Pink Roses

DIY: no-sew fabric banner...

I made a little no-sew fabric banner this morning for my daughter's kitchen, and thought I would share how I did it.  Here is a collage of photos I took in her happy Anthropologie inspired kitchen.  This was my inspiration.

 

I wanted to use a variety of coordinating fabrics, but I had nothing in her color family, so I went to my local quilt shop and bought a package of pre-cut quilt squares.  This package of 24 different squares cost around $7.00!

I used an iron-on adhesive to bind my fabric together.  You could also sew, or use fabric glue.

 

I folded the fabric squares in half on the diagonal, to form triangles.

I cut a triangle of the paper backed iron on adhesive, and ironed it onto one half of my square.  Follow the instructions for your individual product (mine said iron for 2 seconds).  After all the fabric pieces had adhesive ironed to them, I trimmed them a bit to my desired shape.  I folded each triangle in half:

 

and trimmed the fabric like this:

I used 2 strands of bakers twine to string my banner (red and blue), but you can use any string/ribbon/cord that matches your fabric.  I opened the fabric up, placed the bakers twine in the seam, removed the paper backing from my adhesive, and folded the fabric back together and ironed.  Again, follow the instructions that come with the product you purchase, as instructions vary regarding temperature and time.

here is the finished product hanging in my entry:

Oh...and the little scraps I trimmed?  Have no fear, I used them too!  Because the scraps had the iron on adhesive on them, I ironed them onto some plain shipping tags, trimmed them up, and look how cute they turned out...

My daughter gets a fabric banner, and I get some really cute fabric scrap tags!

la cage aux balls...

my favorite chippy birdcage + my favorite chippy chair + vintage pink shiny brite ornaments = a bit of Christmas fun!

the "decking the halls" continues...

sew Christmas...

a little spot in the studio...

a truckload of trees...

my love affair with bottle brush trees continues...

inspired ideas...

 

Do you love to make things?  Are you looking for some inspired ideas? 

How about these adorable hodge podge dish towels...I'm crazy in love with them:)

 

 

This project {and dozens more} can be found in the latest issue of Amy Powers Inspired Ideas magazine.  Amy has a delightful sense of style, and I was flattered when she asked me to contribute to this issue. 

It's not too late to hand craft some gifts for Christmas, so pop over to Amy's blog and get INSPIRED today!

DIY: vintage purse journal...

 

Vintage beaded and sequin purses seem to call my name at every flea market and antique store I visit. I have a few that I use for special occasions, and the rest...apparently I'm just hoarding :). Making a journal out of one of these vintage purses helps to justify my collection.

Here's how:  Start with one adorable vintage clutch purse.  It's OK if it's damaged, you won't feel too bad about altering it!  Mine is quite small-the finished pages are 3"x5"!

Use a seam ripper to open the side seams. The bottom of the purse will now be the spine of your journal.

Cut watercolor paper to fit the measurements of your purse.  I used 4- 6"x5" pieces of watercolor paper which I folded in half to make 3"x5" finished pages.  4 sheets of paper= a journal with 16 pages (front and back), and that was all my little purse could hold, and still be able to close.  Play around with the size and number of pages, and find what fits your purse best. I like watercolor paper because it is nice and thick, and you can sew and paint on it with ease. I embellished the right side of the pages, and kept the left side of the pages blank for journaling, sketching and collage. Here are the "right" side pages...

I punched two holes in the fold of the pages, that I will later use for binding.

You can see that the "left side" pages are blank {for now!}.

When I stacked all 4 sets of embellished pages inside each other to make one signature, my journal was too thick to close.  So, I made 2 signatures and tied them into the "spine" of the purse/journal with seam binding.

I threaded the seam binding through the holes in the fold of my pages...

and punched corresponding holes into the "spine" of my purse/journal with a crop-o-dile.  I also used scraps of fabric to cover some of the inside of the purse, because it was stained.  I was still "in progress" when I took this photo. I just stitched this piece of fabric on 3 sides, so that it formed a secret pocket:)

Here is a side view of the signatures tied into the journal with seam binding.

The edge of the pages...

I tied the ribbons into a bow on the spine, and added a bit of lace and a rhinestone button to the cover.

I think this idea could make a great wedding keepsake or guest book.  I am making another one as a scrapbook for my daughter and filling it with the photos I took of them on their anniversary in September.  But don't tell.  It's a Christmas present!

scrappin' again...

 

After a serious hiatus, I am slowly starting to scrapbook again.  I am years behind, and while I can't recapture every lost moment, I am hitting the highlights:)  Like this trip I took with my daughter 2 years ago...Texas Antiques week in Round Top/Warrenton.  Such happy memories should not be stuck on the hard drive of my computer...no way!  So I'm printing them out and scrapbooking once again!

 

   

Vermont...

Last week I spent 4 gorgeous days and nights in Vermont at the home of my sweet friend Meleen.

The leaves were starting to change colors and the air was crisp...perfect New England fall weather.  By day we toured the countryside, shopped the local farm stands, and stopped at every antique store and tag sale we could find.  At night, there were fires in the fireplace, wine, cheese, delicious food, and even roasted chestnuts!  And there was talking, and stories, and tears and laughter.  Good friends are priceless.

I am so grateful to have spent the weekend with these lovely women: Meleen, Danielle, Charlotte, Hope, and Kana. 

 

Thanks Meleen, for the perfect Fall getaway!

happy anniversary...

It's hard to believe that it has been one year since my daughter Elizabeth was married!  Yesterday she put her dress on again, and Paul wore a suit,  and we went to a quiet little park for an anniversary photo shoot...romantic picnic style!  I pulled the top layer of their wedding cake out of my freezer, where it has been for a year, and we had that on a crystal cake stand.  Piles of old quilts, and a few props from their actual wedding {the guest book, card suitcase, and lace wedding cake}, added to the mix.  I bought 3 bunches of different pink roses and wrapped them in burlap and then satin ribbon, and added a rhinestone pin and a tag I stamped with the word "one" for their first anniversary. 

Elizabeth and I still love looking at wedding ideas on Pinterest and wanted to try the scrabble tile and picture frame just for fun.

Elizabeth and I could play dress up and do photo shoots every day! 

At their wedding I used vintage floral china plates to mark the table numbers at the dinner.  Here she is holding the plate from table one.

I was so glad they agreed to do this...it was a gorgeous day, and we had a lot of fun!  Paul's sister did Elizabeth's hair and makeup and I think she did a great job!

I took hundreds of pictures and they all look great...I think an anniversary photo shoot would be a nice tradition!

Congratulations Paul and Elizabeth...i love you both so very much! xo mom

pipe cleaner Christmas trees...

 

4 years ago, WAY before PINTEREST was invented, I posted pictures on my blog of my home at Christmas.  The following year I posted more pictures.

 

I love Pinterest, really I do, but this is what has happened to me...  Someone pinned these pictures from my blog, these "pipe cleaner Christmas trees", and I have been overwhelmed.  The pictures were posted with "instructions" on how to make them, and the instructions are FALSE!  Ridiculous actually. I am sad knowing that people think that those instructions came from me, because they will be disappointed when they waste time and money! I am receiving LOTS of visits each day on my blog just from these photos, and emails asking for instructions.  I have gotten TWO offers from major magazines to write tutorials on how to make them.  The truth is...I DIDN'T MAKE THESE, and I never claimed to.  They were purchased 4 or 5 years ago at a discount store (Old Time Pottery) and have NO markings.  Because of all of the interest, I will show photos of their construction, and hopefully help those of you who wish to recreate these.  I had NO luck finding the supplies, and therefore declined the offers to publish instructions in both of the magazines.

First, The materials: I hope you can see from this photo, that these are not the standard pipe cleaners/chenille stems that you find in a craft store (the white pipe cleaner is an 8mm chenille stem/pipe cleaner for comparison) The "pipe cleaners" used for this tree are much thicker and are very stiff and course, like a bottle brush tree.  I tried searching the internet for some sort of "industrial" pipe cleaner, but had no luck.

the "pipe cleaner" spirals are quite large:

The "Pinterest instructions" say to "glue the pipe cleaners to a Styrofoam form, and then remove the form". Seriously? I don't think that would work.

The trees are constructed and glued onto an 8 sided welded metal cone shaped frame.  The wire is the thickness of a coat hanger, and very sturdy.

the largest frame is 7 1/2" wide:

and 18" tall:

I hope this helps to clarify the construction of these Christmas trees.  I do think they are lovely, which is why I purchased them, and shared them on my blog.  I am always happy to share instructions and information, but this was never intended to be a DIY project or tutorial.  It was simply a photo of a decoration in my home.  Best wishes to you all! xo Suzanne Duda