Vintage Jewelry Embellished Spoons (and a Fork!)

I admit to being inspired by a pin on Pinterest...and have gone with the idea.  I've embellished some very pretty spoons (both demitasse and regular) and even a fork with vintage jewelry bits.  They really look pretty just sitting there, but I've included thin satin ribbon on each so that they may be used as an ornament of some kind to hang somewhere in your house.  The ribbons aren't on these yet in this picture, but when I listed them in my Etsy shop I showed what they would look like with the ribbon on.  What do you think?  I really like them and have listed them all in my SHOP (including a pink one that isn't shown here).  I call them spoonfuls of sparkle!

Thank you, Lee!

I received my altered Altoid tin full of buttons--all with a fall theme--as part of the 2012 Fall in Love with Buttons Swap hosted by Laurie at Button Floozies. 

Lee was my partner, and she sent a beautifully embellished tin full of pretty fall themed buttons. 

I just love the porcelain one on the top and the large shell one inside not to mention the many others she included.  I'm delighted that she was able to find so many with a fall theme. 

Needless to say, I'm delighted!  Thank you, Lee!

Fall Button Swap

Here are pictures of what I made and gave to my partner, Lee, in the Button Floozies fall button swap.  I am assuming Lee has received her package by now, so I decided it was time to post.  We were supposed to decorate a standard-sized Altoid tin and include at least 40 buttons--all with a fall theme of some sort.

It was fun finding the buttons...and it certainly helped discovering a huge bin of buttons at a flea market last month to paw through.  I bought the pretty paper and owl sticker (couldn't resist the sparkle!) at Hobby Lobby and otherwise used bits and pieces of things that I had around the house.

I ended up putting over 50 buttons in the tin and tied the tin together just to make sure it didn't open in transit.  Hope Lee liked it.  Thank you, Laurie, for hostessing this.  It was a great deal of fun.

Pretty Mums

Despite some very cool mornings we've had lately, these mums are still alive and flourishing.  These are my favorite colors of mums...I love the rich berry color and deep pink.  They go well with the grays and berry reds of our house.  Most of my blooms have died out, and I know the season of pretty colors will come to an end shortly.  So...I will enjoy these while they last!

Cranberries, ICE Resin, and a Hike

It has certainly been a busy weekend.  It started early with us having Friday off, and we got going at a good time to go to the Cranberry Festival located a little over an hour north of us in Warrens, Wisconsin.  It is full of crafters, flea market booths, food, and, of course, cranberries in every way imaginable from a huge cranberry whoopie pie to cranberry and apple pie to celebrate the cranberry harvest.  Unfortunately I didn't bring our camera, or I'd show you a picture or two.  It was a beautiful fall day, and this little town of less than 400 was bursting at the seams with thousands of people.  We had a great time, and I found a few things at the flea market booths. (The cranberry apple pie was delicious, too!)

On Saturday Mom and I took an ICE Resin class at the local bead shop.  I had always wanted to "play" with resin but also wanted to know what I was doing and what sort of techniques were available.  We learned a great deal and had fun. I tried to do different things (in the time allotted) regarding what the teacher discussed.  I wasn't impressed with what the resin did to my little feathers, but it was worth trying just to know.  It's pretty amazing stuff, and I'll probably do some more in the future. 

After church on Sunday we did some hiking.  Again...no camera.  There is a state park that has a nice trail that goes back into a gorge.  It has a rippling brook, deep sides to the gorge...and the trees were luminous!  It was gorgeous and was a wonderful hike.  This picture is from a news site (click here for the CREDIT), and, no, this is not us...but this gives you an idea of how pretty it is. 
It was a busy weekend.  I'm glad we took advantage of the nice weather and got out and did things...while we still can since winter is around the corner. 

Wee Black Purse Necklace

Well, this little project is finally done!

It took me a while to finish, and, yes, I needed to pray a couple of times for extra help as there were some frustrating areas...but it is done and has been listed in my Etsy shop.

I embroidered some pink roses and buds on black felt (as well as some black beads for "fringe") and sewed it into a purse shape.

Tucked inside the purse is a little love note.  The purse is actually a pendant, and I thought it looked best on a gunmetal chain.  Enjoy...and happy weekend!

Pinterest Inspiration

Tobi at the The Pink Pixie Forest has encouraged us to write a post with what we've created as a result of a Pinterest inspiration...a "pin-spiration".  Pinterest offers a wealth of inspiration...and I really love looking around on there.  Well, here is a picture of the the pin I applied to one of my boards...

The link to it on my Pinterest board can be found HERE.  Then, the creation I made from it was this brooch made out of felt, embroidery thread and pretty rose beads.

 I just LOVE a round topped door...and climbing roses around it is the cherry on top.  This brooch was in my shop and has sold, but I have a white round-topped door with a pink flowered wreath on it in my shop (click HERE to see, if you'd like) and plans on making another "wooden" French door in the future...if only I had time!   

Enough Apples for Pie

Well, despite their tenderness of age and small size, our apple trees actually produced apples this year.  It's amazing how resilient trees and plants can be.  It was such a strange year...warm spring...then a real cold snap...then our very hot, dry summer.  This is not to mention the pests like caterpillers and ants that were a constant problem.  It's amazing we had any apples at all, but this year we actually had enough for one apple pie.  Last year I think we had only a few apples.  They were quite tart and looked sort of strange, but they made up wonderfully in a pie.  We had lost one tree over the last winter due to wind, and another looks poorly after a storm recently.  We're thankful for the healthy trees we DO have though and will always remember the dear people who gave them to us.  I put extra brown sugar in (the secret to a great apple pie instead of using white sugar) due to their tartness, and the pie was quite yummy.  Hooray for apples!

Stitching

I've been having a grand time stitching lately.  Unfortunately I can't stitch fast enough to keep up with the ideas that keep coming. 

Most of my stitching time is when we are driving somewhere.  Well, we've been driving around a lot less, and it is getting darker earlier now.  Anyway, I've been able to complete a few things.  They are made of felt, and I've embellished them with embroidery stitches, felt pieces, and beads.  I like how the beads add extra sparkle.  Here is an example of something recently finished and is listed in my Etsy shop. 

Prize Ribbon from Marian

Just a follow-up on the prize ribbon swap hosted by Creative Wings Boutique...my swap partner was Marian of Maid Marian Made.  This was the ribbon she made for me. 

Wow!  I love the colors and using the vintage gelatin mould was a great idea.  Thank you, Marian!

Fall Button Swap

Laurie at Button Floozies is hostessing a fall themed button swap.  Head on over for all the details!

Prize Ribbon Swap

I participated in the Creative Wings Boutique prize ribbon swap.  My swap partner was Marian of Maid Marian Made.  This is the prize ribbon that I made for Marian.  I tried to give it a shabby chic/Parisian look...with plenty of sparkle, of course, in the colors of ivory, light pink, and light blue. It's hard to make anything without sparkle! 

 

I have never made a prize ribbon before, so this was a new venture for me.  I wired the pink rhinestone brooch on with a loop on the back so that Marian may hang it up if she wishes.  Hope you like it! Also, thank you to Tabitha for being the hostess for this swap.