Stella

 

Stella is all blinged out for her summer soiree!

Even her wings are glowing like "Touched by an Angel".

Vintage Spoons and Chandelier Crystals - More Addictions!!!

I often do my little confessions of my addictions

in this blog, as you know. Here are two

more...teeny tiny teaspoons

and

chandelier crystals.

I wish I could say this

was all I had of the above collections

but, it's only a sampler! I do have a purpose

though for these collections, I make

little creations with them.

This is my newest set of spoon ornaments.

The trick to these is to get to know the

guy in the hardware department at

Home Depot so when you go back to

get 3 more sets of drill bits after breaking

5 or more per spoon set, he will have them

all ready for you at the counter!

It's so worth the outcome though.

I would ask my husband to maybe show

me how to narrow down the

amount of drill bits I go through,

but I'm afraid he would wrap too

many words around the explaination

and I would start thinking about

laundry or unloading the dishwasher or something!

These are a fave of mine to make since I

am also addicted to vintage monograms!

Oh, and I'm also addicted to anything of the

vintage royal court. This goes for all movies of

the different court eras as well!

The next set of ornaments was created from images

I copied from a vintage set of playing cards I

found at an estate sale. The images are

stunning!!!

as you can see!

These ornaments can actually be left

up all year around, I have

several hanging from the chandeliers

in my bedroom and kitchen!

You can make your own sets of the above creations,

if you need directions or more ideas, just

email me at

clarefinnerty@comcast.net

or if you can't make your own and have

a little $$$ to spend,

you can find these for sale at

http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/

Made this Wreath and I'm in a Magazine!

I made this wreath yesterday. By the time

I was finished, my hands were

raw from the burlap!

I made the bow out of burlap and vintage fabric.

The wreath is so gnarly and full, I love it

but am selling it in my

http://www.therobinandsparrow.etsy.com/

gotta pay the bills you know...

My star ornaments are in this current issue of

Better Homes and Gardens

in the grocery stores!

I sold these in my paper store

http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/

last year.

they posted the instructions....

...and decorated this tree with them,

I love this idea, wish I had

thought of it!!!

Have a great day full

of wonderful surprises!

xo

xo

clare

Old Bottles into Shabby Treasures

One of my many addictions along with vintage

linen, vintage rhinestone anything, and

vintage buttons, is vintage bottles!

Today I made, once again, a new trio

of vintage treasure bottles.

These usually don't last too long in

my shop after I list them,

we'll see how long these do.

I had so much fun creating them.

I should have taken a picture of my workbench

by the time I finished!

 It was the biggest creative mess ever!

 

The tops, for some reason, always seem to take

the longest for me to do. These corked tops

were made with vintage jewelry, hat pins,

beads, and chandelier crystals.

The inside of the bottles house vintage linen scraps, lace, faux pearls,

wedding buttons and lace.

This rhinestone piece was an old

vintage pin.

Marie Antoinette is a piece of vintage stained fabric.

The whole collection is so sweet, shabby, and pretty!

Make your own sweet set as this, or if you

are too lazy and have a little spending $$,

stop by my shop to pick them up!

xo

xo

clare

In A Lavender Frame of Mind



 I love lavender so much, that I think this Spring I am

going to plant pot after pot of it and

put it all around my patio! I know I've told

you of this weird obsession I have with lavender

before, but seriously, I cannot get enough of it!

  

Here is my first potted project.

I included my cement lady,

who I believe is also crazy about the scent of

lavender!

Today I created 5 new lavender sachets.

My friend Geri has the most unbelievable quilt

shop this side of the Mississippi! She is seriously

known all over the quilting world.

I found this cool fabric in her shop

http://www.pineneedlequiltshop.com/ .

It was a French motif with different squares

depicting different items.

I knew immediately they would make wonderful

tops for lavender sachets.

Now, once again, my studio smell transports me

 to somewhere in France where I am

sitting in a field of lavender!

If you want to purchase one of these

you can find them

in my shop sometime in the next day or so.

http://www.therobinandsparrow.etsy.com/

xo

xo

clare

Knock, Knock. Who's There? Burlap Wreath!

I was standing in my studio yesterday

staring at my bin of burlap.

I'm not sure how long I stood there

staring but an inspiration struck me and

this is what transpired...

I made the roses out of strips of burlap and kept

them kinda messy and stringy. I thought

it added to the shabby look.

The whole project took about 3 hours of

hard labor (hee,hee) and by the time I

finished my hands were a little

raw and dried out, gotta love that burlap!

But it was worth it.

Now, since I don't need

another wreath here in this tiny house,

I have it for sale in my textile shop

http://www.therobinandsparrow.etsy.com/

So if you're too lazy to make your own :)

you can purchase mine!

xo

xo

clare

Little Bunny Foo Foo Hopping Through the Forest...

I love this little ditty! I used to sing it to

my little cherubs all the time. Remember all

the hand gestures that went with it?

I made a set of 6 of these tags to sell in my

paper store http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/ . I used

the sheet music to the "Little Bunny Foo Foo" song as

the tag base.

Then, because I was in a hoppin' frame of mind

I created these tags as well. They are

super oversized measuring 7x3" !

I thought they would look so cute hanging from

an Easter basket.

I grabbed one of my bunny stamps and stamped 8

more tags I had previously vintaged stained.

They turned out so sweet!

These tags were also fun to make. I finished these off

with vintage black buttons from my button bin!

Now I'm off to see what's going on in my

bloggy world with my bloggy friends!

xo

xo

clare

Spring Has Sprung?

Okay, remember last Saturday I was so excited

about the sunshine? I gardened and trimmed,

and planted...fast forward to today,

it is cloudy and dark and rainy...

I'm going to hang cozy in my studio today and

make another mobile like this. I sold this one in

my paper store awhile ago and I

miss it hanging in my studio.

The gal that bought it hung it in her guest room.

It's so easy to make, you make one too!

This mobile had a music theme to it. I may change the

pictures to something different this time.

Let me know if you make one! I want to see pictures.

Have a wonderful weekend my sweet little

nest of followers...

xo

xo

clare



"Mom Isn't That My Old Sweater??"

Okay, I'm just going to say that

before you give away your sweaters

think twice! They make the fastest, easiest

pillowslips ever!

I dug through my bin of old sweaters

and pulled out nautical themed ones for

this project.

Take your sweater of choice and using a

rotary cutter, slice down the sides,

taking off the sleeves then across the top

taking off the neckline. Leave the

bottom alone for this style. Serge up the raw

edges and you are done!

For this one I first added a nautical compass

using fabric for my printer.

This slip seriously took 10 minutes to make.

This time cut all four sides away,

serge all four sides, open the buttons and

stick in the pillow!!

This sweet tiny pillow was made from an old

Ralph Lauren baby sweater.

Again, cut off the three sides leaving the

bottom alone.

Serge the sides, and slip your form in.

I added old military embellishments to this one.

Hope this inspires. I would love to see what you create

using a sweater. Do share!

Have a wonderful weekend full of blessings!

.....clare

Oh The PossiDOILITIES!

Years ago I would pass by the garage sales that looked
like they were selling doilies and ashtrays!

What was I thinking!!!
Now it's what I look for...
doilies, that is, not the ashtrays :)

Here are a few projects I've made using these sweet pieces:

bunting,

a white sweater pillow, and lavender sachet.

I was contemplating a doilie pillow project today. You can do the same...

I am all for shortcuts whenever possible.

Trot on over to IKEA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/

and race to the pillow section. You will find

a hundred possiblities of pillow slips

to purchase and embellish!

They are made of a muslin type fabric

 and are zippered.

And the prices are GREAT!

They also have great pillow forms.

Then......perhaps sew this on the front....

or this...

or this....

or perhaps this...

This is a fast simple way to make a shabby chic

pillow for your shabby bed or guest room!

Now, check out what I found on http://www.etsy.com/ the other day....

...a doilie Rug!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68629597/doily-bath-rug-beige

How fun is this!

I hope this inspired you a touch today or made you smile.

Please continue to pray for Japan every

chance you get.

 xo

clare