Mini Hares

Another less-than-stellar weekend of weather had me creating again.  There's more snow outside, but it's starting to look like spring indoors.  These miniature hares were the product of much patience, let me tell you.  The Tilda's Fairytale Wonderland book had patterns for the sweetest little animals - and I mean little.  They measure just over 5 inches tall, but what they lack in size they make up for in cuteness.

Here they are under a wire tree I started decorating for Easter...

Mr. Hare hasn't got his shorts on yet (the fabric hasn't arrived in the mail), but he'll be looking dapper soon enough.  In the meantime, he isn't shy.

My Easter rabbit enjoys the company as he waits patiently for spring and Easter to arrive...

Happy spring decorating to you!!

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Princess and the Pillows

Hello friends - I'm giddy with excitement to tell you my Tilda's Fairy Tale Wonderland book has arrived!!!
It is Tone Finnanger's latest book, full of gorgeous projects.  I first mentioned the book in this post (where you can find some photos from the book).
I knew from the moment I saw the book cover that I wanted to make the Princess and the Pea project for my daughter.  What better way to spend a snowy cold weekend here?
Needle and thread in hand, I truly enjoyed every minute of making this lovely lady:

The pretty blue and white fabric came from the Tilda's Winter Memories fabric collection, appealing in soft, muted colors:

For now she rests atop a basket full of pillows I have for sale on Etsy.  My next project is to provide a multi-mattress topped bed for her...

The book cover...

These miniature animals from the book really appealed to my daughter, so they will be made next...

This little hare looks adorable under a cloche:

Another page of the book reveals handsome nutcrackers:

I started a Tilda's World board on Pinterest which includes more gorgeous ideas from the book.  Feel free to view it here.

Still having fun with dolls, I decided my Santos doll needed this new crown:

Never too old to play with dolls!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy this day of romance my friends!  Here are some pretty pinks from me to you...

I spruced up a bland old swan (from the wedding party favor section of dollar store) with a little sparkle:

crocheted pink heart rests nearby

Roses light up the buffet...

Have a wonderful Valentine's day!!

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A Dreamy Bench

Ever since I saw the French style stool in Maria of Dreamy White's bedroom, I have been on the look-out for one.  You know the one...gorgeous curved legs with perfect patina...check out this post to have a look.  I just love the way Maria mixes the elegant with the rustic!

So you can imagine my delight when coming across this small table at the White Elephant outlet store recently.  I transformed it into a bench with a simple canvas drop-cloth upholstery job on the top.

Cheerful roses rest on top...

Here's how the table looked when I got it.  It needed a good cleaning.

I knew this top needed covering, too.  I thought about painting the table, but just didn't want to lose all the fantastic patina.

To transform it into a bench, I used 1-inch foam covered by batting.  Each was cut to fit the top oval shape.  Next I simply cut canvas drop-cloth (from Home Depot) slightly larger than the oval shape.  I sewed piping around the edge of the drop-cloth, and stapled the fabric to the top over the foam & batting.

It's a nice mix of the refined with the simple and rustic.

Some other treasures I found at the same outlet....this pretty vintage hat:

and these old tattered books.  I love the 'No 3' on the first page:

I've got one more thing to share - all the snow we received over the weekend!  It took us a while to dig out, but it certainly is beautiful.  Yesterday we went sledding in the plowed mountain of snow in our front yard.
FUN!

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Thank You!

As our family digs out of this Northeast blizzard, we can reflect on all our good fortune.  We've managed thus far without losing power (thank God!) and are safe and sound.  There's a mountain of snow in the corner of our front yard, brought on by all that plowing.  I'm sure the kids will be sledding in it tomorrow.
It is truly beautiful outside - a winter wonderland, which I'll be certain to take photos of to share with you.
There's a lot to be thankful for, including friendships with many of you!
That said, I must share some recent goodies I received from talented bloggers.  Sweet Donna of My Shabby Chateau sent me one of her french-inspired peat pots.  She knows how much I love blue (sharing the love of that color with her), and this one has such terrific detail!  Read more about it here:

 
To see more of her delightful peat pots, take a look at this post.
And look how sweetly it was wrapped!:

Thank you Donna!

Another yummy package arrived recently in the mail from Rosemary of Villabarnes.  I purchased one of her unique metal crowns and it is fabulous!!

Rosemary also included this lovely clay cameo. Isn't it beautiful?  I can't wait to use both of these for an upcoming project I'll be sharing.  Stay tuned...

The creative talent of these ladies knows no bounds.  I can say that for so many of you friendly bloggers!
Thanks so much ladies - I am blessed!

Tilda's World - Valentine Postcard Tutorial

I've got another simple Valentine-inspired tutorial for you!  The Tilda's World Winter Memories paper pad I purchased is full of inspiration with soft winter colors.  There's plenty of pink in there, too, for Valentine's Day.  Here's a layered postcard I recently made:

There are several pieces I used to put it together.  Most of them are from this paper pad I got at www.MarthaPullen.com:

The steps are pretty simple.  First I cut out the pink postcard from the paper pad.  The trophy chipboard came from the Etsy store StudioCee.  (Before starting this project, I had already painted the trophy chipboard white and sprinkled white glitter on it while the paint was wet):

In the corner of the postcard, I glued on a folded corner of a paper doily plus a tiny paper clothespin (from the Tilda paper pad):

Next I gathered this paper ticket from the Tilda paper pad, as well as some paper roses I got from the Etsy store 32 Degrees North.
The paper roses were originally a bright pink, so I had lightened them up in a quick (10 minute) bath of tea.  It makes them appear like vintage millinery flowers:

The roses were hot-glued to the back of the white trophy chipboard in a pleasing bouquet:

Next I glued the trophy onto the postcard, and tied the paper ticket to the postcard with thin twine through a small hole in each (I made the holes with a thick needle):

finished result!

I think the postcard looks pretty set up on our dining room shelf, along with some of the other Tilda Winter Memories paper pad cut-outs:

These animals are just adorable:

The soft pink roses are refreshing in the middle of winter:

Hope you are enjoying crafting this winter, too!  We're expecting snow tonight, so that's how I'm filling some indoor time.  :)

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