"Greetings" from lace-land!

I've been busy busy busy with a new project I will be happy to announce once things are a bit more ironed out. I will tell you I find myself swimming in a sea of lace, pearls and fabric these days. Today I set out to make a mountain for lace rosettes and spread out in the kitchen. It all looked so pretty I had to stop and take some photos.

Don't mind my Sweethearts (they were on sale yesterday), palm and laptop. A girl has got to stay in touch and have something sweet to snack on while she works, right? Here are a couple more...

DIY - Vintage Plate Wall Clock

I finally got around to finishing some projects up today that I've been wanting to do for awhile. A couple years ago I got this vintage plate at a thrift store for 30 cents. I loved the folk inspired farm scene and lovely yellow color. I used it to hold keys in my dorm and decided I wanted to find a more useful purpose for it.

I got out my handy Dremmel and bought a ceramic and glass drill bit for it at Lowes for a couple dollars. Picked up a clock motion at Walmart for $6 and once I found the center of the plate it just took a few minutes of drilling and screwing the motion into place and voila! I have a wall clock! Here are a couple more photos:


If you have any questions regarding this project, feel free to post them and I would be happy to update with the answers.

New Pin Cushion Caddy from "Seams to Me"

In order to play with all the new beautiful fabric I bought I got a WHOLE bunch of books out from our local library. Poor Jared had to pick them all up and carry them home for me. He's such a champ. I'm having so much fun making little projects for myself to practice and HAD to share this project with your from the book Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing by Anna Maria Horner. The whole book is full of beautiful projects and helpful tips. This was my first project out of the book and while it gave me a little trouble (I'm about an intermediate sewer) I love the way it turned out.

It's a little pin cushion caddy for all your sewing goods and lots of room for your pins. I've found it's perfect to keep next to your machine with your threaded bobbins and thread snips. Make sure if you try this project to get really stiff interfacing for the inside of the tube or use a piece of stif board (I used a piece of a cereal box) before you stuff it. I used scraps of fabric for the outer ball and some of my new Amy Butler Love fabric for the rest.


Currently in the works is a fabric basket for our mail. I've done a few practice drafts and have some linen on order for the real one. I'll make sure to post photos of it when it's finished done. In the mean time, go pick up Seams to Me from the library or order it. Happy sewing.

I want to learn to crochet for two reasons.

(Photos from Yvestown Blog.)

First I'm tempted by those adorable amigurumi animals I'm seeing everywhere right now. We just bought a giraffe for our niece. I was looking at amigurumi books last night on amazon and when I wake up this morning and check my feed I find this tutorial from Yvestown. It's a sign. I hear if you are bad a knitting, crocheting comes easier. Any personal experiences? Tips?

Today's Project: Felt Rosette Pillow

I saw this tutorial from Anne Kyrrö Quinn on Etsy's Storque awhile ago. It's a project featured in her fabulous book Felt Furnishings. I thought it was so beautiful and this morning when I woke up and check my feed I saw Kathleen of Twigs & Thistle's version and was inspired to give it a go myself. I happened to pick up a box of vintage felt at an estate sale a few weeks ago and just pulled out a lovely buttery yellow that will go beautifully with my new lamps I picked up this weekend. I think I'll modify it to be a sham rather than a zippered cover and I'm considering backing it with a pretty print.

I'll make sure to post photos when I finish! I've already got half of the rosettes cut out and hope to have those sewn on by the end of the day. I'll need to pick up a pillow form next weekend.

Christmas Time in Stow Craft Show

Want to see me in person? I'll be selling at the annual Christmas Time in Stow Craft Show in Stow, Ohio this weekend! I've been busy preparing all week and I'm so excited to do my first craft show since I graduated!

There is no entrance fee and it's on Saturday, November 7th from 9am to 4pm at the United Methodist Church. There will be a variety of Christmas crafts and gifts and food of course. Stop by and say 'hi' if you are in the northern Ohio area!

What do you do to get in a creative mood?

"My Muse" Photo by The Blue Balloon (aka winter_mitts on Twitter).

Last week I had one day where I was just struggling to get in a creative and productive mood. To remedy it I went and took a shower and put on some clean clothes. For some reason I just can't get down to business and really work if I feel gross or really frumpy. I started thinking about how funny it was that we all seem to have our quirks.

I tweeted about it and asked my followers to tell me what they do to get in a creative or productive mood. It was really interesting to see the responses roll in.

heartsabustin2
Get off the computer. ROFLOL

thriftonista
Taking a walk and just being in nature tends to be very inspiring. Or going to a museum or art gallery.

winter_mitts
Tea and music!

EdinaVintage
-I find watching TV really unproductive, so if it's on I always try to have something else to do with my itchy fingers!
-also, I never fail to be inspired by the awesome stuff other people create! Etsy is a mine of ideas and inspiration!

missHinterland
Definitely coffee and reading a few passages of poetry. Words always make me feel creative.

yourluckyduck
I look at color schemes, I browse brand name websites (gap, anthropologie, etc) for trendy items, I browse Etsy stores...

TheMissinThread
What helps me get in a creative mood is having my house all clean, then I can relax with a nice cup of coffee and create!

gogovivi
I turn on This American Life. Always works for me.

So what gets your creative juices flowing? Post it here in the response or tweet me about it! Next time I'm feeling like I'm in a creative slump I'll probably take a look at this list again and try some of these out.

Sweet Stocking Stuffers: Nostalgia Organics

A few days ago I stumbled on the sweetest little gift while browsing soaps on etsy. These adorable little bundles from Nostalgia are made with the end in mind. Not only is the packaging so cute and the soap scrumptious, but the label unfolds into a pattern for, in this case, the sweetest little strawberry pincushion that you make from the limited edition patterned bag! The pattern and fabric changes seasonally including a little chicken egg cozy and soft doggie.

The whole product is so thoughtful and well executed. The patterns seem simple enough I could give them to my non-crafty friends and family and they would still be able to create them. I know what I'll be giving as hostess gifts this year.

I may order some of these soaps just for the packaging and custom printed fabric. The lovely smelling soap is like icing on the cake! Just flawless. Did I mention they have beautiful tins of perfume balms and other soaps? Visit their shop, website or lovely blog for more information and pretty things!

Just a little crafty goodness.

Hi all,

So I know a lot of my reader are crafty gods and goddesses. I thought I'd share a few bits of inspiration. If you remember the last gorgeous wedding we featured with Annie and Dave (first post here) then you'll remember the lovely letter pressed invites the DIYed. Well Annie has joined the bloggosphere with her blog Annie Get Your Glue Gun (how cute is the name?!) to cure the after-wedding bug. She is so creative and blogs about her crafting and cooking adventures as well as whatever else tickles her fancy. I LOVE her first tutorial about DIY envelope liners and may end up using it to line out invitation envelopes. I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve.

On another note, my secret santa this year turned out to be my crafting buddy Ryan. He is a fashion major and does really beautiful work. He has such great taste and he's a sewing fiend. So naturally he made me something and he couldn't have done a more BEAUTIFUL job. Everyone knows I have a little thing for woodland creatures. Hopefully he'll be offering some things on etsy in the near future. His plushies are always adorable. So without further ado, meet Lydia...


I think the colors are so dear (hah.). Maybe I'll make a pallet out of it in the future. Anyways, check out Annie's blog if you get a chance and stay tuned for more wedding-y goodness from me. Lot's of love.