Lots'a crafty goodness.

I recently found Pinterest courtesy of my good friend Cinda. I have so much fun looking at all the creative ideas that people have found on the internet and share by "pinning" them. I love looking at the pictures and being inspired. Warning, it can be addictiong to the point where you are constantly looking and not doing! However, I have managed to "do" a few things... I saw a pin on how to take inexpensive glass from a thrift store and paint it with a combination of glue and frosting food coloring and when dry it looks like sea glass. I love sea glass! Daniel and I gave this a whirl and it really does work! I also found a pin that showed using a thrift store frame that you paint and bow and use instead of a wreath. I went to the thrift store and really didn't see the right kind of frame but I found an old painting and decided to redo it. I wanted to put "Welcome" on the bottom but I hate my own writing. Pinterest to the rescue. Take a dark color of paint and paint where you want the letters. Let the paint dry and then put letter stickers over it spelling out the words you want. Then paint a color over the top that will meld into the background. I used two coats letting the first coat dry before doing the second. while the second coat was still wet I used tweezers to pull up the stickers. Then I drilled two holes in the top and made a wired ribbon hanger...I also used craft paint and a dry paintbrush to blend in the second color I painted. It looks so pretty now. To age it a little bit I used a sepia ink pad and lightly inked it. Olivia and I also redid a lamp...She wanted one for the "girl" guest bedroom. She has had more fun decorating it with me. We had seen a few that she really liked at Hobby Lobby but they were expensive, even on sale. So off to Goodwill we went. We found this lamp for 3.00 and the shade for fifty cents. The bottom of the lamp was already a cute purple so all we did was make fabric ruffles and then hot glue them to the shade from the bottom up. When we reached the top we used a cute yarn trim to hide the edge of the last ruffle. Here is Olivia hiding her big smile. She loves the lamp and we had fun sewing the ruffles together. It was such a quick thing to make that we went back downstairs and made my niece a baby card to go with the quilt and a nursing cover that I saw on Pinterest too... Olivia agreed to be the reluctant model. We put a big pocket and a ruffle just to girl it up a little...These are so fast and easy and I know Emily will love it! If you need some crafty inspiration, check out Pinterest... I think you will love it! Last of all, Judy, I tried to email you but your blogger is set to no reply so write a message with your email included and I will send you an email back..... Happy Spring! xoxoxoxox melinda

Vintage Baby girl quilt. Done!

I finished Baby Lily's quilt and I also made booties and a little fleece cap. It is really soft and in May at the Oregon Coast it can be cold...The quilt is made from a vintage chenille bedspread, retro fabric and the border is a vintage pillowcase. I think this is so feminine and pretty!

Fairy terrarium and The start of a quilt.

Here in Kennewick they have a huge Craft Warehouse that also houses an amazing selection of quilting fabric. I went in there to look for fabric and saw these beautiful Fairy jars. They are like a terrarium, but no real plants. I broke down the price and they were expensive to make. So I started looking for alternatives. I went to Goodwill and found three big vases for 1.00 a piece. Craft warehouse sold them for 15.00 and up. I got moss and rocks and colored clear rocks from the Dollar Store...These were about 6.00 per small bag. At Craft Warehouse, I bought the Fairy, a little bench and the bird. The nest and the eggs I had. I just glued moss on the nest and hot glued it onto a piece of driftwood I found at a park that is on the banks of the Columbia river. I love how it turned out. In my window I have this beautiful lily blooming. It is huge and looks like and Amaryllis except it isn't red and it is blooming now instead of Christmas. Maybe I am misinformed. If you know will you let me know? Today I am working on a little girl's baby quilt for my niece Emily. She is having a baby girl named Lily. I am using retro pink fabrics and vintage chenille from a bedspread. I am using a vintage pillow case for the borders. Finished it will have Minkee scallops and a Minkee back. I am going to make a hat and soft shoes to match. I forgot how inspiring it is to be blogging. I am glad I decided to blog again....xoxox melinda

settling down....

I am sorry I disappeared for a while. I have made some good changes and I am adjusting to a different kind of life. I said goodbye to Utah. Then said "Hello again" to Washington State. I am in Kennewick with my family and two of my grandkids. I have moved so much that it took a toll, I have to say. The hardest thing was realizing that my depression and anxiety followed me here but the kids help so much!!!! Saying goodbye to Taylor was heartbreaking. For both of us. Before she left I worked more with her on her sewing. She made a small fan quilt for her mom. Then I made her a pettiskirt with nylon chiffon. It has layers of ruffles and it is heavy! I swear the thing weighs twenty pounds. It didn't stop her from whirling and twirling though. She also made a denim patchwork purse with my help. We write back and forth..real letters and I send her little care packages and she likes to text Olivia and I. She is coming to visit us the end of June for two weeks and I look forward to it! I have really missed her company and her laughter. The last few months I spent in Utah, she really made it livable. Since I have been in Utah I have got to celebrate birthdays with my kids and Grandkids! My Grandson Daniel is 14 now! Holy cow I can't believe it... We also celebrated my Oldest daughter's birthday. Olivia and I decided she needed a crown and gloves...We all laughed. Daniel won the regional Science Fair and he competes in the State level this weekend. I am crossing my fingers for him. He is so smart it is scary. I also spent some time with the kids at the Oregon Coast. We all drove down for my Dad's 70th birthday. It was a pretty special trip...A little overwhelming but special. Part of me thought when I wasn't blogging, that I would get out more and make some friends but I still am just hanging out at home so here I am back. Spring comes earlier here and I am already out in the yard making plans. I have made some things but no pictures. I will end with a picture of my best friend Cooper and his new little friend and say Happy Spring and I am back. xoxoxox Melinda