Ruby Star Wrapping: The Resplendent Rose, Package number 2

This is my second entry for the Sew Mama Sew Blog Ruby Star Wrapalong contest.  I am reposting for the entry and I also wanted to mention that the boxes used in wrapping these gifts were reclaimed from the recyling.  One box is a cereal box and the other is a water filter box.  This long package is obviously the cereal box and it was a great resource since I'd completely run out of the traditional white boxes.  It was great to reclaim these boxes since going to the store for boxes with my four year old and six month old is the last thing I want to do these days! 

I'd also completely run out of ribbons and looked to my scrap fabrics again for this supply.  The ribbons on this package and on my other entry are torn strips of fabric.  And as I said in the last post the fabric used here is from a vintage sheet and the netting is a produce bag I've been saving to incorporate into my wrapping. 

Happy Wrapping Everyone!!

Ruby Star Wrapping: The Resplendent Rose

This post is for the Ruby Star Wrap-Along contest at the Sew Mama Sew Blog.  I chose to do the project called The Resplendent Rose which was featured on another blog.  I did my project as a sort of riff off of the project since I've made fabric roses before (I just never thought to use them on packages!).  I combined the roses with mesh bags from produce that I'd saved for a few months.  My hope was to incorporate them in my Christmas wrappings some how, so I just mashed all those ideas together and came up with these packages.

 

 

Heres a shot from closer up and with a little distance.  I'm still figuring out the lighting in our new home. 

 

This one is wrapped with some gingham fabric scraps and you can see the produce bag peeking out behind the flower.

This one is wrapped in a vintage sheet scrap and has a black produce bag behind the Resplendent Rose! 

Heres a close up of the rose.  All of the materials used to wrap both of these presents came directly from my scrap bag of fabrics!  So this project is a great scrapbuster.  Well happy wrapping everyone and I'll be back soon with a post of all the Christmas crafts I've done with AJ this year!

Where I've been

Its been over a year since I've posted on this blog and I think I have a pretty good excuse.  It started with the excitement of expecting our second child and it continued to unfold with a move halfway across the country!  I've been squeezing in some sewing here and there, some for new baby, some for friends, some for my oldest daughter and some for our new home.  I haven't taken any pictures of any of it but plenty of pictures of our new addition and family. 

The new baby is now 15 weeks old and my oldest daughter just turned 4 so I hope to take pictures of things that I have been sewing soon but hesitate to make any promises!  I love documenting my creative life in this space and have lots of plans to return to it soon! 

Fall Festival 2011

We had the much anticipated Fall Festival last weekend and here are a few photos from our booth.

This is the left side of the booth.  You can see the chalkboard in front and we had the blue tarp up only when the sun was shining in on that side.  The popular mobile from scraps of fabric and with paper birds is on the right. I never imagined it would have been as popular as it was and it has a new home now.

This is the right side of the booth.  See the vintage make-up case!  When Micah saw it he said, "my Nana had one of those."  I took down the small basket of Christmas ornaments on the second day, it just seemed to clutter the space.

This was on the right side of the tent.  The ironing board was a favorite find of mine.  Below it are a couple of baskets, one with discount items.  The sticks hold my sisters pin cushions and scissor fobs.



The vintage suitcases were a lucky find.  They all just happened to match. 

We had a great weather.  It was in the 70's both days...gorgeous!  It is always fun to see other appreciate all your hard work and we had fun talking to people.  We are considering more craft shows so I'll keep you posted about those!

Fall Festival countdown!

A close friend of mine, my sister and I are doing a booth at a nearby fall festival the last weekend of September.  We had a booth last fall as well and I really enjoyed making items for the booth and the challenge of setting it up.  This year I am even more excited since our booth will be slightly bigger and in a better location and I've had more ideas in my head about how to set it up!  Here are some of the things I have been working on for the booth.

These are fabric rosettes to wear as pins or to put in your hair or on your purse. 

This one has plaid wool for the leaves and many of the others have burlap leaves.

These are double-sided cloth napkins made from vintage sheets.  I love the old colander they are in, its a really thin metal and has a rustic finish, of course I picked it up at one of my favorite thrift stores.

These are key chains or luggage ID tags.  They have vintage sheets and vintage fabrics on them and two of them have kitschy poems on them.

 This cracks me up and so does this one...

I thought these would be great charms for a backpack or purse too.

These are the bookmarks I've been cranking out.  The pieces of fabric are old quilt pieces that were never assembled. 

The little tin cup is a measuring cup. 

I added some crinkly ribbon to the edge of the buttons.  This genius ribbon is inspired by my sister's creation.  Its aged hem tape...how we age it is out little secret!  These are a few of the things I have been working on for the fall festival.  I'm focusing on smaller items this year.  I think they are better received than higher priced, more time intensive projects. 

A note for the Grandparents, I would've included a picture of AJ at her new hand-me-down dressing table however she didn't want to pose for a picture.  Someone at church passed down a dressing table to her Sunday and she had a fit over it.  She cried when I told her Dad would bring it home later so I had to pull the car around and load it up myself.  She was juiced up on cake that we had at a reception after church and it was dangerously close to nap time so loading up the table and taking it home in the moment seemed more prudent than listening to wailing all the way home and all through lunch and all through nap time routine!  Sometime you just gotta do what works! 

What you can find at a thrift store (or church yard sale!)...

Here are some of the treasures I've picked up in the recent months.  I've discovered that I love a church yard sale.  The older women who usually run them are generally always so graceful and kind and the atmosphere is usually a kind one.  The prices aren't outrageous either since they aren't just in it to get your dime!  Mostly they are places where you can find old stuff which is why I love going!

This mixer cover is a little frayed on the edges but I love the embroidery!

This is an enamelware teapot from Poland.  I have used it to heat water in, I hope that's safe.  Anyone have any wisdom about using old enamelware and whether or not its safe?

This is about six yards of fabric.  I just love how vibrant it is and the white polka dots are so fun next to the strawberries.  I've got to figure out what to do with border print fabrics since I have two cute ones. 

And here's a picture for the Grandparents, the other night I went to get in bed and I always keep a roll of toilet paper next to the bed for tissue.  As I went to go to bed I discovered this nice little nest of tissue.

I knew that AJ had Micah's belt earlier in the day and had been hanging it over the edge of the bed "fishing" but I didn't know she'd actually made fish!  And yes my bed is unmade (I know this would make my MaMa roll over in her grave) but I just see it as airing out the sheets during the day!!

Happy day to you and happy creating!

Been busy!

We have been busy enjoying our summer, so whenever I've started to blog I just couldn't get myself to commit to it!  I'm loving other things right now and as Micah says, "its there to serve you, you're not here to serve it!"  But here are a few things we've been busy with...

Dreaming of the garden, planting the garden and now...

Keeping up with the garden...mostly shelling peas...

 Waiting for those Lima beans to come in...

We've been visiting family...

 Playing in the sprinkler and having birthday parties with cousins...

        and resting on the floor with Grandma when feeling pooped out...

I've been busy making aprons...which have yet to find a home...and I'm still mulling over the idea of opening an etsy shop...

This one has a detachable front panel and pockets behind the panel.

This one has a crochet bird on it.  I love this bird and the peach color of the pockets.

 So we have been busy with the things we love the most, being with family, being together, growing food and sewing.  Hope you have been busy with the things you love as well.