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

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

A soft spot for hardware

Patina.

When I am looking for hardware bits, patina is one of the characteristics that captivates me the most.

Even though there are many products on the market which can alter or enhance patina, finding a piece of hardware with decades of authentic patina developed onto it holds its own special magic.

These are some of the interesting bits of hardware I found on a recent antiquing trip here.  The shop had bins, boxes and trays full of hardware treasure.

I went looking with the intent on finding fresh vintage components for jewelry making.  However, some might eventually be used in other repurposing projects.

Check out the oxidation and style of this keyhole plate.

Isn't it grand?  I don't think I will change the patina a bit.

The one to right definitely needs some cleaning so it might be a fun piece to experiment with painting and altering.

I love the bits of paint on some of the pieces.  

For the pieces which have peeling paint, I like to give them a gentle cleaning and use Krylon matte sealer to protect as much of the original patina as I can.

A quick share of the simple vignette I made using the cabinet card found in the above referenced post.

I am still tinkering with it so I am not sure this is how it will stay for now.

That is the fun of it, isn't it? :-)

Thank you for visiting!

xo ~ Heidi

Calendar Dress Up, Marie style

Starting the new year means getting a fresh calendar, new pens and accoutrements.

 

I have a thing for office products haha, moving on . . .

 

  A new calendar that is "the one" is always hard to find. I love a vintage look. (I bet you've guessed that by now).  The usual office supply stores never seem to have that perfect blend of modern function with a vintage form that I seek.

 

 

What is a girl to do?

 

I decided purchase a calendar that had the modern function I like and add a pretty frock for it.

A little costuming and refinery upcycle - even calendars can have those.

 

A simple book cover out of an oatmeal linen became my foundation.  I recommend using a fabric that is a bit sturdy and not too flimsy. I tend to toss around my calendar and other daily items a great deal so nothing too delicate. 

 

Gathering scraps of lace and doilies, I began to stitching my collage.  I am not fussy about the condition of some of the laces.  Torn, tattered and a stain here and there only added to the charm of the collage for me.  An image of Marie Antoinette printed on cotton became the centerpiece with a little scrap of cotton lace as a frame.

 

 

 

Without a doubt, I wanted to incorporate some sumptuous light blue velvet from my stash.
You gotta use it sometime right?  At least for very special projects.

It was relaxing and fun to add some decorative stitches and mother of pearl buttons to it too!

 

Being a tactile person, I have really enjoyed using this calendar everyday.

Even if you don't find a calendar to suit your style, you can make it your own.

Fabric, paint, beading, collaging - whatever speaks to you - do it!

 

 

Thank you for stopping by friends!

Have a beautiful day! ~ xo Heidi

Double exciting news!

 

Sometimes things happen all at once - even better when they are good!

 

I am honored and delighted to have a seed packet/favor featured in Creating Vintage Charm magazine!

 

 

 

 

 

I was inspired by the old fashioned tradition of trading seeds and cuttings between neighbors and friends for this project.

This would make a charming favor for a wedding (scatter seeds of love) or maybe even a baby shower.

 

 

 

 

Stitch Craft Create magazine was taking submissions for their celebrations issue.

I submitted a festive rosette tutorial which can be personalized to suit your event.

I was completely stunned when they told me it made the cover!

 

 

I am so incredibly honored to have my projects featured in these beautiful magazines.

If I didn't have a little outside encouragement and mustered up some bravery, I might not have taken the chance to submit it.

 

If you make things that bring you joy, chances are they will bring someone else joy too.

Be BRAVE

Sometimes you get turned down but don't let that discourage you.

Keep going and enjoy creating in the moment.  You never know where it may lead.

  xo's ~ Heidi