a lacey heritage

My great-aunt sent me a package that was almost overflowing with wonderful handmade lace pieces.
The best thing about this lace? It was made by my great-grandma and great-great-grandma.

Isn't it just amazing?

Aunt Noelle sent it for me to use, and I will. : )

Maybe to edge some dresses and tops for Emma Grace, maybe on some decorative pillows too. Even though I almost want to wrap these pieces in tissue and preserve them, this lace was meant be to be seen and enjoyed!

Aunt Noelle, thank you so much for the package. It was an honor to receive!



By the way, I'm sharing this post by linking up on a few of these blogs - you might enjoy checking them out. :)

Handmade Christmas, part II

This project was actually a Christmas present for me. :)

A while ago I saw this tutorial for sewing your own ironing board cover and saved it in my "ideas" folder. It looked so easy, and my ironing board definitely needed a face-lift! Then a few days later I found some really cute material on the remnants table at the fabric store. And now, several months later, I finally took the time to make it into this:

It turns out that the hardest part was getting everything together and taking the time to make it - so glad I did! :)

The ironing board cover takes 2 yards of fabric and about an hour to complete (or longer if you get interrupted;)). Basically, if you have a sewing machine, iron and ironing board and some basic sewing skills, you can make this!

Hmm, maybe I'll make a few more as Mother's Day gifts?

I'm posting a link to this on a few of these blogs.

fun new stuff!!!

I've been experimenting with making some paper garland, and I'm loving the results! This one is made of some baby blue and kraft colored cardstock, sprinkled with some red vintage wrapping paper.
I made a listingfor it over on Etsy - check it out!

Celebrate Dad

Father's Day is June 20th this year. How are you planning to celebrate?

My family usually tried to get up ahead of Dad and make breakfast to serve to him in bed before we all headed out the door for church. Then we'd come home, BBQ a late lunch and take naps in the hammocks afterwards. Or some variation on that theme!

The celebration always included BBQ and an afternoon nap. :)

The BBQ apron in my shop would make a great gift for Dad this year. I'm still looking for something for Emma and Baby#2 to give to John, though (we already have plenty of aprons on hands, since I make them :-).
Have any of you found something for your Dad, or your husband? I'm looking for ideas!

Mother's Day Silhoutte

I saw this idea a while ago over on Prudent Baby and tucked it away in the back of my head to use for Mother's Day.
The ladies over on Prudent Baby used the idea to make artwork from pics of Zoo animals, but I thought it might be a fun and different way to do the silhouette of Emma that I am trying to give to my mom each Mother's Day. It turned out to be pretty easy (and fun! I haven't messed around with water colors in a while!).
The hardest part was getting a clear profile photo of Emma. She was sooooooo busy that morning. :) I finally just turned on the TV and sat next to her with the camera, waiting for her to stop "telling" me about everything she saw and just "zone".
Also, I didn't have any watercolor paper on hand so I just used some heavyweight textured scrapbooking paper. It worked fine, but I think watercolor paper might have been just a little nicer. I'm sure Mom - Grammie - will love it anyway!
If you'd like one yourself, I have a listing for custom silhouettes over on Etsy.


I was about to toss out the scrap that I had used for the template and then decided to tape it up instead. Pretty cute! And I get to keep and enjoy it, too. :)