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