Fun Projects Finally Completed! YAY!!!

 So many fun projects! Have you ever found yourself almost done with about 20 projects?  Seriously!  I am always working on several things at one time.  I kinda like it that way, until I get behind.  And I am awful about taking photos. I am determined, though, to get all my unfinished projects done! 

I did finally finish several projects that have been on my work table for some time.  This cute little Pin cushion I made in a class with Lisa Super (Vintage Handmade).  Lisa has workshops a few times a year and a creative campout every summer.  I got to go last year for the first time and am excited to go again this year!  I adore this pin keep, (I think Lisa has the kit for sale on her site) I have it perched on an old spool for display.

We also made this cute little shadow box with a stamp from Catherine Moore, Character Construction.  It's about 3 x 3".  I made mine steampunk and added gears inside the box that roll around.  I added silver metal wings and perched her ontop of an old spool that I covered in washi tape and pigment dye.  I love her!  Lisa always has such fun projects for us to do. 

I became addicted to Character Constructions stamps last summer at Lisa's Creative Campout.  So I have bought a few.  This steampunk girl is one of the new ones from the Time Keeper's Garden set and yes it is the same one that I used in my shadow box. 

I made a heart pillow for my friend Marsha (Tattered Chick) after Valentine's day.  Marsha likes neutral colors and is an awesome "junker".  I repurposed a couple of kitchen towels, crocheted doily, vintage lace, buttons and some charms that spell out "junk".  I stamped the image on some old ducking cloth and added a charm to the bottom.  I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  I think Marsha liked it too! 

 

Kim at Kim's Whims on Facebook, hosted a prim easter/spring themed swap.  I was partnered with Kim Robinson.  We decided to do a bird themed swap.  I made this little Prim paper clay bird on some vintage spools that I covered with washi tape, vintage lace and an old rusty pin.  I attached the spools to a vintage tart tin and added nest moss and flowers.  This little birdy has a paper hat and ruffled collar.

Here are some jewelry pieces I made for a local shop.  I am using old hardware, watch parts, frozen charlottes, and vintage jewelry and buttons creating unique and one of a kind necklaces.  Here are a few.

 

 I made this little primitive paper clay birdie doll. Her name is Hazel. She has a bird nest in her pocket on her apron.  Her fancy bonnet is made with vintage lace.   I learned how to make these birds from Colleen Moody.  Colleen is teaching the birdie class online this summer through Artful Gathering 2013 online retreat.  It's not too late to sign up.  There will be two sessions and lots of great classes being offered. 

 

  

I found this lamp base awhile ago and then found this old vintage colander that is a faded grey and a little rusty.  So, I recruited my brother-in-law and we made a lamp shade ou of the colander.  I painted the lamp base a satin pewter color to match with the shade and stuck a vintage edison type bulb in it!  It is so cute! 

 

 These are fun photo or card holders that I repurposed from old door knobs and funnels.  I blinged them up a little with vintager rhinestones, beads and wire. 

 

You can find some of my jewelry, aprons, pillows, photo holders, lamp, soy candles, and many other awesome finds from other vendors, at Embellish and Restore in Visalia, Ca.

 

Kim at Art Joy Stuff is doing an ATC swap called "52 Weeks, 52 Artists, 52 Trades"  I was lucky enough to get one of her ATC's and I made this one to send her in return.  If you haven't already participated, check out her blog and contact her when she posts the ATC for the week.  Awesome Idea!

 

 

 

 

 Finally, another project from a kit I purchased from Lisa Super. Hese are little metal file tags and they are embellished, with paper, lace, tibbon, buttons, and a frozen charlotte. They are great to hang as small ornaments or tags for that special gift. Lisa has kits in her store often, so check it out!

I sure hope I didn't overload you on pictures.  Thanks for the visit, have a great week and God Bless You!     Becs

 

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I sure hope Spring isn't just passing through.  The cool evenings and mornings are perfect for patio dining.  If the temperature keeps creeping up it will be too hot!

This is my mom and dad's old swing.  They would swing for hours in the evenings and eat fresh watermelon.  We are making outdoor fabric pillows for the swing.  My sister wants bright prints and of course I want Shabby Chic. Lol. I used to fall asleep on this swing when I was  a kid.  So many wonderful memories.

Have a blessed day!  Becs

Easter Blessings!!!

Easter has come so quickly this  year it seems.  The weather is perfect for family get togethers.  I am looking forward to Easter services this evening.  Then family time tomorrow.

These adorable vintage Easter graphics are from the Graphics Fairy http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/search/label/Easter?updated-max=2013-03-05T09:42:00-05:00&max-results=20&start=15&by-date=false

I hope you all have a blessed Easter!  God Bless You an Yours.  Becs

Art Joy Stuff Swap

Kim at ArtJoyStuff is hosting an awesome ATC swap  called "The Fabric of Nature"  Kim does amazing swaps and she is a great hostess!  Please pop on over and check it out.  Just click on the photo above or on my side bar  

God Bless,  Becs

Family

It certainly has been a long time since I last posted.  The only excuse I have is "Life Happens"

If you all are wondering who this dashing soldier is, it is my dad from WWII Marine Corp.  I have been missing him alot lately.  He's been gone now for almost twelve years  It seems like only yesterday.  His birthday is Friday.  He would have been 90!  And at means that I am going to be 50 in a few weeks!!  Say it isn't so!

This handsome boy is my baby Kody.  He is a character!  He is huge and weighs only 97 lbs. He is the sweetest.

What a great  family!  Half of us anyway.  This is my sister Belinda and Brother-in-law Rick, my niece Angie and Me at Disneyland before Christmas.  We all,got annual passes a year ago and try to go at least every couple of months.

I just wanted to share and say hi to everyone and Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Becs

"Etsy Cottage Style" Welcome to my Cottage Craft Room Blog Party

 Welcome to my studio, craft room, sewing room, stc...!  Etsy Cottage Style is having a blog party and asking us to invite into our cottage craft rooms.  So, Welcome, Come on in and enjoy.  This cabinet is one of my favorite antique finds.  It is about 3 1/2 ft deep and all those drawers you see are individual.  Huge storage!  The top, back and sides are old beadboard style wood.  This thing is very sturdy.  It's  height is perfect for standing up or sitting at bar stool level which is great for me because I am tall. 

 

Next to the cabinet is a metal framed cart with a wooden top.  Also antique.  It has 6 large metal basket pull out drawers.  It is about 4 1/2 Ft Deep and perfect for my fabric!  It has heavy duty wheels and can be rolled out anywhere. 

 

My brother in law installed basic open shelving units above so I could store my wire storage locker baskets above and be able to see where everything is.  It not a neat look but I like the convenience of not having to search throgh bins.  This way I can see what's in there and get down the one I need. 

 

 

This piece is actually a closet organizer that didn't fit in one of the bedroom closets, so we pulled it into here and used it to display all my jars of ribbon, buttons, and other vintage collections.  The top displays some of my creations.  Again, I love using jars so I can see what is in them and pull out the one I need. 

 

 

These pictures show what my wire baskets look like...stuffed!  LOL But I love it!  I love having the visual of all my goodies, it gives me inspiration. 

 

 

And here is my little sewing area and sewing machine.  My sister and I use the heck out of it!  It is a basic one, nothing fancy...but t works and is easy to use.  And you have probably noticed all the aprons hanging here and there.  Some are orders and others are vintage aprons that I collect.

 

 

And this little vintage wire shopping cart was one of my great finds at the Alameda Pointe Flea Market earlier this year.  I use it to hold all my paper and vintage wall paper rolls. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by my lil cottage studio.  Please pop on over to Etsy Cottage Style and take a look at all the others joining the blog party.  Click on their linky at the end of the post and you can see more awesome craft rooms and studios...



Diana Frey's "Twisted Sistah" Online Class Giveaway

Diana Frey is an amazing mixed media artist.  She is currently offering a new online class through Creative Workshops beginning in September.  Her work is beautiful!  The photo above is a choker necklace.  She also does an amazing cuff bracelet using the same techniques.  I have been wanting to take a class from her and if you have too, visit Creative Workshops or Tattered Adornements for more information. 

Diana is also having a giveaway for the online class.  It is valued at $125.00.  If you want to enter a chance to win, visit her blog, Tattered Adornements, and leave a comment.  You have a couple more weeks to enter.  She will announce the winner on Set. 10, 2012. 

Creative Workshops also offers a wide variety of online classes. So be sure to pop on over and check those out too. 

buttons, BuTtONs, BUTTONS!!!

I love buttons!  Old, new, glass, rhinestone, metal, pearl, plastic...I love them all.  I think its because my mother was an avid seamstress my whole life, until she got Alzheimers and could not remember how to sew anymore.  And she used to keep extras in a round cookie tin.

I also had the fortune of sharing button gathering with my Mother-in-law who had jars and jars of old buttons that her mother kept.  I use the term "gathering" because I don't know enough about them all to be a collector.  I have jars and jars full of old buttons from her and my mother in storage.  And becuase I can't get to them at this time without a great amount of effort and searching (LOL), I started "gathering" buttons again!

I find myself using buttons in almost everything I create.  I think they add such a special vintage touch to aprons, pillows, mixed media, doll making and even tucking them into swap items and stash boxes.






My button love was reignited when I started following the Button Floozies blog and did a swap with them.  I hope to be able to learn about collecting as I go. 

I find myself at antique shops digging through boxes and trays of buttons looking for those unusual or special buttons to add to my collection.




I found all these carded buttons in a wonderful shop up near Elk Grove, Ca.  I just love the pale pink ones above and the Marie Antoinette shaped one also.

The aqua buttons in the middle to the left are glass with an awesome dotted pattern on the backs.

Here are some photos.  If anyone knows about any of these, please share.  I would love to hear about them.  I have ordered a button collectors book but it has not come in yet.  I thought the metal ones were also very cool.

 I'll be posting again with another group of buttons I found recently in Cambria, Ca.  at an Antique Mall. 

This one is cone shaped and looks like "bakelite", although I don't know much about it.  I love the unusual shape and the stripes are fun. 

 This group is a bronze color and they are also glass.  Very pretty. 

And finally, a great set of clear glass buttons and some pretty pearls.

Repurposed to Remember...

Several months ago I was asked to take old linens that were family heirlooms from a beloved mother, sister, mother-in-law, grandmother and great grandmother who had recently passed away and create aprons for all the girls in the family.  Monica, the lovely girl that approached me, thought it would be an awesome way to honor the woman and give each family a piece of history.  Monica and I met at a holiday boutique where I was selling my repurposed aprons using my old linens... so we conspired. 

Monica gave me the names and sizes of each woman, including one for a little girl and handed me a huge bag of old but beautiful vintage table clothes, runners, pillowcases, dresser scarves, napkins and hankies. 

There were nine aprons total plus one more to make for the little girl for when she is grown up.  Monica was so patient with us as it took several months to get them all done.  They are all designed by my sister and me with no patterns or anything.  We decided on the name one at a time and created for each individual based on the information that Monica gave us about each lady.  It was such a great thing learning about them and hoping they would each like their aprons. 

I am so grateful that Monica asked us to do this.  It was an honor to be able to create something for each of the girls that will hold a special place in their hearts and continue with the family heirlooms from the past. 

I love the workmanship, handwork, and textures of old linens.  And I adore the imperfections that time adds to these everyday articles that adorned homes.  They tell the story of life and love!  My sister and I had many conversations as we put these aprons together.  Often we wondered what caused the stain or tear in a certain piece.   Or, if a particular item was used only for special occassions.  There was one table cloth that my sister hated to cut up because it was so beautiful.  We argued about that one for a couple of days!  LOL  It was the gorgeous battenburg piece that we were able to use in a couple of the aprons. 

Have you repurposed old linens that were in your family for similar uses?  If so, please share.  Was it hard to cut them up?  Or did it give you a sense of rejuvenation?  Hope to hear from you soon!  God Bless...Becs

Spring Ornie Swap with Friends

Spring is in the Air!  

I have been swapping Ornies with a group of friends since Christmas.  Cassie VanCuren hosted a Christmas Ornie swap on her blog and since then we have swapped for Valentine's Day and now for Spring/Easter.  What a great group of ladies!!!  My partners are Cassie VanCuren, An Artful Adventure,  Robin Sanchez, Once Upon A Pink Moon,  Cami Dilsaver, Creating Myself Creatively, and Jeannie Ryan (Jeannie does not have a blog) .  These are the ornies I made this time around.  The first set are nests with flowers, eggs ribbon and birds. 

For the second set I made paper clay bird heads with garland crowns, french ribbon collars and old wooden spools of thread for bodies.  I love how they are have different looks on their faces.

ANd the next set I made are little vintage tart tins that I drilled holes into and decopauged an Easter image then added German Glass glitter and ribbon.  Very simple, but cute. 

I tried to stay in the Spring Theme with most of the projects so they can be used year round if they choose to.  I received some amazing Ornies and as soon as I can take photos I will post about them.  You are all going to be jealous of all my cute ornies that I got!

Thanks Robin, Cassie, Jeannie and Cami for doing this swap with me!  You have all been awesome partners!  God Bless...Becs

An Artful Adventure 10 Week Photo Challenge ~ Week 1 ~ Eggs

 I hope everyone had an amazing Easter!  I did!  Cassie VanCuren is hosting a ten week photo challenge on her blog.  Click on the picture above and check out the details, then join us!  Week one was a photo of eggs.  I was out of town and did not have my regular camera.  But as I was looking in this amazing antique shop I saw this nest and decided to try a photo with my iphone camera.  All I did was angle it and snap!  I like the way it looks and how I captured the script under the nest.

And here is the same photo but I photoshopped it to a black and white.  I like them both. 

This week the challenge is Wild Flowers.  Woo Hoo!  And I will post later in the week about my awesome trip with Marsha Mees, Tattered Chick, to Roses and Ruse and everywhere in between!   See you all soon!  Becs

Spring Swaps ~ Refreshed and Renewed...

Easter Egg Carton Swap

A few weeks ago I participated in an Easter Egg Carton Swap that Cassie VanCuren, An Artful Adventure hosted.  We had to embellish and decorate a half dozen paper mache type egg carton and fill it with vintage goodies.  I did not know that Central California does not use these half dozen cartons.  I could not find one anywhere!!!   Then Cassie gave us a site to find them and of course they were all GONE!...This swap was turning out to be a difficult one.  Fortunately, Cassie was able to get some and mail them to me.  Thanks girl!

My partners were Heidi Meyer and Judy Stafford (sorry, but Judy does not have a blog).  I did one carton a pale green and the other a pale aqua mixed with gesso and tulle on the inside.  I added vintage Easter graphics and glittered them up. I filled the inside with ribbons, lace, vintage buttons, vintage jewlery pieces, pearls and crystals, German Glass glitter, and egg shaped soap, flowers, birds, vintage pages from Jane Austen and vintage flocked wall paper.  I also tucked a small Frozen Charlotte inside too.  I hope the girls enjoy their goodies!  Thanks Cassie for this wonderful swap!

My Market Tote From Diane Lanford

As promised, This amazing market tote is what Diane, Cottage Wishes made for me.  I just adore it.  We have very similar tastes.  She used burlap (a feed sack I think) and vintage lace and rhinestone.  This cute bag is also lined with a small vintage looking print.  It is a perfect size with two handles and easy opening.  I am gonna try it out this weekend!  Woo Hoo!!!  Thanks Diane.  ALso if you want to see more amazing totes pop on over to Tatterd Chick and read the comments for links of others that participated. 

Roses and Rust, HERE WE COME!!!

I am so excited!  I am leaving in a couple of days to go visit my friend Marsha, at Tattered Chick.  We are going to go to Roses and Rust Market in Redding, Ca.  Marsha is such a sweetie to invite me for the whole weekend and she has amazing adventures for us planned. 
I also want to share the tote I made for Marsha's Market tote Swap.  My partner is Diane Lanford, at Cottage Wishes.  This is the tote I made for her.  Here is an indoor photo.  I used a Vintage French Linen Hemp, vintage crocheted table linens, and a French printed cotton fabric strip. 

 The strap is is long so it can be worn as a cross shoulder tote.  The straps are made with the same fabric.  

 I made the rose using vintage hand dyed gauze and a rhinestone button.  And there are three pockets on the inside for tucking small items into for carrying. 

 And OMG you should see the one she made and sent me!  I will post on it tomorrow.  It just arrived today and I need to take photos first.  I adore it.  It is made with burlap feed sack material.  Just wait!
If you want to see all the totes from this swap, pop on over to Marsha's blog, I think she will have links for those who have participated.