Sew and Tell: mother’s day sachet

I’ve always loved this delicate lace fabric. It’s actually a curtain valance but never worked in the window I intended it for.

I cut a piece of it and folded it up with potpourri.

I tied the top with pretty sheer ribbon and purple silk flowers to create a simple sachet.

This would also work with vintage hankies, tea towels or any pretty fabric.

A simple, feminine Mother’s Day gift.

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Sew and Tell: accidental cupcake toppers

The other day when I was making this Mother’s Day Memory Pillow, a toothpick accidentally stuck to the hot glue on the back of one of the rosettes.

When I picked it up, I thought it looked cute…like a lollipop.

So I made some more rosettes to be used as cupcake toppers.

Sometimes you spend hours trying to get a project to work. And sometimes you accidentally make something. Fun!

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And other link parties that I participate can be found here.

Show and Tell: paper lanterns

I love paper lanterns and I’ve been on the lookout to buy some so I can decorate them for summer. I haven’t found any yet so in the meantime, I thought I’d share some pretty ones that I found online.

The first one is from Kirsty at You Had Me at Bonjour. Kirsty decorated a plain white paper lantern with fabric bunting that she made. Adorable!

 

The second paper lantern is from Project Wedding. These lanterns are decorated with squares of crepe paper that are glued onto the lantern. Beautiful.

Wouldn’t paper lanterns look great grouped together or strung across a backyard? I’m even more inspired to find some lanterns and get crafting.

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Sew and Tell: mother’s day memory pillow

I recently received these aprons among other things from a friend who lost her mother. She gave them to me to use as crafting supplies knowing I wasn’t the type to wear an apron.



For the longest time I didn’t want to cut them up but with Mother’s Day approaching, I had an inspiration. I would cut them but the first thing that I made would be something for my friend so she could have a part of her mother’s aprons.

I made her this mini pillow with rosettes.

I hope she likes it.

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Etceteras: vitamin bottle organization

On any given day, this is what my counter looks like... I know, terrible.

We tend to leave out vitamin bottles and daily medication so we don’t forget to take it. I can’t stand the clutter and decided to do something about it.

Why I didn’t think of this sooner I’ll never know. I used spice jars and printed out vintage pharmacy labels – courtesy of the Graphics Fairy.

I added some fun names for our vitamins and medicine, like, Old Bone Remedy (calcium), Yummy Gummy Vitamins (children's vitamins), Old Lady Vitamins (those would be my vitamins) and Anti-Sneezing Medicine (allergy medicine).

I covered the tops with kraft paper and baker’s twine. Then I Mod Podged the label and tops. Note: I wouldn’t recommend this with small children since the spice jar tops aren’t child-proof.

I love how they look on my counter now – like an old-fashioned pharmacy counter.

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happy easter and april showers

I took these photos the morning after a recent April shower.

Whatever you believe or celebrate, I wish you a glorious day.

Etceteras: easter roundup

Easter is a few days away so I thought I’d do a quick recap of some of my spring and Easter projects. All of these projects can be found in my archives.

1. Cracked Shell Easter Eggs

2. Paper Mache Eggs

3. Golden Eggs

4.  Yarn Wrapped Carrots

5. Upcycled Cheese Box

6. Easter Bunny Wannabee

7. Grape Hyacinth

8. Spring Door Decor

9. Crepe Paper Flowers

10. Tissue Paper Flowers in Corrugated Pots

11.  Freesias

12. Paper Birds

13. Twine and Rag Nest

Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed some of my spring and Easter projects.

The Dirt: skeleton leaves

Have you ever made skeleton leaves? You can buy skeleton leaves in craft stores but I wanted to try making some.

I found several “how to” tutorials online. The first one is from Heather at The Other White House. Heather used laundry powder and states in her post that she tried various recipes and this one is the only one that worked.

The second tutorial I found on ehow. This tutorial uses baking soda and baking powder. It’s an alternative to using laundry powder which is caustic to skin and produces fumes.

I thought I’d try the baking soda and baking powder recipe first since I had those items on hand and it seemed safer.

Here are the directions via ehow:

1. Place a large pot filled with water on the stove and begin to heat it. Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of baking powder to each quart of water in the pan.
2.  Add all of your leaves and allow the water to boil. Then reduce the heat to have the water mixture simmer.
3. After about an hour, check your leaves. Some should be soft and mushy looking. Remove a few of these to begin to turn them into skeleton leaves.

I gathered camellia, ivy and geranium leaves and simmered them according to the directions. After an hour and a half the geranium leaves were a complete mush and not usable. The camellia leaves hadn’t softened a bit. The ivy leaves seemed ready and so I used a soft brush as directed and gently tried to sweep away the green flesh.

I ripped several leaves but managed to salvage these three. I didn’t get all the green flesh off these leaves. Even though they’re not perfect I still think they’re fascinating to look at.

I think I will try the laundry powder method next time.  I should have listened to Heather at The Other White House since she had tried several recipes. Live and learn…

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This project is linked at the following:

Somewhat Simple

                   

And other link parties that I participate can be found here.