i.love.my.job.

I'm thankful for it everyday.  

Taking our natural lavender laundry and cleaning products,

 and my repurposed assemblage jewelry,

to markets and shows is something that still seems like a dream.

(a dream where I work very hard... but a dream nonetheless.) 

If you have followed me up to this point, 

THANK YOU!

I know that I have come and gone, and come and gone again,

so I appreciate each and every one of you that still stop by 

when you see me come up in your sidebar. 

...and if you have followed for awhile, then you know that I have loved reclaiming 

forgotten treasures for forever. 

 I get caught up in the process of turning a phrase into a wearable reminder.

Repurposing the forgotten little pieces of someone's long ago story

into jewelry for someones new story...

 something as simple as a beloved dog's tag,

a reclaimed memory of someone's best friend...

into a necklace for a special dog lover.

Each small piece of our history inspires me 

to create a sparkly something special for you to wear.

I draw inspiration from the rusty, crusty, sparkly, shiny, 

 the natural, earth formed gems, and our past.

...and then there's this -

our incredibly fresh scented, hard working

natural lavender goodness.

like I said in the beginning...

i.love.my.job.

Thanks for stopping by!

Please make sure to check my social media pages

The Old White House on FB

and 

Instagram

and even

Twitter

for the latest updates on what I'm up to,

and where you can find us!

love,

t.xoxo

pretty pics to take my mind off of the tax task at hand....

It's that time of year and I am sitting here

going through receipts and boring tax stuff.

ugh.

So to take my mind away from it for a bit,

I thought I would post some pretty pictures for you and me!

yes, I am procrastinating generous like that.

This was from one of our first shows of last year's season.

Along with gathering tax stuff I have also been

thinking about booth design and upcoming shows.

Plus making some new baubles for said shows.

yes, I realize I'm really really avoiding dreaded boring business stuff,

but look at this shiny object!

I've been playing with Ice Resin again, it's another way to create with mixed media.

This mother of pearl bead pendant has since been given a beautiful strand of 

semiprecious stone and vintage beads,

and as soon as the sun is just right I will take pics of it.

I have even managed to solder a few more shadowboxes!

I have a table full of projects right now.

Many pieces of jewelry on the way to the shop

and then I made these...

Hearts made from a vintage French linen toile tablecloth,

one that has seen many, many years of love.

It was beyond covering the table any longer, but makes 

the most beautiful hearts filled with organic lavender flowers.

given a little love note stamped onto cotton and 

freestitched onto the heart.

I added winter white seam binding attached with

a large vintage button.

These have been listed in the shop...

The Old White House

Well, I should really quit procrastinating and 

commit my full attention to the task at hand.

If I don't put this computer away, chances are that

Pinterest, or facebook, or instagram might call my name, 

and if I hear the call, well then all hope is lost!

Thank you for stopping by,and have a fabulous day!

love,

t.xoxo

the attention span of a gnat...

Sometimes having the attention span of a gnat is a good thing...

because of it, I am really never bored.

I am someone who has to keep her hands busy,

I generally don't watch television with the family

unless I am multitasking.

(unless I plan on letting it lull me to sleep)

Earrings are a good thing to make while I 'watch!'

I grab a handful of beads and findings and

snuggle in with everyone.

 The early hours of the morning are my

favorite time to solder.

Generally I have the pieces all put together and like to accumulate 

a nice pile of them to solder.

I'm usually the first one awake 

and it's quiet around here and I drink my coffee,

listen to pandora, and go to town!

this one is a double sided

vintage fabric scrap from a small vintage napkin with the trim on the front

and the word simplify on the back.

this one is made from a vintage piece of embroidery 

the latest pieces from the worktable,

most of them are listed in the shop

The Old White House

...and when I'm not making jewelry,

you know I'm sewing sachets and making soap!

These were the sachets that I made for the 

Soap'n House that I mentioned a few posts ago.

It unfortunately was postponed because

of the late winter weather so these

are waiting for the next show or for sale on etsy :)

I just love using the vivid colors of the vintage fabrics,

for the dryer sachets, it makes them easy to spot among the laundry,

and of course the Michigan stamp one is a favorite of mine.

So you see, having the attention span of a gnat

has served me well,

I flit from project to project always trying something new!

I do miss creating collages, and assemblage pieces

but this gnat has also learned her limits.

There is really only so much time in the day,

and right now my days are very full.

In between creating with my hands, I have been 

expanding my lil brain too!

I am in the process of creating a new website for us.

The blog will be connected to it,

but I wanted to create our own site 

apart from etsy.

Sometimes as I'm putting it together,

I think of it as one of those brain exercises 

that they encourage for gnats my age!

"If you don't use it, you lose it"

(I wish that worked for the rest of my body!)

That's a little of what I've been up to,

how about you?

I'd love to hear all about it!

love,

t.xoxo

linking to:

Be Inspired Party

sparkle on...

Good Morning!

We had a day full of sunshine on Saturday,

so I took advantage of the sun streaming in the window

and took lots of pictures of the latest creations for

the old white house

too many pics for sure, but I like choices, what can I say? 

here are just a few...

I love freshwater pearls,

these beauties are a nice greyish color layered with rhinestone rondelles

 and tiny hearts that I have aged to perfection!

The green in these rhinestone disco balls really

sparkles, especially when added to glass bell flowers

in the same hue...

more fresh water pearls, this time in a natural ivory color,

along with the rondelles that I am obsessed with, dangling

from a patina'd rosary connector and crystal beads.

All for a vintage feel to dress up most anything!

It's a snow day, the kids will be sleeping in today

and while they do I will continue to list earrings in the shop.

Yesterday we had a wonderful day of family time

at my dads place.  Lots of laughter, hugs, good conversation and 

a delicious brunch.  It was awesome to see everyone,

my heart was overflowing when we left...

much needed family time.

We had a night of freezing rain/snow,

Max went to bed hoping for a snow day so that

he and Hannah can go sledding today.

I will have the hot chocolate waiting.

Stay warm!

love,

Theresa

xoxooxoxo

I will be joining in on Debra's party

The Marketplace