The Mint Needle

  Hip, Hip, Hooray!  Isn't she just gorgeous? As my first quilt is pieced together, I can't help but feel a massive sense of accomplishment. I love it soooo much! The colors are beautiful and I especially love the fabric choices. Thank you Cluck Cluck Sew  for all your awesome tutorials!     The logic behind this project lay in the fact that I had to make a quilt this year . (Yeah, remember New Year's resolutions numbers 1,2, and 3.) Well, it turns out in less than 2 months, it'll be 2013!.... I can gladly say hooray, I'm there in a nutshell. Now.... obviously the backing and batting for this is not complete. I'm doing some research on how to do it correctly since I want nothing but get it right the first time. Here's a few things I learned while making this piece. It was overall a fairly organized and simple project for a first time do-er. I didn't follow the tutorial in w...

   After hitting the stores & checking out new tablescapes, I realized my house had been lacking in the 'holiday festive' area. But, really, why pay for what you already have at home? I knew I wanted to make something fresh & fragrant with candles & pine. I added some wild berries from the bushes along the trail behind our home. Here's a look at two centerpieces that smell as good as they look!                  I grabbed some mini jars, a rectangle plate, candles, herbs, & a vintage milk glass cake plate. And yes, these are pine branches right off the tree:)   I started by arranging the pine around the candles. I used the herbs, berries, & cones as filler in that order. The soft gray color of the sage & lavender really compliment the pine.     The mini jam jars are perfect & re-usable for tea lights.     These are sup...

  Alright readers, here's the deal. A day of rummaging through vintage patterns has transpired into a whole new project. I was scavenging through some old patterns & pieces for a women's 50's style cape. Why? Well....for the little ones of course. I'm downsizing the patterns to fit my girls & even though I can't wait to share that project with you, there's something I gotta show you first. A November Wrap. Inspired by the vintage style of a 60's cape gone shawl, I'm pretty sure this will be a timeless, classic addition to my closet. The only thing I wish was that you could cross over the computer & feel how soft this vintage fabric really is.  I needed to added a coordinating or contrasting fabric.   I started with a 50 by 50 inch square piece of soft, retro, wool like fabric. I folded it into a triangle, so that it made a shawl shape. (How easy is that? But, I only ...

  Everyone appears to be in a chevron craze these days. I figured I'd join in on all the fun & contribute a little something in the world of blogging. A day of linen closet re-organizing had me find the most perfect items. An all white chevron blanket from my mother in-law & a green/yellow one from my grandmother. Absolutely beautiful, aren't they? I love how sharp these chevron patterns are. One is finished with a scalloped edge while the other shows how a straight line is just as charming. After taking a few pics, our little Lucy decided to get some attention by taking center stage.   Gotta love her!     

 Am I the only one guilty of putting a few Halloween decorations away before today? Well, as horrible as it sounds, that's exactly what I did. Two reasons. Superstorm Sandy had me huddled in this home feeling like it's been raining forever & I was unusually late bringing our potted plants indoors this year. Finding them knocked over first thing in the morning gave me no choice. It was now or never. After an hour of repotting plants and giving everyone of them a new home next to a window,  our home began to look like a greenhouse. Vines, succulents, & even a large mango tree have been relocated indoors. No question, there needed to be some decluttering. So... the window clings, gourds, skeletons, & a few witches made their way out. Ouch..... I know, I felt a little terrible but in hindsight it might have been the half a pot of coffee & a half a dozen pixie sticks that were the culprit;) Eve...

    I got my Country Living magazine for the month of November yesterday. The cover of the issue I received, ( 'cause you know they always have two ), was packed with DIY art with pressed leaves. I loved it! But I didn't feel like pressing. So I decided to do something really pretty, that would give me immediate results with white paint & stamping. Why white paint? Why not? It's my way of trying to find clarity in the mish mash of orange, blacks, & browns that have taken over our house! Plus....with white paint, the art might have a longer wall life. Here's how it went after a nice walk gathering leaves with my little ones.    I grabbed two fabrics. One, a white linen, that I will be making into another project & the second being a wool type grayish, green burlap. (The white on whites will be displayed in those needlepoint loops & I'm kinda debating on adding some white embroidery to the outer edges.) I used acr...