~Easter Greetings From a Distance~

~HANDMADE EASTER GREETINGS~

We won't be able to spend any time with our extended family this Easter....

social distancing is especially hard on holidays. 

We wanted to send an Easter greeting and this is what my little lady created for them. 

It kept her busy for an entire afternoon which was an added bonus. 

She bought this Postcard Book at the Girl Scout store last year with her cookie credits. 

We tucked it away back then and forgot all about it until we went digging around for materials we could use to make these!

We sent them out yesterday. 

I hope they all enjoy receiving them as much as we did making them. 

Happy Easter!

Hope you all stay safe and healthy. 

~diy hand stamped valentines~

i've been making my own valentines since i can remember.

as a kid i would use whatever we had available at home...

which wasn't much some years. a few years back i came

across one i'd made way way way back and

i had used pink toilet paper! 

what the?

do you remember when they used to make colored t.p.?

do they still? 

 

my mom always made ours too.

i'm sure that's where the seeds were planted for me.

i still have some of them that my mom made me.

i treasure them. 

 

some years i've gone all out and made spectacular valentines.

this year, i decided to keep it simple...at least for 

the ones i'll send my parents and siblings.

i have bigger plans for my own lil family's valentines this year.

 

i saw this idea awhile ago (i can't remember where) and 

thought the kids would have fun doing it.

i like it because it was super easy and cheap.

 

 heart shaped stamps with empty toilet paper rolls.

it looks something like this:

 

 just take the toilet paper rolls and bend them to

the shape you want, dip them in your paint and stamp away!

 

 

we did a couple different projects with this.

my kids each stamped a 12 x 12 piece of paper

and

we stamped these onto some blank pink and red greeting cards.

(i got the blank cards at target for $1/package)

 

 

 

these are the valentines we'll send out to our family.

for an art project that will appeal to kids (and adults) of every age,

try this!

we all had a blast with this!

it was cheap, easy, and believe it or not...

easy to clean up. 

i highly recommend using the washable paints for easy clean-up.

hope you all have fun getting your valentines craft on!

muah!

 

~turquoise-pearl-tassel necklace~

i love mixing elements that don't necessarily

go together, yet somehow they do. 

the eclectic taste of it....delicious.

turquoise. pearls. tassels. gold.

sounds like a lot...

(throw in some lace and velvet and it smells like a brothel).

the result turned out to be a 

simple, bohemian'ish vibe.

i made two of these yesterday.

birthday gifts for a couple of friends.

i think i need to make one for me too :)

~Embellished Shepherds Hook for Houseplants~

last weekend i blew the dust off my jewelry making supplies 
and attempted to make some birthday gifts 
for a few important ladies in my life. 

normally i have ideas coming left and right and 

i have to reign things in to hone in on the project i have in mind. 

this time....nothing.

although i had a strong desire to create something,

i had no creative inspiration.

i tried to force it.

 the end result of the earrings i made....

not good. like REALLY not good.

(susie-you'll be glad i went and bought you a necklace instead) 

in the past couple years i've only dipped into

 the creative parts of my brain sporadically.

i'm creatively out of shape.

i decided to ditch the gawd-awful earrings and re-group.

i needed to make something that i didn't have to think too hard about.

last summer while at a local garden store i saw 
some beautiful embellished shepherds hooks for houseplants. 

i've been wanting to make one ever since. 

in the end, i made two of them but only gave one away.

 my little lady and i have decided to do "a craft" (as she calls it) every weekend.
a couple weeks ago we made our own dream catchers (i'll share pics soon).
i think today we'll work on some valentines day projects.

hope you all have a great weekend!
-paula 

~singing bowl resting pillow~

 Bought this beautiful singing bowl

as a birthday present for a good friend of mine.

Have you ever heard a singing bowl?

They can be used for meditation or healing

and they make such a beautiful sound. 

You rub a dowel along the edge of the bowl

and it makes music....a sound that's indescribable. 

Almost hypnotic.

When I was at the store buying it, I noticed they

had them displayed on pillows. I knew right

away this was how I could put my 

personalized touch into this store bought gift.

With a little swatch of velvet fabric and some findings 

in my jewelry making supplies I came up with this:

 I put the jewels in the center to button tuck the pillow

so it would sit level and not roll off. 

 I thought the contrasting color really makes

the color and beauty of the bowl stand out

while it's resting on the pillow.

Here's to a year of peace and beauty Lyns...

a beautiful gift for a beautiful soul and a beautiful friend :)

~Memory Blanket....made from clothes~

For me, what makes hand made 

gifts so special is the love 

and emotion that goes into it.

I'm thinking of the person I make it for 

throughout the entire process. 

This next thing I'm going to share with you

is one of the most emotional projects

I've ever worked on.

Eight and a half years ago, a very dear friend

of mine passed away suddenly, leaving two 

little boys and a husband behind. 

Her husband kept her clothes in the exact

place she'd left them in her closet and drawers

for six years. About two and a half years

ago, he asked me to go thru her clothes with him.

He wanted me to keep some of them to 

make blankets for the boys. 

Going thru her closet....that was rough.

tears. missing. laughter. memories.

I brought the clothes home that I'd set aside for the blankets

and had to wait another year and a half before

I had it in me to start working on the blankets.

I had a good excuse and a deadline....

her oldest son was getting married. 

I started it a couple months in advance. I'd

never made a blanket out of T-shirts before and I

had no idea how I was going to pull it off. 

This wasn't a project I went balls to the walls

and completed in a couple days...I could have...

but there were times I just had to put it aside

and step away. Man...I miss her.

There were also times it was like she was

sitting right next to me as I was working

on it. I swear I could have reached out and

touched her....I can't describe it. 

She was here...with me, making this for her son...and it's

like it was a gift from her too. 

I wanted to make sure the clothes I was choosing

held memories for her son as well.

The panels are from T-shirts, pajama pants, 

sweatshirts, her work shirt, swim shorts, etc.

I sewed the panels together, put a layer of batting 

in between and backed it with a flat sheet.

A couple of the panels had pockets on them.

I printed up pictures of her on fabric paper,

backed them with fabric from more of her clothes,

and hid them in the pockets. 

 This one is a pic of her and her oldest boy,

when he was about 5 or 6 years old...we were sledding.

I got the saying I printed on the pic from a 

children's book....I can't remember the name of the book.

I thought the words were PERFECT.

I was pleased with the finished product.

It gave me a great sense of accomplishment...

Her son loved it, he cried when he got it.

The ceremony was beautiful and heart wrenching all

at the same time. It hurt my heart that it was such

a big day for her son and she didn't live to see it.

This mourning business is so complex.

Lots of hidden cracks and crevices.

Just when you think you've moved on and 

accepted it....BAM! 

She may not have lived to see it but she

was there that day....and she was happy...

and she was proud of her boy. 

And so am I.

~Welcome Back Me...and some earthy jewelry!~

Hello! 

Remember me?

It's been a loooong time, I know.

About 2 years ago I got this crazy idea to take 

up a job, thinking I could continue to

manage all the things 

I enjoy doing-vs-the responsibilities of things

I HAVE to do. Turns out, it takes

up a lot more of my time than I originally

thought it would and therefore my "flex time"

for crafts, DIY, jewelry and fashion

is pretty much non-existent.

And getting on the computer to blog if I do

get a spare minute.......forget about it!

I work from home (did I mention yet

that I love my job?) and I'm on the

computer so much for work that

it's about the last thing I want to be doing 

when I don't have to to.

All that being said, I miss nurturing my

creative side. I miss blogging. 

Instagram just doesn't cut it for me.

I have managed to bust out a couple

projects in the last few months...

this is one of them.

This was a "special order" from a good friend

of mine's husband. His Valentine's gift to her.
A bracelet and pair of earrings.

I love how it turned out...a very earthy vibe.

Hope you all have been well!

Come back soon...I won't be such a stranger!