Happy New Year!!

Happy NewYear!!

Time to renew, refresh and jump start a brand new year.

Normally, I might have some inspiring words or a bucket list this time of year.

Hmmmm.  Nope.  I have been to pre-occupied with other kinds of buckets.

Like these  for organizing and decorating . . .  :D

Cool huh?!  I might swap the paint for white.  I found this on pinterest (and a million other organization and crafty tips!).  Click the pic to go to the pin on pinterest.  Mission organization, homemaking and fluffing our nest have me ringing in the new year.

If you have not discovered the fun (eh um, addiction) of pinterest, you really must!

Imagine bookmarking all of your favorite tutorials, recipes and things you want to surf back to on the internet with visual pictures that you "pin" to boards you create.  "AND" you can follow your friends pins and repin those too!!

Pinterest is set up so you need an invite to join (why I have no idea - seems silly).  But, if you would like an invite, please email me and I will send one your way.

Well, I am off to go move a few more mountains around here (like maybe some laundry, haha!).

I hope you have a safe and wonderful New Year!!

xo's ~ Heidi

Apron Adoration

One of the things I love the most about the holidays is making gifts and decorations.

Ornaments and gifts made by my children, family and friends are among the things that make the season magical.

When my friend, Cheryl of Nouveaux Portmanteau, asked me to join her holiday apron swap (here) I thought it was a fun way to celebrate the season with handmade treasures.

None of us knew which apron we would receive.  They were all so darling - I would be smitten with any one of them!

When the apron box arrived, I had sugarplums dancing in my head, lol!

Cheryl had beautifully packaged everything and included a gorgeous tote bag which she had made for each of us.  I was so delighted to receive Cheryl's apron (which I am completely smitten with!!) and package of vintage and handmade goodies!!  She had included wonderful vintage ephemera, a brass stencil "H", vintage ornaments and cookie cutters and a soldered ornament made by her.

Cheryl had used the most gorgeous fabric and trims - some were even dyed to match.

Whether I am serving cocktails or cookies - Cheryl, your apron makes me feel like a vintage princess!

Golly gee, piles of satin and lace - heaven!

Here is a closer look at the rosette on the pocket of Cheryl's apron.

So pretty and frothy!!

In the midst of holiday mayhem, I forgot to take pics of the apron I made (ack!).

This is a pic I borrowed from Cheryl.

(photo by Cheryl)

Please stop by Cheryl's blog to see pics of the other beautiful aprons.

Thank you again Cheryl - I had such fun with this swap!!

I would be delighted to know your favorite handmade gift your either gave or received. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!  xo's ~ Heidi

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas dear friends

May your holidays be filled with joy and blessings.

xo's ~ Heidi

Popping in to say hi!

The beginning of our holiday break starts today.

{woo hoo!}

I am soooo thankful - it has been so hectic with wrapping up school and extracurricular activities!

I just wanted to take a moment to grab a cup of coffee, snag a few moments of bliss and wish everyone a merry week.

There are still packages to be wrapped, ornaments to be hung, baking to be done, parties to attend, "to-do" lists to check off and family/friends to see.

When you step back from all of the hustle and bustle, it is a pretty beautiful time of year filled with some of the greatest joys.

xo's ~ Heidi

ADD and a creative soul

How many of us crafty people have craft ADD?

You know what I mean . . .  a kabillion ongoing projects and different types of crafts you like to do, sometimes simultaneously.

It's ok, we are all friends here - raising my hand, lol.

Recently, I have been on such a jewelry making kick.

I dunno what has gotten into me.  If it doesn't move, I bet I could make jewelry out of it.

This is a pic of necklace I made for my Mom for Christmas.  She doesn't not surf the internet much so I am taking a chance this will still be a surprise.

She wanted something with a longer length and more neutral colors.  I added some pink in there because that is the kind of girl she is. {hey, I get my girliness honest}

Twisting wire like a bead fiend, I also made this lovely.

Seriously, I think I am addicted to rhinestones.

Even addicted as I am, I don't think I could pull off this pendant as an earring (in its prior life) so the earring was repurposed as a pendant.

Switching gears, (because we are talking ADD, right?)  I was making coffee last week during the flurry of holiday activity and as I poured coffee into my cream, a darling heart revealed itself in the cafe bubbles.

No joke!!

Look!  There it is!!

It was a sweet moment, a gentle reminder . . . Love is good.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving week with lots of love and blessings.

xo's ~ Heidi

Champagne kisses

In the midst of decorating for Christmas, I have also been making a few things for the holiday season.

I decided to repurpose a vintage brooch into a necklace.  Some of the rhinestones had turned a champagne color.  I used the color as an inspiration for this piece.

There are fire polished Czech beads, freshwater pearls and mother of pearl beads to add some bubbly sparkle.

A little close up - I love the shimmer!

The length is approx. 18.5" and has a toggle clasp.

It would be darling with a cocktail dress or jeans and a tee!

The price is $40. 

 Message me if you would like a little elf to send it your way!

Have a beautiful day sugahs!

xo's ~ Heidi

I am dreaming of Christmas!

It seems every year I get in the Christmas spirit early.

Is now too early? 

Seeing all of the Christmas decorations displayed in the store had me longing for a little celebration of the season.

This weekend, as our family was hanging out, I put on some Christmas music.

Yeah, it had me . . .

hook.

line.

and sinker.

I started pulling out some Christmas decorations and suddenly, our home starting to become a winter wonderland, lol.

This season goes by so fast.  I don't mind enjoying it a day (er week? or two?) early.

Have a wonderful weekend!  xo's ~ Heidi

Fairytales do come true

This October has flown by with some wonderful fairytale memories.

Here are some pics from Jennifer Hayslip's beautiful fairytale event, Once Upon A Dream in Asheville, NC.

I have included a few pics of the event on this post.

If you want to see some truly beautiful pics of the event, please check them out on Jenn's blog:

Part I

and

Part II

It was a dream come true to attend this event with one of my besties, Tracy. 

See that backdrop?  It was breathtaking to create in such an enchanting location.

One of the cutie pie "sisters", Robin, joined us to strike a pose.

Tracy and the sweet and talented Sylvia.

Sylvia has a genuine soul through and through.

Our sensational instructors, Dee, Natasha and Andrea!

{aren't they darling in the photo booth?!}

A little of the flora blooming.

Sherry, Natasha and Tracy

Our day at the Biltmore House.

(peek at the landing - you might be able to spy us lined up there, lol.)

Sweet girls, Cheryl and Grace, enjoying the majestic views.

Tracy under the arbor

Sylvia, Tracy and Sonia

Marian and Rebecca

Shelley and Rosemary

Grace was my swap partner for the fairy laurels.

I love my laurel and all of the treats Grace!!

Thank you sweet girls for such fun memories ~ it was such a treasured weekend.

Don't forget to check out Jenn's pics!

xo's ~ Heidi

Tag - you're it!

These past few weeks have flown by with magical and fun events.  I am working on the blog posts to share.  In the meantime, some bloggy fun . . .

I have been tagged!  Tagged by sweet AndiBee at Brown Bee Studio.  Thank you AndiBee for some bloggy fun!

The instructions are:

         1. Post the button.


         2. Tell 10 things about yourself.


         3. Tag 5 bloggity sugahs you'd like to know some fun facts about.






1. When I sew, I have to sew barefoot.  Weird, but true - better control over the presser foot.

2.  Cats and dogs, I love them both.  Hence, "a dog person" or "a cat person" doesn't apply to me.  A "fur baby" person sounds more accurate.

3.  I am a Georgia girl with roots in Lousiana, a peachy crawfish of sorts.

4.  As a kid, I would make furniture and clothing for my dolls from random things I found around the house.  Sometimes, to the chagrin of my parents.

5.  I love the 1940's era - the music, the fashion . . . all of it.

6.  Both coffee and tea for me - although, I tend to drink coffee the most.

7.  Can a girl be a collector of shoes?  When I wore out my favorite leopard mules, I purchased another pair and maybe have worn them once or twice.  Sometimes I take them out, adore them and place them back in the box.

8.  One day I would love to have a cottage by the sea - ocean air is good for the soul.

9.  I tried to surf once . . . . once.  I think I would have benefited from some lessons but I was head strong and determined to just "go for it".  Some things never change.

10.   I would rather have sour candy, like Hot Tamales, then chocolate.  Yes, I know this may be shocking to my chocolate loving friends, lol.

I am tagging these sweet sugahs!  It will be fun to learn more about them.  :D

             Tracy at Creative Cure

              Nancy Maxwell James at Sugar Lump Studios

              Sylvia at A Pink Heaven

              Lisa Campbell at Dollies Daughter

             Grace at Pink In The City


One of the joys of blogging is discovering all of the neat people and wonderful things out in blogland.  Please stop by and visit each girl and show them some bloggy love!

Thanks for stopping by sweet friends.  Have a great weekend!  xo's ~ Heidi

Spellbound

I have been keeping a secret.

A while ago, I saw an invitation to contribute a project to Creating Vintage Charm magazine for their fall issue.  With a menagerie of tart tins, crochet and glitter, I decided to cast a spell for tutorial on how to create a vintage inspired Halloween ornament and submit it to the magazine.

I am so excited to say they decided to publish it!

It is such an honor to have the opportunity to contribute to this beautiful publication.

The stern lady image was found on The Graphics Fairy blog.

For a simple Halloween tree, I gathered some branches from our back yard and nestled them in an ironstone pitcher with some champagne tulle.  I think I may utilize this tree again for Thanksgiving.

Please check out Creating Vintage Charm's beautiful publication and all of the inspiring artists and designers within HERE. 

Wishing you a magical fall season ~ xo's ~ Heidi

Fairytale Cottage Condos

One of the swaps for the Once Upon A Dream art event was a fairy house.

Inspired by a bird house I found, I decided a fairy cottage condo would be fun to work on.

Of course, it would be a cottage made of bits and bobs found along a fairy path.

The first cottage condo was made using vintage ledger paper, crepe paper and vintage millinery.

I loved the sparkly knobs too!

Each cottage condo had an address (number) cut from the bottom of a book page.

I did not get a close pic of the numbers.

The second cottage condo was adorned with vintage lace, ribbons, vintage button and a splash of rhinestone.

Fairies like things that sparkle you know.

The third fairy cottage condo was covered with a dictionary page, German dresden scrap, hand tatted lace and a sparkly bauble.

I had such a wonderful time with my fairy friends!

I can wait to show you more pics of our fairytale weekend!

xo's ~ Heidi

Junk Queen

My flea market cart, Stella, sometimes gets a bad rap.  Some of you may remember my post about her here.  Since then, I have a liner in the making.  Also, I thought it would be fun to add a little swag to her liner.

She hauls around my junky finds so I thought it would be most appropriate if she were crowned the "Junk Queen".  Her talents include being steadfast and hardworking during the long junking days, caring by hauling goodies for friends and multitasking by being my impromptu table when a junkin' girl is grabbing an on the go meal.

I love pale blue, especially mixed with white and tan.

Some vintage lace tossed in for good mojo.

When her liner is complete, a little glam can be added too, lol.

Happy junkin' trails to you sugahs!

xo's ~ heidi

Creating Vintage Charm giveaway winner!

Yay!  We have a winner for the Creating Vintage Charm anniversary drawing!

With the help of one of my lovely assistants, we drew a name out of a vintage hat {quite literally}.

and the winner is . . . . .

Sonia!!

Congrats Sonia and thank you everyone for the entering the fun!

xo's ~ Heidi

Fairytale memories

Fairytale memories need a place to be recorded and treasured.

For the Once Upon A Dream art retreat memory book swap, I made some prairie fairy memory books using vintage foiled and flocked wallpaper which I distressed.

Then, I layered a few more distressed and glittered {have I said I like glitter?} papers.

The darling prairie fairy image was covered with Wheatfields Glimmer Mist {and more glitter}.  I struggle with getting photographs which reflect the beautiful shimmer glimmer mists create.

The prize ribbon rosette was made from a gorgeous taffeta ribbon, foiled art paper, and snippets of trim.

The paper flowers were also inked and sprinkled with some Platinum Stickles.

If I had to list one of my favorite "go to" supplies, Platinum Stickles would be high on the list!

Thanks for stopping by sweet sugahs!

Have a  beautiful day ~ xo's ~ Heidi