Fairy Accessories 2012

 Wooden mushrooms or "toadstools".  The top is a wood knob, painted with acrylics.  The base is a large wood bead with a skewer attached so that they can stick in the ground securely.

 The ceramic house with the leaf roof was made by a local artist (so cute!).

 I painted floral wreath designs on the table and chairs.  Might want to seal them with varnish so that they can sit outside.  The button flowers turned out super sweet with little vases, perched on wood spools.

 Self contained beach garden for the little people.  There are even glittery flip flops and sunglasses!

 One of the bridges in the background (base is made with hardware cloth).

The trolls are painted peg dolls with wool hair, pebble noses, and pointed pearl ears.

For everyone that loves glitter!

Project: winter magnets

Any trip to the craft stores this week will include not only fall leaves and pumpkin decor... but also Christmas items! Yes! I was inspired to make some stocking stuffers with what I had on hand. Even better, most of the supplies were still laying out from last December. Better remind the maid to do a better job cleaning up after me! LOL!

So here is what I used: wedding favor tins, bristle brush trees, strong glue, permanent ink pad, rubber stamps, twill ribbon, glass glitter, and ledger paper; (scissors, pencil, and magnets not shown).

I used the bottom half of the tin to trace a circle onto the ledger paper. I cut inside of the pencil line to make the final circle a little smaller. A little glue and the paper is stuck inside of the tin. Let dry.

These little bottle brush trees started out green but got dunked in a bleach bath to turn them a lovely vintage cream color. I glued the little wooden base to the inside of the tin. Let dry.
Time to add the glitter! There's about a tablespoon worth of glitter in each tin. It covers the wooden base and can be seen when the lid goes back on. Use more if you really love glitter! Don't forget to put the lid on so that the glitter doesn't fall out.
Cut the twill ribbon long enough to wrap around the tin with just a little overlap. I used rubber stamps that I had: "imagine", "hope", and "believe". The permanent ink dries almost immediately on the ribbon.

Apply glue to the back of the ribbon and carefully wrap around the tin. This not only decorates the magnet but also keeps the tin closed. You could also used tape to secure the lid and then add the ribbon over top of it.
Cut a 1 inch piece of self-stick magnet and place on the back of the tin. You may need more depending on the weight of your finished tin.
And here is my completed winter magnet hanging out with my favorite quote on the fridge
It is a confession: "I hoard sewing and craft supplies that I smuggle in while he's still at the office". My husband thinks I do this. How dare he!

Project: Summer scrap wreath

How easy is this?:

- take one wire coat hanger and roughly reshape into a circle. Leave the "hanger" where it is.

- cut scraps of fabric (cottons, silks, tulle, etc) into strips 2x6 inches

- use a larks head knot to attach each strip to the wire circle, alternating fabric types and squishing them tightly together.

That's it! This project used up a lot of little bits of fabric and now decorates my living room over the fireplace! If I can find another coat hanger I plan on make an all black sparkly tulle version for Halloween.

For Mom... the birth of a tomato

See Mom? Tomatoes really do come from these yellow flowers!Sometimes the flower head even stays on the bottom of the fruit for awhile.... soft of like a tassel or a streamer.

Still waiting for them to ripen! And I thought these were "Early Girls"??? There are at least 5 that may be ready by the end of the month.

Grow babies grow!

Project: New curtains

In a vain attempt to decrease my "hoard" (as my dear husband has dubbed it) I decided to dig into my stash of laces and doilies yesterday.So what could I do to enjoy all of my precious, girlie textiles? Curtain panels, of course!

First I roughly measured out each panel with the backing fabric of bleached muslin. Next I divided out the lace pieces so that each of the two panels will have mostly the same design.

I know what you're thinking..... where the heck did I find enough stuff to throw on a curtain panel AND have it's mate to throw on a second curtain panel!?!?!? The collection started with crocheted pieces from Grandma Brady (doilies, snowflakes, collars). I think there may be some pieces of my Grandma McCafferty as well. The rest were rescued from thrift stores and yard sales.

And how could I forget about the hankies! I love the lace edges and hand sewn rolled hems. There are also some dresser scarves and some pieces that I have no idea what they would have originally been used for.

Time to break out the sewing machine! I do believe I have mastered the straight stitch for the hems and top channel. The individual pretties will be hand sewn. Think I can get it done before Mom comes to visit? :)

Progress made!

You may remember this:Well, it has now turned into this!:
You can also click on each picture to view it full size. The Starbucks card is just for scale.

It is not very thick and when completed could, indeed, hold a gift card. There is some work still to be done! I just need to find more turquoise colored beads. I have even taken apart some previous "samples" just to collect the bead colors I need. A trip to a bead store is in order soon!!!