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.

Romantic Homes Advertisement with Shabby Cottage Shops

The December 2015 issue of Romantic Homes magazine is out, and the Shabby Cottage Shops ad looks great!

There is my little diorama ornament at the center bottom of the ad.  Hope everyone does well with their ad.  Love the teacup by the way!

Flea Markets and Barn Sales...Oh, and an Upcoming Sale!

One thing I just love about the warmer weather is getting out to sales...yard sales, garage sales, flea markets, and barn sales. 

Thanks to CTheWritingOnTheWall  for their fabulous "Flea Market" sign.  Check out their Esty shop HERE. 

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This past weekend Mom and I went to two flea markets and three barn sales.  *whew*  We were really tired out, and, yes, I spent all of my money I had to spend (and then a little bit more).  Some of the sales were pathetic or too expensive, but a few (especially one) were fantastic.  I could have spent hundreds of dollars.  At one barn sale there was a lady taking pictures on her I-phone...sending them to a friend...and getting answers back from the friend to buy things for her.  The lady had a huge pile of stuff she was buying (and this was on the second day of the sale!).  It was all great fun. 

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I'm eager to take pictures and list the many goodies that were found.  First of all, the weather needs to cooperate so that my pictures will come out looking nice, AND I need to list things that I've already taken pictures of and just haven't gotten listed yet.  I'm in the process of doing that now.  I'm going to have a big, big sale on July 4th...okay, since you've read down this far I'll tell you what the sale will be.  It is going to be 40%...yes, that's 40% off everything in my Etsy store on July 4th.  This sale will be for one day only.  Come back at the end of the week for a blog post on the specs and for the discount coupon code. 

Antique Car Vase Find

We girls were out doing our antique mall/thrift shop hop last Saturday.  The guys were busy, so off we went.  There weren't too many goodies out there, but I did find this...

It's an antique car vase.  They were placed into hooks onto the outside of cars...whether funeral cars or a Buick or what have you...and bouquets of flowers were put into them.  This pretty vase doesn't have it's hook...BUT it is beautifully intact.  It is cone/sconce shaped and has pressed grape vines and grapes all over it. 

Such pretty detail!  I see that the holders can be purchased on Ebay.  However, this does have a hole in the glass, so that a hook could be secured to a wall. 

This would look lovely as home décor or on a door.  Anyway, I was glad to find it and have listed it in my Etsy shop.  It has a tiny crack in the very tip of the glass (amazing that's all since this probably bumpety-bumped along the road quite a bit) that does not affect the prettiness nor does it leak.  Anyway, I was delighted with the find.  Hopefully someone else will be too!

Despite the Snow...

....Spring is definitely on my mind.  We received several inches of snow this week.  Ugh!  I guess we won't have to worry about getting what is needed for precipitation this spring.  The nice thing about these springtime storms is that the snow doesn't stay around too long.  It melts off the roads much faster than snow that comes in, say, January.  I SO don't like to drive on slippery roads.  The sun has finally come out today and with that a guarantee that we do not have to go out and shovel! 

With spring at the forefront of my mind, I have been making little bird houses out of felt...adding a touch of embroidery greenery...and stitching on some pretty glass beads and flowers. 

I wish I had thought of making these sooner in the year, but I didn't. 

I've made two pairs of earrings and one pendant.  I may finish a blue pair...just because they are already started.  My felt pretties certainly aren't great sellers, but I love making things out of felt.  Of course, working with those pretty glass beads and doing embroidery brings all the fun together in one project.  They are listed in my Etsy shop.  Enjoy!

Little Mitten Earrings

Just added these to my shop. 

They are little--1 inch or less in size--and are made of felt and pearly white glass beads. 

They are fun to make, and I can do custom colors if I have the materials to do so.  These could certainly be worn from now until the beginning of March around here--the snow can last that long.  Hope you like them!

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!   

Teapot Pin

I love tea and anything associated with it...as you know.  This little pin was great fun to stitch.  Do you like the steam coming from the spout?  I'm really trying to think up some more tea related things to add to my shop since I know there are plenty of other tea lovers out there too.

Sea Glass Push Pins/Thumbtacks

As promised, here is what I've done with some of the beautiful pieces of sea glass that we found in Maine.  I made push pins out of them.  These pieces were a good size, in pretty colors, and had interesting patterns/shapes.  I like the ones that were part of the bottle's mouth, the faint purple one with the designs in it, and the brown one with part of the word "quart" on it.  Sea glass is getting harder to find--especially the pretty blues, turquoises, and light greens.  I noticed this especially on this past trip.  Anyway, these would be perfect for a beach cottage or ocean themed memory board, inspiration board, or bulletin board.  I've listed them in my Etsy shop.  Enjoy!

Taking a Computer Break

It's the last full month of summer, and I'm taking some time off from blogging and my shop for just a few weeks to enjoy the sun, the warm weather, and my family.  I'm constantly puttering around on my Etsy shop--doing treasuries, listing, checking statistics, promoting, re-listing, etc.--and it's time for a break away from the computer (so I'm going to put my shop in "vacation mode").  Oh, I may check the shop out a few times, and I'll be doing some shopping for sure for things for my shop and to embellish with.  I can't step away totally, you know.  Besides, the shopping part isn't work.  In fact, I get kind of edgy if I haven't visited a thrift store, yard sale, estate sale, or antique shop in over a week.  ; )  Anyway, I'll be back in two weeks hopefully refreshed and energized for fall and the busy months ahead.

Sandal Clips Custom Order Done

It was a great opportunity to work with a lady who asked me through my Etsy shop to do a special order for her.  She had some white sandals (t-straps with a toe strap as well) that she wanted me to hand bead clip pieces for.  I'm assuming these are for a wedding, but I'm not sure--a special occasion at least.  She was just super to work with in every way.  How nice it was to work with someone not only very, very pleasant but also quite clear in what she wanted. 

I was able to buy some sweet little vintage, faceted, tangerine-colored nailhead beads and some pretty, light orange freshwater pearls (oh, and the actual clips) from fellow Etsy sellers.  I love to support other Etsy shops when the chance arises.  I already had the vintage rhinestone beads from an estate sale as well as the rhinestone and leaf vintage jewelry bits. These beads and jewelry pieces were sewn onto silvery strips--triple and quadruple stitched for security. One of the hard parts for me was not to over-embellish--you know how I like to embellish sort of "over the top".   

I then finished the underneath parts with the small clips and a piece of felt for comfort should the pieces overlap the sandals at all.  These certainly do sparkle and are trendy.  It was a fun challenge, and I'm thankful to my customer for the chance to work with her on this. 

New Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottles

I've added a few new embellished perfume bottles to my shop.  These two came out well, and I really do like them.  One has a black on gray cameo complete with a very old glass beaded spray at the top.

The other has two guilloche pink rose pieces with plenty of rhinestones.  I love guilloche rose jewelry as well as pink and green together, so this one is one of my favorites. They may be found in my Etsy shop at http://www.glassbeadtreasures.etsy.com/

Having to Think of Autumn

I REALLY didn't want to start thinking of fall yet.  However, I have had to lately.  All of our school curriculum has been chosen, ordered, and received--we're ready for school, though we will not start until the last week of August.  The kids will pick up and play their violins again this week, after taking two months off for R&R, to get "reacquainted" with them to prepare for lessons again in September.  Also, I've seen fall things pop up everywhere in stores (Christmas things too--c'mon do we really have to in July??).  Some such things are these beautiful doilies I found at the Dollar Store.  They are so pretty!  I'm not sure what I'll do with them or how I'll use them...I just know they "spoke" to me and thought I'd better get them before they were gone.  They have great detail and color and are just gorgeous.  Perhaps the kids and I will have an art class and make something of them.  Couldn't beat the price either. 

I'm also going to list some vintage trim in my Etsy shop.  This trim, though I love and appreciate nice trim, is just not my style.  I know there are very talented people out there who could turn this trim into a beautiful fall project.

Vintage Jewelry Embellished ID/Badge Clips/Reels

I'm always trying to think up new ideas for my vintage jewelry stash pieces.  The idea of embellishing some ID/badge reels/clips came to mind, so I bought some from a fellow Etsy seller and began embellishing.  I have to make sure that the pieces I embellish with are durable because of where and how they may be used, but I figure there must be some professionals--nurses, teachers, etc.--out there who like a spot of bling as well.  These clips had some views, but no bites yet.  Guess we'll have to wait and see how they go over.

For a Jeweled Garden Party

It took me a little while to think this through and complete, but it is finally done.  I had always wanted to embellish something like a purse.  It was hard to find the right purse first of all.  This one came the closest to what I had in mind.  It is faux black leather and has a great surface.  Then, it was fun planning out what it would look like.  The things that sealed it for me what it should look like are the pieces of a necklace that I thought looked like clouds.  Then, I decided to have a garden full of glittering flowers below.  There is a bright yellow sun in the sky, a rhinestone butterfly, and some birds above a next full of blue eggs.  I've listed it in my Etsy shop if you'd like to see other pictures of it.

Vintage Image Fish Thumbtacks/Push Pins

I had great fun collecting the vintage pieces to make these vintage image thumbtacks/push pins. I made a set for hubby for the bulletin board at his desk at work...sneaked them into his lunch bag for a surprise. He liked them! I'm pleased with how they have turned out and have listed this set in my Etsy shop...would be a great Father's Day present.

Dreaming of the Tropics?

Well, I am! Burrrr...this Wisconsin morning is a frigid one. I did an Etsy treasury called Destination Tropics featuring all sorts of tropical-themed goodies (including a very cool Steampunk pineapple and a grass skirt). I'm featuring the pretty guilloche parrot pin (above) that's available in my shop. Click on the link Destination Tropics if you'd like to see the whole treasury--and enjoy all of the warm breeze thoughts that go along with it.