Handmade Coasters!

I recently received a lovely set of handmade coasters from my friend Sara! They are so wonderful and adorable I simply had to share them with you! Take a look...

I think Sara did a wonderful job, perfectly capturing the statuesque shape of the Wiener dog! Lulu, my little doxie would definitely approve. You too can purchase Sara's handmade coasters on her website Too's Detective Agency, which is named after her little dog Too. Check him out...

Isn't he a cutie! On another note I am slowly but surly beating back the symptoms of my flu and I hope to have my art mojo back soon! Here is pic of me in the darker days of the illness. So happy to be past this and hopefully on the up swing!

Never Too Busy For Art

Sorry for the little break I took from blog land. Life has been uber busy & I have been exhausted & trying to get my energy back. Sometimes you just need a mental & physical break, ya know! Anyhoo...today I had a blessed day off from work & enjoyed some playing around at the art table! The following Halloween collage creations came about...

















Both collage pieces are made from paper, fabric, paint & other odds and ends, stitched & glued together with love! They will be ready for sale soon!

Sewing For Myself

I love creating clothes & accessories for myself. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to do it, but when I do I am one happy camper! It's such a nice feeling when I look at my outfit in the mirror & can point out things that I made myself...accessories, jewelry, clothing! It makes me feel happy, unique, comfortable & proud all day long! It also makes me feel like I am being true to myself! Here is a fun top I recently created from a striped sweatshirt top I had laying around. Several layers of fabric later, it had a whole new look!


Here are some closer details....


Fun pockets of mismatched fabric.


And the trim is made from bits and pieces all sewn together.


Paired with a cute pair of pants and I was ready to go today!

Handmade Halloween Decor

I love Halloween! I think I have mentioned that a time or two. I also love decorating for Halloween. It's so fun and festive, has great colors, and is spooky and cute all at the same time. I think the best Halloween decorations are often handmade. They are unique and creative, and you just don't find them anywhere else. Here is a fun handmade Halloween star I made and just listed on my Etsy shop. It's perfect to decorate your home and I hope you head over to my Etsy shop soon to check it out. Just click here!

Handmade Linen/Iron Spray

After getting frustrated with my iron for being all clogged up with minerals and gunk from using the tap water for steam, I decided I was going to make my own linen/iron spray! I found this easy peasy recipe where I combined distilled water, vodka, and my choice of a lovely smelling essential oil, and voila! Linen spray that works great in ironing out the wrinkles and pressing seams when I sew, and it smells delicious too! I like it so much I have even begun to spray it around my house like when I make my bed.

Here is a link to the recipe I found in case you also would like to make your own spray...
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-linen-sp-25739

And here are a few helpful tips I learned along my journey of ironing and linen spray...
- Take better care of your iron than I have done in the past! Don't use water from the tap in your iron for steam, it really clogs it up and makes a mess. Instead of buying that expensive iron cleaning stuff at the craft store, try filling your iron with vinegar and steaming it out! It takes a little while and it kind of makes your whole house smell like a salad bar, but it worked pretty good without having to spend a lot of money or use harsh chemicals!

- Recycle a spray bottle to put your new handy dandy, handmade linen spray in! I found that my old bottles from Meyers Cleaning Spray or the Method Cleaning supplies (love these 2 product lines...they're green, smell great, and are available at Target!) works awesome as spray bottles! There not to heavy, but sturdy enough to not break right easily, and they are see through so its easy to see when you need to refill your bottle!

- Some essential oils smell relaxing, while others are rejuvenating. I was going to go with lavender, but then found this lovely vanilla oil that smells like dessert! Now I can't get enough of my linen spray and I feel like eating dessert more than usual (this may not be a good thing!). I spent several minutes smelling and sniffing the wide array of essential oils available at our local Whole Foods Market before I settled on my decadent vanilla choice, but really the sky's the limit, so have fun shopping around and even mixing different smells! If you don't have a Whole Foods near you, I think you could find a selection of essential oils at any natural food store in your area. And of course vodka and distilled water are available at your local grocery store. I went with the cheapest I could find for both of these products.

- And last but not least, have fun! And while you are spraying your new fancy, handmade linen spray, revel in your creativity and thriftiness!

A Sparkly Book Wreath

I recently had the chance to learn how to make a wreath made from book pages! This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time and was super excited to try it! The project was being taught by the lovely Kim Lapacek of Kim's Crafty Apple at the Glitter Workshop and it was so much fun to do! Although it looks complicated, with Kim's excellent coaching, the project actually took me less than 2 hours to make! Of course, taking a page from the Glitter Workshop, I doused my completed wreath in blue glitter! This lovely creation now hangs above my Christmas tree, but I think I will leave it up all year long! and I am considering doing a larger version for my bedroom! Check it out...

Artsy Fartsy Ornaments

Our last 2 holiday art fairs have been lovely! Filled with lots of fun, good crafty friends, and lovely customers! We only have 2 more to go so be sure to stop by and say hello soon! Next Sunday we will be at the UW Arboretum Close to Home show in Madison. Then on Dec. 3rd, we will be at the Holiday Craftacular, also in Madison. Here is a little glimpse of what you will find in our booth...
I have been having a fun time creating unique holiday ornaments this year! Check it out...
These sweet little houses are made form a variety of vintage and new fabrics and trims. And of course, I had to add some polka dots, hand painted on!

Each house is unique and handmade and would look lovely as an ornament or as decor around the home!

Some of the houses are decorated in colors that can celebrate everyday, but others are perfect for Christmas!

I also tried my hand at felting a sweater for the first time! I found this really cute striped pink one at the thrift store and thought it would be adorable recycled into heart ornaments! I just posted one to my Etsy shop for sale so be sure to stop by soon! You can find a link to my Etsy shop on the left side of this blog!

Painted Pots for Halloween!

I have been having a fun time making these cute little Halloween pots! Hand painted and covered in polka dots, each pot has a pretty tinsel wire handle, and a sweet little vintage orange ticket, tied on with black and orange baker's twine! These pots would be perfect for candy and other little Halloween treats, or even as cute little decorations around your home! Keep them for yourself, or give them to your loved ones as spooktacular gifts!



There are both small ($3) and large pots ($5), and will be available at the Farmer's Market this Saturday in Madison. Stop by and get some!

Handmade Baby Shower Gifts

I have two lovely friends at work who are both pregnant and so we threw a fun baby shower for them both recently! I love these ladies so much that I knew I wanted to make them both a sweet handmade gift from my heart! So I made my first attempt at baby blankets and I think it went swimmingly if I do say so myself!

I had my friends each pick out their own patterned fabric.

Then I found crazy soft fabric for the other side.

Next I sewed the sides and quilted it in a very simple manner and voila! a warm and cuddly blanket for those sweet little babies coming soon!
Of course I couldn't stop just there, I had to make some cute packaging for these handmade gifts! I started with these fun little collage tags, made with paint and some adorable vintage images of babies!
This was my favorite vintage find! Can you believe these diapers were called Twinkle Party Pants! I need to get me some of those! Wouldn't life just seem so much better if we all got to wear Twinkle Party Pants!

For the gift bags I used simple brown Craft paper bags, which are the cheapest at the store, and added, of course polka dots and scallops to the top. Pink and blue because the babies genders are going to be a surprise for both ladies!
I am really happy the way the whole package turned out! Not to mention, once again, I find such great joy in making handmade gifts with love for my dear friends, and being thrifty with the simple things in life!

Sew Cute!

Check out this cute new sewing themed paper/fabric collage I recently did! Materials include a vintage sewing pattern envelope, a combination of vintage and new fabrics and trims, red felt, cardboard (for the backing), glitter (of course), and my new skill of embroidery!

I embroidered "sew cute" with black thread onto the fun red and white polka dot fabric just to give the collage a little extra oomph! What do you think?

Closeups of the sweet little girls on the vintage sewing pattern envelope...just love their look!

Everything is sewn together with my trusty sewing machine and red thread! I think this would be a perfect piece of art to adorn a sewing or craft room!

For the Sweet Girl In Your Life

I just created this brand new collage and I really like it! It celebrates all the sweet little girls in our lives, who bring us joy, laughter and love! Don't you know a little girl just like that? I sure have a few I can think of!

The base of the collage is made from a variety of vintage fabrics, pretty patterned paper, and some lovely daisy trim, all sewn together with pink thread.

A close up of the words and a cute little bird stamp!

The little girl is a vintage paper image from an old sewing pattern envelope. I then, of course, added some glitter to show just how much she sparkles, both inside and out!

I will add some vintage pink seam binding to the top so she is ready to hang. I can envision her adorning a special little girl's bedroom door, or wall, reminding all just how special and sweet she is!

New Embroidery Skills!

I have been trying to learn how to incorporate embroidery into my art lately, and so far I think it has been coming along nicely! I just made this fun little Spring themed fabric/paper collage last night, which includes the words "Happy Spring" embroidered into some of the fabric. What do you think? (sorry the images are a little light in color, no good natural light today to snap photos, so I scanned it into my computer)


Here is a close up of the embroidery. I know I still need a little work, but I think it came out pretty well for my first time!

The little girls are cut out from a vintage sewing pattern envelope! I think they look lovely in their spring time dresses!

While watching movies today, I made some more embroidery pieces, so I will be sure to share with you soon!