Ghouls, Ghost, and Glamour girls swap reveal

A few weeks ago I signed up for Jenn and Jessi's Ghouls, Ghost and Glamour girls swap.

We were asked to make or purchase a Halloween accessory for our swap partner.

I was incredibly smitten with the bewitchingly beautiful treats and bracelet cuffs Kristen, my swap partner, sent me!

Kristen created the most romantic and enchanting witch hat I had ever seen!

I love the scrumptious textiles, bling and magic she put into this piece.

Isn't it enchanting?!

Then, Kristen spoiled me with not just one but two festive, sparkly cuffs.

I love all of the elements she used and the way she wove them together.

Thank you Kristen!  I can't wait to wear them!

Here is the necklace I made Kristen.  (of course I added some treats too!)

I love the little girl trick or treating image.

I had such fun creating this Kristen!

I hope you love it! xxoo

Happy haunting lovelies! ~ xo Heidi

Georgia autumn evenings

Delicious autumn.  In the evening, Georgia's humidity goes to sleep and yields to crisp air and luminous sky filled with sparrows and bats.  It is fun to watch them as the landscape becomes peaceful.

I found the most beautiful hand-dyed silk at a vintage market.  Its shades of lavender and grey reminds me of the late evening sky here.

The strand of pale lilac beads was a fun find from this past summer's trip visiting my bestie in Florida.

They have a neat bead store there with the most beautiful pearls.  Of course, we had to hit some vintage, thrift and flea places too.

My friend Kelli is a talented painter and very crafty. She is opening a booth at the new Consignment Antique flea market on Racetrac Rd. in Shalimar.  Stop by and see her if you get the chance!

Some of my northern friends have mentioned they have already had snow.  I am not quite ready for that yet. Not that we get much snow here, haha.

Whether you have had snow or not, I wish you the best autumn evenings.

Hopefully, by bonfire with a mug of cider and under a cozy blanket watching sparrows and bats with a few stars sparkling the sky.

Thank you for visiting ~ xo Heidi

Pause buttons and welcoming fall

Life can become so rushed and hectic.  I won't bore you with the mundane details. You guys get it. :-)

The time I get to spend creating is all the more appreciated.  And, it becomes a peaceful pause in a busy week.

One such evening and the next day, I pulled out some beads, wire, charms and began to wash away the day.

Some jewelry projects were works in progress.

It is a grand feeling to be able to see what is needed to complete them and finally finish it.

I love the juxtaposition of refined and industrial in the "Jeannette" necklace.

The rhinestone portion is part of a necklace which had a broken chain.

The "Geraldine" necklace is a fun one.

The sparkly bit is from a shoe clip.  I did not replace the one rhinestone because I like the quirkiness of its imperfection.

The charm on "Geraldine" is a medal commemorating 75 years of the Southern Bell Telephone Co. (1954). 

Southern Bell Telephone Co. is no longer.

I have a fondness for cameos.  Pulling one out of my stash, I mixed it with some lovely peachy pink aventurine and glass pearls.

Here in Georgia, the leaves are just staring to morph into their blazing, fall colors.

I chose sparkly bronze czech glass beads and Virgin Mary medals to make fall inspired earrings.

Embracing fall and harvest moons, I mixed some golden hued glass beads, with luminescent glass pearls, creamy glass and bronze freshwater pearls.

It is still a bit warm here during the peak of the day.  I am ready for fall sweater and boot weather. 

How about you?  Happy Fall friends!

Thank you for visiting ~ xo, Heidi

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~ Pable Picasso

Vintage Darlings ~ a tale of textile confections

My swap partner, Jodie, sent me a snippet roll filled with decadent details.

It was wrapped in the chenille piece shown.  I gasped out loud when I opened it. Yes, I did.

The spool it was wrapped on was adorned with a rose know and rhinestone.

I love the ethereal quality of the images she used.  Dreamy and darling.

Each image is also stuffed which gives it dimension like a soft little doll.

I have always been inspired by Jodie's creations.  She is not only a sweetheart but also amazing I tell you!!

A strip of silky soft tan velvet is the base for the images.  Decadent!

I loved how she stitched a garden of vintage buttons below the little girl.

I loved that she stamped some fabric pieces too.

Snips of crochet, vintage buttons and beading.

A darling little girl with her kitten.  I love, love this one.

At the bottom, she added a lovely hardware frame with Mon Amie stamped inside.

Thank you mon amie!!

I dearly love the snippet roll you made and will treasure it always!!

When I opened Beth's snippet roll I gasped again!

I have always admired Beth's stitching talents.  She is a sweetheart and amazing too!!

The fabric base she used is a swiss dot with delicate lace on top of it.

A gorgeous mother of pearl buckle adorns the top.

I love that Beth used a snip of a real vintage photo and tucked some millinery underneath it.

Next is a lovely rose button, teeny frozen charlotte, heart charm and heart locket.

It reminds me of collected items you might find in my daughter's purse when she was little.

Next, a little cutie (don't you just love that precious smile?!), "believe" on twill and a crochet bloom with a vintage button.

Another darling image pinned to the lace with a sweet flower button.

A fun engraving of a little girl graces in the inside of a scroll frame.

Then, Beth sewed a lovely trail of mother of pearl buttons.

Thank you Beth!!  I dearly love the snippet roll and treasures you sent!!

                 Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world ~ John Evelyn

Thank you for visiting! ~ xo Heidi

Vintage Darlings snippet roll swap

Inspired by the lovely snippet rolls I have seen, I have wanted to create one for a while.  

I asked a group of sewing friends if they knew of others who might want to do the same.

We decided to use a theme called "Vintage Darlings" with images of children from days past.

It has been a fun swap!

This is the snippet roll I made for Jodie of Everything Vintage.  

We are both textile junkies, ha!  I wanted to add a few elements with texture and patina ~ the perfection in imperfection.

A mother of pearl buckle serves as a hanger when the snippet is not wrapped on the spool.

Bits of crochet and lace became the frame to this darling image.

I like saving my nest of thread snips to add texture to future projects.

One great thing about snippet rolls is that you can use little bits of lace and trim from leftover projects.

Some pieces are just too pretty to toss!

I added some vintage millinery and beading.

I am not sure what this metal adornment is from.  It was in my magpie stash of hardware.  It became the rosette to the strands of froth at the bottom.

The little petticoat at the bottom was made from an old pillowcase remnant and a snippet from a tattered dress.  A little prairie couture, haha.

For Beth at Gathering Dust, I added an ornate silver buckle for her snippet roll holder.

I sewed some beads to a bridal lace piece and added a charm with strands of pretty.

Some dreamy mother of pearl buttons become part of the frame around this sweet image.

A bit of netted lace and millinery adorns the bottom.

A little beading with layered velvet and lace.

There is something so charming about vintage millinery.

The faded colors, the delicate texture - pure yumminess.

For Beth's petticoat, I added a bit of the tattered dress, tulle, frothy strands and velvet buds.

The sweet ladies who participated in this swap are:

Beth

Cerri

Gypsy

Jodie

Laurie

Marian

Patty

Tabitha

Tamantha

Terri

I also created a Flickr group for our swap here.

Thank you to all of the talented ladies participated in this swap!

It was fun!!

I will be posting the snippet rolls I received from Jodie and Beth soon!

Thank you for visiting ~ xo Heidi

Scrap Magic

Saving fabric scraps can be worthwhile.

Leftovers from a favorite project.  Remnants from an old dress. Various scraps can be pieces with lovely potential.

Recently, a customer brought me her pair of raspberry velvet Magnolia Pearl bloomers and asked me to make a rosette to match them.

While searching through a basket of garment scraps, I came across a skirt my daughter wore when she was about four years old.  I probably should have donated it long ago but the fabrics were too lovely not to save. With its beautiful raspberry velvet hues and trims, it was a perfect match!

I tore some of the ombre lining and used the strips along with velvet, crinkle ribbon, crochet lace, vintage lace, a rhinestone center and a snippet of tea stained doily to complete the pin.

What are some of your favorite projects you have made with unexpected scraps?

Thank you for visiting!

xo ~ Heidi

Feathered Friend Altered Journal Class

Hi friends!  I hope everyone has had a lovely start to their summer.

I am excited to share pics for the a new class I am teaching at Sweet Southern Salvage which is also hosted by Laurie of 42nd Ave. Antiques.  Both are located in the Broad Street Mill antique mall of Griffin, Ga.

Recently, we were watching a cardinal bird couple snapping up bugs and feeding them to their almost grown chicks.  This inspired me to make a feathered friend journal.  I love the vintage image of the chaffinch and its beautiful melange of colors.

We will have the opportunity to play with some paints made especially for paper, inks, ephemera and all sorts of fun bits!

Additionally, I have a stash of some lovely speckled feathers to tuck behind the swag of Prima blooms.

If you have some feathers or trinkets that you have gathered and would like to include, bring those too!

Adding elements that are meaningful to me makes a project all the more special.

  The class is scheduled for Friday, June 27th at 6pm.  It will be a fun evening of crafting and fellowship.  I hope you can join us!

Thank you for visiting!

xo ~ Heidi

Vintage ephemera ATC swap

 Kimberly at ArtJoyStuff hosted a vintage ephemera ATC swap.

Given my love of vintage paper, I happily signed up for it!

We were asked to submit three ATC's using vintage ephemera.

In return, I received wonderful, tiny pieces of art.

The first is from Maggie Raguse.

I love the darling image she used.  My favorite element is the paper rosette - beautiful!

Next, was a sewing inspired ATC by Sherry.

Sewing is one of my loves so I was very tickled to receive this one.

Sherry even used a sheet of vintage sewing instructions to make the envelope.

Lastly, I received a french inspired ATC from Liz.

I love the charming graphics and tiny rosette.

Thank you ladies for your wonderful, tiny works of {heART}!

Kimberly is a sweetheart of a hostess.

She sent each of us this beautiful tag with charms.

Thank you Kimberly for hosting a fun swap!

Here is one of the ATC's I had submitted. 

Unfortunately, I did not snap pics of the other two.

I enjoyed working with vintage wallpaper and ephemera bits.

Here is a shot from the "Constance" vintage adornment class I taught.

Sorry the pic is so grainy - it was a quick iPhone pic

One of my favorite parts of teaching is to see how different elements inspire people differently.

Everyone had a great time creating their own works of art.

Thank you Laurie and Brandy for hosting a fun event!

Thank you for stopping by!

Happy creating ~ Heidi