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

Paris in the Spring

My friend Genny has a family beachhouse

 here on the Oregon coast.

They have decided to use it as a retreat

home, from time to time

with Genny and her husband Joe, 

and their little team hosting.

 Next weekend 15 women will be pampered there

with the overall theme being

"Paris in the Spring".

My little way of helping was to make 15 little

lavender sachets to go into the goodie bags.

Half of the production I spent doing in front

of the television watching the new

 "Mildred Pierce" miniseries I DVR'd! I'm going

to have to find a new project for episode 3!

Have a wonderful, safe weekend special friends,

xo

xo

clare



Thank You For The Beachhouse!

I am blessed to have some sweet friends

in my life.

One particular family friend

has this amazing beachhouse on a bluff

on the Oregon coast.

They are so generous with this home

loaning it out to friends and family

at no cost.

Whenever I am blessed to use it,

I always repay in the little

way I can with a gift.

The house is decorated in all shades of

blue and touches of red now and then.

There are vintage signal flags and

nautical treasures everywhere.

So I put together this little basket

for the thank you this time....

I ran over to Sur La Table and picked up a beautiful fave

tote of mine from reisenthel. They are the

best hardiest totes ever! I used to sell

them in my boutique and

we would monogram them.

I made this yummy lavender sachet,

added fresh new towels,

a new bathrug to replace a shabby one,

a ship in a bottle I found junkin',

a couple of other fun nautical treasures,

....then tucked in cellophane.

Then I dug into this in my studio....

...and pulled out this...

and formulated a lovely bow of many shades of blue.

I then made this tag,

...tied it to the front with the bow, a note of

appreciation, tucked in a vintage brass whale hook,

and it's done!

I have to say that preparing this is always,

selfishly a treat

for me too!

Enjoy your day!

Please take a minute to pray for Japan.



A Bestie Comes Shopping

One of my bestest besties, April,

 came over today for girlie time in my studio

 and to shop.

Being a mom of 4 lovely girls,
 one feisty boy,
 and grandmom of one little guy,

 oh and wife of the same man
for 28 or so years!,

 she doesn't have alot of time to hit the malls.

So my little studio

 has become a source

 for her to shop.

She loaded up on lavender sachets

today!

Shabby Wedding Tags

I was messing through my huge jars of vintage lace pieces and box of vintage photos and decided to make some shabby tags. I printed the photos on fabric, vintage stained them and then sewed them on vintage stained tags. I'm selling them in my http://www.royalpaper.etsy.com/ store for those that love beautiful things but don't like to create them tee hee!

Poetry and Romance

I love finding vintage books at all my local vintage digs. I'm usually attracted first to the cover, then the contents! I know that sounds backwards but if I am going to have a book sitting around here in my studio, it needs to fit the look! hee hee. But recently I stumbled on this old vintage book called Lucile.  It is a novel length poem about an English Lord and a French Duke who were wildly in love with the same woman, Lucile. Can it get any more romantic than that?

I submitted this idea to a few large magazines, I'll let you know if they publish it!

Along with collecting vintage books, I love to lend and even give as gifts. So here's my way of getting the book ready to give. I used one of my tiny vintage bottles to tie to the front, added a piece of vintage lace, dried roses, a little French script inside the bottle, and it's all wrapped and ready to give as a sweet gift.  

Thank You So Much For The "Thank You"!

One of our favorite couples had us over for a night of Mexican Train Dominos and Dinner. Kelli made this wonderful meal that had me saying "You really went all out, you shouldn't have!". She is an amazing cook and you always leave feeling as if you have dined in some fine restaurant.

This kind of thing, my little flock of followers, is why you need to go a little further beyond the "thank you note". I'm always vintage hunting. I was in Goodwill the other day, with my YaYa sister, Terri, pouring through the messy silverware bins when she pulls out this sterling spoon with a "B". "Do you know any "B" people?", she asks. "Yes, I'll take it!" (for $1.99, I might add).

I slipped a little piece of sheet music into a cellophane envelope, polished the spoon up just a little to keep that vintage look, tucked it in and finished the whole thing off with a little tulle, dried flower, and tag.

And there you have it; a "thank you" that will leave the recipient feeling as if a "thank you" for the "thank you" is necessary!

Lend a Book As a Gift

Ya Ya Sisters at Thanksgiving Themed Chemo

My YaYa's and I have been together for years and years raising our children, celebrating every occasion we can in order to gather, supporting each other through tears and laughter, through the good times and the down times.  We started out as a mentor group. Three of my YaYa's started mentoring us three younger YaYa's in everything from life, family, friendship, and faith. They were just enough ahead in their own walk that they could mentor us through our younger journey on the same path. Our current journey is walking through cancer with Jenni (in the center with the pie). Every week we have a themed chemo. Our most recent theme, last week was to celebrate Marcy's (in the front with the black shirt) first grandbaby.

Book Two of Rashi's Daughters

Along with all of this, we love, love, love, all of us, reading a good book. Our latest discovery is a book trilogy called Rashi's Daughters by Maggie Anton . I stumbled on the first book at the library. Unable to wait for the library to get the second in, I went and purchased it at Borders. Judy grabbed the third book, and Marcy then picked up the first book so we could own all three books. I'm am sadly done with the third wishing I didn't have to say goodbye so soon to all the characters and story. When I was ready to pass on the second, I thought it would be nice to drop it off on Marcy's doorstep as a gift of anticipation.

Book Three of Rashi's Daughters

Here is book three ready for delivery. I save every scrap of fabric I use when creating in my studio. Those scraps come in handy when it comes to creating my own unique packaging. You can pick up a hefty roll of brown paper in the paint section of Home Depot to have on hand for all sorts of wrapping including making a little jacket for a borrowed or lent book.  Add some tea bags, and even a little note of something you can't wait to discuss when the borrower has finished the book.