New Stitching Project

I just love embroidery and needlework...it is so relaxing and I love the look.  It is just fun to create, as many of you will agree.  I tried an experiment and designed this pendant this past week.  It is a little "Shabby Chic" and a little "Modern Victorian". 

It is a mixed media pendant with both new and vintage bits on it--new charm and beads, vintage pearls, lace, and buttons.  It has been listed in my Etsy shop, but I thought I'd share it here to see what you think. 

Spoolie Swap--Part 2--From Me

The spoolie I gave to Amy in Joanne's (from Vintage Dragonfly) Valentine spoolie swap was great fun to make. 

I took a vintage wooden spool and covered the center with pretty pink and white patterned paper, painted other areas of the spool white, and added lots of glitter.

I found the darling wee vintage porcelain girl at an antique mall.  I thought she was just perfect for the top of this spool.  Since she had a purple flower and not a pink one, I added lavender elements as well as pink to the whole thing. 

The flourish behind her is a cupcake liner that I folded, fanned out, and tipped in glitter.  I had some pretty lavender lace from which I hung little purple-pink shiny hearts.  I poked a hole in the tops of the hearts and tied them onto the lavender lace with green embroidery floss.  The green matches the green on the little porcelain girl. 

This has been a very fun swap.  What a unique idea to make these!  Thank you again to Amy for being my swap partner, to Lynn for the inspiration behind the swap, and to Joanne for hostessing the swap.

Spoolie Swap--Part 1--From Amy

I participated in Vintage Dragonfly's Valentine Spoolie Swap.  I had no idea what a spoolie was going into this, but Joanne directed us to an Etsy shop, Trash to Treasure, and Lynn's spoolie creations.  They are embellished thread spools with a mixed media flourish at the top. These were the inspiration behind the swap.  My partner was Amy of Ruby Moon Art.  She sent me a wonderful spoolie!

 

It is beautiful no matter how you look at it.  She also included a little pad of paper and some heart rubber stamps. 

I love the festive yet vintage look of it. 

The vintage trim with "Dream" on the end was a great touch.  Thank you so much, Amy!

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!

Hearts and Roses

You know I can't resist hearts and roses--especially guilloche pieces and pink!  I added these to my shop recently....one is a rather large guilloche piece.  It was designed as a pendant and could certainly be used as one, but I put it on some ribbon so that it may be seen to be used as an ornament as well.

Then I played some with my new rose beads and made this pretty pin last weekend. I really do like these beads and thought they worked well into this setting.  I love the detail and the rich pink coloring.

Hope you like them too.  Enjoy!

I had these gorgeous rich, deep pink pieces that I knew belonged on a romantic, heart-shaped ornament.  Actually, I think this would be nice hung on a corner of one of the mirrors in our bedroom , but it has been listed in my Etsy shop instead.  

Press Kits for Artistic Affaire Les Sirenes

I've been neglecting my posting lately...but have finished and sent off my five-press-kits contribution to the Lollishops pool of press kits for the Artistic Affair Les Sirenes event coming up in California on July 15-17. You may read all about this even on Kim's lovely Weblog--Artistic Bliss. It certainly looks like a grand and enchanting event indeed! The theme has a Victorian beach, romantic ocean look and feel, so I wanted my press kits to carry on with that theme.
I found a beautiful vintage image of Victorian ladies strolling by the sea (loved the palm trees!) to make some pins out of (complete with a little glitter),
and I stitched some zipper clips on turquoise backgrounds with pearly light pink "star fish", an iridescent scallop shell, and, of course, "sand" made by stitching on sparkling golden brown beads.
The netting for these are actually hair nets. I saw a container full of them for sale at an Amish grocery store and was instantly inspired. They looked like old fishing nets to me. I thought the idea of having my things "captured" on the net would be a fun idea. Since I have plenty of sea glass from visits to Maine, I glued some pieces on for extra interest and color.
I glued a simple ivory backing onto the back of the light pink board used for the front to cover up the glue work and neaten up the back then put my business card in the baggie. I kept the bow on the top--a gold organza--simple so that they eye would be drawn to the work below and not onto the top.
I was thinking this would be a good idea for a romantic ocean themed invitation or place card...just something to keep in mind if you needed an idea. You could also put little shells onto the net too.

A Song in My Mind

Yes, I've had a song rolling around in my mind for the past few days. I think it comes from just finishing watching the BBC version of Emma. My dear hubby bought it for me, and, yes, patiently sat there and watched it with me (though I caught him snoozing a few times!). *sigh* I just LOVE romantic things. We also have the other version of Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow, and I loved the song (which the BBC version unfortunately did not include) "Did you not hear my Lady" from Handel's Tolomeo. Talk about a beautiful, romantic song! YouTube has a moving version of it from Robin Hood (which I haven't watched, so I cannot tell you if it is a good or bad watch). This version of the song is sung by Aled Jones whom I have never heard of before, and it is amazingly beautiful--a worth listen to if you are a romantic as well (just click on the song name above). Mmm, perhaps I'll have to learn the words myself to sing it properly. I might as well since it's in my head anyway.
PS. Thank you Susie V for the great information!!! I tried to find a way to email you but couldn't, so I hope you read this thank you!
; )