February 10, 2013

Vintage Valentine Mantle


The combination of wanting to make some aged book page
wreaths that I had seen on Pinterest and coming across some
Victorian-looking cutouts at the craft store drew me into 
having a Vintage Valentine mantle this year. 

Well, and, to tell the truth, the books and wreath hanging hooks 
were still on the mantle from Christmas decorations so the 
Valentine decor theme was part inspiration and part laziness. 

All of the aged book pages on these wreaths came from one 
book.  The first wreath that I made from the book pages 


Another wreath that I had seen (but could not find a tutorial
 for) was one that looked like little scrolls...I just winged it. 

Toothpicks were added to the backs of the cutouts and then
 they were stuck in the foam wreath form. That way the wreath's 
decorations can be easily changed out for different seasons. 


The aged book page leaf wreath was the easiest one to do. 

Here's the tutorial I found on Pinterest if you would like to 
make one too.  This wreath is not the style I originally wanted
on this vintage mantle but I had to make a change in plans. 

Because I wanted to make this one interchangeable too, 
I added the "lolly" (here's a tutorial on how to make one)
with another vintage cutout glued onto it and hung by a string. 


The books on the mantle are ones that will NOT be torn up
to make wreaths.  I either love their uneven page edges,
spines or content too much to do that to them.







I ordered a "surprise box" from an internet company. 
I think the way it worked was you sent $20 and they sent you 
something worth at least that from their company's stock. 

When this pretty metal object arrived, I had no idea what it
was to be used for. One suggestion that was made was an
"ephemera" holder.  I had no idea what "ephemera" was either.

After researching that word, I think these pretty cutouts are
 a form of ephemera and they do work well on the "thing".  






To see the coffee table decor in the same room as 
the mantle click on "Vintage Valentine Lollies"
and/or if you would like to see more book page wreaths
in this room , click "Key To My Heart Vignette".


February 9, 2013

See What They're Makin' and Bakin'



Some ladies from my church sponsored an
Arts & Craft Fair and Bake Sale to raise money for missions. 

It started Friday night.  Members of the church
 contributed crafts, art works, and baked goods for sale. 
I thought you might like to see the wide range of types 
of things that were contributed and maybe even get some ideas. 
Come on in...

Though most of us are crafters, there were a few real
art pieces for sale too.  I bought the nest on the black 
background...look for it in spring vignettes. 



Little Girls' Dresses

Purses Made From Upholstery Material

Potholder/trivets

Cats Made From Upholstery Material

Knitted Ball Bunnies
(I looked on the internet for a tutorial for these bunnies but the closest I got was this easy tutorial)



Washcloth or "Boo boo" Bunnies
(here is a tutorial I found for those if you want to make some for Easter)


Friendship Bracelets

Cute idea...different colored lambs depicting the words in the 
song "Jesus Loves The Little Children"..."Red and yellow black 
and while, they are precious in His sight."

Valentine Cards

Candy Bouquets
(click the highlighted link for the tutorial for these)

Step Stool 
(embellished with cute papers then mod-podged heavily)

Hand-painted Stools

Someone put together nice gift baskets that could be
given for Valentine's Day or saved for Easter. 
This one was filled with beanie baby doggies. 


One member's daughter contributed scenes that she constructs
out of mostly found objects.  Other works that she has done
sell in gifts shops in the North Carolina mountains.







The baked items sold well last year and go quickly.

Cheese straws are in the containers with the red tops.
Ginger cookies, Valentine Chex Mix, and Homemade
Chocolate Covered Peanuts are also in this photo.

Assorted Sweet Rolls


Homemade Dinner Rolls

Lemon Squares

Baklava

Homemade Jelly

Lots of different types of cakes


Another good seller from the fair last year that was
requested for donation again this year was frozen casseroles.
I didn't get a photo of that...it's mainly just a list of what 
is available near the church kitchen then folks pick what 
they want to buy off the list and it is gotten from the freezer. 

Hope you enjoyed this trip to a local arts/crafts/bake sale!

I'm sharing this at 
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogie Board Cottage

February 6, 2013

"Hey, Girl" Blog Party

The Bliss Ranch blog is hosting a "Hey, Girl" blog party.
I don't really understand/know about the phenomenon
of adding words on top of photos of Ryan Gosling
so I 'googled' it and found a good article about it.
(Click on highlighted link above if you don't know about the trend either.)

Here's my entry to the "Hey, Girl" party:

hey girl

The party runs from February 7th through the 14th.
You don't have to use Ryan as your heart throb...you can use
a photo of your REAL heart throb if you want. 

To see other entries in the "Hey Girl" Valentine Party
come over to Bliss Ranch blog.
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