etsy love...

This treasury is right up my alley...

'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' by kindredquilters

Earth Day is April 22nd. Here are some wonderful handmade goodies that are also Earth friendly!

Take Me to Lunch Pattern (SM... KindredQuilter... $10	6 Hand Stamped Upcycled Silv... aandkaccents $12	Coffee Bean Sack Farmers Mar... ApRi $16	Personalized Merry Monster D... MerryMonsters $30
5 reusable produce bags frauleinLilly $10	Neutral Upcycled Cable Knit ... lillandsissel $39.5	Reusable Cloth Wipes or Fami... mamamade $10	3 reusable organic lavender ... theoldwhitehou... $18
Reusable Hemp Coffee Filter ... grassworks $5	2 Reusable swiffer mop pads ... Caar $10	Recycled material hummingbir... SageStudios $32	Unpaper towels, eco friendly... InspiredStitch... $7.5
Recycled Seat Belt Guitar St... couchguitarstr... $22.95	Recycled light bulb vase woo... Paladim $12.5	Fingerless Gloves - Texting ... WildApplause $24	Lighted Wine Bottle Hand Pai... RecycleThyme $27

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

I love checking out new treasuries on etsy and am thrilled to have been included in some lovely ones.

 This one featuring all repurposed, recycled goodness is simply fabulous.

 I found some new shops to follow that have thinking 'outside the box' all wrapped up!

Love the guitar straps from seat belts, and they also make fabulous camera straps too...

the recycled light bulb vase if very industrial chic...

the burlap shopping bags...

the hummingbird feeder made from a discarded wine bottle...

and don't even get me started on how well those dryer sachets work ;)

Thank you Shari and Lois!

 I'm linking some etsy treasures of my own over at Debra's The Marketplace. 

 If you have some shopping to do for yourself or a special gift for someone, 

I hope you will stop over and see all of the wonderful items that the small business owners link up.

via facebook

add to that the many of us that use recycled, repurposed materials and

you not only support the artist and their family,

but you are saving the planet as well.

kinda double dipping,  if you will :)

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

 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

she flew the coop again, in style...

We were lucky to have had Danielle home all summer.  

Her move to Atlanta was not all it was cracked up to be, 

and now she has moved to Charleston.

(lucky girl)

I won't be jealous, I won't be jealous...

aaaanyway,

the reason for this update is to show you some of the things she did to get herself prepared.

She created herself a laundry basket full of cleaning supplies,

mamma's cleaning supplies ofcourse!

Not just mamma's but some ideas and recipe's of her own for 

me to borrow ;)

She even made her basket a little sign!

she made these cleaning mitts out of a vintage towel and then stamped on the 

reverse side, how cute is that?

She put her soap in a container she found in the work room, filled a jar with

our organic lavender sachets and made her own

all purpose cleaner and window cleaner and then

recycled bottles to put them in.

(with hand stamped labels ofcourse!)

All summer she came up with new idea's for The Old White House and worked at markets for us,

I really appreciate all of her hard work!

After she made herself a basket full of pretty supplies,

she got busy making a few pillows for her bedroom,

this one is a vintage sheet, love the ruffle...

I put in my order for the "I like you & naps" pillow...

she also created a canopy using a vintage frame and some sheets,

she promised to send pics as soon as she gets it hung up.

I can't wait to see it!

I love the jar of dryer sachets!

So why make your laundry supplies look so pretty,

you ask?

cuz, when you go to the laundromat looking like this,

your supplies gotta keep up!

(I borrowed this photo from a vintage style pin-up photo shoot that she did with a friend)

Wishing you only the very best Sweetpea!

i miss you already.

She has me inspired to make something around here just

a little more special...

how about you? 

Thanks for stopping by!

love,

Theresa/mom

xoxoxooxo

linking to:

Vintage Inspiration Friday

a little of this, a little of that...

Let's start with this...

Last week I helped my good friend Julie put together a 50th birthday party for her husband, Tom.

She had so many great ideas for the decorations, the food and the entertainment so it was

an easy job!  This guy, Tod Parkhouse,  the caricature artist was a big hit,  

the guests, young and old alike were lined up for him to draw a silly picture of them.

Here he is drawing one of Max and Hannah

How adorable is that!!!  

GAAAAAAAAA!

It cracks me up every time I look at it!

Duane and I had ours drawn too, but nobody to take a photo of it happening,

Thank goodness for small favors!

Julie hired great local band to play on her beautiful wrap around porch

 while the guests relaxed on the  front lawn

visiting with friends in their lawn chairs.

Also a big hit!

(one day I need to take you on a tour of her gorgeous home)

I am so bummed that I didn't have more time to take some photos of the

decorations with my camera before the guests arrived.

 (I did take a few with Julies before I went

home to get mine but that doesn't help me show them to you now!)

anyway...

I made these chalkboard tags out of precut wood from the craft store

and them we used my new favorite tool, the chalkboard paint pen

to write on everything.

If you haven't gotten one for yourself yet and you love chalkboards as much

as I do, you must head to your nearest craft store

WITH COUPON IN HAND

cuz they aint cheap and I couldn't find any single pens,

you have to buy the set for $12.00

but go get yourself some,

I promise you won't be sorry!

I was able to use the 50% coupon though so I did my famous

Happy Dance as I walked out the door!

We also wrapped some vintage ice buckets with a strip of burlap and topped

them with huge burlap fluffy flowers and filled them with hosta leaves.

Julie also bought plain white paper napkins and stamped the corner

with cool vintage looking stamps.

Plus everything was in galvanized buckets or tool boxes.

She had so many wonderful details that I wish I could show you right now.

anyway...

now, here's some of that...

We have added some really colorful lavender sachets to the mix of 

our laundry provisions

and they are a big hit at the market!

All vintage materials, curtains, tablecloths,sheets, a pillow case or two,

and some mens dress shirts because Danielle said we needed something for the men.

She was so right!

and finally...

Oliver has decided that this large wash basin

is his favorite new hang out.

As I took this picture I had to laugh because we 

recently watched Jim Gaffigan, Mr. Universe,

and he talks about how we are becoming obsessed with taking

pictures of everything.  One of his lines is 'The cat is sleeping,

I should take a picture of him'

...and tweet it.

Seriously though, could you help but take a picture

of what we like to call,

"kitty in a bowl"?

I didn't think so.

Happy Saturday,

make it special!

love,

Theresa

xoxoxxo

what I've been up to...

my house smells heavenly right now...

I have been making lavender sachets for a couple of the local

farmers markets and for another sale at The Garden Gallery!

all hand stamped with some of my favorite stamps,double stitched

 and full of fragrant organic lavender.

heavenly I tell you.

I sell them in sets of 3 or singles.

You toss them in your dryer for a wonderful light lavender scent on your clothes,

or slip one under your pillow for a restful nights sleep.

heavenly.

Hannah and I went to our first market last week,

and while I was busy chatting with all of the vendors and regulars,

catching up on the latest happenings with their families and such,

Hannah sold every bag of soap that we brought!

2 1/2 hours before the markets closing time!

So we decided to add the sachets this week...

gotta keep her on her toes!

Way to go BOO!

(she is an awesome salesgirl with a big smile and

knowledge of the product... it was so cool to watch her work!)

Want some for your home and clothes?

I'm adding them to The Old White House today!

That's what I've been up to...

how about you?

love,

Theresa

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

White Wednesday

Primp your Stuff Wednesday