Oh Happy Day!

I'm sooo excited!  I've been invited back for another month as a Guest Designer over at the The Polkadot Door challenge blog!  Sarah and Rebecca have the best inspiration photos.  And the projects posted by all the participants are incredibly creative.  There is always something to see, learn, and certainly fall in love with.  Every month there are plenty of prizes to be won so be sure to mark you calendars and check out the fun on November 1st!  See you there! 

Autumn days ...

I'm so glad to be back with you today, my friends.  Have you been celebrating the Autumn season?  I do hope so.  The air was cool and crisp the other night which made the bon-fire and hayride (hosted by our school) all the more enjoyable.  Our costumes are nearly complete and ready for all the Halloween festivities this weekend.  Yes, life has been hectic - I admit it was a relief to have a day to relax, unwind, and create in my craft room.

I adore these crocheted roses ... making them and using them!  So delicate and lacy, they are the perfect embellishment for a romantic look.  Using a different hook and yarn, makes this flower just the right size.  I wanted this lovely bloom to be my focal point so I used a "light hand" adding just a touch of color.

The seam binding is dyed to a soft shade of yellow and is tied in shabby loops.  Velvet leaves and decorative pins add warm hues of purple and artichoke.  You can see the greens tucked behind the rose.  My tag sweetly says "hello" with a stamp from Pennant Parade and a crown background from Artistic Etchings.  Lace and buttons complete the look.

The colors were inspired by this gorgeous collection of photos posted at Play Date Cafe.  They are celebrating their 2nd Anniversary this week.  Congratulations ladies - here's to many fabulous years to come!  Be sure to pay them a visit ... there are always wonderful projects on display from the super talented Design Team there.

It was so nice of you to stop by today ... thanks for visiting!

Just playing ...

Stopping in for a moment today to share some fun ideas.  With the temperatures getting cooler, I find comfort in getting out my hooks and yarns.  Something about this time of the year has me yearning for traditional crafts learned from my mother.  She would sew mostly, but took the time to teach me to crochet and knit.  A life long love that I now pass on to my daughter.

I've been playing with organic cottons.  These make wonderful washcloths.  So soft ... I love them!

Another set made in pastel shades which went to my friend Cheryl and of course my daughter has some too.  They are such a sweet addition to the bath.

And roses in vanilla and white.  These are small - about 1.5 inches across.  Duplicates of the rose used on my previous post.  I think a larger rose would look wonderful taking center stage on a project, don't you? (I'll have to give that try.)

Thanks for stopping by ... I enjoy your visits and hope that you do too.

Among the roses

It has been a wonderful week, my friends.  The trees have almost reached their peak of beauty - gorgeous in their shades of Autumn color.  The weather today is sunny and warm.  With the windows and doors thrown wide open, I can hear the squirrels and chipmunks outside in the garden gathering their stores for the winter months ... rustling thru the fallen leaves.  Soon the birds will come and clean the bright red berries from the viburnum bushes as they prepare for their journey south.  I'm so happy to help them along the way.

I've enjoyed some quiet time lately ...creating crocheted bits of this and that to share.  My friend Lisa directed me to a beautiful photo of crocheted roses posted on tinywhitedaises.  Much larger than I need ... I had to try them in a smaller size.  I'm so pleased with this sweet rose that it was the featured embellishment at a gathering of crafty friends yesterday.  The ladies were thrilled to each get a rose complete with a single pink bead center.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these in the future.

My papers are from the Beau Chateau collection.  Shades of pink and brown are so wonderfully romantic.  Two ribbons combine to create a beautiful mixed bow.  The satin is Pretty in Pink, the stripe is retired.  Decorative pins with pearls and matching pink beads add another layer of shabby goodness.

You can see why I fell in love ... 

Love this too ...

Thank you for stopping by to spend some time here.  I hope you've been inspired to create something beautiful too .  Before I go ... remember to hop along and vote over at Polkadot Door Designs!

Feathered friends

I'm back with you tonight to share a winter greeting.  I think these birds are the sweetest little things.  Cuddled safely together in an over-turned urn ... not feeling the slightest bit cold with their feathers fluffed up ... adorable.  The patterns and color combinations are wonderful in the new Christmas paper collection - Letters to Santa.  And I find myself reaching for my Winter Post stamp set whenever I want to create a "post card" ... which lately is quite often.

My bow is a combination of Bashful Blue Satin Ribbon and hand dyed seam binding.  The star is corrugated cardboard brushed lightly with acrylic paint and sprinkled with mica flakes.  I also added a couple buttons, one with a length of natural hemp.

The layout is based on this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday ... I should visit there more often - they have wonderful sketches to jump start your creativity.

I apologize for the quality of today's photographs.  One of my daylight bulbs has burned out and I need a replacement.  Of course, I couldn't wait for it to arrive!

Thanks for stopping by ... enjoy the rest of your day!