lunching and treasure hunting...

this morning the sun was actually shining...

{until the rain kicked in...}

 

my mom came over to take me out to lunch as an early birthday treat... {i'm turning forty next week... i can't even believe it} we went to o'charley's which never disappoints... those rolls!

 

we stopped by pier one which i like to do occasionally... it's always fun to check out their pillow selection, hand towels and seasonal items... today i left empty handed but it was still fun to look around...

 

then we headed to lou berry's and ichabod's treasures {i've talked about these shops before}... you never know what you might find...

 

the ichabod's side of the store was getting rearranged and the owner was working on some projects so i'll have to stop back in soon to take some pictures there...

 

over on the lou berry side, there was lots to look at...

this tray almost came home with me... should i have bought it? i'm still contemplating... i kind of want to hang it on my wall...

 i haven't perfected the art of digging through old linens yet...

 but this crazy quilt was really cute... perfect for a picnic... or a photo shoot prop...

 i did grab this tin... i love the colors and patterns on it... and i'm pretty sure i have supplies of some sort that can be stored in it... the milk glass banana boat was pretty, too... but i already have one in a different pattern... i don't know that i need two, do i?

 in the right setting this old chippy table would be perfect...

and these pots and pans look like something straight out of the kitchen in my barbie house from the seventies... silly enough to make me smile :)

 

i like days like today... hope you're having a good one, too!

 

now... i'm off to help marina with her homework...

 

xo

angie



today...

hello...

 

how have you all been?

 

me? eh... i'm sitting in my breakfast nook with sun streaming through the window typing this post...

 

it feels warm and cozy but the sun is deceiving... {and my windows need cleaning!}

the girls had another snow day today and i woke up very early this morning to the sounds of thundersnow... so bizarre... and loud...

 

it was hard to get out of bed... 

you know when you're all snuggled in... knowing that you really have no place to be... it makes it easier to pull the covers up a little bit tighter...

 

this was the view from my window... 

 

things could be worse...

i'm trying to focus on the good in this day rather than the stir crazy setting in... {because believe me... it's setting in!}

 

i got our room cleaned... and a couple of loads of laundry done... the girls are hanging out nicely together... a friend of theirs is over... i enjoyed lunch with john... he whipped up steak nachos and they were delish!

 

and i spent a little time trying to figure out how to make a granny square flower... don't ask me why i decided to give this a whirl now... there are plenty of other things that i should be doing...

 i actually think i let myself get sidetracked like this in order to prolong doing something that i know really needs done...

i think i've finally got it though... there's one spot that's bugging me so don't look too closely...

 it's tricky when tying off with several colors... 

 i'm happy that i figured it out though... {i can check that off of my list}... it's pretty cute... not sure what to do with it exactly... maybe i'll make a few more and turn it into a sweet, little garland... we'll see...

 

so... how was your day? did you get anything accomplished? do anything fun?

xo
angie



tissue paper hearts... a tutorial...

every year growing up i would always receive a little surprise from my mom and dad on valentine's day...

 

i've always done the same for my girls... this year i decided to make them tissue paper hearts that will hold some of their favorite treats... and sweet wands that will have a special note on the back for each of them...

i found the cutest red and white polka dottie tissue paper at target that was perfect for the heart... {that target never disappoints, does it?}

 

the first thing i did was iron the tissue paper on a very low heat setting to remove the wrinkles...

 

i placed two pieces of tissue paper wrong side up under two pieces of tissue paper wrong side down... i did this so that when sewing, the polka dot pattern would remain on the outsides...

 

i used a heart that i made for one of our projects at the valentine's day make and take as a template...

i held the template in place and began to sew around the edges {being careful not to catch the paper}

i started in the dip of the heart, working my way around, leaving about a 5 inch opening on the top of the one side of the heart so that there was an opening to tuck the treats inside...

next, grab the treats and fill the heart... carefully lift the heart back under the presser foot of the machine to close up the opening...

 

snip strings and begin embellishing...

i used a paper doily and a fun felt pinwheel that i made to add some texture and cuteness to the top of the heart... and finished it off with a personalized gift tag...

i love how they turned out... i can't wait to surprise the girls with these on valentine's day...

 

xo

angie



baby cupid...

had a surprise visit today from my mom...

 

she made me the cutest, hand knitted gift for valentine's day and i had to share it with all of you...

how about this little guy?

 

baby cupid... doesn't he just make you smile?

 

xo

angie



taking the little steps...

so yesterday i spent the better part of the day working on a new blog header... i had limited resources to pull it together and a graphic designer i am not... but i'm pretty happy with how it turned out...

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  it's cheery... don't ya think?

 

now i just need to figure out how to resize it for an etsy banner... that's on my list for today...

 

that's my goal for this year... taking the little steps necessary to open up a shop...

 

i've been working on some inventory... i would like to offer hoops, hand towels, pillows, garlands/buntings, cute packaging kits and gift tags to start...

 

here's a little preview of the gift tags that i've been working on... being creative is messy...

 i still need to add some baker's twine...

i think they're fun... a cute addition to top off a little gift :)

 

anyhow... it's exciting and scary all at once... those who know me know that this is something that i've really wanted to do for a long time... i've always let fear {in the form of procrastination and self doubt} creep in... it paralyzes me into doing nothing... and then i start talking about it all over again... and then do nothing... a crazy cycle that i'm trying to break free from...

 

stay posted friends, this is the year!

thanks for sticking with me and encouraging me along the way!

 

xo

angie

 



cupcake gift tags...

9 times out of 10, when it comes to wrapping packages {which is one of my favorite things to do} i omit the card and go with a cute gift tag instead...

 

marina has had a flurry of birthday parties lately and we've been busy tag making...

 

yesterday's loot was tucked into a cupcake gift bag that marina chose... so we decided to make a tag to coordinate with a few supplies we had on hand...

some washi tape, pom pom yarn, crepe paper, mini ball fringe, and tags punched from pink card stock {we used my creative memories tag maker... although craft/shipping tags would work just as well...}

 we just lined up some washi on a scrap of white paper and then cut out the cupcake liner shape and glued it onto the tag... added some white pom pom yarn icing and a mini ball fringe cherry with twisted crepe paper stem... then, threaded some bakers twine through...

 

and there ya have it... a cute cupcake tag...

what are your favorite go to supplies when it comes to gift wrapping?

xo

angie



euro shams...

for as long as i can remember, i wanted euro pillows for our bed... there was something about the big, fluffiness of them that i found appealing... and they're square which is kind of fun...

once we finally decided on our new bedroom furniture... new bedding was in order... along with that bedding purchase was a euro pillow purchase... i was so excited about them... i went shopping right away and got to work making euro shams for said pillows...

i found a great linen-y fabric for the body of the sham... and cute fabric napkins {of all things} to do a square inset on the fronts... a white on white patterned fabric was chosen to do a shabby, bunchy ruffle around the edges...

wanna see how they turned out?

ummm... yeah... i never finished them... i was full speed ahead at the start... and must have been sidetracked along the way... see that photo up there of the sewing machine at work? i shared that on instagram sixty nine weeks ago... yep, you read that right... sixty nine weeks... with the caption "in the works... euro shams"...

 what in the world is my problem... it's ridiculous, really... i don't know why i do silly things like this... we're talking about a series of straight seams here... and i just stopped... and obviously i got accustomed to the plain white pillows because i've been taking them on and off of the bed day in and day out...

{the picture that you see right up there was taken today... naked euros front and center!}

this is what has been stored in one of my dresser drawers for way too long... 

the time has come people... i have to finish this project this week...

please hold me to it!

do you have any projects lingering that need completing? do share!

xo

angie