Gifts From My Friend

Last week was a week filled with emotions, both good and bad.

Since this is my HAPPY go to place, I'm going to share the good.

I received two wonderful packages from my dear friend Marcie, filled with the most wonderful folk art ever and I just had to share some photos. 

This is one of the dolls. I just love her.

 And this sweet dog, looks like my Jack.

 A tiny plush pony in a special pouch.

All stitched up by hand with pattern included.

 And these crows are just two of the amazing handmade birds.

I love them all, but these are my favorite!

 Did I mention how much I love the crows?

They are painted fabric that feel and look like leather.

 Such sweet horses.

A mama and a baby.

 Great big fruit.

How fun!!!

 A stack of special papers for framing and for crafting.

These are but a few of the wonderful handmade goodies that I received from Marcie.

It was the best part of my week.

Thank you Marcie!

karen

Primitive Hanging Cone

Thick jute is a bit difficult to work with, but gives you a nice primitive natural look.

Crocheted in a spiral pattern in back loops only,

 I started with a small circle of single crochet and added random stitches to increase as I went along.

I attached 4 evenly spaced jute cords at the top for hanging and embellished it with buttons cut from vintage deer antlers that were found in my mother's basement. 

Now I need to decide what I'm going to put in there.

A plant would be the obvious choice, but I thought it might make a nice home for my collection of vintage wooden knitting needles.

What do you think?

karen

Don't Throw That Away

In keeping with last weeks repurposing of STUFF, I came up with a way to still wear those favorite  garments that I have worn to death.

The hoarder in me hung onto my favorite bohemian dress even though it had literally fallen apart.

I so loved the colors and the texture of the fabric.

I just had to keep it alive for a little longer.

Maybe even forever.

 Accessories were the answer to saving at least a part of that dress.

I made a necklace  from crocheted strips of the dress fabric, and

 covered some boring hoop earrings with some of the fabric,  then wrapped them with thread.

 This bracelet was made from a cloth napkin that I had picked up at a flea market because I liked the colors and design of the fabric.

I wrapped some cotton clothesline with a strip of the napkin fabric, added random stitches and a bit of crochet, then a tiny, glass, vintage button.

Now I can hold onto a part of my favorite boho dress for a while longer and I'll be wearing that napkin turned bracelet for years to come.

karen

Handmade Romance

As promised, I made more of the little tart tin magnets.

Inspired by a love story.

Romantic as tattered lace.

Sparkling like bits of vintage bling.

Drawn to each other.

Clinging.

So beautiful.

karen

Inspired by a Love Story

I heard the sweetest Love Story recently.

I was chatting long distance with a dear dear friend and she told me the story of her undying love for her husband. I could hear in her voice how much she still loves this man after years of being married to him. Her memories of their life together are sweet and good, and it made me think of the goodness in my own marriage. Now, don't get me wrong...there have been many rough times along the way, but over all, I too am content and feel lucky to be with the man I am married to as well. 

Inspired by my friend's story of love I made magnets.

Yep...I said magnets.

 Magnets that are dripping with romance.

 Tiny 1 inch square metal tart tins filled with bits of old crocheted lace, romantic images and a little bling.

I made just these two for now, but will be filling more of these tiny tart tins with crafty love soon.

karen

A Simple Slice

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I'm all about repurposing everything.

I'd rather shop in a thrift store than a dept. store and flea markets are my favorite thing to do on the weekends. Then there's the occasional yard or garage sale and that's where I found the tree branch slices. A shoe box full of already drilled, simple, rough cut, tree branch slices.

Now, I think most folks would walk on by a box filled with rough old tree slices, but I saw potential in this box of simple slices.

 A little sanding, a rubber stamp, some modpodge, and a bit of leather cord.

I think these will be nice for tying onto packages for my outdoorsy friends and family.

Stay tuned for more crafty goodness in tomorrow's blog post.

karen

Wood Scraps and Modpodge

A couple of months ago we had some construction going on here.

The man who was hanging the drywall had some scraps of wood left over and asked me if I would like to keep them for my outdoor fireplace. Being the hoarder that I am, I grabbed a few of them up for a future crafty project. Does hoarding count if you actually use the stuff you save? Just wondering because yesterday I got busy in the studio and actually used those wood scraps. I turned them into something much nicer than firewood I think.

 A little white paint dry brushed onto the front and edges after a light sanding.

Then some paper and modpodge.

 Once they were dry I got out my trusty old drill and drilled holes for wire hangers and some for adding beads to the bottoms. I used one of my hand stitched felt beads on one and a pretty stone bead on another.

 I'm dreaming up another crafty project for tomorrows blog post.

Hope you stop in to have a look!

Thanks for dropping by!!!

karen

Chalkboard Cabinet

What could be better than a chalkboard that houses it's own chalk?

How lucky was I that I just happened to come across this battered old cabinet all decked out in 80's country blue and 80's country flowered wallpaper.

I saw potential in this ugly little box.

Dry brushing some white paint over all but the papered areas, gave it a much cleaner look.

 Chalkboard paint on the door made it fun.

 I modpodged some interesting paper to the inside back wall.

The little bucket holds the chalk and the old felt eraser fits nicely beside it on the shelf.

 My favorite part is the old hardware.

 It's the perfect place for a ribbon tassel.

 Painted a few tags with chalkboard paint as well.

They wipe clean with a damp paper towel .

Fun and functional, they can be used over and over again.

Thanks for coming by!

Stop back tomorrow for another adventure in craftiness.

karen

Random Salvage Folks

Today was such a hot and humid day.

Too miserable to do anything outside although I did try to do a bit of gardening this morning.

The air conditioners just couldn't keep up with the heat and humidity.

Even the air in my car seemed to take forever to get cool today.

It was a good day to take it easy and play for a while.

I scanned the drawers of reclaimed fabric in my sewing room, dug through a jar of old buttons and sat down at my sewing machine.

 Little Fairy Flo has wings made from part of a bride's vintage head piece.

Her hair is locks of wool and her outfit is made up of scraps of vintage fabric and lace.

Gretta the Grouch is a friend of Flo's.

She's having a bad hair day and doesn't appreciate Flo flying overhead and pointing out the spot of vegetable matter that's stuck in there.

 

Creating a doll always feels a little like magic to me.

They each seem to have their own personality and no two are ever alike.

Almost real, but not.

karen

Cuppa Coffee Cozy and Polished Stones

Everyone who crafts knows that you always need to get a head start on the seasons.

I'm usually a bit behind, but while browsing at JoAnn's this week, I came across some pretty Fallish  yarn and some free instructions for a "crochet cuppa coffee cozy".

 I've always liked the idea and look of a mug wearing a pretty sweater, but couldn't get past the thought of the fuzziness along the top of my cup. By dressing up these tall mugs instead of my usual short ones, it worked out perfectly. You can pick up the FREE instructions for these at your local JoAnn''s Craft Store and the buttons from Anita's Etsy shop.

 In keeping with the thought of Fall and it's brilliant colors, I wanted to share some pics of the polished stones I found at the flea market over the weekend.

 Normally I would have paid up to $1 per stone for these, but this entire bowl full was just $2.50.

Don't the colors remind you of Fall?

 And speaking of color...I just couldn't resist a photo of the dew covered bee balm in my garden.

Well, I guess I've had enough fun for this morning. Time to get back to reality and cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.

See ya soon.

karen

Weekend Flea Market

I saw this little elephant at the flea market over the weekend and instead of my usual thing where I tell myself, "Oh, don't buy that. You can make it yourself", I bought it.

Don't know why, but I just had to have it.

 And this awesome strawberry pincushion.

 And these lovely tassels.

Oh dear...I think it's time to donate a few boxes of stuff again.

It's getting crowded in here.

karen

Around Here

No Words

Just photos

karen