This is just a quick post to tell you that I'm down in Florida with my family. The weather has been just beautiful, a nice change from the 50 degrees and rain we left behind a couple of days ago!! Walt Disney World's Epcot has the Flower and Garden show going on right now, so here are a few photo's.....
Still so many things to see....and keeping my finger crossed that I didnt just put a jinx on the weather by saying how beautiful it is!!
Meleen
I love making rugs and wanted to show you the 4 seasons rugs I've been working on. I don't hook them in the traditional sense, but use a punch needle and hook them from the back. As I've mentioned before we have a collection of baby chick painting, and that was the inspiration for my 4 seasons of rugs. I made the baby chick with lily of the valley for spring.
The baby chick with the strawberries is the summer rug.
My autumn rug is still a work in progress...baby chicks with a basket of apples.
You can see it's still on the frame, so this is the back of the rug. You don't see the length of the yarn, that's why you still see the white background between the stitches. I promise I'll post a photo when it's done! I use strips of carpet tacks to hold the monk's cloth in place while I'm working. ( I cover the tacks with a pad while I'm hooking or I'd be bleeding all over the rug!)
I still haven't made a final decision on the winter rug. I have a couple of sketches, but nothing that I'm loving. I've thought about greens and pine cones, or maybe holly leaves and berries..who knows!! I really enjoy the whole process, from sketching my ideas, to choosing the yarns, to hooking the rug. It's like painting with yarn....some of the hand dyed yarns are just beautiful to hook with.
This rug is very special too...my daughter learned to ride on a sweet old white pony named Snowball.
She was in kindergarten when she first rode Snowball, and she would tell me all the time that Snowball understood everything she told him. I could peek into her room and find her sitting on top of a pile of pillows "riding" and talking to an "imaginary" Snowball. I mean really, what little girl doesn't love a pony!!!
Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all, I hope everyone had a great weekend!!
Meleen
We were invited to dinner at the home of some friends this past Saturday night, and after reading Charlotte Lyons' post about decoupaged plates, I was inspired to make a little hostess gift. I'm always picking up clear glass plates at yard sales, they're perfect for bake sales or desserts and so easy to embellish to fit any theme. I had several packages of cocktail size napkins in my stash, so I went to work.
I separated the two ply napkin and cut out the roosters. I decoupaged them on to the back of the plate with Mod Podge and then added some laser printed copies of an old book liner.
Several more coats of Mod Podge, a coat of white paint, and then I trimmed up the edges.
I put another package of the napkins on top and tied it all up with some ribbon...It looked so cute! Now on to the food... I found this great appetizer in Country Living Magazine that I had been dying to try, a Prosciutto and Fig Crostata, yum!!! I do have to say that while I was processing the 4 ounces of figs, I didn't think it looked like enough, so I ended up doubling up the figs (luckily, I had a 10 ounce package), tasted it, and didn't think I needed to double up the garlic, lemon juice, and thyme. I guess the two garlic cloves I used were kind of big to begin with. This was so easy to make (15 minutes in the oven!!) and really delicious!! So, all that was left after that was to tie a ribbon around a bottle of red wine and we were good to go!! A great night with great friends, what more could you ask for!!
Meleen
Gardening is great, and for me collecting and displaying gardening treasures is even better. Now, top that off with a little garden craft and you have one happy girl! Seriously, there is something about vintage watering cans, old worn hand trowels, and moss covered flowers pots that I can't get enough of. Give me a garden cloche, some vintage seed packs and old seed boxes anytime. I love decorating with all of these and this is the time of year to bring it all out. My sideboard and hutch take on a whole new look. I decided to make an art collage to use in my garden vignette. I made some laser copies of old seed packets and vintage postcards, added some lace and buttons and came up with this sweet collage. I was going to collage a box (give me a box, and I can find 100 uses for it) but I decided the board was just right this time.
Now I can't decided where I like it best...
it works in a couple of places...
I guess it will be moving around for the next few days and since it's only 9" x 15" I can use it anywhere! I have lots of the supplies I used here along with some extras, so I put together a few kits if anyone is interested. It would include an 11" X 15" piece of vintage wall covering; a page of vintage sheet music; 2 10"x 14"pages of french newspaper from 1909; 2 laser printed images of vintage seed packs; 2 laser printed images of vintage postcard fronts and 2 of the postcard backs; a laser printed image of an old book liner; a 12" piece of wide vintage lace; a 12" piece of narrow vintage lace; 6 old assorted buttons; and 6 laser printed images of old thread labels. All these goodies for $7.50 (including shipping to a US address), so if you're interested send me an email,(on my "about me" page).
I think we're in for several days of rain around here, so all my "gardening" is going to be in the craft room for the next couple of days. (and that's just fine with me!!!)
Meleen
There's nothing better than a rainy day to give yourself a reason to do nothing but stay inside and get crafty. After several weeks of running in 100 different directions, it felt great to organize my supplies and start a new project. Just a finishing touch or two and I'll have some photos up for you. I have lots of extra supplies used in this little project, so I'll probably have some kits available if anyone is interested in these goodies. I also spent yesterday afternoon getting crafty with Jennifer Paganelli! She was at Tinsel Trading with her friend Nancy DeWeir Geaney. We made beautiful Victorian inspired cones with all sorts of papers, ribbons, flowers, and glittered die cuts. I had the chance to make it a great mother/daughter afternoon as well, since my daughter Caroline was there too! (a junior crafter for sure!) As always, Terri Vertura makes the afternoon so much fun. If you haven't seen the amazing jewelry she creates, go and check it out. Sweet Heather was there too, she's an amazing milliner, you really have to see the headpieces this gal designs.
A big roomful of eye candy! Can you believe all the goodies we had to play with! It was a great afternoon spent with so many talented ladies!
Meleen
Okay, so it's Saturday, again...where the heck did this week go? Tonight is the Annual Spring Auction for my kids' school and I'm the co-chair. We have been so busy getting ready for this, that this past week as been one big blur. I did manage to run into NYC today for a class at Tinsel Trading with the very talented Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom. ( I just couldn't miss that!!!) Soooo much fun, but for now, I must really get ready for tonight, so I promise all sorts of photos tomorrow.
Meleen
If I haven't told you before, I'll tell you right now, between my husband and I we could turn anything into a collection. I love displaying our collections, and often move things around so it doesn't get boring. Some of our collections are quite large, but what I really love is only displaying "three" of something at a time.....
I have many jars of buttons, but these three seem so nice together.
These three antique baby gowns look so sweet .....
As do these three McCoy tulip vases on top of a dresser.
Aren't these the cutest little purses...the largest one is only 2" wide!
I know things look better when grouped in odd numbers, but there's something about just "three" that I love. Maybe having three children explains it!!
Meleen
I had a chance to use some of my crafty tools this weekend in a different way. My oldest son was home from college this weekend to have some stitches out from his shoulder surgery. ( he had torn cartilage, a labral tear, in his right shoulder....yes, you guessed it...lacrosse!) Anyway, he also had a big photography assignment due. Well, with his right shoulder immobilized and in a sling for another 4 weeks, I was the hands acting under his guidance. He had already printed out a beautiful collection of his photographs on 11" by 17" paper, and now needed to present them in a book. He had some 4 ply book board that had to be cut to size, fabric that had to be mounted to the board, inside cover paper to cut, and holes to punch. So, out came my x-acto knife, cutting mat, Fiskars paper cutter, brayer, and crop-a-dile. He was a little skeptical at first, asking, "are sure about this?" After triple checking all the measurements, I had my weekend arm work-out cutting all the 4 ply book board, then used some spray adhesive to mount the fabric to the front of the board.
After that was set, he instructed me on how he needed the corners wrapped on the inside of the covers.
We cut, glued and clamped everything into position.
After cutting and gluing the inside cover paper, it was on to punching the holes.
This is where things got a little tricky, you see, I had complete faith in my crop-a dile, my son on the other hand....." you're going to use a....what?....crop-a-dile?....what is this going to do to my photos?.....is this going to bend the cover?..."
Well, the holes came out perfect! Seeing is believing! He was actually quite impress with mom's little crafty tools. So, while it wasn't what I thought I'd be doing this weekend, it was actually a lot of fun, working with him was great and we had quite a few laughs! The book is just beautiful and he's on his way back Rhode Island.
Meleen
There are so many reasons to have so many journals, jotting down a quick thought or idea, a sketch, a clipping from a magazine.
I enjoy making new journals, but I love finding the old ones too. Reading through them is a real treat, the old ink on the page, what was so important to someone that they had to write it down.
Ledgers filled with pages and pages of inventory. Homemakers who wrote down every nickle they spent, school notes, or favorite recipes, it doesn't matter what it's about, it's fascinating to see and read.
Beautiful old penmanship, aged pages, worn and mellowed covers!
A glimpse into someone's life...I love it all! Sometimes, you can come across one that's aged to perfection and never been used, a real treat to get creative. At first, I would save the blank ones, leaving them blank, how sad! Once I could get past that, I realized they're wonderful to use...and a bonus...no need to age the pages!! I wonder what someone will think when they find my journals someday!!
Meleen
At 7am this morning I wasn't holding out much hope that this was going to be a nice sunny day. The rain drops meant another Saturday without yard sales. By 10am the sun was out, so I jumped in the car, but the early rain must have scared everyone off. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Since my husband and oldest son had to run down to Washington for the day, I headed out to the beach with my other son and daughter to hunt for beach glass. I have done this so many times with my kids over the years, and it never gets old. They love searching out these little treasures, and almost make a game out of who will find the best piece of the day. The tide was just perfect, and we hit the jackpot!!
Lots of aqua, green, and white glass....and a few of the coveted lavender and blue pieces!!
Like little jewels, each one has a story to tell. (my old wooden box is a little project I'll be working on later this week) So, while I didn't find any of the vintage linen, lace, old photos, buttons, jewelry, and painted pieces I was hoping for .........I have a jackpot of beach glass and two very happy kids!!
Meleen
