Pink Roses

DIY Friday: vintage journal...

After my flea market adventure last Friday, I was inspired to use some of my vintage finds to make a journal. 

I used the covers from some old books as the pages, and embellished them with a little bit of everything!

The books I used were not the same height or width, but were close in size.  I cut the covers off the books with an exacto knife, and used the front and back cover of the tallest book (the tan one) as the front and back cover of the journal.  Because my pages were very 3 dimensional, I only used one cover of each of the other books, 7 covers total...5 pages plus the front and back cover.

I punched holes in the covers with a crop-o-dile, and held it all together with 2" binder rings from the office supply store.  The outside edges of the journal are the smooth edges, and the "spine" is the cut edges of the book covers. Here is the cover : lace, millinery, satin ribbon, and a rhinestone pin...

 

The back side of each cover was covered in assorted papers, and a piece of watercolor paper was added as a blank spot for journaling on some. Here is the inside cover and page 2: a vintage dress pattern,  lace trim, velvet ribbon, a millinery rose, and a vintage calling card...

I hadn't added the journaling spots when I took these photos...sheet music, bridal lace, a vintage embroidered hankie, and a milagro tied on with ribbon...

The next page has a piece of vintage barkcloth with a bit of padding behind, so it can be used to "pin" on items, including a vintage enamel flower pin from my collection.

The next page has more vintage barkcloth and lace, and I laced seam binding to make a place to hold journaling tags, business cards, etc.

The back of this cover has vintage wallpaper and more lacing (like a corset), to hold more journaling.  I may not actually use these tags for my journaling...I just put them here to show you a possibility.

The last page has a round doily cut in half, then sewn to form a corner pocket to hold notes, cards, etc...

The back side also has a pocket...

This journal is sturdy and thick and just filled with all the vintage things I love and collect...and it was SO much fun to make!

  It would make a great guest book at a wedding!

master bathroom remodel...

  

My master bathroom is currently "under construction".  On Monday they demolished the entire room, and yesterday new plumbing was installed.  I'm not sure what they are doing today, but there are 5 men up there being VERY loud.

The water pipes have burst in this room twice in the past 3 years, the most recent was this past Christmas Eve!  Oh yes, I was cooking dinner when I heard WATER dripping from my family room ceiling, which is right below the master bathroom!  Have you ever tried to find a plumber on Christmas Eve? It was a nightmare, and the final  straw for me.  Sooo, we ripped up the tile AND the subfloor and put in new water lines.  And by "we" I mean 5 men, not ME.  This is not a DIY project!

Now I can have new tile, a smaller tub that doesn't take up HALF the room (and the entire hot water heater), and a bigger shower with a bench.  I am putting in a freestanding tub, maybe a claw foot. 

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I have a "beautiful bath" pinboard on Pinterest where I am putting all of my inspiration.  You can see my ideas here: BEAUTIFUL BATHS.  I am sticking with a fairly neutral color scheme (what a surprise), and want it to feel spa-like and elegant, with a bit of vintage.  Definitely a chandelier! 

For the next month, it will be a MESS, and then hopefully, it will be beautiful!  If you have any words of wisdom, I would love to hear from you!

before it rained...

Yesterday, before it rained...

my friend Nancy called and asked me to come over and cut some Camellias that were blooming in her yard.

The flowers were in full bloom, and would be destroyed by the rain...

 

and of course, they are pink! I am so lucky to have a friend who knows what I love, and is willing to share.  So, from my friend, to me, to you...enjoy!

Lakewood Antiques Market...

It's been months since I've gone to the Lakewood Antiques Market...last summer before the wedding to be exact, so today I treated myself and went.  It was a beautiful day, perfect for browsing and rummaging through booth after booth of vintage treasures!  I found a few bargains, although I seem to always buy the same things...vintage ribbon, glass buttons, postcards with roses, rick rack, embroidered linens ($1.00 table)...

a baby shoe, a doll dress, a glass jar with rusted lid, a spool of pink thread, and 2 gold lipstick cases.  I can't resist the cheerful crochet potholders...

vintage silk, velvet, and satin ribbon from my friend JoAnne...

and a perfect basket for Easter...my deals of the day.

Here are some other things I saw along the way...loved the blue in Peg Davis's booth, Vintage Memories...

Oh yes, and I bought this mirror from Martha Thompson's booth Favorite Things...

These ladies are in Hall G, along with loads of other great sellers, and they will be there all weekend if you need a vintage fix...

DIY Friday: {easy} linzer cookies...

 

There are a million great cookie dough recipes out there, but sometimes I take the easy way out, and use good old Pillsbury...

 

I like to make bite sized cookies because they are so darn cute.  Little things are always cuter it seems!  I use little canapé and hors d'oeuvre cutters (yard sale find: $1.00), but any small heart shaped cutter will do.

 

To make linzer cookies: roll out the cookie dough and cut into heart shapes, bake according to recipe/package directions.  When cool, take 2 cookies and make a little "cookie sandwich" with raspberry jam in the middle.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar. YUM!

 

Then the fun part...packaging them!  I used regular waxed paper from the grocery store, and sewed little bags that would hold 3 or 4 cookies each.

Leave one side longer, so that you can fold it over as a flap.

You can cut the edges with decorative scissors, and decorate the flap with ribbon, paper hearts, a little tag...there is no limit!

They make pretty little gifts for everyone on your Valentine's list!

{Today I'm happy to be linking up with Beverly and PINK SATURDAY !}

waxed paper bags...

I am having a love affair today, sewing these little waxed paper bags!  I will be using them to package tomorrows DIY Friday project.  Can't wait to show you...:)

DIY Friday: vintage valentine boxes...

Oh yes, I know it's Sunday, but I'm finally posting my Friday project!  My Friday craft day turned into a mother-daughter day instead, and I just couldn't turn down a chance to have lunch and shop with that girl of mine!  My project this week has been to redo some new Heart shaped candy boxes...

I actually bought these last year after Valentines Day for 75 cents and have been saving them for this project.  I still have a few I'm working on, but I thought I would post what I've done so far.

This first is a box for my daughter, and I used crepe paper and a vintage millinery flower, and some pale green ribbon that was wrapped around my flowers in her wedding.  Yes, I save everything :)

I folded the crepe paper streamer not quite in half, I wanted there to be a double ruffle, then basted it on my sewing machine and gathered the ruffles.  I used a hot glue gun to glue on 2 rows of ruffles.  As you can see, I covered the top of the heart with an old book page first, just to cover the red box.  I had the crepe paper extend over the edge of the box, so this box looks larger than the bright pink box, but they are the same box.

I covered the sides of the box with paper as well, and then added rick rack.  All the underside edges were covered in German glass glitter.

This box is for my sons girlfriend Katie, and she likes brighter colors...

For this heart I covered the top with a book page, then covered it in lace.  I added some velvet ribbon in bright pink ( from an old Victoria's Secret box), and a great vintage millinery rose.

the sides have paper and lace seam binding, and glitter as well.  I"m still working on a few more, and will update this post later this week.  Here are a few vintage boxes I found on Pinterest to further inspire you!

This belongs to my friend Heather Kowalski...

The next two photos are from Jessica Enig of Such Pretty Things...

roses and pearls...

these are a few of my favorite things! xo