Puttering on Saturday..the beginning of a collage apron

Here's a picture of what I've managed to do today..
Destroy a pair of old jeans!!..:))
This is just the foundation. I'll be mixing and matching, (or not matching)scrap fabrics,appliques and all kinds of do-dads,and trims for a new scrappy apron..
the top portion of the apron, used to be the legs, I'm rearranging the front and back
pockets..
The waistband was cut away for ..well. the waistband!..lol.it is after-all already
my size, just turned around to button-up in the back. Lazy or ingenious??? you decide..LOL...
It is a pretty fun way to spend a Saturday. Will keep ya'll posted..till next time,
happy Saturday!
Hugz,
Kristine :)

Retro Phone Purse..A real conversation piece..lol

Isn't this cool??..I don't know how I stumbled upon it..I was actually looking for something else on google when it caught my eye..It's by "Chica and Jo"
Go here for the tutorial and download

Ahhh...the Day After,..what are you doing today?

When I was small.. it wasn't Christmas that was my favorite day..It was always the "Day-After"..There were always lots of left-overs, so there was No cooking, no cleaning, no chores of any kind, so I was left-alone to play with my new presents. Well that still holds true today. These are my presents from my family, who knows me so well. (not the kitty, Otis just came-by to check things out) lol..
My favorite things have always been vintage kitchen and sewing things. I'm so excited, I cant' wait to try-out my new antique chocolate mold with paper mache!
Also today, I'm looking thru vintage embroidery transfers for a New Year Challenge on the Flickr Group "New Embroidery with Vintage Patterns". a vintage embroidery design must be used to make something to convey a New Year's Resolution. I think I've thought of just the thing..I need a Attitude Adjustment!!..this past year (Or 2) have been full of Time-management, and financial challenges.
My resolution is to start seeing the Glass as Half-Full..Rather than Half-Empty..or make Lemons from Lemonade...anyways, you get the idea..lol. Here's one idea, from Hoop-Love-Transfer-Finds I've found so far for my theme..
I'm still looking for other lemony images for my over-all project, which will incorporate some thrify recycling too! So stay tuned!!This one won't take long! :)

I Do love a Handmade Christmas!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."-the Grinch

I do love a handmade Christmas! sometimes its really hard to come up with a handmade gift idea for someone you love,..someone you WANT to take the extra time and care for.., so I would like give my thanks to everyone who posts a tutorial or shares an idea, whether it be digital, online or in-print. even though the ideas are shared to the masses, every creator puts a piece of themselves in their own creation. that said, I'm sharing my latest hand-mand Christmas Gift for giving..Its a art-form called Scherenschnitte or Paper-cutting. Plus it's something you can do that's nearly FREE and make lovely gifts for gift-giving. This was my first attempt at Scherenschnitte. This one is for my parents, and made me think of the song "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". I cut my chosen design from paper I printed with sheet music of the song, and mounted it onto Christmas paper and board. The design is freely offered by the very talented and generous Cindy Ferguson
She has several beginner designs to choose from on her blog. Go check her out! her work is amazing. I am in awe of anyone who has mastered this art-form. Mine pales in comparison to hers..I'm wondering...How on Earth do they get such smooth cutting-lines in the tiniest of spaces??? You can bet I'll be giving this another try.
till next time!!

Spooning

Remember the silver spoons I scored while thrift shopping during Thanksgiving?? Well here they are (a couple of them). Kicking myself for not taking a pic of the ones I've already given-away.

Crafting on Sunday..(is there a vintage Day of the week towel for that?)

A couple weeks ago, I found this planter in a local thrift shop. I thought he was adorable with his mid-century spaghetti trim. No matter to me that his paint was flaking, I fixed him up, and sprayed him with a fixative to prevent further paint loss. I then Gessoed one of my plain green bottle brush trees from that store I wont mention..lol and added lots and lots of mica and glitter. Perhaps I need a few more balls, still I Love my new/old addition to my holiday collectibles.

Thrift Shops for Black Friday Deals

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm not your typical Black Friday shopper.
Did you know many thrift and antique shops also had Black Friday deals?
No Traffic, no mayhem, except that which I was part of..hee.hee..check out my daughter and me hangin' with the Blue's Brothers in Dunnellon Florida where we were visiting family for Thanksgiving.

I swear I would love these in my front yard..haa.ha! I was in Heaven! I had a blast and spent very little. I found several winking santa mugs, oops, somehow they got left out of the photo-op..(I had always wanted some of those)
Here are a few more items I scored..Keep checking back here to see the projects that I have in mind for my "new-old" treasures.




And I especially love anything Anthro,these salt and pepper shakers were too cute to pass,(please excuse the lack of lighting) and I loved these vintage tea towels too.
I would love to hear about YOUR found treasures and future projects too! :)

Recycling Men's Ties

It's been awhile since my last post.
I have so many works in progress, I had gotten a little bogged down, with
nothing yet to show..Soon Though!;-)
In the meanwhile, with Father's Day upon us..I'd been thinking about neck-ties!
Not for gifts for Dad, but for crafting!
Here are some cool recycling ideas from those ties that Dad or Hubby no longer care for. or maybe a good excuse for the thrift shops.
Here's a link for a neat little purse-lette bag from Sulky..


RickrackRuby has tutorials on Craftster for some really cute daisies made from ties.

Rick Rack Ruby also has some nice bags made from ties..check out her blog for some really
thrifty inspiration. http://www.rickrackruby.blogspot.com/

And finally came across this fantastic post by Woof Nanny!!


and WOW!!! check out Artful Ties!!..Truly Awesome!!! also posted by the multi-talented Woof Nanny.
I must have been under a rock all this time to not have discovered all her
fabulous blogs till now!!!

So this week, while you're out shopping for Dad, don't forget to pick up a little something for yourself! ;-)

Nesting.....

A place affording snug refuge or lodging; a home.

Took it's time getting here; Winter has finally arrived in Georgia.
Normally I hate cold weather, but there is the other side of winter that I find very appealing. The unspoken permission to rest. The Earth is resting, so I decided after a couple of futile, "false starts"...I needed to rest too!;-) This is the perfect time for cheerful little projects for the home.
I especially enjoy making things for my kitchen!

I LOVE the tutorial for potholders at Freda's Hive

Making kitchen towels from vintage embroidery patterns is another favorite quiet activity.
Go here to Tip Nut. They have several free vintage patterns to choose from. I think My favorite is the
dish pattern from the 1930's..I Love the art deco shapes!

And finally from Lizzy house is this free Housewares quilt pattern using the line
of fabrics called "Lizzy Dish". WOW!!!!...this fabric line is sooo ME!!! It would be perfect with my collection of Fiesta Ware!..I Must get some!

So give yourself permission to "Nest", relax, and enjoy!!..Spring and all it's busy activity is just around the corner!!
Wishing you all cozy comforts during these winter days!! ;-)

WIP Update! ;-)

So sorry for the bad pic...It was snapped in a rush!
I finally finished this set yesterday! Made from thrifted fabrics it was finished just in nick of time, before it was time to go to the family Christmas gathering!! I think they turned out pretty cute, and my MIL loved them! ;-)
I used a pattern from Pat Sloan's Farmer's Market applique quilt pattern, which is so generously available for free!!! You can find it here...Oh I wish I could get my hands on her wonderful fabrics!...I love how she puts those whimsical prints together!
Perhaps a project for myself in the New Year!(wink) ;-)

Georgia Snow

bbbbrrrr....Nearly 70 degrees outside, but it's
starting to get frosty in here!!!...ROFL! !!
Here's a pic of my "Georgia Snow"..
White label dots on dental floss.....Oooooh and soooo minty!!!
ROFL!!!
with my handmade paper mache' icicles
rolled in mica strung above.
Can;'t wait to take a pic tonight!!!!! !!...I'll show you
another pic then!;-)

Fabric Play; A Christmas Gift in Progress

This is just one idea I'm playing around with today..It's a kitchen towel set for my
MIL..I'm planning a set of three...
None of my fabrics in my stash match very well, coming from random resources such as
thrift shops and cut clothing, and remnant bins...so we shall see if somehow a gift worthy for giving emerges!..;-)

Can Someone Please Pass the Glitter? ;-)

A little tacky??...maybe!..but I LOVE it anyways!!...Love it against the deep Caribbean-blue of my dining room (matched right out of a 1960's B.H. and Gardens)..The wreath was a skimpy, sad looking find at the
thrift store for a quarter!..lol...I save every little thing thinking I might "need" that someday..lol..well this was the outcome of my bits, chippy baubles, and birds that I glittered myself!..and an additional dusting of glitter all around!!..Somehow it just makes me smile!...;-)

Holiday Gift Idea

I love this idea!
One Pearl Button has posted this great tutorial for this cloche' and mitten set recycled from a thrifted cashmere sweater.

I'm Gonna Try This!!!

A great recycling idea found via whip up
This cute magnet was created using a tin can lid!! Punch a hole, and could be used as a really neat tag, Also a great double sided ornament too. Can lids are a great idea as a foundation or "canvas" for using your digi scraps and altered art bits!!! Unless you have one of those nifty new can openers, I think I would maybe cover the edges with some copper tape to protect from cuts too. Also one more thing to keep out of the trash! Doesn't get much better than that!!;-)

Part 1...The saga of a homemade dress project.....The Good, The bad, and the Ugly!

First things first!! I finally had selected my fabric. I wanted to add an air of
thriftiness to this project, so into the linen closet I rummaged and found a decades old white sheet with eyelet trim. But I didn't want my dress to appear as if I was wearing an old sheet...so I found some black dye!! Oh! I had visions of a unique, folksy, black garment with vibrant embroidery!!!... BIG BUBBLE BURST!!... my fabric dying experiment yielded 3 yds. of grey!!! a re-examination of the tag...50% poly!!! WHOOPS! Oh well...
I got used to the idea of grey plus the no-iron factor,(an added bonus) and thus my project continues undaunted....I'm sticking to my thrifty guns and shall go where-ever this project takes me! (big grin)....have a wonderful creative day everyone!!!

New Purpose

I have one of these.......


And after owning it for 20+ years, I now know what I'm going to do with it!!!!!



Wouldn't it look great with some mini altered art pieces scattered amongst your photos?? This idea comes from Ali Edwards
I think something like this would also make a great Father's Day gift!

DIY: Recycled Cake Stand

Wow!!! How Clever!!!! I just loved this idea from Design Sponge!!!
I'm sure we all have those florist vases under our kitchen sinks??
Add a thrifted mismatched plate ...and voila, cake-stand!!! LOVE it!!! ;-)
Click on the above "Design Sponge" link for full instructions....
Now...If you need something yummy to put on your new cake-stand......



Nicky of The Vintage Magpie made this gorgeous recipe card. She has sooo graciously allowed me to share it with you all! "Thank You, Nicky!!";-)
Just click on the recipe, and it will then be full-sized.
If you get a chance, pop over and say Hi!! I love her blog, It's wonderful!!! ;-)

thrifty finds

We had a power outage today, so instead of sitting home in the dark, I went to one of my favorite little spots for "supplies". ;-) Lucky for me,
"From Out of the Past Antiques" in Griffin, Georgia is having a warehouse estate sale this weekend!!!! Here are some of my bargains! If you're within Hollerin' distance, drop in.
They still have lots of bargains available. click on my side-bar under "favorite shopping" for their link!