a Christmas kit.....

I always create a few kits right before various holidays....this is my favorite one....love all the sweet touches. There is nothing better than creating a special handmade item for friends, family and teachers. This sweet little kit you can create with your youngsters. A funky little mini wee notebook with some glitzy tinsel, fab polka dots and sweet embellishments. The kit is available in my etsy shop. Look for a few more kits coming soon.....

gift card tutorial.....

It seems like every year I always have several gift cards to purchase for friends and family....so what better way to give a gift card than to have it presented in something pretty. A few years back I purchased a gift card for my husband and it was tucked inside a little felt holder....simply darling...so I revamped the style and came up with the holder design above. These can also be altered with a little loop at the top for hanging on the tree or tuck a little note inside for your sweet pea to read at lunch time.

The supplies you will need to create the gift card holders are some lightweight cardboard (I used recycled cereal boxes), some felt and trims.

I first cut the cardboard in a 3 x 4.5 piece as well as the felt into 2 pieces that measured 3 x 4.5 and one that measured 3 x 3.

I sandwiched the felt in between the 2 larger pieces of felt and set aside. The small piece I machine stitched my trims onto. Next you will lay the smaller trimmed piece of felt on top of your other sandwiched pieces of felt and cardboard to create 4 layers. Stitch all the way around the outside of the rectangle. Trim any excess pieces and glue any pieces that you are unable to sew onto felt. This can easily be done by hand stitching or using glue as well. Viola'....you have a lovely little gift card holder. And....wouldn't this be darling with a piece of felt or trim looped at the top to hang on your tree?! My next project? An advent style calender for the 12 days of Christmas I am creating for my sweet pea...stay tuned for a simple tutorial and pictures.

Christmas bells are ringing....

Woweeee....today I was really in Christmas creative mode......love this color combination of the aged red, natural aged flocked netting, velvety white and the pale aqua....yum! I have created this into a sweet pin you can attach to a Christmas package or wear on your jacket. I really love all the textures and soft palette shades!

Again...I was inspired by soft hues of blue, whites and a pop of red. This sweet altered vintage postcard is soooo fun. You can find it in my shop.

Santa baby.....love this Christmas sign. My mother loaded me up with some vintage Christmas cards that my grandmother had saved throughout the years...this Santa was one of my fav's!

This quirky and funky altered vintage postcard is another fun addition to my shop....along with loads of other goodies. Check back on Wednesday for a super easy and fun tutorial....yeah!

a few fun finds......

These sweet vintage Christmas cards have been my color inspiration lately...I love the off white paired with red and blue hues! I will be incorporating these somehow into some creations...quite possibly some holiday kits.

I love it when you open up a box expecting to find one thing and find something WAY better. That was the case with these cards. I opened a box not expecting to find much....well...boy did I find something wonderful...a box full of various vintage cards....all unused.

I find these vintage postcards at various times throughout the year....this box was chucked full..so expect some postcard altering to be done on these with Christmas themes.

This stationary is absolutely darling. I adore the sweet flowers and matching envelopes.

More vintage matchboxes....just how cute are all the tops of the boxes?! These along with other goodies galore in my shop.

An unopened pack of vintage plastic doilies....love these...a fab find from the 50's.

This sweet little flocked guy is going into a wreath I am creating....he is gonna make me smile every time I see him.

My absolutely fav find of the day....these little mini wee tree toppers are sooooo glorious! I have a larger one that sits atop our tree during the holidays that was my grandparents...now my little sweet pea will have one that can sit atop her own tree in her room.

another estate sale....

Ok...so I have been eyeing the paper every Wednesday in hopes that there will be at least one good estate sale for me to attend....I am officially hooked! This past Thursday I was able to sneak over to a close by sale and find some really wonderful treasures. These vintage ornaments are sooo pretty...I love the mesh overlay...plus who can resist vintage glass beaded garland?!

Vintage ornaments are always something I am on the lookout for (I like to save some back for my daughter's keepsake box so that someday she can have them for her own tree). And of course as soon as I bring them home she admires them and loves them all..so I know whichever ones I keep back for her will be her very own treasure someday.

These vintage red bows are going into some creations I am currently working on as well as a few vintage Christmas packs that are headed to my shop.

There were TONS of vintage craft items at the sale....so these were a few of the vintage millinery supplies I picked up...love the sweet case with the vintage flowers and leaves carefully tucked inside.

I have sooooo many of these vintage milk glass pots..but I love having them on hand to plant pretty succulent in and give as little gifts here and there.

These mini wee plastic sunglasses take me back to the late 70's and early 80's....aren't they fun? I grabbed a handful (there were literally hundreds of them) and saved back a few for my sweet pea...the others will be going into my shop soon.

Boxes of vintage trims and more vintage stamens. I love the vintage green beaded trim....I can't wait to use that in some creations. Plus I was pleasantly surprised when I went through my goodies that the Bingo cards came in an array of colors...red, green and blue. The red and green ones are perfect for Christmas!

Mini wee vintage glass ornaments...perfect for tucking into mini wreaths....or adding to a bow as a shiny bauble.

I have some big ideas for the vintage plastic doilies I have been accumulating recently. The vintage gold flocked hanky is just so dainty and darling...love it!

These bags of vintage felt flowers are soooo precious! The middle gold portion is sooooo sweet! Look for these to be heading to my shop as well.

I love vintage picture frames..and these filigree ones are absolutely beautiful. I am planning on spray painting the framework and adding mirrors to the inner core.

Vintage Christmas bell garlands...so pretty! There were several bags of these...which are in my shop now.

A bit of my vintage fabric assortment. I really love the flocked one on top. I have been cutting and measuring fabrics the past few days in hopes of getting some vintage fabric bundles to my shop soon.

a few vintage goodies and a SUPER SALE......

I was sooooo excited about finding these vintage Christmas cards in the original packaging...perfect to send out this year to friends and family.

A sweet little kit I have in my shop.....super easy and a perfect little decoration for your home this holiday.

More funky vintage fabric.....love the flannel.....sooooo cuddly!

I was able to come across 3 vintage Scrabble games...one for my family to play on game night, one to put in my daughter's keepsake box. These vintage Scrabble tiles are available in my shop...perfect for adorning your home this Christmas. On another note...I have been cleaning out my studio and am offering LOADS of vintage goodies in my shop....SUPER SALE!

lovely vintage finds.......

I was able to snag a few lovely finds at my favorite thrift store along with going to my very first estate sale. I was sooooo happy to find some most lovely vintage fabrics that I will be creating with. I think the top flocked fabric will look divine for designing for the holidays.

A few vintage Christmas ornaments....the vintage Santa ornaments I have been finding loads of...love them! Saving a few back for my sweet pea to give to her this Christmas. I am thinking about adding the vintage flocked deer to a Christmas wreath.

Vintage wrapping paper....a sweet gift from my Aunt...she totally knows what I love!

More vintage children's playing cards...I have a big box of these that I have been collecting for awhile now. Possibly I might be adding a sampler pack to my etsy shop soon.

I am always on the lookout for vintage hardback books...these were just silly and fun. Perfect for sewing into more paper sacks.

I was just tickled pink to find these 2 sweet vintage cards in the bottom of a big box of cards....love these!

A few goodies that make me smile...vintage glitter, a vintage plastic baby, vintage buttons, trims and appliques.

The best for last....love these 3 vintage fabrics! Dotted swiss is always a fav....but I have to admit I am quite smitten with the peach print fabric and the adorable Raggedy Ann and Andy paper doll fabric....sooooo divine!