ribbon #2 for vintage inspiration friday...

I am hooked!  I made 4 more of these today, all with a little twist! I think these would look wonderful on a lampshade or the corner of an old picture or mirror, but the dress form was all I had time for and unfortunately I could only get pics of was one of them because the sun set before I realized what time it was!  I also made some charms and other fun stuff that I didn't get pics of.  I hope I have time this weekend for a full photo shoot for etsy!

  I have added burlap strips to this one along with some of that fabulous vintage seam binding that we all love so much!

OHHHH there's the 800 number just in case you want some of your own!  I left the backs on all of them well, really because I didn't want to dismantle the whole thing, but I love the history of this stuff!

Behind the bee and crown button is a piece of paper doily that I aged and then ruffled a little bit for texture.  

I haven't started on the pink ones yet, but don't you worry my brain is working over time on ideas these days!

Thank you everyone for all of your sweet comments about the last one... you just fueled the fire! xoxo

I'm linking up to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday soiree and to Cindy's Show and Tell Friday. It's the first time I've had my act together enough to join in the fun, but I always love to see what everyone else brings to the party!

Hannah has 5 girls coming over for a sleepover tomorrow... wish me luck!  If you don't hear from me for a while, call someone to check and make sure I survived the sleepover! (I'm just hoping I bought enough groceries and goodies for 6 12 year olds!) really IS there enough?  :0

...this is funny but as I previewed this I saw the numbers above for the # of girls and thought "why did I put our address in the post?"  THAT is how easily I lose my focus and forget things people! ugh.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Theresa xoxo

trophy ribbon redo...

So a friend reminded me of this great store near by that is a recycle/craft supply treasure trove!  They take donations from people of all kinds of craziness and then in turn sell them to those of us who NEED said craziness!
~ that would be me.
~ but you already know that about me don't you...

I know right?  One of the treasures that I went for specifically (because my friend is just that nice and told me about them - thanks Jill!)  were these old 4-H trophy ribbons!  SQUEALING WITH DELIGHT!!! They had bunches of them and my brain kicked into overdrive with all of the creations that I could make with them.

I took off the original button and covered it with vintage ledger paper and then took the same ledger paper and used my scallop punch, added some glitter,(why silver of course), and then one of my favorite old photos of the sweetest young woman, a little rhinestone and the word graceful.  I love that word, mostly because I wish I was, but alas I bump into everything, and really if I just slowed down a little and watch where I was going,  maybe I wouldn't. hmmmmm.

Then I topped the original ribbons with some music paper with the edges antiqued and then some vintage seam binding topped with shimmery ribbon. 
I'm a pretty neutral girl, in fact maybe mixed with the Ukranian, Cherokee, Scottish, and all the rest is a little Swiss waiting to come out!! :)

I have more of the ribbons so be prepared to see a few more of these in the near future!  Also I have been soldering a little bit and when I can make something that I don't shudder at, then I will share that too!

I'm going to get back into the White Wednesday party, I haven't been able to join in for so long I figured I'd dust off my invitation and head on over!  btw... there is a standing invitation for you too, Kathleen says the more the merrier... right Kathleen?   Thanks for the party!

Thanks for stopping by! Theresa xoxo

o.k.... now where was I...

Oh my gosh, it has been 2 weeks since I posted....lets see,   I went to the barn, I brought in a few treasures, the tree went to the road last Sunday, and I have been trying to keep up with life ever since. there it is in a nutshell, well kinda.

SERIOUSLY!  I cannot even believe it's been 2 weeks!   To be honest, life has been busy and  I felt like I was spinning in circles I just didn't seem to be able to actually complete a single project.  It didn't help that my creativity add has set in BIG time, so I have no less than 12 projects going at any one time, but I am happy to say that today I actually completed a few of said projects and even got some pictures!  WOOHOO!!!  So here we go...

 I really love how this banner turned out.  Felted wool heats all prettied up with scalloped script paper and vintage white buttons, stitched to a roping of crocheted chainstitching.  so stinkin sweet.

I think the different textures is what has my heart... sorry I couldn't resist ;O

On to the next finally completed project...

 

A tote bag for around town all gussied up with a vintage image from Karen and one of my all time favorite symbols... the red cross.  I don't care what country you live in, it is there. how perfect.  I added a ticking rosette with a vintage red cross pin in the center. 

Sorry, I know the pics are kind of dark, this good ole winter weather isn't really cooperating for me!
But what did cooperate for me today was one of my favorite of all time people, my brother Wil... this is how fun, and cooperative he is.
1. he was a willing model for my new boutonnieres for etsy.
2. he was a willing model for my new boutonnieres for etsy in the Goodwill dressing room, (with the door open)
3. he let me take pictures of him at the Goodwill with strangers wondering what the heck we were doing and who were WE calling strange(rs)?
o.k. are you ready to me him?  really, if you could meet him in person I promise you would love him instantly, everyone else does.  He has so much charm and such a  fun-loving-life kind of spirit.

adorable, right?

this was his "action shot" as he put it! Oh my gosh, we were laughing so hard!  I had to keep composing myself so I could keep the camera somewhat steady!

You see we had a little get together and ate wonderful food provided by none other than Wil, and played some silly games, all for scratch-off lottery ticket prizes again provided by Wil. Then a few of us ventured out on a scheduled trip to the local GoodWill.  I brought my camera and boutonnieres along so that we could do this.  He pulled the clothes off of the rack stepped into the dressing room, left the door open so that I could get the pictures, and we had our Good Wil  photo shoot!  hilarious!

I am filling  theoldwhitehouse with all sorts of goodies and combining the two stores, so look out for more new creations and lots of vintage surprises in the shop!

Geesh, I started this post yesterday, Saturday, and like  my projects i couldn't finish it all in one sitting.  Well I better get busy again, I have so many more things to share with you and it looks like the sun might even be out today so another photo session is in order... I wonder if I can get someone here to model for me in the  frigid outdoors... "Oh Wil".

I'm linking this to Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy, and  Tea Rose Home'slink parties.


I've so missed our little chats, and all of YOU and am thrilled to be back!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Theresa xoxo

in from the barn...

I brought in a few things to use around the house, first up is the bag that used to hang on the door.  When Christmas came along it got replaced with a wreath and so was sent to 'storage'  We have 2 bathrooms and both of them are very small and lack any kind of storage, this being an old victorian I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.  When we go shopping for things like toilet paper, shampoo, etc. we buy in larger quantities but then once home we are trying to figure out where to store it.  I may have solved the tp storage problem this week by putting it in the bag!  It can hold 30 rolls so this just may work!  Forgive the photo, neither of our bathrooms have a window so I had to leave the lights on. (before blogging I would have done that anyway)  I really appreciate all of the photography tips everyone shares!

This bag is now holding the eucalyptis, but what I really wanted to show off is the dress form that is wearing her new vintage cotton slip sent to me from a dear friend in TN.  My daughter got the scarf for Christmas and so when I am not wearing it I leave it on her so I can find it easier!

 This was headed for the barn but when putting away the only Christmas decorations that have been taken down (yup I said it, the tree is still up)  I decided to fill the bottom of the birdcage with  a set of lights and put it on top of the entertainment center.  It has a sweet glow at night.

Well I thought I would have much more to share this week but our family had more pressing issues to take care of.  So maybe this week I will start crossing things off of my list.
 
we'll see.

I'm going to link this up to Donnas party Sat. Night Special over at Funky Junk,  I saw some cool ideas over there using different things as containers and thought I would share the apple bag.

Thanks for stopping by, I'm still playing catch-up on checking out what everyone is up to, and ofcourse am filled with inspiration from all that I see!  Theresa xoxo

a look back and a peak into the new year...

Happy New Year to everyone!  I don't usually make new years resolutions, I have told myself that they are silly, and that I won't stick with them anyway.  I got to thinking though that maybe I wasn't giving myself enough credit...  I can stick to things if I put my mind to it and really WANT  to embrace change,  I can honestly say that for the first time in a long time I have felt a wonderful stirring in my soul about the possibilities of a new year.

I have goals set for myself, my family, and our home...

I love my time here in blogland

so many of you have inspired me to really dig deep into the creative recesses of my soul

to release the fear of trying new things, one of those things being the idea to share what I've created with all of the blog world, without fear of rejection or being misunderstood...

to make what pops into my head and then post about it, and sell it.

I have to say a huge THANK YOU to those of you who opened my eyes to the world of JDL, oh my gosh, I am in love!  That is definitely the direction that our home is going to take, white, warm, industrial,  with natural wood elements and romantic.  Who would have thought that industrial and romantic would work together?  I love it!   So I am going 'shopping' in my little white barn and hauling my finds in the house.  I have been doing this a little at a time, but now it is time for a major overhaul by swapping out some of the decor in here.  Right now I would say that the house just have too much stuff!  i can't  believe I'm even saying that, but believe me Duane is happy to hear me say it!  So the things that come in must have purpose as well.

I don't want to look like this guy anymore!  I have hung on to some things thinking that they were bought to be sold, but have yet to list them on etsy or get them over to Lambs Gate.  Well, this is the week that I will be getting this stuff out of here one way or another!  I want theoldwhitehouse to take on a new look and so will be going in a new direction with it.  I am so excited to actually HAVE a direction!  Really!!

 The dining room was my jumping off point!  More makeovers are on the way!

I want to look more like this guy, peaceful and content...

I want to do more of this, sewing and sharing, so you can expect more tutorials than before...

I will be making more of these because I love wearing them and so love to share them!

I see my art taking on a whole new direction as well...

I think I've always been pretty organic in my artwork, but I see even more on the horizon...  I've repurposed for so many years that my kids probably thought that was the only way to create something, I am excited to create again, these last couple of weeks all I've done is crochet scarves for my family so I can't wait to get out the glue and junk and jewelry again!

and then there is my baby...

my line of natural laundry soap and lavender dryer sheets, I believe more deeply in this product than anything I've ever done before.  I feel like even in a small way I am making a difference ... not only the green impact that I feel I can make but a impact on my families income as well.  So this means alot more work and dedication on my part, but I feel it will be worth it.

 2011 is going to bring more 'green' into the lives of the Hein family in more ways than my soap... Hannah and I have become vegetarians.  John was home for a longer period of time than usual, he is a vegan and so was a great teacher and motivator for us.  I am thrilled and empowered by the feeling of giving my family a healthier lifestyle.  Even though not all of us will be vegetarian, the ones that are not will still benefit by having more vegies and grains in their diets!  I gotta believe that part of the positive feelings I have for our new year is that I am starting it off right!  I didn't want to just start another diet, they have never worked for me, I felt deprived and starved and so would cheat every chance I got... this doesn't feel like that, it feels right.   This is one of the reasons that I did not do new year resolutions in the past, they seem so redundant.   I will be 50 this year, and I want to be a strong role model for my children.  I also want to show them my fun side, they see my silly side on a regular basis but I wanted to show them the side of me that likes to play too, so for Christmas I asked for Just Dance 2 for the WII, and oh my gosh it is so much fun!  We played again last night and it feels good to dance and get excersize without feeling like it's work!

Thank you all for stopping by and leaving comments, they mean so much to me!  Blogging has brought so much LIFE into my life!  Thank you.  I hope that I can inspire you this new year and give back a little of the inspiration that you have given me.
                                                                   Love,
                                                             Theresa xoxo