pompoms and the crepe paper rosette

 The back of the tag features another crepe paper rosette and is stamped with a Stamper's  Anonymous damask pattern stamp.  I will probably use this on a gift at some point.  

New Camera

We bought a new digital SLR camera and I am learning how to use it.  The photos are so much better than the photos taken with our old camera.  There is a lot to learn about using this camera and I know it will take quite some time for me to really use it the way it was meant to be used.  Hopefully the learning curve won't be too steep.

Recently I won some vintage lace and trim on ebay.  Pictured is only a small portion of what I received.  I love all of it and will have to think about how I want to use it.