Freckled Star

A box swap.......

Enchanted is now in two days!!

Seems like April would never come back in October when all the details were announced!!

But it's almost time and I've been gettin ready:)

Now usually I join a bunch of swaps.........

This time around I didn't. Just not enough hours in the day and to be honest I burnt myself out when I joined like 7 for Winter Wonderland back in December. All that wrapping and prepping still gives me nightmares:)

However I did host one.

Just one:)

The Sing a New Song Little Bluebird Box Swap.........

Enchanted is about Snow White and all types of foresty little things..........

Bluebirds, deer, rabbits, mushrooms, flowers, branches and anything else you might find in an Enchanted Forest.........

Thinking of that the bluebird box swap was born. It also helped to be antique shopping and with Kim's keen eye finding the sweetest little box with a bluebird on it;)

The idea was born and then you run with and run I did...........

It helped to have an abundance of glass boxes! Some boxes I've had a very long time and were under $10. In fact I had so many I actually sold a few:) These are a few I kept.......

The casket boxes are my favorite. This one I found up in Cambria antiquing with the man for $14!

These got addictive to make. Once I ran out of bluebirds and my actual swap was done I just kept going. I love charlottes in case you couldn't tell:) So happy when my friend Cheryl offered to split up a lot of them she found on Ebay for a killer price!! All my boxes I used vintage millinery velvet leaves and stems. I also had vintage bead flowers and some celluloid ones. Lots and lots of paper mushrooms (my fav!). The berries are from Julie Collings on Etsy another favorite! Gold bullion and wire for nests. Plastic birds, butterflies and pearl sprigs from Michael's. Boxes are from about a dozen different antique malls and Pottery Barn had some at Christmas time that went on clearance. Gotta love Pottery Barn clearance!!

That was my last box:)

All together I did 9!

Each one I loved more and more and it's going to be so hard to give any one of them away on Friday night!!

But I will.....

Reluctantly;)

Be back after Enchanted!!

 

Things to do, things to look at and things to swoon over..........

The news is so disheartening lately. With everything going on in Boston not to mention around the world sometimes I just need an escape. So I am getting off my MSN homepage and going perusing. Sometimes it's nice to just daydream even if only for an hour......

Starting with things to do...

I am doing this.

I am doing this one with a girlfriend in May.

And I really want to do this one!

This is coming soon and I can't wait.

This is great place to go the first Sunday of the month.

Things to look at...

I went to Anthropologie in the desert this past weekend and fell in love with all of these......

Adorable

Delish

Incredible pics

and one for the hell of it:)

Loving these "new to me" blogs...

Oh my.

Beyond sweet.

Gorgeous.

Simply delicious.

And things to swoon over...

I blame the Pioneer Woman!

For this one too!!

Why does this have to be $225??:(

I am so in love with this but alas I have big grey dog that would love to rub up on it:(

Perhaps I'll win the lottery, one probably has to play first though.....

This is soooo cool!

Just because who doesn't need one:)

Well lunch is over and my $1 taco is gone.

Have a wonderful Tuesday:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home is Where the Heart is

Last week I started on an online class called "Home is Where the Heart is" put out by Kecia Deveney and Jane Blanco. 

It was a soldering class. Seems I just can't get enough of using my soldering iron:)

This was without a doubt the longest it's ever taken me to get a class done. I started on a Monday afternoon and ended up completing it Saturday. Every week day I finished a step taking about 2-3 hours. There was lots of steps! Lots of techniques I had never tried and lots and lots of TAPING!! All in all about 18 hours was dedicated to this project. I didn't burn myself once and only one cut to the thumb:) A small miracle considering I was barefoot and you should have seen the drops of solder that got away from me on the floor. YIKES!!

So here it is........

Please don't enlarge pictures and see my soldering mistakes it is best to be appreciated from afar lol;)

As you can see it's pretty big.

Here are the 4 sides.

Some of the fun stuff.........

This is my maternal grandmother, Patricia

And my maternal great Grandmother, Dollie that picture was taken in May 1900. I simply copied them on my piece of junk printer on regular ol' printer paper.

More fun stuff......

Having it completed and washed up was an awesome feeling! Then the best part was decorating it:) All the laces, ribbons, fibers, chains and bling of course!!

And now it sits in my family room. My little Fairy Garden...........

If you'd like to see the process start to finish you can look for me on Instagram. I am freckledstar and all the posts are #homeiswheretheheartis

That's all for now!

 

 

Happy Friday!

This is just a little something I have been messing around with lately.

I've been in my craft room a lot the last few months.

Reason, I made a journal at the beginning of the year of all projects that I wanted to do and classes I wanted to take. As I complete I cross another off my list:) A way to keep me on track in this department and use a bunch of supplies. Some of which I have had for years!!

I am turning 40 no doubt and am needing reminding more and more with each passing day;)

Anyhow I saw an article by Deb Hodge in the latest Somerset Home publication where she altered a crown. Now she used chalk paint and wax and a whole bunch of other stuff I wasn't going out and buying. (see above use supplies I have had for years!) But the idea became clear as to what to do with some old crowns I had lying around. And when I say old I am talking like a few years. I have just picked them up here and there at places like Home Goods or Tai Pan. At first loving them silver then getting tired of them. Most of you know the drill. One step closer to the Goodwill bag...........

So here we go..........

Pretty plain Jane so outside we went.......

Next it was figuring out what metal elements to put on and how to get them to stay put. E6000 and clothes pins worked!

I let them all air dry overnight. Then fiddled with more paint. Pink and a little more white. Some blingy chain is always a good thing. Decided lace is a very good thing. Then fiddled some more and here is the end result........

Kinda crazy isn't it??!!

I love them:)

Happy Friday!!

 

 

Dead Bug Society

Sounds kinda creepy but it was a ton of fun!!

Last week I completed a class with one of my "Bucket List" teachers Ms. Sally Jean:)

It was in the gorgeous home of Cheryl Simpson who is also a very talented jewelry maker.

We started with an old book that needed to be pulled apart. I had an old third grade reader that was perfect. What was not so perfect was my exacto knife and it's cover. It took some umphh to get that frame cut in the cover..........

The "box" took the whole morning. Before we knew it the lights were being turned off so everyone could eat lunch. I must say it was nice! I would have just kept on working but to go outside in the sunshine and eat was fabulous not to mention refreshing.

Once the box was pretty much done it was on to our teeny tiny glass kit to make our bugs. How teeny tiny well it all fit in a plastic egg lol!!

The fun part! Bug assembly.........

Glass and tape. Paper and fibers. Wire and solder..........

I have to thank my friend Terry for buying and bringing a pink mini pad of paper (totally not something she'd normally buy, don't know what possessed her!) because it was perfect with it's polka dots and florals. Otherwise mine would have been all music paper (so yesterday) and French script (who am I kidding I'm not French;).

Now Sally Jean is a very much leave your comfort zone kinda gal. No pictures of projects beforehand!! Who does that? It about sent this girl into a tail spin! But I bucked up and packed my creative suitcase. To make bugs no less. Now that was leaving my zone of comfort from the start:)

So I made pink bugs. Don't judge! I have this thing............

I take classes to see what I can and can't do. Technique wise. Learn something new. But at the same time the project has to be mine. I have to enjoy the process. I learned this at a Lisa Kause class. She wasn't fond of my work because I wasn't leaving my comfort zone. I was making my project in blue and aqua hues and all oceany. Big surprise I know. There were others. Using colors they didn't like, elements they weren't fond of and it ended up being a huge hot mess in the end. In my end it ended up being one of my top 5 projects. I loved her technique but it was uniquely mine.

And my bugs were mine not so uniquely because I copied most of the way Sally did her glass. Sometimes my mind sees something it really loves and it gets stuck there. All I see is that and it's how I want mine to look. And I must learn how to do it just like that.

This is as close as I got to it looking just like that!

I must say I SUCK at taping and didn't quite get the edges I wanted but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Sally had the perfect scallops. I had Andrea scallops:)

What I love most about him is the glass button body. I actually brought something useful:)

Lately if I am not using tattered lace I am not happy.

And my finished speciman box........

It turned out to be something I love! Sometimes I walk into a class and immediately think I can't do that. When I looked at Sally's sample my first thought was this will take me 3 weeks to do!! But it didn't;)

She was a wonderful teacher and I learned so much.

So happy to have been able to take her class and to have a husband who may not get it but let me fly anyway:)

 

 

"Tea with Friends"

This past Sunday I took a class with the super cute Lisa Loria :)

It was called "Tea with Friends".........

And it started with this.......

Where she was nestled..........

Not really my cup of tea if you know what I mean. I am not one for scary plastic dolls but I was assured she would be turned into something cute:)

Lots of goodies to make her our own........

And Kim as always the gracious hostess........

There were special touches through the whole day. A precious little bubble gum dispenser from Erin. Cheryl made her sandwiches with pink and blue bread. Terry brought fabulous scones with devonshire cream and Tara brought delicious little quiches. Lots of yummy salads. One thing is for sure there is never a lack of food at these little get togethers:)

So once our doll was hacked up, lovingly of course, and the painting was done and hair was ripped off and glitter was generously applied we glued and we glued some more:)

So sweet!!

Everyone finished!! It was a miracle;)

Thanks Tara for helping me with my camera settings!!

I'm still using my big girl camera!!

Ok that's it for today.

Two posts in one week?!

Now that's a miracle!!





 

Some stuff I am loving........

First of all I CAN NOT WAIT FOR SPRING!!

and I don't even live in the snow:)

Away we go.........

Just discovered this lady again. Love her tablecloths:) Takes me back to the 90's when Lindsay let me dress her and she got her Easter dress from here every year. She also let me comb her hair back then. Ohh memories......

These are too cute for words! Makes me want to have a cucumber tomato sandwich and a cup of Passion tea by the pool. Or maybe a white chocolate lavendar scone from here!! Making me hungry and wishing rain wasn't on the way!!

This has become my new favorite place to go at lunchtime. I love all the scarves and earrings they have in right now. Picked up the cutest white ceramic dishes for practically nothing. Sweet pink cake holder. A gorgeous magnet board for all my pictures. Now I need to make some magnets:) And if you are lucky they will have this in stock because it is sooooo good!!

Giving this a shot. Looks good:)

Really loving this fun little surprise every month.

Can't wait to wear this and I didn't even think of it as a dress.

Would love a new one these for here.

But I need this and lots more of this first!

I can't recall the last time I looked so "flowers in the attic" maybe my Fort Drum days. Ohhh memories....

These are so cute and a must have for traveling. :)

Another must have for the travel bag and this scent is to die for!!

As an aside for my local girls Mozarts in Redlands in carrying a full line of both above products:)

Just sayin..........

And one last little travel must have can be found right here.

So what else.........

This class looks really cute. 

I will be here Sunday and can't wait!!

I so wish I could have taken this.

2 spots just opened up for this!!

This is on Saturday!! So many of my talented friends will be there. Among them the girls from Whimzy, Tara Wilson of Lulu Max, Lisa Loria, Victor and Priscilla Creda, Denise Hahn, Jenny Hernandez and Robin Howes. It is sure to be an amazing show!!

Well my salad is gone:)

Happy hump day:)

I also love this and you can find it here!!

 

 

 

 

The goodies......

I was able to go to Vintage Marketplace today:)

With my partners in crime..........

It was a perfect day for it!!

I have been asked what I got so I decided it was easier to just crank out a blog post:)

So what did I get............

First Bella and Darla got new leather collars from Victor and Priscilla.........

So stinkin cute!!

You can contact them at Vintage Bruja:)

This is from Mora's Antiques and she had a lot of gorgeous things....

Here's a few pictures I took.........

Next I went to Broke Jewels for which I had a project in mind so I was able to really get dirty and find a few things.......

I loved that urn but ended up buying this.........

Which I didn't even see! I was two booths down when I found Elaine and she asked if I saw "the holy water holder bottle thing". So of course we went back. She knows me so well:)

These are all the little pieces I bought. Hopefully I'll blog about that project soon...........

Don't hold your breath lol;)

I found this booth........

And I got her..........

Kinda funky:)

Then I found L.A. Farm Girl! What drew me in was the packaging..........

But what got me to buy were the samples! They were OMG good!! I heard she was sold out by 1!!

Next was one of my favorite vendors Under the Sun with Me she has some of the cutest planter arrangements..........

I couldn't go without this.......

And then one last little thing from Rose Vignettes who you can find in San Diego at Vignettes.....

So crafty. Love these old door knobs!!

And here are just a few shots of the marketplace in general. I took my big girl camera today;)

Well that's it from me. Vintage Markeplace is open again tomorrow and Sunday. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I have a Lisa Loria class so hopefully I'll blog about that too. Again don't hold your breath!;) So much to blog so little time!!

Love........

I love this picture.......

I love how his part of the heart is bigger than hers because of course his hand is bigger.

It symbolizes so much and I feel bad for people who just don't get it.

Now Frank and I aren't as young as these two.

I am no longer as thin and Frank's uniform is no longer as bright.

It makes my heart go pitter pat just the same:)

It makes me think of my oldest and how he is just new to love. Just finding it and all the excitement and longing that goes with having a love while in uniform. Where your first love is the Army and she is a demanding mistress.

But with love anything is possible even when it seems everything is impossible.

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

**A little P.S.

In case you didn't get reservations or you just don't feel like fighting the crowds or you think a quiet night in sounds wonderful....

Here's what's on the menu for my loves:)

Creamy Baked Fettuccine with Asiago and Thyme

Barefoot Contessa Parmesan Chicken

Chocolate Brownie Pudding

All super delicious and super easy!

XOXO:)

 

 

***the picture was on an Army Facebook page. I don't know who the photographer is. Sorry I don't it's an amazing pic:)

 

 

 

 

 

I carry your heart.......

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to take a Ruth Rae class.

Kim put it together after we saw Ruth's amazing contribution to Sew Somerset Winter 2013!

(which I could not find the direct link on the Stampington website, maybe they sold out of this issue?)

But as you can see the word "sew" was involved:/

Andrea does not sew. Maybe because of a flashback I get of making a huge robin's nest out of a bobbin in 7th grade and getting chewed out by Mrs. whatshername. So basically the last time I touched a sewing machine I was in Jr high. For whatever stupid reason sewing machines scare me. I'm afraid I'll break the stupid thing!! Get everything all tangled up somehow and we all know I don't like anything to be tangled:)

But...........

Ruth and her helper Kelly were very kind and VERY patient with me. One of the fabulous things about not knowing what I was doing and not having a sewing machine was I got to use Ruth's, a Bernina. The Rolls Royce of sewing machines I heard and I must say except for losing my bobbin thread twice I think I did ok with it:)

The project of the day was a fabric book "Forever Yours" by Ruth

Now her book was a total piece of art I fell in LOVE with. Literally it was beyond cool! The colors, the lace, the textures and the velvet hearts. L O V E!!

As we all passed the book around with faces of disbelief (you know the "yeah right I can't do this" face) I thought to myself maybe she'll sell it eventually and I'll just eat enchilada casserole and chocolate pretzels all day;)

But..........

We all pressed on. Some of us more quickly than others (Vickie!). And man did we have some machine problems. Some just sounded like they were breaking, some didn't want to go in reverse and some just didn't want to work at all!! But the Bernina worked like a champ even with my clumsy hands and zero sewing skills:)

Not having a machine at home, much less a Bernina, I went after it!! Like I normally do:) I get lovingly teased a lot for this. I can't help it. I try to slow down I swear!!

Anyway my book is done:)

Away we go.......

The cover

The inside cover (front)

The envelopes (fronts)

(back)

Some little details

The hearts

Back cover inside and out

Side view with all it's yummy layers

There it is! I love it so much!! This was definitely one of my top 5 projects:)

In case your wondering where the "I carry your heart" came from it's a poem by E. E. Cuumings. Ruth used it in her project and in a lot of her art work actually. I loved it in "In Her Shoes" with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette. One of those movies I could watch over and over again. Cameron's character recites the poem at her sister's wedding. It really is a lovely poem so I thought I'd share. Get you all in the mood for Valentine's Day:)

i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart with me

(I carry it in my heart)

                 

 Ruth Rae is teaching at Create in Irvine the end of May. For more information click on Create above and look for Ruth:)