A day late, and a few buttons short...

The super sweet Analise, of Sugar Sugar fame, hosted a Button Challenge this past weekend. She invited us to share photos of pretty buttons that we've collected. If you go to this post her blog you will find a list of all the blogs that are participating! I can't wait to check them out myself!

I LOVE vintage buttons... all shapes, colors, styles. I have a rather large collection, for someone who doesn't sew. A 20-gallon tote box to be exact! Unfortunately it is in the basement... behind my hubby's tools, wood, and other things he's using for a renovation project. I couldn't get to it, but while I was trying to dig it out yesterday, I realized that they shouldn't be down there in the first place! Most of the buttons in my big tote box haven't even been sorted yet. Yikes! They should be displayed in shadowboxes, on a memo board, in glass jars, or in other creative ways. They are far too pretty to just be sitting in a box.

I have a shoebox of buttons that I use all the time in projects. These yummy sherbert colored ones are some of my favorites. I bought a huge collection of these from an elderly woman several years ago. She made big fun brooches out of them, but her arthritis kept her from continuing. I chatted with her for a long time and she was happy to see her little treasures passed on to someone who appreciated them as much as she did. I thought these buttons would be great to make flowers out of. They'd look really cute in this pretty vintage aqua vase that I just bought.

And a little collection of black and whites, with some rhinestones for good measure :) A big glass vase of whites in different shades sits in my diningroom.

I posted last summer a quick tutorial on making a button bracelet. You can see it here.
I've also made some cute hairclips out of buttons.
And another easy peasy project would be to simply glue on a magnet or thumbtack to the back.

Any other ideas of ways to use or display buttons? I'd LOVE some ideas!
I'm off to check out the other "button-y" blogs!
Have a great day!!! :)

Going Shoppin'

I few weeks ago, I had a rare couple of hours to myself, while my hubby entertained the girls. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so I headed off to one of my most favorite local shops. It is called White Home Collections, located in Wilton, New Hampshire. It's a beautiful old house packed to the brim with wonderful antiques, vintage treasures, and home décor items. Three floors of goodness… even the attic and barn are full! Everything is arranged so beautifully. Loads of chppy furniture, metal garden ornaments, linens, jewelry, glassware, dishes, and little doo-dads! All my favorite things! The selection changes literally every day. You never know what treasures you will find! Here are some pics of my visit from a few weeks ago!

I wanted that yummy green mirror sooooooo badly! By the time I made it through the shop, it had already been scooped up! No worries though, I left with many other treasures!




There are goodies in every nook and cranny! I wish I had more photos to share, but my camera's battery died...grrr. But, I think you get the idea. LOTS of yummy stuff! You can check out the photo gallery on their website to see more.


I also had the pleasure of chatting with the shop's owner, Debbie, for a few minutes... she is such a sweetie! Her beautiful home was featured in Country Home Magazine this past January... on the cover, to be exact! Her shop is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area! Or a little road trip, if you're not in the area!

10 Little Ducklings

I'm so excited to get to finally share what I made for Heather's "Hippity Hop Easter Swap"! It was a day-by-day countdown style swap, and today is the day that the swappers will be opening my gift.


I really had a ton of fun making these little ducklings! I have been having a hard time lately finding time to just make things for fun. Between the shop and my girls, my day is pretty much packed. I think that is why I like swaps so much. They kind of force me to set aside some time to be creative.


I used these cute hollow plastic eggs that were on pedestals, and sugar coated them in glitter. I then added some tinsel around the edge, some vintage flowers and leaves, and pretty ribbons. I made a little party hat for the cute fuzzy duck and glued him inside. I have always loved combining pink and green. It's the color theme in my oldest daughter's room. They earned her seal of approval... I hope the players will like them too!

I still need to photograph the wonderful goodies that I've received so far for this swap. I will post them soon, but in the meantime, you can check out the group's Flickr album to see all of the other wonderful swap items!

Just in for Spring... New Goodies & a New Swap!!!

**** This swap is now closed. We have 50 players! Fun!!! I am working on partners now, and will have them all mailed by Friday 3/27.****

What can you do with a composition book? You can art it up into a gorgeous journal/notebook for a one-on-one swap! Purchase a plain old composition notebook and decorate it like crazy! Re-do the cover in pretty papers or fabric and add some flowers, birds, butterflies, ribbons, lace, glitter and glitz. Think Spring! The front and back covers definitely need to be decorated, but feel free to add some embellishments to the inside as well... maybe a personalized title page, a favorite poem, some pretty stamped images. Be creative and have fun!

You will mail your decorated notebook directly to your assigned partner. Please communicate with your partner about your likes/dislikes, and your progress with the swap. These should be mailed by April 25th.

(Feel free to copy the blog button above to add to your own blog, if you would like!)

And for a little shop update... I've just added a few fun new things to the website. I am most excited about my new collection of "Pretty Packaging"! So far, I've listed a small selection of cute little boxes that are perfect for party favors, swap iterms, little gifts, etc. All of these can be special ordered in larger quantities, if you need them for a special event. Just drop me an email. I'll be adding more boxes, bags, tags, and wrappings to this section in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Also added are some faux chandelier crystals, speckled eggs, plastic embellishments, and new & restocked German Scraps (pictures & foils). Oooh, and the tissue fringe has also been restocked too!

You can click here to see all the new stuff!!!

Happy Spring!!!
I hope you will join in the swap!!!

Nesting: Part 2

I really didn't intend for a whole week to go by before posting the lovely nests that I received from my swap partners! It has just been one of those weeks. My poor hubby returned from a snowmobiling trip with an injured knee. He has been on the couch since Monday. He is a go-go-go type of guy, so it has been tough on him to take it easy. It has been nice to spend some time with him though!!!

My email has also been funky. Things seem ok now. If you have sent me something in the past week or so, and haven't heard back, please re-send it. I'll get right back to you. Sorry about that! :)


Anyways, I am sooooo excited to share with you the fabulous nests that I received from my swap partners Kari and Jenny! This first one is from Kari! It is amazing! She embellished the nest with loads of yummy vintage flowers and tucked it inside this great old tin cannister. It really looks great in my kitchen. I love it so much!


And this next nest is from Jenny!!! It is soooo sweet! She wrapped it up so beautifully that I *almost* couldn't bear to open it! See those sparkle-y silver eggs? They are coated in silver glitter... I mean CAKED on! Surprisingly heavy little eggs! And the little birdie was actually a separate ornament that she made, and my Little One added it to the nest. It does look cute though!


Both gals included a bunch of extra goodies too! My girls and I dug into those waaaaay before the camera made it out! LOL. Thank you both so much! This swap was wonderful!
Hugs!

P.S. Fingers crossed, I should have some new goodies in the shop tomorrow :)

Nesting: Part 1

The Sweet Little Nest Swap that I hosted is just finishing up. I'm sure you've seen some fabulous nests around blogland! You can visit our Flickr group to see all of the lovelies! I'm sure even more nests will be posted in the coming days as they make their way to their new homes.

Today I'm going to share the nests that I made for my partners! I really had a ton of fun making these!!!


This first nest went to the super sweet Jenny of Everyday is a Holiday. Jenny loves the vintage look... and rabbits... and pink and blue! I spray painted her nest white and coated it in tarnished silver glitter. The nest is decorated with vintage velvet ribbons and small posies.

I found the cute bunny at a local shop... he's resting on a bed of shredded sheet music.
Who says nests are just for birds? :)


And this next one went to the lovely Kari (aka ArtsyMama)!


This nest has more of a natural, woodland feel. I found the big velvet flowers at an antique shop (I'll share pics soon of this fabulous store!) I just LOVED the color of them and pretty much designed the nest after them.


I picked up the nest and cast iron bird at another great local shop... and added the flowers, eggs, leaves, and crinkle wire from my own collection.

I really had a great time gathering supplies and making these little nests for these two extra special gals. I sure do hope the like them! Next time, I will share the AMAZING nests that I received from them!!!

In Bloom

It is hard to imagine that Easter is just a few short weeks away! It really snuck up on me quickly this year. Maybe the Easter Bunny can borrow Santa's sleigh??? We just got another 6" of snow yesterday! Yikes!

To help me (and you) get in the Springtime mood, I've just listed a bunch of FABULOUS vintage flowers to the website. Perfect colors for Easter crafts and decorating. These pastel sprigs are my favorite... the pink carnations are a close second!

And, these yellow forget-me-nots... ok, they are all my favorites! Like the soft, somewhat fuzzy look of these photos? No fancy camera tricks here... that's just what happens when there is glitter on your lens. Seriously.
I'm thinking that I probably should re-do these pics....hmmmm...

Also listed are a few Easter themed goodies, including some of the hollow eggs from the post below.
You can see all the new pretties here.


The Sweet Little Nest Swap that I'm hosting is wrapping up. Here are a few sneak peeks of the two nests that I created. I (happily) had two partners for this one!


These are most definitely hard to part with! I will show you more pics in a few days, once these have arrived to their new homes.