Everyday Beauty

Paper Cuts

 
I don't think I need anymore scissors. Nope. I think I'm all set. Although it's worth noting that every time I'm looking for a pair, I can't seem to find one. Tell me I'm not the only one. And I try to be so organized....really, I do.

Well, anyway, I was doing some cutting today and realized how many different kinds of cutting elements I have here in my craft room. And that inspired this silly post.

This contraption here is one of my favorites. I found this antique pinking machine at a local antique shop maybe 5 years ago. I was actually out that day looking for one, if you can believe that. It was absolute serendipity. $25 out the door....and I've never seen one since, except on ebay. I first saw one in an old issue of Country Living where they had featured Barbara Schriber's designs. She had one, and I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever.....thus began my search.

 
You simply crank the handle, the gears turn, and the little fluted blade cuts a decorative edge.

 
I'd be remiss not to mention these fun multi-blade scissors. I found them about 3 years ago at my local A.C. Moore. In one clip, they make 5 cuts and create fabulous fringes in no time. These would be great for making party festooning and even party horns & hats. I recently saw similar ones featured in a newsletter from Bell'occhio.com. And now that I think of it, doesn't Martha have these in her line now too?

 
Not long ago, I used them to make some fringey flowers like this one, but now I want to make a whole bouquet in different colors. Let's add that to the list of things to do....

 
With all those blades, they take about 1 minute to make, no kidding.

 
And then of course, there are rotary cutters, circle cuttters, paper trimmers, hole punches, straight-edge blades, guillotines, all manner of decorative punches and everything in between. Did I miss anything? Are there any new fandangled cutting implements I don't know about yet? Tell me please!

And now, back to my cutting....

Where Women Create

 

I have some exciting news to share with you, my friends. My craft room is featured in the current issue of Where Women Create! Even as I hold it here in my hands, it's still a little hard to believe. It's strange to see your own face in a magazine. And it's strange to think about the creative journey I've been on for a lifetime that has lead to this moment. Amazing. I'm just a girl who likes to make things, and not all that much has changed, but I definitely feel like I'm out of my league to be among the women whose spaces have been featured in this magazine.

I remember purchasing Where Women Create {the book}several years ago and reading it cover to cover, feeling endlessly inspired. Then came the magazine. I gobbled up the first issue and have done the same with every issue since, like many of you probably have as well. What a fabulous idea to create a book and a magazine that's all about the places where women create!

 

Well, the new issue just hit newsstands {there's the cover, above}, and I have a couple of extra copies I'd love to give away. If you're interested, just leave a comment {name and email is sufficient} and I'll do the old random number generator and pick 2 lucky girls' names on Thursday.

Here's to all of us who have even a little corner of a kitchen table to create upon.....or maybe a closet, a loft, a spare room, a studio, a basement, or even an entire building. As different as we may be, we share the same passion to create. It's an absolute honor to share my space with you, through this publication. And I wish you could all come over and share a cup of hot cocoa with me. Extra marshmallows!

And a gigantic thank you to Jo Packham and Jenny Doh, who saw my space and believed it would, in some way, inspire readers and add something positive to this issue. I'm so grateful.

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 Florentine 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....