Something Purple...

...for the Embracing Cottage Style Vintage Purple Party.

Here is a pendant collage of lavender/purple vintage jewelry pieces that have been glued onto a setting and put on a chain made of vintage elements.  I thought this would be a pretty, light color for spring. It is in my Etsy shop.  Check out the blog party at Embracing Cottage Style for other pretty vintage purple items.

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.

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. 

Springtime Blooms

Just two pictures of what is blooming around our house.  I've enjoyed them and hope you will too.

Blue and Purple-Pink

I have a corner sink in our kitchen.  While doing dishes yesterday afternoon I was enjoying the pretty purple-pink blooms of my cactus and the light shining through Gram's blue jar.  She loved blue glass, and I'm thankful to have this that was hers.  I thought the colors together were just grand and decided to share the scene with you.  Enjoy and happy weekend to you all!

Inexpensive Little Girl Room Decorating Ideas

I thought I'd share what we did in our little girl's room a while back in case you have a redecorating project in mind this winter and would like a few inexpensive ideas. I found a rug (sorry, didn't take a picture of that) at Big Lots that had olive greens, purples, pinks, ivory, and light blues in it. So, I made the theme of her room in those colors...besides she likes pink and purple. Since she also lives princesses and crowns and sparkles (mmmm...wonder where she gets that from??), I found a play crown from the toy section of Walmart for the very top of her window with pink and blue sparkles. An inexpensive (also a Big Lots find for $7) sheer scarf pulled through the crown and draped over the edges of the curtain makes a soft, feminine, finished look. I made the curtains out of material to match the purple in the rug.

I put the scarf through holders on each end. Also, I wrapped a wired garland of iridescent stars around the scarf to add more interest and color to the ivory material. The iridescent coloring picks up the purples, blues, and pinks wonderfully, and the garland also adds another element of sparkle to the window.

Then I got some flower, butterfly, and leaf stamps from the local hardware store. My mom gave me the teapot and teacup stamps, so I already had them. I matched the paints (the walls were already a warm ivory) for the stamping with the colors in the rug again--pink, light blue, dark purple, light purple, green, and off-white. I used acrylic craft paints which are pretty inexpensive. Of course, I had to add a little of my own flourish with a teapot and a teacup in the room. The stamps make a nice alternative to wallpaper and are much less costly than hiring a person to come and paint by hand. The corner of the mirror needed something, so the teapot went there. I added the "tea" coming out of the pot by hand.

I stamped everywhere but not without purpose.

I added butterfly trails and extra flourishes and some detail in the flowers, and instead of a mouse at the floor by the door, I put a steaming cup of tea with hand-painted steam coming out and dots on the teacup. Her bed is in a corner, so I put pink netting (an Ebay find) in the corner to "round it out" and soften the corner. She feels like she is sleeping in a "princess tent".

Well, I hope you like some of the ideas. I'd love to read about your project, if you used any of these ideas, and how it turned out.