Everyday Beauty

The Dirty Truth

I just thought you should know, this is how my room usually looks! But thank you for the compliments. I appreciate that you guys get it, and if I could I'd have you all over to play. Although it would be awfully crowded in there!

It's always a bit of an obstacle course, but right now more than usual. I'm packing and preparing for Silver Bella {in just 3 days! Yikes!}, and since there's no room on any of the 3 desks, I've resorted to using the floor.

To answer a few questions that were asked about the room.....

Yes,  I have a baby gate on the entrance to the room. Sometimes I forget to lock it. Sam looks forward to those times and comes out with handfuls of ribbons.

I didn't paint the Ikea shelves. They came that color. I think they call it Birch. 

The color on the walls in Classic Taupe {by Behr, I'm pretty sure}.

I think those were the only questions asked. If I missed something, ask again and I'll try to send an answer.

Ok, I'm off to bed, It's 10:00 which is SO late for me these days. I went to bed at 7:30 last night!

My Playroom

Hi Girls! Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments and baby love. And I've actually been feeling pretty good the past couple days, so maybe the good thoughts you're sending my way are working! It's like deja vu, since I remember so many of you leaving me well wishes when I found out I was pregnant with Sam. Gosh, it makes me happy to know you still read my ramblings years later. Thank you!

I've never really shown my little playroom on this blog, have I? It sort of occurred to me that so much of what I do and love and share with you all here, takes place in my craft room. So, I thought I'd share some pictures of the space with you.

I took these pictures over the summer in a rare moment when it was a tidy and clean. {although I confess that I had to move a pile of stuff into the hallway}. It has never been this clean before and never again since, I'm afraid. It actually looks a little different now, as I'm constantly changing, rearranging, adding, and shifting things that strike my fancy.

 
 
I'm all about open shelving. If it's hidden in drawers and cabinets, I tend to forget I have it. Ikea came in quite handy when buying furniture for this room.

Nothing fancy, no antique desks and armoires. As beautiful as those pieces are, I needed functionality so I could cram as much stuff into this little space as possible. This room, believe it or not, also houses all of my shop's inventory.

 

It's pretty crowded in here and there's not as much negative space as I would like, but I'm certainly not complaining! I'm so grateful to have a room of my own. It's a small room, meant to be a formal livingroom actually. But we have no need for such a room, so before Sam came along, George and I moved every last basket, box, bookcase and ribbon down from the extra bedroom upstairs.

 
 
It's also my home office and the place where each and every order I've ever received has been packaged up and slapped with a label.

This table is where I make things {mostly jewelry}.

Some works in progress.

 

Bits and bobs.

Ribbons and beads hanging about. 

This is my sewing table. The big window there is great for natural light {but makes picture-taking of the area a little challenging.}

More of the sewing table. I covered the lampshade with a little girl's tutu from Target. It fit perfectly!

Laces and trims.

 

Some favorite things on display.

 

The ceiling.

Sewing pattern pom poms and tutus and a Japanese lantern.

A ribbon rack with old hats and ribbons and a little wicker purse shaped like a house.

 

An old peg rack with goodies galore.

My inspiration board.

I covered this lampshade with sewing pattern paper I gathered and pleated to fit.

Another Lampshade.

 

Curtain tie-backs.

An old pink sap bucket and all sorts of random things.

It's funny to see people's reactions when they come to our home for the first time. They look in here and either "get it" or really, really don't!! I'm sure you've gotten the same reactions from guests peeking into some of your craft rooms as well.. It takes a creative soul to understand I think. I know you guys get it!

My Inspiration

 

This is the board that hangs above my computer desk. It's an ever-changing collage of memories, colors, cards, rosaries, photos, flowers, trinkets, and anything else that inspires me. I've always enjoyed peeking at other people's inspirations, so I thought I'd share mine with you.

I made this flag for my vendor tableat Silver Bella last year.

 

Some cream velvet strawberries {from this seller on etsy, who makes the cutest little berries ever}

 

Millinery, a golden A, and some other bits. That brass thing hanging there is a cookie cutter my great great grandma brought over from the Old Country.

 

Phoebe...I miss her. Rosaries, a favorite old prize  ribbon and 1909 postcard.

 

A pretty pink velvet strawberry made by Holly. And I love that vintage Sweet 16 plastic heart. Rachel Ashwell had a photograph of one in one of her books, and I set out on a mad hunt to find one for myself. Finally did, on ebay.

 

My little men, a silver wishbone, and an oversized Sally Jean "mother" charm.

 

Cheapo plastic rosaries. Love the colors.

 

Silly photo booth pictures of Mario and me.

 

Me with food all over my face. My bib says "toy shop". Who knew someday I would own one!? And that diaper pin was mine as a baby.

 

Old button cards.

 

Hope & Mike's adorably illustrated Save-the-Date card and some vintage millinery.

 

Vintage berries and brooches.

 

I found these antique Catholic medals with paper doilies at a flea market. My mom remembers her grandmother having similar ones. Aren't they wonderful?

 

This picture shows my Great Grandmother and her bridesmaids on her wedding day. I love that we have photos of our ancestors. I think it's so important. And a velvet rose I made from ribbon.

 

A postcard of a church George and I went to in Almalfi, Italy. And a vintage pink celluloid necklace...plastic, yet one of my favorite pieces of jewelry ever.

 

All these things have meaning to me, no matter how silly or trivial. This board makes me happy when I glance up from tapping away at the keyboard and see it hanging there, spilling with inspiration. As they say, it's the little things....!
 

Decorating the Ceiling

When there's no more room on the floor, on the walls or on the shelves....look up! The ceiling holds endless possibilities for creative decorating. This is a view of part of my craft room ceiling. As you can see, I'm still loving sewing patterns. A month or so ago, I made these pom poms from a pattern similar to these here. And I think they're basically the same thing as the kits in Martha's line. Same general idea, just different sizes and papers. They're hanging with fishing line and cup hooks. Lots and lots of cups hooks in my ceiling. I'm sure the next owners of this house will NOT thank me for that.

I also have an old ruffled crinoline hanging up there along with some Japanese paper lanterns. Just today I found an old parasol I'm going to somehow rig and hang upside down as well. Eek! I was so excited when I spotted it! I'll post pictures when I get it hung. 

The now-tarnished glittered letters {that spell WISH} are from Wendy Addison. And as for the honeycomb bells, I had the wild idea last spring that I would sell them in my shop. Well, I just never got around to photographing and listing them, and ended up giving a bunch to friends and hung several in my craft room. 

Then I saw some on Pam's blog and also on my friend Gabrielle's new blog. {Gabrielle made pretty sewing pattern pom poms too.} Pretty bells are ringing everywhere!

Well, if you want dangling tissue paper things hanging from the sky of your house, you can get every tissue paper decoration you heart desires right here. Bells, balls, fringe, garlands, giant eggs, ice cream sundaes, hot air balloons {and yes, I have them all, but then again.....I'm nuts} and more! Fun stuff. Happy festooning!

Not Quite Hatched

I'm in the process of making some Fancy Ostrich Eggs, similar to the ones I made last year and sold in my shop. {new name...wanted something different, and even though ostrich eggs are roughly the size of a cantaloupe and these are not, I still like the name!}

This is what my desk looks like at the moment.

A very messy crafter I am. Gotta lay it all out on the table to see what I've got to work with, and then I've suddenly lost my project in the mess.

 

Velvet ribbons scraps always come in handy.

 

I'm not sure when I'll have these in the shop, but I will let you know as soon as I do. I'm so glad Easter falls in April this year. Easter in March always seems too early, a little too cold still. I remember in 1984, Easter fell on my birthday and I recall feeling SO special, as if the whole day was just for me. I remember it vividly for some reason.

Anyway...eggs....coming soon!

Oh, and yes that really is my new banner up there. No, it's not a joke or a mistake. LOL... {Sorry to disappoint those of you who have written to tell me you like the old one better.} I just wanted something different, fresh, and simple. Those are peonies from my garden last year, and I desaturated the image in Photoshop, added some subtle sepia and doodled the words {this part took me dozens of tries and that was the best I could do!} and the scallops. I like it. I've been making {literally making} another new banner since November. I need to finish it one of these days. It will be nice, I hope, when it's all complete.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Corked Vials

 

After a recent post where I showed these vials, I got lots of emails from inquiring crafters wanting to know where I got them. So, here ya go!

 

You can find them at Specialty Bottle, along with several other sizes and all sorts of bottles and jars. Aren't they great? Cork is a much prettier alternative to a plastic cap.

They're great for storing all sorts of "smalls" like beads, sequins, glitter, findings and the like.

Being a visual creature, I tend to like to see my things, rather than have them hidden in boxes, so these work perfectly. I also use lots of trays and open baskets as storage solutions, so I've got a good view of my supplies when inspiration strikes. I'm afraid I wouldn't get much done if I had to open a bunch of boxes and dig through to find hidden supplies. {Although, there is something to be said for rediscovering forgotten treasures!}

 

As part of my goody bag contribution for Silver Bella last year, I filled these same corked bottles full of silver glass glitter for each attendee. Then I briefly considered selling them in these vials as a color sampler set....but quickly decided I was sick of glass glitter trails all over my house! Ah well....and so it goes.

Anyway, that's the scoop on the vials!

Broken, Tarnished, Rusted, Frayed, Corroded, Dingy and Lovely

 

I know you guys share my love of old things, right? There's a just a certain something about them that draws us in. These are some bits and pieces of less-than-perfect details around my house. Corrosion produces the best shade of aqua!

 

A favorite old Venetian box from a flea market trip a few years ago. The chipped paint makes it all the better.

 

Frayed, pleated flowers on a hat.

Pretty chipped pearls.

A dingy old cube of pins. I like that some are missing.

I have no problem loving old rusted bits or jewelry with stones missing. I don't generally incorporate them in to the pieces I sell, but once in a while I do. I like the look.

Love this antique pendant with the Opal heart stone, even though it's lost most of it's other stones.

 

This is a new {but made to look old} sconce I have on the wall in the hallway. Pretty rusty flowers!

 

A good dingy shade of pink velvet, with a ripped veil.

 

We can never have enough old laces and trims. The more dingy the better. If it's too white for me, into my leftover cup of coffee or tea it goes! George always asks, "should I dump the rest of this coffee or do you want to dye something?"  ha ha...

 

Old doll shoes to be used in an upcoming project with some friends. I love the frayed edges!

 

A 1940's wedding cake topper with discolored flowers.

Well, I can hear that Sam's just woken up from his morning nap, so I'll sign off now. Time to go be Mama! :)

My Sewing Basket

 

I apologize, I couldn't think of a more original title than that, but I really couldn't. And I should be in bed right now, but I wanted to share these pictures with you. Days seem to pass and I have a hard time finding even a half hour to write a blog post!

 

There is something inherently beautiful and mundane about sewing baskets, don't you think?

Maybe it's just that they contain such simple elements {needles, thread, buttons} that can create incredibly beautiful garments, art and other elaborate {or simple} sewn projects. And they've been a part of womens' lives for centuries.

 

Here is my basket. It's an old one, and needs to be handled gingerly. But I'd rather have it that way. Makes you slow down, ya know?

 

Pink tufted satin, you are a lovely thing! Here I added some old details to the inside of the lid, like the ivory rings and the vintage button cards. The scissors are ancient but still work great.

 

The inside is fun and colorful with all of the threads and embroidery floss piled in there.

 

I will say, it's bit of a mess, but it works out ok. I have a method to my madness, I guess.

This old satin pouch is filled with emery, to sharpen needles and pins.

 

Pins, pin, pins.

 

More inside stuff.

   

And this is a rather odd angle, but have you ever tried to photograph an open sewing basket? So awkward!

 

Well, I think it's time to head up to bed. I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I've spent all night {the past 5 hours} reorganizing my craft room. It's looking much better than it has the past year or so. I'm getting there, slowly but surely....

Holiday Wrapture

 

Oh goodness! It is Thursday already? Ack! We leave on Saturday for Ohio, where we'll be spending the week with my parents and all of my extended family. Seriously cannot wait. Shopping is done, baking is done {what little I did this year}, and now it's time to wrap it all up and load up the car for the trip.

One thing about owning my shop is that I never have to look very far to find gift wrapping materials. Although, can I say that it pains me to see good ribbon go into the giant Christmas trash bag along with all of the wrapping paper shreds on Christmas morning. I know I'm preaching to the choir here. You guys are like me, we can spot a good ribbon at 20 paces, and we snatch it right up out of that trash bag and tuck it into our purses, don't we?

The embossed foil paper {above} is a wonderful thing I thought I'd mention here. It's sold at bakery supply shops, and is used to cover cake boards. Makes a great gift wrap {and sharpens your scissors as you cut!}. It's available in many colors and has been a staple for me for a few years now, ever since I took the Wilton cake decorating classes and the teacher told us all about it. And it's cheap too!

 

Pretty crepe rolls are fun to use. I like to sometimes wrap smaller sized gifts in this.

And sewing patterns always make interesting tissue paper, in poofs coming out of a gift bag or tucked inside a box. Great graphics and neutral colors.

  

I dug through some millinery-filled baskets to find some pretty gift toppers.

 

Most people on my shopping list probably couldn't care less about a millinery flower, but a few of my friends will appreciate them. I always use them on my mom's gifts, and then she gives them back to me to use again. So funny.

 

Well, I'd better get wrapping I suppose. 24 hours from now we'll be loading the car {and George will once again ask me why I need 5 pairs of shoes and  4 different purses}. Mark my words, that will be the conversation as he packs the back of the car.

Happy wrapping, my friends!

Adorned Cuff Bracelet

Project #1 from Silver Bella.......finished! Clearly, I'm just as slow as molasses when it comes to crafting. Sometimes, I think about it too much. And then I rearrange.... and then think some more. But eventually, I do finish.

I took this class with Rebecca Sower. What a joy she is! She was a great instructor, and she showed us several embroidery stitches and techniques. Lucky students we were when she generously shared her stash of vintage fabrics and embellishments with the class. I think all of us loved her class!

 

Of course I had to use old jewelry on my cuff. For me, some old rhinestones and pearls can magically take a project from I like this to Oh, I love this!

 

Don't look too closely at my stitches. {they're not the straightest.....lol}

 

The frayed fabric is one of things I love so much about this bracelet. It adds texture and interest just by being itself. The back is lined with a beige velvet so it's nice and soft against my wrist.

I was so inspired by this class and realized how much I love working with fabric. I don't play with it nearly enough. But I just bought a couple of new embroidery books, so we'll see where it takes me. I know I want to make more of these, and who knows what else.....