All things sparkly and bright

My recent antique jewelry finds took me on a journey among my sparkly collections. Wanna come?



Some vintage, some new, my mini dress form holds my collection of necklaces that I wear on a regular basis.



My collection of odds and ends for making jewelry. You know, when I have time to learn to do that. :) Right now it's just fun to find things to add to this collection which is housed in a vintage pink jewelry box.



My current favorite necklace. The chain is a vintage Anne Klein I picked up in a thrift for a few dollars many years back. The tassel charm belonged to my fabulous Aunt Sissy.



This collection is on a table in the craft room.



Fun pins, mostly, I think they are pretty and clip them on my coat once in awhile.



This is a recent thrift store find. I paid $5, which is a lot for me at the thrift, but I have this same bag in silver and it sees a lot of action at dressy affairs. Plus now, it's a collection. :)

Cheers!

Antiquing

On a recent visit to Clinton, NY to see my friend Nina I got a chance to hit up a fabulous antique market. For the most part I thought the prices were reasonable and found quite a few treasures.



Most of my purchases were jewelry. All of these pieces were $3 or less. I love the compact, it's very elegant.



I also found this fun New York souvenir! Take a look inside:



A compact and mirror on one side and the other has a clip to hold money I think as it seems to slim to be for cigarettes but that is possible, too, I guess.

I also found a pink silk glove box (which I gave as a gift to Nina) and a paper box for handkerchiefs that I had to leave behind for fear of it getting crushed on my train ride home. Nina will bring it when she visits next month. We had a great time, including a fabulous trip to the spa, and I can't wait to go for another visit.

Perfect Wrapping

My dear friend Sarah has welcomed the most adorable little girl, Sammi, to her family. Of course I wanted to make something for her and I finally got it all together and in the mail last week.

Last year I made her son Jack a giraffe from this Lion pattern. Sarah mentioned that she may want Sammi to have one, too and I asked "Can giraffes be pink?" To which Sarah answered yes. :)



I love the way she turned out. I used pink chenille yarn for the body and a cotton blend for the hooves, ears and antlers (are they antlers or horns??Horns I think.) The skirt was made from some netting I found in a remnant bin and some pink velvet rick rack I got from Speckled Egg. The skirt has an elastic band and can be removed some Sammi can play with her now and have the skirt for later. I realize now that I meant to add a few spots to her front but I forgot. Oh well, she is special like that.



I also made a sweater and bonnet in my favorite color of TLC Cotton Plus. The pattern is from a pattern booklet that I've had so long the cover has fallen off but I'm pretty sure it's a Leisure Arts book.



I love the detail in the yoke. It has a very vintage feel to it especially in this lovely shade of green.

I started boxing up my goodies (along with a Shabby Chic flag/pennant banner I found at Target) in a regular box to wrap and mail when I noticed the cute photo box I picked up at Homegoods last weekend. Like I mentioned before, I am working on upcrafting a few things purchased at Homegoods and I had intended to use the box for organizing photos for scrapbooking or something. Then it hit me, the box was just the wrapping I was looking for! The cost was less than wrapping paper, tissue and tape at under $3.00 and Sarah could reuse it instead of trashing whatever disposable wrapping I used.



I added a bow and a sweet bird wing tag (also from Speckled Egg) and voila! A perfect sweet gift for a perfect sweet little girl. So the next time you are in Homegoods be sure to check out their decorative cardboard boxes. They have great patterns and the prices are just right. I have three I put under my tree at Christmas for decoration that also double as ornament storage in the off season. Happy hunting!

Please visit my Examiner article on this project HERE. Thank you for your support, your readship is appreciated!

Inspired Ideas: Spring Edition

I think Heidi turned me onto Amy Power's Inspired Ideas Digital Magazine and now I'm hooked! What drew me in for the Spring edition?

Yes, that IS some ridiculous cuteness! I can't wait to make some. I honestly don't know why I havent made them yet and they are top of the to do list for the weekend.

Want your own copy? Cleck HERE and for only a measly $3.50 you can have your very own digital copy. It is well worth it and a bargain to boot. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Oh the weather . . .

I'm starting to resent snow. Enough already!! More snow showers on Saturday AND next Tuesday? Really?? Not much accumulation but still messy and slick and generally mayhem inducing.

So how does a girl whose taken to wearing her growing out unruly hair in twin pony buns battle the cold winter winds?







An updated version of a vintage ear warmer pattern from an old issue of Crochet Today. I LOVE how it turned out! Can't you tell from my mini self portrait session?



They are so quick to make that I made a second one the next day. I'm not loving the embroidery on the brown one as much but I'm thinking of adding some off white buttons to those branches. What do you think?



I changed up the pattern a bit by doubling the yarn and adding a loop and button instead of ties. It was nice to finally use some of the vintage coat buttons I've been hoarding. This is a great stash buster project and everyone can expect one for Christmas next year. You have been warned.

ciao ~ RR

Decking the Halls

So how about a spin around the living room?



The tree. I love love love ornaments so it's full, I know. But like I said, I love it.

A few ornaments . . .



A vintage inspired beauty I made this year at the craft party. These are my favorite kinds to make. I have a whole box of dresdens, foil leaves, pretty tinsel and rhinestones in anticipation of making more.



Another handmade ornament from the party this year. I bleached the bottle brush tree, hot glued it into a small glass ball and made a hanger around the top with wire. It is decorated with beads cut from plastic bead garland and Martha Stewart mica flake glitter. Oh and more tinsel trim, of course.



My favorite recent vintage ornament find, a very intricate felt donkey. Isn't he the best? I just adore him.



And a sweet little girl made by Shara last year. This is the first year she's been on my tree since I was at my Mom's over the holiday last year.



And my house is never complete without a festive bar. I love vintage Culver glass wear and mix it with more modern red Lenox glasses. I wish I could have cocktail parties a la the 1950s. :)



And a rather sad display of the glittered churches (there is a silver one off to the left) I found for a song at Target after Christmas last year. They are lovely all lit up but need a better display place next year, I think. More bleached bottle brush trees glued into glittered wooden spools, too.

We are off to Baltimore tomorrow. Have a safe and VERY MERRY Christmas! I'm looking forward to some major Goodness over here in 2011. :)

xoxoxo ~ Rebecca

More Goodness

The rest of the ornaments arrived from the Goodness Girls just proving again why our annual ornament swap is my favorite!



First up from Jodi is this adorable plaque with vintage postcard image. Red? Glittery? Vintage? Perfect!

Then this package from Leigh Ann came the next day:



Her love of Texas shows!



A cute vintage cowgirl blue bell! I tried to photograph this one on the tree but this picture looked a lot better.

And then yesterday Heidi's ornament arrived:



Don't you just love it?



Clever and adorable!

Thank you girls, yet again your ornaments are some of my favorites and will have places of honor on my tree.

And remember when I posted the dresses that I made for this year's ornament and said I got the idea from The Felt Mouse? Here is the link to her original creations. Thanks, Jen!

I hope to be back to post before the holiday!

ho ho ho
Rebecca

Magic Holiday Mushrooms & New Party Dresses

My favorite swap of the year, the one I never miss even if I'm in a cast or so busy that I can't see straight is the annual Goodness Girls Christmas Ornament Swap. It's a small swap with only 5 members, myself, Jodi, Shara, Heidi and Leigh Ann. Basically the girls who come together to organize and execute the swaps at Sweet Goodness Swaps. While this year our swaps over there have been limited I was happy that were still able to do our swap of ornaments with each other.

The first ornament arrived yesterday:



From Shara, the queen of the cutest packaging! So what's inside? I was hoping that tiny mushroom was an indicator and I was right!



Toadstools! I collect ornaments, I guess, and I love unusual ones and toadstools are high on my list. Though it seems they are not so unusual in Germany where they are considered good luck and there is one of every tree.



The felt one is hand made by Shara and is already one of my favorites.



The tiny glass one is just adorable! The gum drop toadstools have mysteriously disappeared. Hmm . . .

Thank you, Shara, I love them!

So what did I make? Since they should have arrived to everyone by now, I'll share. I decided to step out of my normal realm of crafting (read: PAPER) and made each of the girls a new party dress:



Each one is slightly different and were so fun to make!



I can't take total credit for the idea. Many years ago my friend Jennifer at The Felt Mouse made similar dress forms for a bachlorette party. She shared her source and I ordered the forms and they've been sitting gathering dust for more than 3 years! I looked on Jennifer's blog but cannot locate the original post. I'll keep looking!

More to come on the other fabulous Goodness Girl Ornaments!

California . . . knows how to party . . .

Hello all! I think my jet lag is gone but I'm still missing my luxurious vacation at Terranea in Los Angeles. Luis was one of the top salesmen at his company last year and was rewarded this with fabulous trip. We had a great time! They had a lot of fun events plus a spa day. Oh yes, a SPA DAY. Mmm hmmm. As I still haven't jumped back on the craft wagon I thought I'd share some photos from our trip.



This was Luis' first trip to the west coast and he couldn't wait to put his feet in the Pacific Ocean.



The resort was built into the cliffs and every where you looked was beautiful.



The view from our balcony. Luis spent most of his trip in the pool and hot tubs. :)



Luis was recognized at a big banquet and I got to buy a new dress! It was a very fancy affair.



I could have sat in the beach cove all day. We have very fond memories of our vacation and I'm crossing my fingers that Luis will win the trip again! I made a fantastic new friend while I was there but that is a story for another post. :)

Check out my article at the Examiner on last minute Halloween party ideas from One Charming Party HERE.

ciao!
~RR

Book Reviews - Get your craft on!

Hello all,

I'm still waiting for my crafty mojo to come back from vacation so to stoke the fires I ordered some new books from Amazon.

Fabric Remix - Sandy Stone

Fabric Remix has loads of projects using repurposed fabrics. Sandy Stone is a woman after my own heart. She loves to shop estate sales ad flea markets and make the old new again. My favorite project is a dog bed made from a rug. It's really cute and would probably last longer than the beds I buy which seem to end up super flat in no time. :) I've been emailing with Sandy about an interview at the Examiner so I'll be able to share more about her inspirations and future projects soon!

The photos are nice and the instructions are pretty good, too, though I haven't tried anything yet. I do think you have to have "an eye" for old fabrics to get the same sort of results. I do love that pom-pom fringe covered ottoman on the cover though Sandy states that it does take some time to attach all that trim but worth the effort. :)

Tilda's Christmas Ideas - Tone Finnanger

I know you're probably tired of hearing me babble about my love of Tilda books but the latest edition is just as sweet as the others. It's a short one, with a few new Christmas projects, and is priced around $6.00. If you haven't tried any Tilda projects yet, this is a good place to start due to the price and the few projects to choose from.

As always, the pictures are gorgeous and it's printed on large lovely matte paper which appeals to the fiber lover in me. There are the cute santas on the cover plus pixies in a similar fashion, sweet little stuffed snowmen (which are shown under shabby dessert cloches!) and the cutest vintage ice skate/boot stocking which will be my first holiday project this year. Tilda books always make me want to drag out the sewing machine! Check out my article on the book HERE at the Examiner.

Fa La La La Felt - Amanda Carestio

If you love crafting with felt, this book is for you! It's a collection of fun projects that range from easy to slightly difficult though I don't think there is anything too intense in here. I think this would be good for some projects with kids as felt is easy to deal with and they can decorate with all sorts of fun embellishments.

I love the stuffed trees on the cover but I think my favorite project are the cute little Christmas pudding ornaments made from soda bottle caps! Cute AND clever. They are definitely on my list for crafting this year. Depending on the ease of the project I may include them in my upcoming annual Christmas Crafting Tea that I hostess with my Mom. I also love the peppermint candy garland and the felt doves perched on hinge clothes pins to clip on your tree. There are a lot of other projects in the book and you can read more in the review I posted HERE on the Examiner.

So this is where I'm going to get some of my holiday inspiration. I also got out my collection of knitting and crochet magazines hoping to get the spark to start a new gift. Lately I've just been tired and blah and honestly, I'm sick of it! Time to get holly jolly, don't you think? Do you have any tips for getting in the crafty mood?

Fondly ~ Rebecca

We have a winner . . .

Hello all! Thank you for entering my Halloween give away. The winner is . . .  comment #2! Rebecca at Pink Pearl Studio! Check out her Halloween banner! It's sure to get you in the creating mood. :)

Rebecca - send me an email with your address so I can get your package in the mail right away!

I wish I had a project to share but I must admit that I've been very lazy lately! Isn't that awful? You sit around wishing you had more time and then you just sit around. Oy. So how about some projects I would LIKE to make?

From the last issue of Somerset Home:







I love all three of these projects! Especially that Shabby Union Jack pillow. Love the vintage measuring tape looking trim. The little bird in the wreath on the cover is cute, too, and wouldn't they be cute Christmas ornaments? And the tassel is just shear whimsy. Love it. Now if only my crafty mojo would return. If you find it hiding under your sofa, please tell it to come home immediately.

cheers ~ RR

Kokeshi

I love collecting things. It adds to the "thrill of the hunt." I have many little collections that I've shared here but I don't think I've ever showed my small collection of Kokeshi dolls:



The two in the center are thrift store finds. The tall one on the left is from a "junk" antique store (and I say that fondly!) and it's really a set of three nesting dolls. The big fella on the right was a gift from my friend Nina when she recently visited Japan. He is new, as opposed to the vintage ones, and a bit bigger. I think the four of them might a lovely team and I hope to find more in my travels.

Nina also brought me other fun goodies from her trip like little silk squares and those adorable tiny erasers! It was like Christmas. :)

If you really want to see some amazing collections visit Laurie at Magpie Ethel. She does a a collection challenge each week and you can see them all here. Prepare to be amazed! Maybe we can convince Laurie to host a collection blog party where everyone can post their collections for sharing.

While you're out there on the world wide web please stop by HERE and see my new Examiner page. I would love it if you subscribed to receive my arts and crafts articles. You'll see many of my favorite bloggers and new friends featured plus fun and affordable craft projects to try. The first national article is posted there and is about using paint to freshen up flea market furniture. You can read it HERE. Thank you again for all of your support! Ideas for articles and projects are always welcome. And if you have discovered any fantastic new crafting and DIY blogs out there please let me know!

Fondly ~ Rebecca

What. To. Do.

Sigh . . . I need to focus. I feel like everything is half done. I've been trying to think of something to blog about but couldn't come up with anything. Because I have nothing DONE. So let's see . . . what to talk about . . .



I found this cute vintage inspired thermos at Marshall's for $7. I love it so. It has a glass liner so it should keep things warm but there is a cork type stopper and a not too tight lid that would limit the use I think. Still, pretty to look at.



I also thrifted a few peach luster ramekins to add to the ones my Mom found for me recently. I'm building quite a collection of peach luster pieces. It's fun to search for them and they are also pretty to look at.

While still thrifting, I am trying not to stock pile these days. I'm feeling overwhelmed by too much unorganized stuff which is not helping in my focus issue. I'm destashing the craft room and have already filled two bags with donations. I find it hard to let go but I need to. I can't become a hoarder! :) I'm also not buying any more yarn. (well, if it's thrifted and quality then maybe . . .) So I'm starting The Great Yarn Destash of 2010. I have already started a bits and pieces project that I hope to share soon. I'll be breaking out the One Skein book soon. :)



Stop by HERE and read my latest Trash to Treasure article at the Examiner. Heidi of Spiritual Knitter shares a clever idea for making valances out of crib bumpers. Thanks, Heidi!

Things I'm Loving

I spend a lot of time at home these days. Still looking for a job and trying not to spend money means a lot of down time. I wish I liked to work out because I'd be smokin' by now. ;) The heat in NYC has been intense the last few days which means a cranking AC window unit holds me to the living room and out of the steamy craft room. Finally today we've gotten a break with a lovely breeze and temps in the low 70s.

So while I'd love to show you something I've actually finished I have nothing to share. So instead, how about some things I'm enamored with right here in the house?



I found these spools at the thrift last week. I picked them up mostly for that spool of dark grey sequins and the fact that I just love wooden spools of any kind but particularly larger ones like these.



Also found last week is this trio of vintage glass top Hazel Atlas jars and an old chopper. You can't see it, but the handle is wooden and red. I have the same chopper with a yellow handle. I've never found glass top jars of this larger size before. Oh, and those price tags? Yeah, they're still on there. The dishwasher just broke and it's about 1,000 degrees in the non air conditioned kitchen so there has been no recreational hand washing going on around here. Perhaps today in the cool I'll get to it.



Color! One of the things I did do while hiding out in the living room was organize and wind a bunch of floss. I just love all the colors.



Especially the sherbet tones of these gorgeous skeins of linen floss. I've never stitched with linen before so I'll have to find a special project to use these in.

So there you have it. Some little things around here that have peaked my interest lately. Now I'm off to take advantage of this beautiful weather and clean something. Good times.

Please take a moment and visit my latest Examiner article on Brooklyn General Store. You can find it HERE. Are you looking for oil cloth? They carry several really cute designs that can be ordered on line. Check it out!