It’s Official – It’s Spring!

Spring officially arrived at 9 am as today was the FIRST rummage sale of the year! We arrived 10 minutes early to find a line of people at least 50 deep! I guess everyone was suffering from a little cabin fever. Still, I found me a little rummage lovin’…

And a few more goodies at .10 cents apiece…

Yes, they are cross-stitched and the white Aida cloth is in pristine condition. I hope the person who labored for hours on these knows they are now in a good home to be loved and cherished again! Unfortunately, they did not sign nor date their handiwork, what a shame.

After the school sale, we decided to keep going and check out all our favorite thrift stores, so the loot piled up today…

And my favorite…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tin plate with the original .89 cent price still attached. Needless to say, I didn’t get to pay the same for it.. but it was for a good cause. I scored this and two vintage embroidered hankies with the linen tags still attached at Animal Friends thrift store.

What a happy spring Saturday! And spring doesn’t officially start ‘til March 20th…

A Charming Exchange

Charming?!? This book by Kelly Snelling and Ruth Rae was absolutely spellbinding!!

So inspiring, I actually convinced my BFF’s to join me in our first jewelry bracelet collaboration… As I’m waiting for everyone’s bracelets to arrive, I’ve been working on little jewelry holders for each one.

I hope they are as excited as I am!! Here are more pictures of very creative jewelry pieces by truly fascinating artists. All artists are listed in the back of the book with their websites, along with the book’s website www.acharmingexchange.com.

The book features step-by-step projects along with inspirational notes for creating unique jewelry pieces. The book’s mantra - CONNECT.CREATE.EXPLORE. And as you’ll note in the first picture, the library bar code is NOT on this cover. IT’S ALL MINE!! I returned my library copy within a few days as I bought this book immediately!

CONNECT.CREATE.EXPLORE this wonderful book and by all means, start your own jewelry collaboration…

Library Night …

Tuesday evening after work is my weekly trip to the library. These are the goodies that were waiting for me…

Can you tell I like MULTI media craft projects? My workroom looks like a cyclone hit it, everyday. But I am truly happy sitting amidst the chaos putzy-in’. You know, playing with different things…creating. I inherited putzy-in’ from my grama. Josephine loved to putzy whether it was sewing, crocheting, baking or crafting. Hands, heart and mind were ALWAYS busy. And if all that putzy-in’ resulted in a finished project, great, but if not, that was OK too. 

Take time to enjoy the journey as much as the creation. That’s why we create!

Thank you Josie! I needed the reminder…

Japanese Craft Book

Yes, believe it or not, our library purchased a Japanese craft book. And it is definitely NOT for the faint of heart.

I have been dying to read one! Now I can see what all the buzz is about.. I envy those Seattle gals that can walk into their local bookstore and browse through these books. Awesome eye candy! Here take a look…

And if you’re brave enough, there’s patterns and instructions. Soooo, I gave it a try…

following the diagrams, using a metric ruler, and trying my best to decipher that little bitty print… (That last photo is the actual page)

Here’s the finished tote bag. I added a lining to the bottom part of the bag. I could not decipher the drawing and as I can’t read Japanese, I had no idea if it called for a lining. Cute, huh?

These bags did not have instructions so I just used a basic tote bag pattern. They were pictured in what I’m guessing as a little shop that sold handcrafted items (or so I like to think they were handcrafted).

 

Absolutely love the linen and eyelet together with the little mini print lining. I actually made three bags total in this pattern. Aren’t these so cute for spring??

The book has 133 pages and packed full of stuff for the home. There’s knitting, crocheting, projects made from wire, home decor and even recipes! There are artists’ profiles (at least that’s my guess), shop advertisements and pictures of more books. I figured out I have Volume 3 because Volumes 1 & 2 home sweet craft are advertised in the back. And the “back” of their book is the “front” of our books. The title photo (shown above) is our back cover and the book opens right to left, instead of our left to right concept.

I wrote a list of just a “few” more projects to do before it has to go back to the library. Luckily I got to renew it before anyone’s realized what this fabulous book is… After this post, I’m sure it’ll be on hold, after all, there is only one in the system! The book receipt actually printed out TITLE: ???????????. VOL. 03 : BARCODE: 31812040350002 DUE DATE: 03-03-09  How funny is that? (I meant to take a picture so you’d believe me.) Is it the weekend yet, so I can craft?

Now I wonder if I could talk the lovely librarians (at the Moon branch) into ordering Volumes 1 & 2…hmmm, pretty please?? 

Crafting goodies

Today I’d like to share some crafting loveliness I received…

These are hand-knitted dishcloths from my BFF, Linda C. Talk about the ultimate in luxury - I am one spoiled lady. No bargain basement dishcloths for me! They are just too pretty and I love them!

And from my BFF, Jodie at http://jodielejeune.blogspot.com/ I received this vintage valentine on Valentine’s Day.

And this absolutely lovely bookmark!

I’m sure you saw them posted on her blog before she sent them out and I was one of the lucky recipients…

And speaking of lucky, I owe Cindy at http://romantichome.blogspot.com a really big thank you for putting on a giveaway for one of Kandice’s hand-made necklaces. She makes awesome jewelry http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6074302  found here. And I won!!! I am SO excited!

Thank you.. thank you.. thank you Kandice. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and sharing your craft! That was just SO sweet of you!!

Well, it’s back to work tomorrow.

Where does my weekend go???

Heart art

Today’s finished project that I’m sharing comes to you from Heather Bullard http://heatherbullard.typepad.com

You’ll find it under the category “handmade” and labeled Valentine’s Day Craft.

Of course, I missed the Valentine’s Day completion date. But not to worry, because they are so pretty and vintage-looking, you can display them year ‘round!

Thank you Heather for sharing this project. I finally had a use for 10 strands of old pearls! I still have some left over…

I made the charms from an old metal charm belt from the “Mod Squad” days. Remember those?? Glue some torn word strips onto the clean metal discs, two coats of nail polish, a jump ring and ta-da , a charm…

On closer inspection, just have no idea where the word “sign” came from… LOL. And I know all my words were single page copies so there’s no word on the back.

I read about “Life Just Right” in one of my favorite magazines Cottage Living and I LOVED that phrase. I have a list in my journal with that title. When a craft project turns out this great, I file it under my heading “Life Just Right.”

Happy crafting!

Art from the Heart

I HEART my local library! There is nothing better than carrying a whole stack of books home from the library. On any given day, I have anywhere from 6 to 16 books checked out. Crafting books, interior decoration, home and garden, how-to manuals, fiction and on a very rare occasion, cookbooks. The librarians joke that I have my own hold shelf. So I thought I’d share my current reading list with you. But I promise, not all at once!

These beautiful pictures are from a book titled Art from the Heart by Catherine Matthews-Scanlon. It is a memory art projects book and the instructions are very well written and easy enough for a novice. I have 4 projects from this book currently in various stages of completion.

I just love this little guy, absolutely adorable…

And this little girl, the cutest thing… I LOVE the glass look, but not soldering…

I definitely can do glass slides, copper tape and my grandmother. And this was my first attempt ever! Five minute assembly time, max!

I was really pleased and I bet it gets better with practice. No soldering and the foil tape.. super simple to work with. I did have a problem with keeping the slides aligned while putting the tape around but the picture doesn’t show the mistake. Really can’t wait to do more..

Thumbs up for this book! You won’t be disappointed.

Confessions of a newbie blogger

This is my very first post! I could not have accomplished it without the help of my BFF Jodie at Everything Vintage http://jodielejeune.blogspot.com/ Thank you!

I have been lurking around your blogs for the better part of a year now. I have bookmarked your sites, tried your tutorials, dog-eared your tips and techniques and created many projects from all of your inspirations. But I owe each and every one of you an apology. Not once did I ever leave words of encouragement, or say thank you, or tell you how much I appreciate all your hard work and unselfishness for sharing what obviously means so much to all of you.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the inspiration and support you have given me to pursue my artistic muse, wherever it may lead, and to have the courage and faith in myself to do what I love, to create. I promise that I will try to be as thoughtful, as encouraging, and helpful as you all are.

All of you in the crafting community are so awesome and so talented that I can only hope to keep up with your continuous creativity.

Sincerely,

Sandra M.

Sew Revived