My Ten Minute Asymmetrical Necklace

I was so excited when i put together this necklace in less than ten minutes!! I'm not exactly a "jewelry artist" so this was the perfect jewelry project as a beginner. The Vintage Groove line by Making Memories makes is so easy! After I create a project the next step is to photograph it, which can sometimes be a real challenge... I decided to prop it on a dress form and grabbed the first shirt i saw in the stash of "clothes props" at work. I feel like it was the perfect choice! This picture actually ended up taking much less time than i thought so I was one happy camper. One of my biggest influences for style comes from my favorite store - Anthropologie. I'm starting to see how that reflects my photography sometimes! Everyone is (usually) their own worst critic and I'm usually pretty hard on myself but for once I couldn't be happier with the end result - project and photo!!

Little Touch & Sew

So i decided to go back to my favorite thrift (the one that's closing in 2 weeks..) to see if there was much left.. Everything is still 50% off, soon to be 75% off so you can imagine my reaction when i came across this mini Singer for $5 which ended up being $2.50 with the 50% off discount. I seriously feel like i hit the jackpot.


Every time i find i deal like this at a flea market or thrift store i almost want to pinch myself. I actually look around to see if anyone else is eyeing the same thing and about to try and snag it from me.

And then i just count my lucky blessings. My thrifting karma.

So this beauty is battery operated. I will be giving it a whirl this weekend to see if it works. But if its doesn't I'm not the least bit bothered. Because for $2.50 even if it doesn't work it will simply just look amazing as a funky piece of home decor.

Vintage Goodness - Mary Had a Little Lamb

Sadly my favorite local thrift store is closing... But the good thing about the store closing is that they are having an amazing sale to clear out the store. So when i found this stack of vintage children's books from the 50s i was just a tad excited when the store attendant informed me that "normally children's books are 60cents but with the 50% off sale they are just 30cents each." What!!!!


I know not everyone is as addicted to thrift stores and flea markets as some of us are, and i know there are people out there that just don't get it and think that things like this are "junky" but for someone like myself, coming across a find like this simply makes your day. I love how tattered and well loved these books are, it just makes them all the more special.


I haven't decided what to do with them or where to put them yet (ideas are appreciated). For now I will just stack them on the dresser in my daughters bedroom, and read them to her, but that may be a struggle since the stories don't involve Disney characters! Maybe I will end up using them for baby shower gifts, who knows?


But these well love books will most certainly continue to be well loved in their new home.

Unexpected.

I recently did a friend at work a small favor. She came to me wanting a little help altering a cardigan. To cut a long story short, it was a black cardigan and on the upper right chest area there was a decorative patch/embellishment that was a rather girly, frilly pink bow. It's not that it was it was hideous, but it wasn't good. And it certainly didn't suit the style of my coworker (Raquel). So I offered to take it and embellish/fix it and turn it into something a little more current that she would enjoy wearing. I added an arrangement of flower yoyos in black, white and a brightly colored blue fabric. It turned out pretty cool. Well I think it did. The cardigan should be making an appearance in a future issue of Altered Couture so unfortunately I can't show any pictures... However I was pleasantly surprised when Raquel came to my office recently with a gratitude gift that simply made my day. It was totally unexpected and that's what made it so special. I never expected anything in return for my favor so I was over the moon happy when she gave me this cool gift, and it made me realize that she was really happy with the cardigan.

Like a lot of women, one of my favorite stores is Anthropologie. I knew the moment Raquel handed me a gift in an Anthropologie bag that I would love it - whats not to love in that store? She added a sweet yet simple tag to the outside of the bag tied with a piece of decorative twill.

I love her handwritten note. I'm glad she doesn't have to wear something "cheesy" now! Cheesy would be bad.

Inside to my delight I found some cool gifts that any gal would love.

A cool flower brooch that you can attach to a shirt to add a little interest. The best thing about this brooch is that it doubles as a hair accessory. On the back it has a clip and a pin so I can choose to wear it either way!

Also included in the bag was a set of the cutest recipe cards ever! From a company that I just discovered recently, Rifle Paper Co. You must check out the website, its full of eye candy!

The best gifts are ones like this - unexpected.

Back From Oz

What a whirlwind of a trip! Izzy and I just spent two weeks back home in Australia.. Had an absolute blast with the family. We hadn't been back home since 2006 so it had been four years since we saw most of the family. Most of our time was spent just spending good quality time with the family at the beach and parks. I'm pretty sure Izzy's favorite day was at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Lone Pine is by far my favorite place to visit when back home. Its a small wildlife park, unlike the huge, over priced, commercial zoos that you can go to in Australia. It only has Aussie animals and is basically the real deal. The best part is being able to hold a koala and hand feed the Kangaroos. Thought i would share a couple of my favorite pics. I'm happy to be home and looking forward to doing some crafting - its been way too long!

Took A Break From The Blog I Never Really Started

Its been quite a busy few months to say the least. I'm feeling so extremely disappointed in myself that i still haven't really pushed myself to blog more often. A number of things happened that have consumed all my energy and time... But I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm going to put a stop to it and get back on track. I really want to start making more of an effort to just enjoy the moment. Just like my Izzy is enjoying herself in this pic. Sigh.

Finally - I'm a Cover Artist!!

Making the cover of a Somerset publication has been a goal of mine for such a long time. I've submitted to many of our publications and have been fortunate enough to have my artwork published in a number of various Somerset publications. At work I always enjoy see the "cover samples" every time I head over to the art department and was just waiting for the day that I saw a cover with my artwork as a cover option. So you imagine my excitement the day I saw my little French ATC hanging on the board as a cover option for Take Ten - and it was chosen!

Its been a tad crazy busy recently so I'm hoping to get busy and start blogging more soon!