Finished Brooches

I finally finished these brooches.  I had wanted to play with transfer paper and have been very pleased with the results.

The images are from vintage cards and things that I own that were edited some via Picmonkey, printed off on transfer paper, ironed onto felt pieces, then stitched onto other felt pieces.  The embellishing is the fun part to me.

 The images turned out crisp and full of color.  Hopefully I'll be able to work on some ornaments soon...but you know how time gets away sometimes.  Hope you like these.

Some New Directions

Sometimes I feel like my Etsy shop is getting "stale", so I've been thinking of doing some new things.  I just just love vintage jewelry--and probably always will--and looking for it is such a pleasant quest.  My shop has some really pretty pieces in it, but since many have not "moved", I'm going through it....taking pieces out...and repurposing them more.  Here are some examples of what I've come up with lately:
A brooch made of vintage bits:

A sunny yellow bracelet:

You'll see jewelry disappear from my shop and see them again repurposed into other pretties as I go along.
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I tried my hand at some paper work and have enjoyed doing that.  I made these little Valentine boxes out of match boxes with mini Valentines in them.

They were great fun to make--though time consuming, I'll confess--and I would love to have received one of them myself.  I plan on making other things, though making more of these Valentine's Day ones will have to wait until next year.  I'll try to remember to start making them earlier.
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I'll still be doing felt things simply because my bag of felt and thread and needles can go with me to so many different places--to town, to violin lessons, to piano lessons, to home school group mornings, etc., etc.  I can't stand just sitting around doing nothing, so felt projects keep my hands busy and my sanity intact.  There are so many people out there who are much more talented than I when it comes to designing and making felt things, and it's easy to get discouraged.  However, I really enjoy stitching and will keep on making things.  I'm trying my hand at some magnets lately.

So, that is what I've been up to lately.  There is never a dull moment.  I have other ideas I'd like to try too...just finding the time to do them is always a challenge.

Embroidery on Paper

If I see something super neat, I like to see if it can be done on a small scale.  Things on a small scale are just so much more interesting!  I saw a large piece of paper that was stitched on on Pinterest and thought it looked so pretty.  Sometime a while ago I found a wee vintage dictionary with its back cover missing as well as a few pages...and, well, the two ideas just went together in my mind.  It took some trial and error, but here is the little brooch that is the end result...

 

What do you think? 

Pretty Button Cards and New Felt Pin

Mom and I went to a large antique mall this past weekend down around the southern boarder of the state.  It was our annual trek down there for a "girl's day".  It was loads of fun...and relaxing too.  I found some pretty button cards.

 

The card itself is pretty on this one not to mention the buttons.  I'm pretty sure the buttons are glass, but sometimes it is so hard to tell.

 

This little girl one is sweet along with the simple pink buttons.

 

This one is gorgeous.  Don't you just love that wedding dress?? 

 

Also, I completed another felt pin.  This is a depiction of a vintage Mason or Ball jar with fireflies in it.  Can you tell summer was on my mind while making this?  The ends and flight paths of the fireflies are in glow in the dark thread for extra fun.  I'll be listing this in my Etsy shop soon. 

More Springtime Stitching

Just a couple more things I've been stitching up lately.  I was inspired by a hat (an actual hat) I saw on Etsy and decided to try out some brooches.  I have not made felt flowers before and saw a tutorial on Pinterest to learn how.  The hard part was making the flowers small enough for the hat.  Felt roses are on my agenda as well...but who can resist some pretty glass bead flowers?  These really are fun to stitch up...and, oh, so springy!  There are other projects rolling around in my mind as well; it's just finding the time to work them up that is the problem.  These little hats were only completed by a few stitches here and a few stitches there. 

 

I thought the yellow, white, and aqua were perfect springtime colors. 

 

This has an actual parakeet feather in it and a wee vintage mother of pearl pin.  Both of these are in my Etsy shop now.  Hope you like them!

Catching Up

It HAS been awhile since I blogged last.  Life has gotten busy.  There is only so much time in a day to get things done.  My little blog has suffered.  I can't possibly go back to when I blogged last and catch up on everything.  But I shall try....

In a nutshell:  We finished school at the end of May.  The kids did well this past year, and I'm very pleased with their work.  They are taking a break from violin for the summer but are still working on their piano lessons.  Our daughter is taking swimming lessons to get a little more confident in the water than she is.  We are still doing those lessons, and I certainly see improvement in just this short time.  They are also taking art lessons this summer. 

We went camping for two nights already.  It was fun to get away, and we hope to do some more in a few weeks.  No big vacation is planned this year--just short camping trips around the state.  We really would like to get up to Door County this summer.  I see the newest issue of Victoria magazine has a nice article on Door County.  They are well deserving of the publicity.  It really is pretty and relaxing up there in the "thumb" of Wisconsin.

There have been plenty of parties we've been going to:  graduation, birthday, etc.  My mother-in-law's 70th is on July 4th, and we are helping with a big celebration for her. 

I've been working on many projects.  Unfortunately sales have been a little low, but that is to be expected this time of year when there is so much going on and people are putting their money toward vacations and family get-togethers.  I've been working on some felt projects (I really do enjoy making felt things) and, of course, my vintage jewelry embellishment projects. 

 

Mom and I are thinking of trying a craft show this fall.  She has been in many; I haven't been in any.  We're waiting approval.  I'm not very good at "production", but if we are approved to be in it, I will need to work on that until November. 

Well, I'll try to be more faithful at writing in the days ahead.  Happy summer day to you.

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!   

Something New

These are the result of seeing an idea in an old magazine then carrying that idea forward, putting my own ideas with it, and making something new.  I had discussed wanting to find little vintage tartlet/chocolate/butter tins with my mom, and she found some at a flea market in Florida.  So, I played and experimented, and these "tin pins" are the result.  I had originally wanted to embellish the outside bottoms of these...but, alas, that would be too hard to fix a pin to.  I had some vintage jewelry pieces--some of them very old pieces--that are beautiful but too delicate to really utilize on my other projects.  So these assemblage pins are the result.  What do you think?

This one uses a sugared flower piece. I love the glass leaf spray and the heart shape of the tin.

This one has a Bavarian theme with an aurora borealis rhinestone piece with a spray of pine cones and tassels...then I added a cuckoo clock.

There are three others that I've listed in my Etsy shop if you would like to see. 

Spring Giveaway Jubilee Giveaway

I'm connecting with Sarah at Hope in Every Season, for her Spring Giveaway Jubilee.  She and others are offering giveaways during the month of March.  How can I resist joining in on the fun?  I'm offering a vintage rose perfume label image ornament, a wee sparkly ice cream cone trinket box (the ice cream part lifts up off the cone!), and a sparkling vintage rhinestone "leaf" pin.  I'll choose a winner March 31.

Here are my rules....

1.  Open to all--even internationally.
2.  One entry...leave a comment below.
3.  One entry....follow me on Facebook...leave comment below telling me you are.
4.  One entry....follow me on Twitter...leave comment below telling me you are.
5.  One entry...blog about my giveaway....leave comment below telling me you did.

Easy peasy.  Just make sure I can get a hold of you via email if you are the winner.  Please go to Sarah's blog to check out the other giveaways and enter them as well.  The more the merrier!

Felt and Bead Heart Pins

Been playing with pretty beads and felt and finished these two heart shaped pins this weekend.

Mother's Day Vintage Brooch Swap from Me

As a continuation of the post above....here is what I sent across the pond to Jan. My box doesn't look nearly as pretty as hers....but I had a great amount of fun decorating and embellishing it. I found some rich-looking paper that coordinated with the colors of the brooch and covered the top of the box and lined the inside.

I embellished the top with vintage butterfly papers and vintage jewelry pieces. The butterfly trails were in pink glitter. Oh, and don't forget the little bumble bee sticker I found.

I put coordinating purple shreds inside and nestled the brooch in it.

I really liked this old brooch with its blue-hued rhinestone aurora borealis flowers and gold tone leaves.

I'm thankful it arrived in England safe and sound and that Jan was pleased.

Mother's Day Vintage Brooch Swap from Jan

Linda at A Swap for All Seasons hosted a wonderful swap, the Mother's Day Vintage Brooch Swap. We were to swap a vintage brooch wrapped in a beautiful package. My partner was Jan of Jan's Arty Journey. Jan certainly renewed my faith in swappers! Not only did she hold up her end of the swap but did so amazingly and beautifully. She is kind and wonderful in every way...and very talented. She wrapped everything in pretty paper tied with lovely ribbon and included a pretty card.
The brooch she chose is absolutely perfect. It is exactly as I would choose and like--you know how I like flowers and rhinestones. I shall wear it an enjoy it.She put the brooch in this amazingly beautiful book box that she embellished with all sorts of pretties--inside and out! I love the Parisian theme.
Many thanks to Jan for this wonderful brooch and box and to Linda for hosting such a fabulous swap.