More Needle Books!

I don’t know if you can tell, but I am loving making these needle books!  Finding all the different images for the front covers, especially the old vintage sewing ads, makes creating these such an enjoyable experience.

Every time I think one is my favorite, I finish another one with a wonderful combination of fabrics! 

I just love the soft grey greens and grey blues.  Luckily, I had some fabric already with those tones and the new remnant I bought at Hobby Lobby recently also has them.  They worked wonderfully in this book.

Each needle book has different images and a variety of fabrics used for the backs, inside covers, and as snippets within the needle book pages.  I used some of the new fabrics I just got recently in these needle books.

They also each have different buttons sewn in, some straight pins, a safety pin or two, and any other embellishments that struck me as interesting to add in. 

There are also some blank pages for you to add your own favorites in, whether it is an old button from a favorite top or your-now-adult child’s favorite toddler outfit, maybe it’s a scrap of fabric that you loved, or a piece of ribbon that was tied to a special gift.

More pictures and measurements of each book can be found in my Etsy shop.

Thanks so much for looking!

I Found A New-To-Me Fabric Store

I really shouldn’t be buying any more fabric.  Unfortunately, on my quest looking for a specific patterned fabric {more on that in a future post}, I wound up at a fabric store not far from home, The Fabric Shack.  They also have an online store.  As soon as I walk through a fabric store’s doors, the die has been cast!  I am not leaving a fabric store without some kind of fabric.

And last week, when I was at Hobby Lobby, specifically looking for some red and brown fabric remnants for my needle books, I came home with these two fabrics.

They have a lovely vintage look to them. Of course, neither of them are red or brown.

So, I went to The Fabric Shack knowing I would be buying fabric; the question then becomes just how much am I going to be walking out with?  This is what I got and, I think you will agree, if you love fabric, too, that you would not be able to resist either!

Love the sewing themed patterns!  I’m sure you can tell what the majority of these are going to be used for.

Just about all of these fabrics will find their way into my new batch of needle books.  I’ll be finishing those up and listing them soon!

This panel above is different tags that you could write on with a permanent fabric marker {need to get one of those} and add to your creations.  And this one below was a remnant, whose colors just grabbed my attention and was too cute to leave behind.

I can’t wait to go back!  {Shhhh!}

Knife Block Makeover

I’ve been wanting to paint our knife block for some time.  I finally decided to go ahead and do it.  So quick and easy, and it’s back in business by the end of the day.  Here it is before.  A typical knife block.

I had some Old White chalk paint so decided to use that.  

After I painted it, I thought that it could do with a little something more.  I found I had a black and white harlequin scrapbook paper and decided to add this to the sides and a square on the front.  I Mod Podged this on.

I also wanted to add a little something to the front and decided to use one of the Tim Holtz ornate plates I had in my craft supplies. 

I added in a label that says “Knives”,  just in case we forget what they are.  Actually, I printed up two.  I liked this one in a font called “Matter of Fact”, which kind of looks like it has dripping blood.  I know, very macabre, but hey, my birthday’s Halloween, so I’m allowed.  Besides, I think it is a fitting font for “knives”! 

I did decide to use this font done in “Clipper Script Fat”, which is a pretty script. 

I printed the wording out on ivory card stock.  I hot glued the whole thing, card stock and plate, onto the knife block.

Here are some other ideas I found on Pinterest.

Source: The Speckled Dog on Etsy

Source: House of Hepworths

Source: Austin Stay and Play

Source: Dawn Nicole

I love how it turned out. It’s like I got a brand new one.

The best thing was that this project cost me $0, because I already had everything I needed on hand!  Simple, quick, easy and free!  What’s better than that?

 

I’m joining in a few parties this week:

Swing Into Spring

Share Your Style

Treasure Hunt Thursday

Inspire Me Tuesday

What’s Going Down Around Here

Some simple changes now that the warmer weather is finally here {and looks like it is here to stay now}.  I switched out my winter drapes in the living room back to my lighter look for spring and summer. 

Darker plaid for winter.

Lighter drapes for the warmer months.  Excuse the stepladder.

I finally got more hydrangeas for my Paris tote on the coffee table.  I just brought this tote back out a few weeks ago.  I got the hydrangea bushes at Hobby Lobby the other day, but I think I got the ones I had in there from Michael’s. 

The whites don’t match and I don’t like the way it looks, so they will be going back.  I’ll be heading to Michael’s to get a couple of theirs, but at least I got a feel for how the tote would look filled.

I copied Cathy from My 1929 Charmer by turning the lid on my new little tureen upside down and plopping a birds nest on top.  I thought she had a great idea; this way I don’t misplace the lid and ladle, or break them, by storing them somewhere while the tureen hosts the nest. Of course, there is also that chance that I would forget where I put them.

Changed out the mid-winter shower curtain to the light floral shower curtain in our main bathroom. 

While we are in here, I can show you that we also changed out the vanity top and faucet set.  We also painted {same color, just a refresh}, but there is no natural light in here so it wasn’t worth sharing at the time.

And that’s currently what’s going on my way.  I’m working on a simple paint project right now that I’ve been dying to do for years and finally did.  I’ll be sharing that soon!