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I love to use tapers that are not white, but not quite ivory either. This is the perfect color - "parchment". They are usually hard to find, so when I come across them, I'll purchase a couple boxes. They are wonderful to keep on hand for hostess gifts or dinner party favors. I wrap mine with a lovely French graphic, add a filigree heart charm and tie them up with a bit of jute twine. A simple, but elegant, gift that everyone appreciates.
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Thank you for all of your emails and sweet comments with regard to my new jewelry collection. Here is a quick peek at this week's shop update. xo - Julie
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Sweet girl is coming home from college this weekend to celebrate her birthday and we can't wait to see her! Her sister is baking her favorite chocolate cake with coffee meringue buttercream frosting. She asked for one gift, a dress form of her own to take back to school with her. Rather than wrap it, I used some pink and white tissue paper to fashion a couple of roses and a tutu. She's going to love it!
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As a long time follower of many Swedish and Norwegian blogs, I am always inspired by the simple elegance of Scandinavian crafts, especially during the holidays. Vintage manuscripts and linens, hemp twine, and religious artifacts are often combined to create beautiful accents for the home. The decorations are often quite simple in design and usually displayed amongst green ivy, garden moss, or antique urns. Looking forward to spring, I was inspired to create these Easter eggs which I have seen on many of the Scandinavian blogs I follow.
I started with large six inch eggs and painted them with several colors to achieve a dappled effect. Manuscript paper and vintage French lace were decoupaged onto the eggs. In keeping with the Scandinavian tradition, I also added a vintage religious medal and some hemp twine.
I've placed mine in a few of my iron urns, but they would also look lovely under a glass cloche, or nestled in garden moss down the center of a table. For now, they are a reminder that spring is not far away.
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Reflecting my love for vintage gemstones, and, of course, my love for Jane Austen's romantic novels (in particular Pride and Prejudice) I have decided to name my new collection of vintage inspired jewelry, The Pemberley Collection.
With plans to expand the collection, I have opened a second Etsy shop, PemberleyCollection.etsy.com, exclusively for my jewelry designs. In the future, all of my vintage inspired jewelry pieces will be listed in my new Pemberley Collection shop. My handcrafted home accessories and other creations will continue to be listed in my EAB Designs shop. Links to both shops can now be found in my right sidebar. I can't think of a better time than Valentine's Day to introduce you to this romantic collection. Happy Valentine's Day!
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I love combining rustic and elegant elements in my designs, as well as in my home decor. For this particular project, I've used taffeta, cotton, burlap and vintage millinery to create some fabulous totes.
On a recent trip to NYC I purchased the most beautiful taffeta, in several of my favorite colors. After sewing the burlap bags, I knew the addition of taffeta ruffles would be the perfect combination I was looking for.
To brighten things up, I added a colorful cotton print as the liner. Jute burlap handles, an ivory vintage millinery flower and velvet leaves are the finishing touches.
I'm excited to sew up totes with the colored taffeta and will share pictures of those later. I made a few of the ivory totes already and will list them in my shop.
Materials used: natural untreated burlap; ivory taffeta;
Anna Maria Horner's "Fortune in Zinnia" (Good Folks Collection); vintage millinery
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Woke up this morning to a welcome sight....the sun shining! The blizzard dropped about 2 1/2 feet of snow here.
It was a heavy wet snow so all of the evergreens are covered like thick royal icing, and while it is absolutely beautiful, unfortunately it has caused a lot of damage. Many of our tall evergreens look like they are lying down on the snow - I hope when the snow eventually melts, they will stand up straight again.
A view of our neighbor's cars the morning after the storm.
We have power, but our heater broke last night. We turned on all of the lights and our electric ovens, bundled up and headed for bed. Actually, I slept like a rock! As I type this, I am dressed like I'm headed outdoors. Our trusty repair man arrives in an hour. Please pray that he has the parts to fix our heater. My prayers also go out to all of the people who have no power at all! More snow expected on Tuesday.....
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I'm so excited to share my good news with you! Last fall, an editor from Artful Blogging magazine contacted me to ask if I would be interested in having my blog featured in their upcoming Spring 2010 issue. I never could have imagined, after one year of starting this blog, I would be asked to be part of a publication that has inspired me since its first issue. It took me all of about two seconds to respond, "of course I would love to be included"!
I'm truly honored to have my little blog featured along with the many talented artists and writers who are featured in this issue. Somerset Studio produces a collection of the most inspiring and creative publications, and it's so fun to be a part of it. Here's a little sneak preview of my article.
The Spring issue should be available today at all Borders and Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as selective Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics.
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When it comes to purchasing new tool(s) we always try to buy the best that we can afford. If taken care of properly, an excellent tool can last you a lifetime and make any job much easier and more enjoyable. Last week, I ordered some new pliers for jewelry making and they arrived this weekend. I absolutely love them!
I plan to have these around for years to come, so I want to be sure to take care of them. To keep them stored safely I made this roll-up pouch today.
Didn't have a pattern, just kind of winged it. But basically, I lined up my five pliers to determine how wide my fabric should be, plus seam allowances. To determine the height, I measured the tallest pliers, added the height of the fold at the bottom and the amount of fabric I would need to fold over the pliers once they were inserted into their individual pockets. I cut two pieces of fabric according to my measurements, inserted a double layer of fleece interfacing, added two ribbons to the sides, sewed everything right sides together and turned it right side out.
Lastly, I top-stiched the outside edges, measured how wide my pockets should be, and then sewed straight down over the fold to create the pockets.
Here it is all rolled up, ready to be stored away until I'm ready to make some more jewelry. Sort of bummed that I didn't plan where to place the ribbons correctly. ( I forgot to take the bottom fold into consideration, when centering the ribbon.) But, it still worked out great and my wonderful new pliers have a little pink storage pouch to call home. If anyone would like information about the pliers, and where I found the best price, just leave me a comment and I'll get back with you.
Materials Used: Jennifer Paganelli, Sis Boom Fabrics (Mod Girls D1550-625);
Midori Double Faced Satin Ribbon in Bisque (my favorite color!)
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I appreciate all things creative and am inspired by the smallest of details. Here is where I love to share projects, designs and favorite things. ~ (more)
