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Baubles~

Yes, this blog is primarily a home design blog...but every once in a while I have to get my craft on, and then I have to share my creations with you!! When I saw this fabulous project in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living, I knew I was going to have to try my hand at it.

Photo from Martha Stewart Living


Now, I personally adore the size and sparkle-overload of the brooches, as well as the pale pink ribbon (yum!), that MS Living used for their version of the necklace, but I aim to use what I have - or can get my hands on for free at my mom's house - so for my version I used buttons. Yep, buttons...sparkly, rhinestone-covered buttons. And grey ribbon...because I'm a grey girl.

So, here is my interpretation.



And since no one can give a tutorial like Martha...here's the link.

Edited to add: I've had questions about how to attach the jump rings to the buttons...Martha explains it in her tutorial, but they have to have openwork around the edges. You can't tell that well in this photo, but each of the buttons has open areas around the edge that I could thread the jump rings through. ;-)

Have a great day~

Pretty Holiday Inspiration~

It's no secret that I love buttons. Especially vintage buttons. So you can imagine the little squeal I let out when I saw this pretty button tree made by Sara of Sadie Olive.

Image from Sadie Olive

Oh yes, this is now on my to do list. (For next year of course!)

Have a great day~

Sunday Pretties~

It's a dull, gray, cloudy day here in the Northeast. Thought I'd share with you all some lovely images to brighten your day (and mine)...

Most images from Country Living



Have a lovely Sunday~

Treasure Hunting~

I have mentioned before that my mother is a collector. And I mean A COLLECTOR. If there is anything I want or need, she usually has it. Now that I am an adult, I appreciate all of the wonderful treasures that my mom has unearthed over the years. And lucky for me, she likes to share her treasures. So while I was home, I went on a bit of a treasure hunt.


Just thought I'd share a few of the fun things I dug up at my mom's house (and got to bring home with me).


A girl can never have too many white buttons. I brought home a bunch of these lovely vintage beauties (and some black ones, and some metal ones as well, but the white ones are my favorite.)

These little sweeties are actually attached to the original cards.

Loved these cameos. Especially the blue one. Not sure what I want to do with them yet, but they're just so pretty, I couldn't pass them up!

These sock monkeys are actually my favorite thing that I brought home with me from my mom's house. I have had the little guy on the end (with the pink tuft on his hat) since my very first Christmas, but my mom donated the other five to me when I told her about a little boy's room I had seen in a magazine that used sock monkeys and how I thought it would be perfect for Mr. Two and Mr. Three's room (if we get a bigger house before they're too old for sock monkeys). Aren't they sweet? I *heart* them!



This vintage spool still has its original silk thread. The color is simply fabulous.

I'll actually be listing this photo (as well as relisting Backstage Dreams and Summer Lovin' in my Etsy store later today!)

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday~

A Little Bit of Pretty...a tutorial~

So I don't know about all of you, but I felt the need to create something pretty to brighten up these dreary, winter days. I've had this project in the back of my mind for some time, but with an ice storm outside yesterday, and a house full of kiddos, crafting was on the agenda. So after I settled the kiddos in working on their own crafty creations, I set to work making mine.

And since I was making it anyway, I decided to take some photos and make a tutorial for my lovely readers. ( You should all be impressed with this, because I usually don't think about the tutorial thing until AFTER the project is complete...this makes the whole picture taking process somewhat difficult...)

And what are we making today, Wendy, you ask? Why, a button wreath, of course!

What you will need:

• Lightweight cardboard (I like to collect this so I have it around for various projects...things like the cardboard that comes in folded shirts, large tags from clothing etc.)
• Scrapbook paper (ideally this should be the color of the buttons you will be using.)
• Two glasses (or other round objects) one smaller than the other.
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Stick glue
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks (I went through about 2 of these)
• Buttons (lots - I used about 80 or so for my small wreath) I like white vintage buttons best, but you could use any color and you can buy them new - of course.
• Ribbon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Using the stick glue, start by gluing the scrapbook paper to the cardboard. Remember, stick glue is your friend...be very generous.


2. Using a pencil, trace the rims of the glasses onto the paper. The larger glass outside and the smaller glass inside to create a wreath form.



Cut out the wreath form. If you're the perfectionist-type you can gently sand the edges so they are smooth (using a sanding block), but keep in mind that they will be 90% hidden by the buttons.


Now comes the fun part. Gather your buttons. I like to sort them into sizes before I get started gluing...makes the whole gluing process a little easier.





Start by gluing a layer of large buttons to the form.







Now glue a layer of slightly smaller buttons on top of the larger ones, staggering them to cover the spaces between the larger buttons.
NOTE: I like to play around with where I will put the buttons because I want to vary the shades of the buttons...especially when using white buttons, because it creates more texture and interest.





Continue gluing on buttons using smaller buttons each layer, and filling in the blank open spaces. This will create a rounded effect. Then I go back and add smaller buttons to the empty spaces left on the edge between the large buttons in the first layer. (That description is about as clear as mud, but hopefully, you get what I mean.)





And that's it! Loop a pretty length of grosgrain ribbon around the top and tie with a bow...then hang it somewhere that will make you smile when you look at it.

These wreaths make lovely bridesmaid gifts when tied with a length of tulle or wired ribbon. They also look lovely tied over a mirror (which is actually where I have mine.) And just for fun...imagine one made in a heart shape or with red and pink buttons for Valentine's day. Very sweet! Let me know if any of you make one, I'd love to see your results!

Happy Crafting~

A finished project and a little fabric cleaning tip~

I just wanted to share another pillow from my earlier teaser. Here is my bee pillow! I added some black and white ticking to the back of this one and I just love the way it turned out. (And for those who have been asking, the bee and the crown are both my drawings - I just scanned them into the computer, and used photo transfer paper to transfer them to the fabric.)

Coming soon to an Etsy store near you!

And now for life with a toddler. The other day I walked into the boys' room to find One's headboard had been drawn all over with ballpoint pen by Three. My heart sunk. I made the headboards and I just love them. But then I remembered a little tip that the Hubby and I have learned from photographing weddings. DIAPER WIPES! Yes, you read it right. DIAPER WIPES. Now, since we have a toddler in the house, I have them handy. Since many of my readers have no babies at home, I realize that you probably don't have them hanging around your house. But, babies or not, I would encourage you to get some. They get stains out of all sorts of fabric. We would carry them with us when we did bridal and wedding portraits because they remove stains from satin, silk and other fancy-type fabrics without leaving "water" marks - and they work just as well for cotton and other less-fancy fabrics. I use them on my sofas between launderings of the slipcovers. (Oh, and my personal opinion, is that the generic ones work best for this. Target wipes are my favorite - but this isn't an advertisement- so try 'em until you find a favorite.) Anyhoo, I went, grabbed me about ten wipes, and after some elbow grease...all of the pen was gone. GONE. Diaper wipes. They're not just for bottoms anymore! ;-)

Before the ballpoint pen attack: So you have something to compare the after to!

After cleaning up the mess: Do you see any pen marks?...Neither do I! Hooray!

Have a wonderful weekend~

Can you guess...

WARNING...poor photo alert...

I'm going to apologize in advance because I waited until too late in the day to take these photos and there was no natural light! I just hate it when daylight savings time ends and it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. Aargh! So these photos are really yellow. But they are hinting at some fun stuff to come...can you guess what these might become?