Another Wedding

My friend got remarried, so I decorated for her reception. It was held at a residence, which made the decorating eaiser! Hopefully you can see the twinkly lights in the swag. I made the swag from a super-long curtain remnant I found at an open-air fabric market in Germany. The sheer white fabric was only about 20 inches wide, so I sewed it into a long tube and put two strings of white lights in it. I've used it many times to decorate for events, and have also used it inside the gazebo we use out on our deck.

I had a hard time finding just the right mirror to put the cake on, but was very happy when I borrowed this one from a friend.

The lavender ribbon on the cake was totally the wrong color, which bothered me, but no one else, I'm sure! The color should have been an eggplant purple.

I bought three white dessert stackers several years ago, and I use them several times a year. They were expensive, but a good investment. (The other two not pictured were used on the food table.)

I bought these white organza fligree tablecloths several years ago, too, and have used them many times, since they can be used over any color.

The favors were personalized fortune cookies, which were very cute.

Green is for St Patrick's Day and the 1st day of Spring!!

For many years we've celebrated St. Patrick's day(March 17th) and the first day of spring (March 21st) by having a Green Party. It's been fun to collect green dishes and decorations through the years.

I have a table on the porch that I filled with greenery. I found a green light bulb at a dollar sale and used it on the porch, so the stage was set even before the guests came into the house.

Here's a partial picture of the spread. In the invitations I told the guests to wear green and bring a green food item, and prizes would be given for the person wearing the most green and with the most unusual green food item. The prizes were green plants.

These were two of the food items I served. I made the wraps filled with a spinach dip, and served the green guacachips with green salsa. I also made the shamrock cookies in the picture above. One year when we had the party, nearly every guest brought guacamole and tortilla chips!

Some cheap, but very green, decorations. (See those dishes on the stand at the right? Those are some of my great-grandmother's china.)

I like to light things up whenever I can.

Remember the tree from Valentine's Day? Here it is again.

You can't tell, but on the table below the castle is a fountain. I bought the wooden shoes with tulips in them on a trip to Holland many years ago.

The party was lots of fun, and gave me an excuse to do many of the things I love: make a fun invitation, decorate, and do some creative cooking!!

Lovin' My New Shelf

I wanted a shelf in my sewing/projects room that went across the whole length of the wall. It wasn't a high priority, so the wall was blank for a year before my husband had time to make the shelf. Did I mention that I LOVE it? I spent almost an entire morning deciding how I wanted to decorate it.I've collected vintage sewing supplies for many years, and have some things from Japan and Germany, as well as the US. The tins below are from my Grandma who died twenty years ago. She used them to store her buttons and small sewing odds and ends. The wooden box with drawers on the left side of the shelf is a Japanese sewing box.

This wooden box started out it's life as a drawer from an antique sewing machine cabinet I bought in Germany. My incredibly- handy-to-have-around husband had a piece of plexiglass that he cut to cover the the box and screwed it on. Then I filled it with wooden spools and bobbins.

I put some of the larger buttons from my Grandma's button tin into this sweet pink glass jar I bought in Germany.

I bought the hat box at Ross just because it fit in with the rest of the decor of the room.

I saw this idea of putting old wooden spools in old-fashioned canning jars at a shop and thought to myself, "I'm going to do that!!" So I did.

Quilted Bags for Everyone

I don't sew clothes anymore, though I did when my girls were young. I don't sew many seasonal wall quilts anymore, since I already have several for every season. (The ones I've made recently have been either for my daughters or my mom). So what I've been sewing as my creative outlet has been quilted bags.

Here's my scripture bag. I made it three years ago, so it's looking a little worse for wear.

Here's the one I just finished for my mom. I thought she could use it as a scripture tote to take to church, but she says she's going to use it as a knitting bag or a spring purse. I found the fabric I used on the inside at Hancocks. It went very well with the tapestry fabrics I used for the outside of the bag.

Here's the one I made for my 21-year-old daughter's birthday last summer. She uses it as a purse.

This is the one I made for my 20-month-old grandaughter. She puts her books in it to take to church with her.

Her initial is on the front (can you see the "K"?) I sewed all those buttons around the bag by hand. I also hand sewed the button flowers and the black polka dots on the pink fabric are buttons.

It was a true labor of love.

This is the bag I made for my oldest daughter, since her favorite color is blue.

This is the first bag I made for my youngest daughter three years ago (can you tell her favorite color is yellow?)It was starting to to look a bit worn out, so I refurbished it by adding new handles, new bead trim and added the ribbon flower. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas I can add to the bags for embellishment.

I also made a larger tote bag for my sister who's a teacher, but forgot to take pictures. Next I'm planning to make a new bag for myself, and I have a new daughter-in-law to make a bag for, too!!