After the weekend...

Our sisters' getaway is gone. Over. Done with. Nothing but memories remain. Well, maybe one little booboo, but that too will pass.

We had a mahvelous time. If anyone is ever thinking of visiting Salado overnight, you must go to Inn on the Creek. Besides it being delightfully luxurious, the staff were fabulous and the food fantastic.

The Inn is a compound of four historic homes moved to Salado from other places in Texas. We were in the Holland House--moved from Holland, Texas, doncha know.

I didn't take photos, and of course now I'm regretful, but a couple of my sisters did. I'm hoping Daisy will post some on her site soon. (Above and below are shots from the Inn's home page.)

The first night was the night of my booboo, a squishy-squashed finger, and I lay down with a book around eightish because of the throbbing. When Billie came in for the night, she was bubbling over. She and Ginger and Alice went down to the creek. There are hammocks there, and it was just the three of them and Alice, our sedate little Alice, got a little kooky. That, I hated missing, as well as the fact that They Saw Fireflies! I've not seen one in ages.

This is a shot I found on the 'net of Salado Creek viewed from Inn on the Creek. Looks as if it's set up for a wedding. Gorgeous, innit?

The second morning we were there, we were sitting on the front porch of the house where our rooms were...

When a lady and her two darling golden retrievers came by. The dogs made a dash for the porch where we were. Who couldn't love someone that glad to see you? Their owner was delightful as well, but I'm afraid she had to take second place to the girls. While I'm not that much of a dog person, if I could adopt either Brisa or Belle, Max would have to make room.

This lady is a boot collector, as is Daisy's hub. Wish I could have recorded their conversation about boots, but then I wish I could have recorded the entire weekend.

The lady came by again the last morning we were there, bringing cookies as a traveling gift. How sweet was that? So I decided to make a card as thanks.

I needlefelted the boot.

Inside I wrote a line from a Jim Reeves song, A Stranger is Just a Friend, with a tad bit of artistic license taken. I'm wondering if I should stamp Thanks on the first page. Secondly, should I print the saying out on paper and glue it on? While I have a passable handwriting, and as is it certainly says personal and handcrafted, it lacks a certain professionalism.

What say you? I'd love to hear comments. (And thanks in advance.)

Recycled Gift Package

In preparation for my weekend away, I made a list of things I needed to do and have been trying to complete those, but yesterday afternoon I took a break and shot photos of the gifts I'm taking. I've mentioned before that on our annual get-away my sisters and I alternate celebrating a sister's birthday. This year it's Billie's turn. We tend to go the same time each year, and as Daisy's birthday falls around the time, I usually get some little something for her as well.

Yesterday I shot pics of the packaging and the cards I made for each of them and duly transferred said pics to the 'puter. Or thought I did. Not checking first--I mean, who does that? Not me, certainly--I deleted the shots from the camera. I never do that, at least not immediately, but I was still readying myself for the weekend. And somehow I lost every shot I took except these two.

:^P (That's my fave emoticon. What says disgust better?)

Now on to the pics. I love Sephora bags; I just hate that they stick their name EveryWhere, making them pretty darned un-useful for gifting.

But I wanted to use this one. It fit the gift so well. So I covered all that writing up with embellishments.

The ribbon I simply painted on the underside ends with Elmer's to stop it raveling, then glued it down, again with Elmers. The flower I used the box technique to make, as demonstrated here. (She uses paper and does it beautifully! I used four layers of burlap. Maybe next time I'll try for eight layers.)

There was even more writing on the back so I covered that with a frame of ribbon. Shoulda mitered the corners; I'll do that next time. In the center I added--not to cover up anything, but just cuz--a needlefelted button. (See technique here.)

And that's all I have, though I used the box flower technique on Daisy's package as well. On hers, I cut the circles from a wallpaper border I picked up at the thrift store. Guess it goes without saying that I love repurposing!

It's 5 o'clock in the a.m. here in the Texas hill country, and I've been up since threeish. Couldn't go back to sleep, but I'm thinking I may be able to now. So ta, y'all. Talk to you when I get back.

Better Belated Than Never

I forgot my dear friend's birthday. :^P

I made a gift for her in March, intending to send it to her then and call it an un-birthday present--we don't exchange gifts anymore; both of us have far more than we need. But I didn't. Then I remembered her birthday in April, when it isn't, and forgot it in May, when it is.

Actually, I was only four days late when it dawned on me, but we spoke on Sunday, three days after, and I didn't mention it--cuz I didn't remember. Dang me!

Anyway, I'm not gonna call and tell her I forgot. (Obviously, she already knows.) I'm getting her gift in the mail today. (She doesn't read this blog so I can tell y'all without forewarning her.) I thought I'd share the gift I made her.

Kathy's a talented seamstress, has made her own clothing forever and took couture sewing classes years ago. I wanna be her someday! So I stitched up this little sewing basket for her. It's made of wool felted from a blanket (a gift from my sis--thanks, Daisy.). I used a silk plaid for the lining, stitched a pocket on the front for a pair of folding scissors and hung a felted wool ball from a twisted perle cotton rope for a pincushion. The pins I made from a couple of beads I had (owl and the pussycat, anyone?) anchored onto the pins with polymer clay--and a bit of E6000!

A closer look at the pins. I'm not sure they'd work for actual use, but they're kinda cute, methinks.

 

A glance at the inside. I have gobs of this silk, used it as a bottom border on a shower curtain and for purse linings but have hardly made a dent in it

This weekend I'll be going with my sisters on our annual getaway. We'll be in Salado, just a couple of hours from here, at a gorgeous B&B on Salado Creek. As my 'nother sis Ginger said, "We may never leave!"

That's all for now. Take care, y'all.

Back again

I've become so neglectful of this blog I almost forget I have it! Now and then, though, I like to show what I've been up to in my absence.

As I mentioned many times, I love buttons. Here are a few things I've been working on.

I made this necklace from vintage MOP buttons--about 75 in total--some sterling wire, a sterling necklace, and a few glass beads. Pretty neat, huh? If you're liking it, here's a tutorial.

This elephant thingabobbie I found in a box of old buttons. Carved bone, I believe. Isn't it cool? I used a sterling headpin and a green, jadey-like stone bead to make a necklace pendant. (It'd be cool as a charm, but I think at an inch and a half it's a bit long.)

Another necklace pendant made from a MOP button. On this one, the button itself was about an inch and a half so it too had to be a pendant.

What else? Well, I made another awning for our back porch. It's a difficult one to photograph since my house faces east and the sun's not in a good position for picture-taking until late afternoon. Hmm. It's late afternoon right now. Maybe I'll just nip out and see if I can get a shot or two.

Here it is, awnings closed. The one on the left I made several years ago; the one on the right is the new one. Since we have a western aspect to our back yard, the awnings are necessary to shade the living room. And sitting on the back porch is a killer without them! The new one, though, is mainly cuz in the afternoon the sun shines right in the hub's eyes in the LR!

I made them from drop cloths, a 4' x 15', so all I had to do was cut the 15' direction to length, add a hem to one cut side and along the bottom to hold a pvc pipe, then add rings for the ropes. The hub had to do much more--he put a long rebar inside the PVC to weight it, built the runners for the pipe to ride up in--and to keep the awning from blowing in our strong winds, added pulleys at the top and mounted the whole darn thing. 

While I'm at it, and while I was out snapping the above pics, thought I'd show my caladiums now that they're finally beginning to bloom. Pretty, huh? They'll get even more magnificent before summer's gone.

That's all, folks!

A Lovely Life

It's a beautiful time of year here in central Texas, at least for the main part. Already we're having some record-breaking temps, but it's cool enough in the mornings to work in the garden. This morning, my Maxie cat and I were doing just that. I took a break and while we wandered the back yard I thought about what a lovely life we have here. So I wanted to show if off.

This was taken earlier this month. Isn't it gorgeous? This is my cross vine. It's several years old and only blooms in the spring, but it's magnificent when it does. The trellis is at the back of what was our original lot. We've since bought the one behind us and expanded so it's now pretty much in the middle

This is one of my favorite parts of the back yard. It's a big old post oak tree. I didn't want any competition for the roots so I planted only a couple of things in the ground. Half of the tree, though, belongs to the next lot, which is undeveloped, and weeds and such grow on that side. Poor tree!

A closer look at my caladiums. They're only just sprouting but they'll look gorgeous soon. (I have them in all four of those bigger pots.)

My herb garden and the hub's itty bitty pond. (He has it covered to keep the raccoons from making off with the fish.) Some herbs I plant in the ground, some I confine in pots. The catnip, the plant that's closest to the sprinkler in the middle, is in a pot in the ground. That makes it easy for Max to roll in it.

I love the bucolic feel of this area.The line of rocks behind the copse of trees is the back edge to the part of our property we maintain. The rest we've let go to pasture.

This is my studio. I've shown it before but I think it's a darling little building, and I love spending time out there. The building you can see behind is the hub's work shop.

 

For the past couple of years we've grown honeysuckle on this trellis. For several years it was morning glory, which I dearly love, but there's an insect around here, can't remember the name, that dearly loves the morning glory. Someone told me to use insecticide soap on it, but as hot as it can get in this part of the yard, I feared it would burn the plant. So I switched. Doesn't the honeysuckle look lovely?

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my backyard. Isn't it a lovely, lovely life?

Heirloom Jewelry

I'm a great lover of, though not a great wearer of, antique/vintage jewelry. Some things I've collected are in my Etsy stores, but others I won't part with. Some of those I thought I'd share with you today.

This Victorian brooch/pendant I found in an antique store in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas, some twenty years ago. It's from the latter part of the 19th century, is about an inch wide with a small diamond in the center and pearls on each of the rays, and has a pendant bail that folds away.  I think it's gorgeous! I used to wear it, back when I held down a job, but it kinda doesn't go with t-shirts and jeans. 

Tooling around on the 'net, I found several pieces similar, though none that were exactly like.

This first has a larger diamond; they're asking $595 for it. 

This one has more pearls, a larger diamond and more detail at the center. They're asking $585 for it.

This one is most like mine, but with more pearls and a larger diamond. They've dated it to 1870 and are asking $775.

I found others ranging from $295 all the way to $895. Apparantly this was a popular design of the period.

For a second or two, I  considered selling mine, but I don't need the money, and while I don't wear it now, that doesn't mean I mightn't someday. I sure as heck wouldn't spend the money to buy one at these prices! (I think I paid something like $50 for it.)

Now on to the other heirloom stuff I wanted to show y'all:

This filigree birthstone ring belonged to my mother-in-law; it dates to the early 1900s. Isn't it lovely?

A closer view of the filigree detail.

These earrings are not as old, but I consider them lovely. I found them in an antique store in New Braunfels in 2003 and paid as much for them as for the sunburst brooch. Because of the similarities to Mum's ring, I had to have them. Besides, they were in a price range I could afford.

Here I've shown the earring and ring together. They're similar, yet different. The earrings aren't any older than the '70s or '80s, but they're sterling with gold filigree, and I consider them worth every cent of what I paid.

The final piece today is my mother-in-law's engagement ring. After she died, my father-in-law gave it to me, which meant a great deal to me. I've been proud to wear it ever since.

Poor, pitiful me never had one of my own, which may be why Dad made sure I had this. What he didn't realize is that it was my choice not to have an engagement ring. I wanted just a band. Even then, I worried about money. Starting out, we were so poor we barely had enough to set up housekeeping. I couldn't see spending the money for an engagement ring. Over the years, though times got better, there's always been something else to do with money. I know lots of women would beg, borrow or steal for a diamond ring, but not me. Even now, when we can afford it, it seems a waste. So when I wear a ring, I wear Mum's.

Here it is as I wear it, with a wedding band I found at an antique store in downtown Dallas ages ago. I like the two together; they look as if they've been passed down through generations, as they have and as they will be.

Isn't that what an heirloom is?

Me, again

I've become so random at posting I'm not even going to apologize. So, this is me, moving on.

The pillow I planned to finish two weeks ago I finally completed a week later. I tried some new techniques, which were a little more involved than I thought they'd be. Still, I think it turned out rather well.

 

The next one didn't take quite so long, though I still haven't managed to do one a day.

Both these were made from samples of high-end fabric. Embroidered in wool on a hand-woven cotton base, they're to-the-trade only fabrics in the $150-$200 a yard range. On the first I used an ultra-suede type fabric for the back and on the second I chose a natural-colored raw silk.

So what does one do with the remnants of fabric this expensive? In my world, one improvises.

This is a set of small sachets, one 3.5"x5", the other 4"x5". Inside each is a muslin packet filled with dried lavender from my garden. I have several more sets under construction. Gotta use up all those bits!

With that I'm gonna sign off. Time to watch a bit of telly with the hub. So 'bye, y'all!