A Beautiful Weekend in Texas

We had the most beautiful January weather this past weekend - sunny and in the 70s. We took a drive up to Oklahoma on Saturday to do a little shopping. Our first stop was The Cloverleaf in Ardmore. This store is so unique and full of fun, fresh ideas.

I bought a Waxing Poetic charm. They were all so fabulous, it was hard to decide which one I liked best. I decided on this one:

We had lunch at a new pizza restaurant on Main St and then shopped in their large antique mall, Antiques Etc. I found some great treasures at even better prices, like this old candy box with velvet violets on the lid, lovely dress patterns, Easter-egg-colored buttons, and old lace.

A couple of old books, tiny ledgers, a bisque doll, and miniature tin types. These were a great find.

More books. I bought three old dictionaries for $1 each. One is a French dictionary. I bought the other books for their illustrations.

Here is the cookbook:

And here is the circus book:

On the way home, we stopped and played a little at the Winstar Casino. We didn't win any money, but had a fun day.

Valentine Tags

This week's challenge at Tag Tuesday is Valentines. I made a few Valentine tags using my card scraps. I added embellishments from my stash: lace, ribbon, ruffled crepe paper, Hambly rub-ons, foam and fabric hearts...

doilies, pom pom trim, Valentine embellishments...

 

...and lots of love went into each one.



Be My Valentine

I went to a crop on Friday night and wanted something easy to take with me to work on. I loaded up my Valentine supplies and got to work on cards for the nieces and nephews. Here's a look at what I made.

I started with pink cardstock and layered patterned paper and Valentine journaling spots with vintage lace, flowers, and hearts I cut from chenille and felt.

Heart doilies and vintage buttons add more texture.

Weekend Finds

I have not been to a flea market or estate sale in months! This past weekend, I ventured out to an estate sale and a couple of thrift stores. Here are some of my finds.

The vintage Christmas box had some old Scotland souveneirs in it, but I talked them into selling me just the box. I love the great graphic print. I picked up another vintage dictionary. The artwork in the Birds book caught my eye - very mod paintings with cool text.

The small leather journal was uncovered in the garage of an estate sale for 50 cents. I'll use the paper in a collage or other project. I'm planning to use the book for another altered mini book.

I picked up this old tole tray for $1.25 (found in the garage). The same sale had a black told tray in the living room for $30. Score! I also picked up the three bundles of unused lace.

Check out what Apron Thrift Girl scored this weekend.

My Valentine

I enjoy crafting for holidays. I think because it gives me a reason to make something. And, I really enjoy decorating for each holiday, so I get a chance to display what I've made. Right now, I'm getting ready for Valentine's Day. I made this embellished heart. It reminds me of the vintage candy boxes that are so beautiful.

I don't know what I'll do with it yet. I might make it into a card. Or, I may try to find a box to adhere it to and make my own vintage candy box. Then I can fill it with candy and have two treats in one! :)

I cut out a heart from a piece of vintage fabric and stitched it to a heart cut from sheet music. Then I stitched a crepe paper ruffle and adhered it to the back of the sheet music heart.

I then adhered the heart to a large pink doily and began embellishing. The flowers are mostly Prima with a few others I have in my stash. The "my love" sticker is an old Rusty Pickle sticker from my stash. I added glitter around the sticker ('cause everything looks better with glitter). I added a new Maya Road heart stick pin and tied on some baker's twine to bring out the touches of light turquoise in the flowers.

Starting an Art Journal

I have not been able to get into crafting yet this year. I finally got all of the Christmas decorations put away, so maybe that will help, even if I'm STILL not finished with my December Daily album. I am up to Dec 28th, so I'm making progress.

I've been wanting to create an art journal, but never got around to it. Then a wonderful friend asked if I'd do one with her. I jumped at the chance and got started right away. We decided to use old books for the journals and swap once a month or so.

Here is my book "before":

I had this thirft store book laying around the house. I used some of my new paints that Husband bought me for Christmas. I started with Unbleached Titanium to cover up that ugly green cover.

I wish I had taken photos of each step. I'm getting better - I took a Before photo. Next time... Anway, I layered on paint - turquoise polka dots toned down with pale pink paint to fade and distress. Then I adhered a piece of lace fabric and started on the centerpiece.

I wanted to use some of my favorite vintage supplies for the cover, and also keep it flat so the book is easy to work in. I used vintage sheet music, dress pattern tissue, buttons, and lace trim. I opened an old hymnal to this page - A Beautiful Life. It was perfect for this project.

I completed one page inside. The book's title is "Sand and Stars," and this cover page brought the image of a mermaid to my mind. I used acrylic paints to cover the text and then added watercolors to fill in the white space. I found the perfect mermaid image on the Graphics Fairy blog.

I further embellished the page with some lace scraps, a tiny seashell, and bits of bling. I want to complete the facing page before I send on to Julie to work her magic in my book.
 

Sisterly Love

This past week's Theme Thursday challenge is vintage children, a favorite subject of mine. I spent a few minutes last night creating something. I'm ready to create for Valentine's Day, so that's what I did.

I started with a base of patterned paper from Making Memories and stitched on a ribbon scrap. Then I stitched on a photo of two little girls.

I surrounded them with a bouquet of pink and red flowers from Prima and Fancy Pants. The heart pin is from Maya Road. I made a title with my Dymo label maker and added a scrap of pink seam binding at the top.

I'm still not finished with my December Daily album, so I doubt that I'll do that again! Time to move on to the next holiday...

Happy New Year!

We spent the last week with our family in NJ. We had so much fun, and it was hard to leave. We got 10 inches of snow and got to play with my niece. She's a bundle of fun energy. So hard to leave her behind.

I recently did a paper doll swap with my friend Julie. This was a first for both of us, and we had fun trying something new. Here is the doll and outfits I made:

I made Julie a little "pouch" for her dolls. Hopefully she can swap with others and fill it up! This pink outfit is my favorite. I made it with vintage fabrics and even stitched up a little purse to match!

Next is her blue party dress. A little tulle peeking out at the hem...

Here is the doll and outfits Julie made for me. My doll is on display in this lovely holiday outfit right now.

I'll put on her garden party dress once my tree comes down, maybe in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Julie for creating such beauties for me!

We had a lot of fun creating fashions for our dolls. It was all inspired by this book:

Artful Paper Dolls by Terry Taylor