Birthday find

Last year my physical therapist told me to start carrying a lighter purse.  Well, the one I am carrying I get a ton of compliments on it.  It is a soft purse in a shimmery red with lots of fabric roses on it.  Last Thursday at Sweet Salvage on 7th I found another purse just like it only in a light ecru color.

I thought I had better spray this purse with Scotchgard, just in case.  Being such a light color it will show dirt.

 Here is what I was thinking.  Adding some pearls to it for a added bit of pizzazz.

 So, while watching old movies yesterday afternoon, I added the pearls from the box to the petals and leaves on the purse.  Just a subtle dolling up!  I knew there was a good reason for my keeping all the pearls from the broken necklaces!

Thank you Gail for the gift certificate to Sweet Salvage!  This was part of my birthday gift!

Artsy projects that I just finished

I have had several of these pieces that were "in progress" and over the last few days I finally finished them.  Let's start with the purse.

This vintage evening bag is made of black rayon, has a cute clasp that is missing one stone, and is in great condition.  And it is lined with a pretty tan satin fabric.  Have tried to sell it but no one seems to like it in this state.

So, I added this coffee dyed teacup doily and a flower I made out of pieces of old corsages.  I think it may find a new home soon!  I love this added bit to this bag.

I want to start digging into my stash and using the bits and pieces that I have collected for years.  Here is an old compact I decorated.  Used an old pin I bought years ago and added bits to it to add bling.

An old watch case that held watch parts that weren't working anymore.  So here is the nest I made with tiny pearls as eggs.

On an old spoon bowl I added this angel, the rhinestones and the gold medallion.  Nice!

An old pill box got a new look -- steam punk!!  Old watch parts added to the top.  You can put any little treasures inside for safe keeping!

Here are the four pieces together.  Tell me what you think.

Sweet Salvage was sweet summer fun!

Here are some pictures from this month's Sweet Salvage on 7th event -- Summer Lovin'.  And it was full of wonderful items and reminders of summers long ago in our younger days!  Check it out!

What a wonderful repurposed cupboard this is!  And I love the yellow daisy accent!  Really pops!

June is for weddings!  And this gorgeous vintage wedding gown was reminiscent of weddings long ago!  Beautiful!  David and I got married in August of 1968 after we did our graduate work at University of California San Jose. 

This small chandelier was so pretty with its beaded shades!

This tray full of summer collectibles was just gorgeous!

Glittery starfish, pearls, shell necklaces, driftwood, and a glass flower frog.

Another gorgeous display with a lovely chandelier, half dress form, shabby chair, and other bits.

Had to include this little fire truck full of impatiens and named "Jewell" for my friend, Kelly, who recently moved to Utah.  Thought of you immediately, Kelly!!

Here is a surf board (!!), a sail boat for the lake or pond, a gorgeous mirror and more shells.  I grew up in So. California during the day when surfing was THE thing to do during the summer!  Beach Boys songs, Jan and Dean, and trips to the beach.  I didn't learn to surf, however.  Can't swim well enough to get out there beyond the waves and wait for the next set!


The Sweet team put on another great Sweet Salvage on 7th monthly event!  Thanks to all!!  It was awesome!

More Christmas displays in the house

Time to change over from Thanksgiving and fall and get into the Christmas spirit.  I don't put up a tree anymore since my husband passed away 7 years ago.  But I do like to put up small trees in displays around the house.  Here are the first two I finished yesterday.

I replaced the red southwest runner for this old seed bag.  The glittery tree and the little cloche on the silver stand I bought yesterday at FOUND in Mesa, AZ.  This store has wonderful things for decorating and they were having a sale this weekend.  So I took advantage!

These candles are battery operated.  Love their nice glow in the evening.  I also put out two of my clear crystal rosaries around on the mirror.

And finally this display I put together yesterday as well. 

The little white tree was a great find at My Sister's Attic.  Had to tuck the branches up a bit so it would fit under the tall cloche, but it works!  Now I think I need a few glittery stars to decorate the tree.  Yes, that's just craft stuffing around the base of the tree.  The bottle on the right is an empty Patron bottle decorated with pearls.  The other bottle has a wonderful "Dream" collar with a rhinestone crown -- also a find at FOUND.

Two finished lampshades

These are two of the small shades.  I finished them up yesterday.  They are actually for a chandelier or tiny lamp that takes a flame bulb with a small base.  I need to make two more to go on a chandelier I have for sale in my booth at Merchant Square.

Fun to do!  Here is the first one I did . . .

It had six sections.  Three I covered with a cut up doily.  I overstitched the pieces to the wire frame.  This particular section in the middle is covered with a piece of lacey ribbon wrapped around the frame and pinned.  The bow is from a piece of tulle fabric that has pink felt polka dots on it.

This side is wrapped with another piece of lace and has a white feather glued to it.

This section has tiny rick rack wrapped from top to bottom.  An old photo was cut out and glued to coffee dyed cheese cloth and a piece of pink fabric.  It is pinned to the wire frame with safety pins.  I also glued on the ribbon roses and then put old shoe buttons, crystals, a diary key and some pearls on the bottom.

Here I covered the entire shade with an old piece of lacey fabric from an old dress.  I overstitched it at the top and bottom of the frame.  I had this old vintage bouquet of pink flowers and I tied a piece of rayon ribbon on it.  Once again I put old pearls from vintage and new jewelry around the bottom.

You can tell I spent more time on the first one.  It was a learning piece.  The second one was easier because I used one piece of lace to cover the entire shade and whipstitched it in place.  I may have to make changes since I don't know how much light they will filter once they are on the chandelier. 

I plan to do a couple more and will post them when finished.  I have to hunt through the thrift stores to see if I can find two more small shades OR some small lamps that take clip on flame bulbs.  :-))

Pretty March Give-Away

It is time to do another give-away. And here it is:

There are two lovely vintage hankies, one is white with white embroidery and the other is white with pink flower embroidery. Both are clean and in excellent condition -- as in never used. There are three pretty pink roses and a nice strand of small pearls to embellish your art work. Also included is the lovely cutout of a little girl in a bridal veil. She is holding a tiny gold mirror. There are also a couple of hearts on a tiny corsage of roses with two tiny rings and a few pearls. The paper doily is not included -- it is for photography purposes. All discovered in my stash as I was looking for things to use in a project.

If you would like a chance to win this March Give-Away all you have to do is leave a comment on this March 23rd blog only. You have until Sunday, March 29, to leave a comment. I will then have someone draw the names of the people who left comments and announce the winner. I mail promptly upon receiving your address so you can have the give-away right away!

Valentine assortment

I was so inspired by the Valentine's shown in the recent issue of Somerset Life, the January/February issue. Especially the one on the cover. So I set out to create Valentine's of my own. Here are pics of the first three I have finished.

This was the first one. I decided to make it very similar to the one on the cover of Somerset Life. I sewed, by hand, the tiny pearls on the red felt heart. I love the vintage rhinestone pin that is glued to the top.This was the second Valentine.This was the last one I have done, so far. There is another one in the works today. The item in the center of the pink heart is actually an earring that I found at the flea market last weekend.

Learned something new from this experience. I wanted to use metallic thread on these Valentine's. But my past experience with metallic thread ended in a very frustrating experience. The thread tends to shred after taking a few stitches. Well, then I visited JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts and asked someone who worked there. Found out there are actually needles for the sewing machine that won't shred the thread! So I bought a packet. It worked!