Burlap Silverware Holders

Today I whipped up 30 burlap silverware holders to be used this upcoming summer for parties and b.b.q.'s...

Ever since I saw these silverware holders I've wanted some... so I decided today was the day to whip some up. I have  a lot of burlap in various size widths in my fabric stash. I had one roll that was eight inches wide, so I simply cut that in half the entire length of the roll and then cut it again every fourteen inches.

I pulled out some of my lace and folded that over the edge of the silverware pocket for added strength to the holders. Since these are made from burlap, I felt this would possibly make these last a little longer.

 Then it was just a matter of sewing the lace on each one and then zig-zagging around each piece to create the pockets. I practiced on some burlap scraps and tried each size of the zig-zag stitch until I found one that held a lot of the strings in place-- the wide zig-zag stitch was the one I ended up using.
Lastly, I added a twine bow to finish off each silverware holder. I used hot glue on the backside of the bows loops and none on the tails of the bows. They are not budging...

Each silverware holder I made was made using a 4"x14" piece of burlap. I folded up the pockets edge at 4 1/2" from the bottom before sewing up the sides. Easy~peasy.
 
 That was fun.... now what to work on? *wink*
big hugs,

Button Fairy

This week I've joined in on two challenge themes... The theme for one was "buttons" and the other was "transparent." I created a "Fairy of lost Buttons" combining both themes.

I printed out the fairies wings onto a plastic transparency. I love transparent wings, and use them quite a bit~ 

The photo of the baby is from my stash of vintage photos that I have. It is one of my favorites because of the joyous smile the baby has... you just know, the babies mother was off in the distance doing something goofy to make her baby laugh like she did. I have the fairy nestled amongst some mother of pearl buttons and some old millinery flowers... which too, would explain the joyous smile. *wink*
 
I've joined in on Simon Says "transparent" challenge, and Inspiration Avenues "button" challenge.
big hugs,

Lucky Penny

What is more lucky than find a penny on the ground right? Ok, in all honesty I personally think its lucky if your able bodied enough to bend over and pick it up-- *wink* I have been wanting a "lucky penny" table for a long time. With that idea in my mind, I thought it was time to whip one up!

 

This past summer I got a huge wire spool for fa-ree! and thought it would make a great table base.... Presenting "The Lucky Penny Table" in all its glory dah-dah-dah-daaaaaaaahhhhhh! The table is still setting up and once it is completely dry, I'll buff up the coins one last time and then clean up the edges where some of the grout spilled over the sides.

It was so easy to make, just very time consuming. Firstly, I used E6000 glue and glued 1/8 inch tile spacers to 1,000  coins.... yes, 1,000. I know this because I went through 4 bags of tile spacers at 250 in each bag. I added the tile spaces so that the grout would not only seep between the coins, but underneath as well. I am hopeful that this will insure the coins don't pop off over time.

I was lucky to find/purchase some laminate trim for only $1.00 for the roll, I used this on the edges of the wood to keep the grout from seeping over the sides of the wood. I used carpet nails to attach it to the outside of the penny table and tacky glue to hold it in place in the umbrella circle in the middle of the table. Once the trim was in place, I hot glued each coin to the wood circle that is the base for this penny table. At the last minute, I realized I needed to space the coins out a little more than I had planned. This was due in large part because I used foreign coins along with pennies on the table top.
 
Lastly, I smeared on top of the penny table some charcoal colored grout. This part is the not so fun part.... once the grout was slathered onto the table top making sure it went in between the coins...
It was about 20 minutes of wiping away the excess and rinsing out the water over and over again....

I'm in love.... totally smitten... I love my new lucky penny table~

big hugs,

Slip Covers for Stools

I have three small stools that my two grand children and I pull up around my coffee table to play games together.... They were looking a little bit shabby-- and not in a good way.

 Ah that is better!

 I whipped up drawstring slip covers for each little stool, now they all match and look so much nicer. Each slip cover comes off easily with the pull of the bow on the underside of each stool. I may have to make another set one of these days. *wink* There is never enough time to do everything I want to do!

 Now you would think the largest of the stools would be for me... but no, my five year old grand daughter who is very petite always grabs the biggest stool! I've linked up to Beverly's Pink Saturday.
big hugs,

Vintage Wooden Ladder

I got this old wooden ladder for fa-ree....Isn't it a treasure?
 
I hauled it home this past summer and its been propped up against the fence ever since. My cats, a few opossum and even a raccoon have all taken turns using it to climb up to the top of the fence. Happily, the opossum and the raccoon have moved on down the street--- hopefully way down. *wink* Anywho---- I painted it to look more like it was pulled off of a pirate ship so it would better fit the theme of my backyard. I added some rope to the rungs and some red fringe to the sides for an extra pop of color.

 I had fun staging this area between the lagoon and the dock.... Aaaarrrrggghhh... so much better! Click on any photo to view them larger... aaaarrgggghhhh...

 While I had my electric staple gun out, I also added some red fringe to a small wooden wagon. This will be where the birthday gifts go while everyone is playing games and eating. You can see in this photo below, I stenciled on some more boxes. I didn't have any "Gun powder" boxes, and everyone knows any self respected pirate has a lot of gun powder on hand... I always place a lantern by the things that are explosive... it just makes me laugh when ever I do that. I wonder if anyone else will find that funny? or even get it?....

I also stapled up some blue netting in this area of my yard where the games will be played. Across the bottom of some benches...

 along the fence line...

around a barrel...

and across some boxes...

I have seventy five days until the party. Not that I'm counting. *wink*
big hugs,

Lace Pom-Poms

While poking around my studio for something to play with-- I came across a spool of ribbon that I picked up for $1.00 years ago. I have been using this as twine to tie things up never really thinking of it actually being used for something other than that. At the same time I spied the lace I ran across a set of plastic pom pom looms...

 Instant idea. Lace pom-poms!

 I used white ribbon to gather each pom-pom, I figured this would be a lot stronger than the lace itself to hold it all together.

 I just love how they turned out. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a garland of lace pom poms? Definitely on my to do list once I make a lot more!

big hugs,

Tick Tock...

I made a necklace today using pieces from an old-old pocket watch.
I pried a lot of the works off of the watch to get down to the large flat disk that is the main piece of the actual watch. Then I started adding pieces back....

There were several pieces that looked like fingers, so I reattached them and slide in a Holy Cross which once hung from a vintage rosary.

On the backside, I added a small vintage watch face along with a lot of tiny rhinestones that I glued into most of the small holes left by the screws I took out. I added a strand of rhinestone to the outer edge, I think it makes it look like a gear wheel. Not quite steam punk... but more to my liking.

I've joined in on Simon Says Monday Art challenge, this weeks theme was "Tick Tock"
big hugs,