FRENCH MIRROR

I have to let you in on a big surprise. 


A huge project has been completed and will be posted in March.  Stay tuned.  Now back to this posting.
I normally like décor along the silvered look, but when I saw this on Antique Farm House, I knew that I had to buy.  Yes, it was an impulse buy, but I love it.


 Decorators these days incorporate mirrors into their designs and usually embellish them more.




For the Christmas holidays, I draped a gorgeous prism garland with NOEL charms that my dear friend Tara made.  Thanks to Maureen too!

Mirrors always seem to invite more light into a room.

For Valentine's day, I hung my golden mirrored heart on the mirror.  I looks perfect.



VALENTINE CARD 2017

I realize this is late, but I wanted to post this sweet Valentine.

Its that time to make my annual Valentine card.  Since I didn't send out Christmas cards in December, I am committed to let those special friends and family know that I keep them in my heart.

I found a beautiful image on Graphics Fairy.

I started with cutting around the image.  This is the most tedious job in making the cards, but it is so worth it.

Using an old reader, a vintage paper lace doily, paper heart garland, glitter and a dimensional heart sticker creates this vintage looking card.



SPRING IN FEBRUARY 2017

Family was visiting the last few days.  As they were packing up, I asked my brother-in-law about a particular gin bottle.  It had beautiful lines and a great design. He offered it to me.  I poured out his gin, placed it into another glass container and kept the green, glass vessel.

Meanwhile, the forsythia bushes are in full bloom outside and it is only February 19th!

I went outside and snipped some of the leggier branches and filled the bottle.

Exquisite!!!!  It just goes to show you that decorating can be on a shoestring.



VALENTINE'S DAY VIEWS 2017

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

I captured views around the house this time of year. 

Enjoy.....

 



TERRI'S VALENTINE PILLOWS FOR THE GIRLS

Last year while cleaning out my sister Terri's finished cross

stitch projects, we came upon these finished Valentine pillows.  Years ago she had mentioned that after she made one for me, she wanted to make one for each of my girls.  They were finished, but they didn't have the pillow inserts.  I brought them home thinking that I would purchase the two inserts and give them to the girls next Valentine's Day.

While researching where to find these pillow inserts, I combed the immediate area with no luck.  When I went online, the cheapest price was around $15.00 and that was without shipping! 

Deciding that I could make them myself, I went upstairs and found some scraps of ivory linen in my fabric box along with an open bag of stuffing.  Most importantly, no cost to me--just a little bit of manual labor.

I cut 4 rectangles, 2 for each pillow.

Any fiberfill will do.

 

I sewed three sides of the inserts up on the sewing machine, turned it inside out and pressed the insert.

Stuffing the two inserts with a final sewn edge finished the inserts.

One pillow completed....

and then two!

Just under 30 minutes and at not cost to me, the two pillows were now finished.  These pillows will be given to the girls this upcoming Valentines Day as a gift of love from their Aunt Terri.

The circle of love is now completed.



UPCYCLED VALENTINE TRAY 2017

 

I was happy with the way my Noel tray came out at Christmas. One of the reasons I bought glass to be placed over the image was so that I could interchange scenes.

 



To reinvent this tray for Valentine's Day, I went to my go-to storage of decorating supplies.  I was looking for a background that would add some punch.  I came upon a roll of embossed wallpaper that I had used in the dining room of our Little Rock house.  I still loved the design of the paper and also liked the fact that the paper added necessary texture to my new visual collage.

Using my rotary scissors and quilt cutting board, I measured out a piece of wallpaper to place as my background.

Then, I pulled out a box of vintage 

 Valentines that had Victorian paper scraps.  I haphazardly began laying them out over the wallpaper. A few paper lace doilies were also used.  A chain of felt rose colored hearts finished off the collage.

 

A Valentine poem was added.

 

 

 

Once I placed it on the coffee table, I took out my enameled fairy tale coach to sit on top- a bit more romantic touch.

 

So, once the tray was on the table, it looked a bit flat to me.  The embossing of the background wallpaper didn't show up so I was in need of something to make it pop.

I need to interject here and mention my dear sister, Terri, who had voluminous card making supplies.  After she died, I took some of the supplies that I knew I would be able to use in my blogs. I know Terri would be thrilled that I was still using her supplies.

She had two containers of beautiful metallic colored pencils.  I took a scrap of the wallpaper and using the edge of one of the colored pencils, shaded over the embossed paper.  It definitely made the background pop.

Once I completed shading the entire piece of wallpaper, I reinserted it into the frame and added the other embellishments.  

 

This subtle touch brought the whole visual together.  Placing it on the gray coffee table looks wonderful.

 

  Now that the insert are interchangeable, the options are endless.

I wonder how many more times I can reuse this tray?

 

  I guess you will have to wait and find out.