Shabby Chic purse

I have always wanted to make one of those great shabby chic purses...

You know...the ones with whites and creams, lace and more.

So last summer I made myself one.

I had tons of fun getting things out and layering them onto my bag base.

For the base I used 2 quilt squares that have button holes around the edges.

I also re-purposed some pretty sheets from the thrift store for the fringe on the bottom and the strap.

The strap is long so it can be used as a cross body bag.

I printed a few fun images on muslin.

When I do that, I make tons all at one time and then use them as inspiration strikes.

Time to make another purse soon I think....

Thanks for stopping by....

Test Tube Necklace/Ornamants

Just a quick peek today...

I love turning test tubes into wearable art or ornaments.....

How easy and fun are those?

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Soldering Glass Necklaces

  I am not an expert at soldering.

I am learning.

It is a technique I really love.

I wanted to share a few soldered glass necklaces.

This little glass ball started as a mini clear Christmas ball.

I love to fill these with little bits, baubles and trinkets.

 This little marble is fun.

It is a simple way to practice my skills.

I did the same thing with little glass pebbles.

These purple ones were pretty tiny.

These would be a great little gift for someone special....

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these blogs.

Sweetheart Tiny Vial Necklaces

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Here is a sweet gift idea for your special someone.

Head to the craft store and buy a pack (or 2) of those little  mini glass vials.

Pick up a couple squares of Sculpey polymer clay too.

I like Sculpey the best because it is easy to work with.

Make tiny contents for your vials.

Here I made some tiny mushrooms with red and white Sculpey.

Bake them in the oven according to the package directions.

I have a toaster oven just for clay baking.

I keep it on our covered back porch to keep any fumes out of the house.

I added a bit of Spanish moss to the vial as well.

Use a piece of wire to push it down in there.

You can add a chain, silk strip, seam binding or satin cord for your necklace.

I use a bit of glue when I put the cork in.

A tiny piece of lace added gives it a sweet touch.

Hearts are easy to make.

Pinch off a little piece of clay.

Roll a small ball and then roll it into a point at one end.

Use a knife or a straight edge to put a small slit in the wider top.

Then gently roll each side to get the rounded tops.

I also made some tiny eggs.

I love nests and eggs.

To me, they symbolize life and family.

Add a little Spanish moss to these too.

These hearts look a little toasty.

Sometimes there are cooking/baking issues.

I like them though....

For that person who has been burned by love...

These are  easy and fun to make.

I love playing with polymer clay.

Takes me back to my childhood and playing with Play-Doh.

Thanks for stopping by...

Linking up with these great blogs...

Swap and Tell #6

Last week I linked up to join the Swap and Tell #6 at Tarnished Royalty.

There were lots of great things to choose from but I am crazy about Frozen Charlottes and a long time admirer of Donna from Distressed Donna Down Home so I hoped to swap with her.

She agreed.

Yay! 

I sent her 6 of the Rose bangles made from old sheets that I shared here.

Her box arrived...

In a matter of days...

Don't you love that moment of anticipation when you first open a box?

I actually opened this and then made myself stop to go get the camera so you could see too...

Donna had the perfect mix of safe and pretty packaging.

The plastic bag is a great idea just in case the glass jar would break during shipment.

No worries, though.

It arrived safely.

Such pretty tissue paper.

Just perfect for what is wrapped inside.

The seam binding and beautiful hand stamped tag are removed.

I will use the seam binding for another project. 

 I don't have any of my own in black.

Under the pretty tissue paper was bubble wrap for safety.

On the back of the beautiful tag is a sweet note from Donna.

It only took me a few seconds to dig into this fun jar of goodies.

Lots and lots of lace. 

Three different kinds.

My favorite is the cotton lace.

I know it will take dye or stain beautifully.

Sweet vintage antique buttons in creamy whites.

And that frozen Charlotte of course.

There is so much future fun to be had here.

That jar was packed full of lace.

I collect Charlottes in lots of sizes.

I love them.

I think they are beautiful when added to art pieces.

But I can't bear to actually add them...

so I make molds from them and then make resin and clay Charlottes that I can add without the guilt.

I loved this swap and tell.

I hope Donna is as thrilled as I am.

Her items were beautiful, arrived quickly and were beautifully packaged.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Thanks Donna.

You can see her blog Distressed Donna Down Home.

Or shop her Etsy shop Distressed Donna.

It is full of gorgeous vintage finds and handcrafted treats.

Or follow her on Pinterest.

Or follow her on Facebook.

And thanks for stopping by...

Dying in the Yard....

 I love that my daughter is a creative person.

She is very logical and bright but also creative.

So, she decided she wanted to make a rug for the fair.

She needed fabric to tear in strips.

I was hesitant to rip great fabric we just bought into strips when it could be used for something else.

I also did not want to go spend more money on fabric than 3 rugs would cost.

So I suggested we use some old sheets I got at the thrift store and dye them.

Such soft muslin and the price was very right.

She agreed and chose some dye colors that she wanted.

Then we spent the afternoon with her learning to dye fabric.

  She wanted blues, green, and purple.

I love her color choices.

We mixed all her dyes.

I love ice cream buckets for this. 

 They are big enough to accommodate most things I dye.

 They have lids so unused dye can be saved til later.

She tore her sheet into equal size pieces. 

She wanted light and dark of each color.

It is key to wash and wet the fabric first. 

 Washing removes sizing.

  Wetting makes sure they dye takes more evenly.

That purple was so deep and beautiful.

She worked all afternoon.

She waited 30 minutes before removing each piece of cloth.

She rinsed until the water ran clear.

Then she hung them on this drying rack I got this spring at the thrift store.

I also found a striped sheet and she snagged that one.

It was neat to see how the stripes turned out in each color.

Note my husband's help in the picture below.

The rack kept blowing over so he hooked a very large fishing sinker to the bottom of the rack.

See it?

VERY LARGE....

Once she was finished with the dye, I dyed some things I wanted to do.

Coffee filters.

They fit perfectly in those ice cream buckets.

I leave the coffee filters in for 5 minutes or hours depending on how intense I want the color.

These were less than 15 minutes.

I put them over a tin to drip in the grass and then I hang them in my garage on a little rack by my sink.

They can stay there until they dry.

I also did a couple bags that I want to alter.

That purple is still pretty strong.

I like the splotchy look.

Then I did lace.

I recently bought yards and yards from a thrift store.

It is fun to see how the different laces take the dye in the same dye batch.

Green.

Purple.

I did lots in the purple.

You can see the synthetic lace takes the color differently than the natural fiber lace.

I love how these turned out.

Well, when my daughter gets her rug finished I will show it to you.

Thanks for stopping by....