The Mint Needle

Guess what has happened? A trip to Joann's to get some thread and 2 zippers has ended in nest and pendant making. Seriously? I felt like if I listed these in the Etsy shop, it would be unfair to not let those loyal readers know how it came to be, or better yet why. Before Christmas, I came across one of those beautiful nest necklaces and knew I just had to have one. It was great price, and in my head, I envisioned a small, delicate nest with two, pearled, pink eggs right in the center, to represent my lovelies and motherhood. I made the mistake by not inquiring about the size the nest would be. In the picture, it appeared tiny and fragile in shape. The seller even had a choice in size of eggs. I chose the smaller size as I imagined wearing it as a permanent piece of jewelry around my neck in the summer months. The wrapping was beautiful, but in all honesty, it was not what I had pictured. It was just too large and the backing is too ruff to be...

    Spring is on its way. Almost a month to date! Can you feel it? Regardless of the inches of snow that had fallen overnight, I still can. You can tell by the new blog header I'm slowly turning towards the idea of leaving winter boots behind and moving towards the idea of gardening. We are lucky enough to have a couple beautiful plants blooming in our home right now. A Christmas cactus, African violets, begonia, cyclamen, & leaves match perfectly to the thread which makes me remember where inspiration truly comes from. I've been going through my basket o'seeds to see what I have forgotten all about and what I'd like to give a try to this year. I have to admit, I'm a little....50/50. I really don't feel like having tons of planting trays decorating our windows and counter tops. But it is such a beautiful thing to see hundreds of seeds burst to life right inside your home. The garden plan is already drawn out for 2013 & I've paid extr...

    The special day has arrived that makes one realize, a shoe box serves more than one purpose!       Wishing everyone a wonderful day full of love, happiness, & laughter:)          "There is no remedy for love but to love more." ~ Thoreau   Happy Valentine's Day!                 

      A heart pillow.     There's no need to purchase that adorable, striped heart pillow you spotted at the store. It's so much easier to make than you think.     I started by using some scrapped strips that were too small for my 'big' projects. I arranged them in a pattern.  I also stitched from the center outward.   I folded my fabric in half & pinned. Just like in grade school, I cut the shape of a half heart. You can see that I ended up needing a little more fabric at the edge to make for a rounded corner.     I used fleece for the backing. Stitch the heart's together by reversing the fabric, so that your two outer sides are actually inwards. Leave a five inch opening on the side of the heart. This is where you can reverse it and stuff. Complete your pillow with hand stitching & coordinating thread. The finished pillow measures at 16 1/2 ...

February... the month of love and cleaning is here.... Yes, I said love and cleaning. In this house, we've been itching to eliminate the old and refresh with some new.  A couple bright, kitchen items have managed to do the trick without breaking the bank. As for the kids, that's another story. Pinks and reds have wiggled their way in our home. From clothing to pencils and paper, you can totally tell Valentine's day is right around the corner. A cute, quick project. The button tree. All you need is a piece of fabric, some buttons, beads, hot glue gun, and a little paint for the trunk. There are so many of these available for purchase, I thought it would be easy to make. And it is! Two more are in the works and we'll officially have new wall art for the girl's room:)         And as I'm trying to keep the "pink" under control by avoiding trips to Target. (Ya know that section at the beginning of every store.... that after check...