Wedding Slippers

I was asked to create matching shoes for a wedding vow renewal to be held in June.  I've already made a large rose adornment with streamers and a cufflet with streamers (thought the streamers might trip the bride so I didn't add them to these--haha).

Zipper Headbands

Saw these cute zipper hearts on flickr the other day and decided to make headbands.  I bought a few chosen slacks/jeans and retrieved the zippers.  I put these in S'more Couture this week.

Jeans Skirt Rethought

I was gleaning at the Salvation Army Store the other day and came across this Aeropostale skirt and thought I'd lace it up which I did with some of my collected lace from other gleanings.  It's in my Etsy shop--why?--I don't know since nothing sells there anymore but it doesn't fit in any of the other categories of shops in which I place my stuff.  Hmm--makes me wonder why I bother but this skirt was calling to me.

Signs of Spring--Finally!

 Profusion of color.

 Hyacinths

 Bluebells

 Forsythia

 Tulips and Hyasinths

The tiny leaves are just starting to show on our fire bushes.  Soon they will hide this birdhouse.

I had to capture this beauty while it lasts.  We had a glorious sunny Sunday.

Thank you, God.



Flowers

I've had a cold/sinus trouble/allergies/wretchedly snuffy last week and a half and my friends, whom I helped to the doctor on Friday, sent me these flowers.  They are BEE U T FULL.  I called to thank her and she said, "It just dawned on me that you might be allergic to them."  I don't think I am and I don't care now that I'm on an antibiotic for the secondary infection caused by the above unnamed malady.  Flowers make me happy.  Good weekend everyone.

Heart Zipper Headband

I saw these on flickr the other day and immediately started hunting for the one zipper that I owned.  I knew it was somewhere and I'd seen it in the past month.  But where?  Found it, worked it into a heart, sewed, glued and attached it to a purchased headband from, yes, The Dollar Tree!  I'm going back to buy more--for what reason, I don't know because I don't even know what I'm going to do with this one yet.  I thought I'd try it on--thus the gray-haired model shot above.  I kinda liked it, even on me.  It's pretty punk but I love it.

Here Today and Gone Tomorrow

My husband cut these off our apricot tree that was packed with blossoms and so beautiful.  The next day all the blossoms were gone.  I'm so glad I got to enjoy these the rest of the week.  They are almost worth keeping the tree even though we don't ever get apricots from it.  We're too cold in this neck-o-the-woods for the tree to bear fruit.  Have a Happy Spring Week.

New Domino Necklaces

The pink nature scenes are from photos I took, made a wallet size copy and cut it apart.  The others are public domain photos I've collected and minimized.  Take a domino, glue on subject, etch a design in gel medium around edges, highlight edges and back with metalic paint, seal front photo with glaze, add cord and beads and voile!  These are at RE-, a little "green" shop that has all different kinds of handmade gifts--pretty cool place. One of these (nature photo and unpictured here) went to our youth auction at church for summer missions projects.

Lace Cufflet and Revisions

 I was asked to do a lace cufflet (that's what I call this)/wristlet/bracelet.  When I got this far, I thought I was done until I looked at my notes and read that she also wanted ribbon streamers.

 So...I added the streamers.  I love the embroidery of the lace hankie I used and wanted to keep it's integrity but...

when I took it to the shop, the owner said the lady wanted little flowers on it as well.  Back home and after another hour and a half of work, I had added flowers.  Well, "that's not many," you may think but I also backed it with some nylon, hand stitched.  I've had a cold  or allergies or something for seven days up to this point and I felt horrible but wanted to get this done and mark a notch on my needle (or something like that.)  Amy likes it now and thinks the lady will, too.  She's also going to ask $20.00 more for it than I would because she thinks that's what the other cufflets brought.  I think she's right and I'm not arguing because this one caused me grief and even though I enjoyed the process, it became stressful.  Does creating do that to you sometimes?  When I handed this to her today, she handed back to me a pair of shoes that this gal wants decorated, so... back to the drawing board.  I'm flattered that she likes my work well enough to ask for more.  That's the verification I need to keep going.

Hearts to You

 Do you see it?  I had given this little nest to my daughter for Christmas and she had it in her half bath.  Look closely.  Can you see the heart?  You can find soaps like this at The Feather Nest and they smell so good.  The heart was accidentally there in the nest and I couldn't resist capturing it.

My granddaughter, Hannah, and I were playing "rocks" the other day.  I wrote the bottom message and she copied it, upsidedown and facing me.  She's only 4--super smart girl, if you ask me.  She's an unbelievable reader and has been reading over a year now.  Hold on, Mom and Dad, you're in for the ride of your life.

Reconstructed Tee Shirt Into A Dress

I used a ribbed tee shirt from WalMart, opened the side seams at the bottom by about 4", and added assorted gathered lace and ruched tulle at the top.  I've pinned it to the dress form because it is SO skinny.  Some little Jr. High Schooler will have to wear this one.  I was a able to SQeeezzz it on the form but it was very tight and I popped a few stitches in doing so.  I'm not too thrilled with how this turned out but maybe I won't ask too much for it.  It looks a lot better with a body beneath it.  Busy, busy day ahead.  Must go.

Couronne Bouffante

SOLD

Here are four of the ten little Puffy Crowns (Couronne Bouffante) that are in S'more Couture now.  One of them sold.  It was cream and black with black faceted beads and I don't have a photo of it.  I took photos of the display Amy put in her shop but I don't know how to get them off my phone and on my blog. Annnyyyywaayyyyy...One sold!  They aren't something I would wear but I think they would look cute in high, puffy hair or on a high ponytail or bun. The woman who bought it is a stand-up comic and wanted something different and that's what Amy had in mind--something different--so no more headbands for a while for her.

"... bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."--Isaiah 61:3

Reconstructed Tee Shirt Just For Me

Yes, I did; I made this for me.  I've been wanting to do something with this scooped-neck T-shirt since winter but have put it off until now.  I just got the urge and had to follow through.  It took me a couple of hours, mainly because I kept making mistakes with the flower.  The scoop was way too low for me so I put tucks in the front neckline, made a flower and sewed it on the tucked place.  I cut the sleeves off, but not too short, and ruffled the edges with a zig-zag stitch.  I'm going to wear it today for a while and then to church tomorrow----if it looks good.  It certainly will not look as good as on this dress form since I'm not a size 6 lady--enough said.  The tee looks a little washed out in the photos but it is still a strong black.  It's difficult to photograph black well--at least, for me.

Reconstructed Tee Shirt in Blue

This shirt was not a turtleneck but had a rounded neck that I cut off.  I stay-stitched the opening, added little squares of the fabric that I'd cut from strips of the long sleeves I had removed, overlapped them and sewed them on.  Then I clipped the inner part of the opening to make a little more ruffled look.  (I had forgotten to add that last part to my instructions yesterday.) Today I'm hoping to make four more commissioned flowers (made another one yesterday that I didn't photograph) and a commissioned fabric cufflet.  I haven't done one of those for a long time so I'm looking forward to working on it.  If I get out, I want to get a zipper for a remade dress.  I haven't done a zipper in a long time, also, but I'm not looking forward to that.  We'll see how my day goes.  I may be visiting my friends-in-need today depending on their schedules.  Possibly, this early in the day, I can do all of the above--God willing.