New work...

I realized it's been awhile since I blogged here- so I thought I'd share some newer work. In addition to my thicker leather wraps, I've been working with some softer leather. This is a great weight to stitch and embellish- so I started with these pieces...

Olive green leather with tiny turquoise beads and brass details....

FLY is one of my favorites. This one wraps twice around your wrist, and has a little brass bird charm....

My favorite color combo- teal and brown. Amazonite and stitched brown leather...

...and another version with carnelian. If you're local in the Cleveland area, you can find these at the Gestures in Rocky River, and at The Log Cabin Gallery in Peninsula.....

...or you can hop on over to my Etsy shop to see more. I have more to share this week. Starting in "production mode" for the upcoming holiday shows. Wasn't it just summer?

Shop Update- New Leather Wrap Bracelets

Just a quick note to share a few new leather wrap bracelets- new in my Etsy shop. I just acquired more antique lace "flowers" and will be making more of the lace studded style.

All are one-of-a-kind- I use a variety of semi precious stones, vintage glass, vintage religious medals, various trinkets, and antique lace.

New applique pillows will be coming later in the week.

xoxoxo

Treasury Time

Weekends are busy for Etsy Treasuries! I wanted to share a few of my favorites that include my work. Always honored to be included in these curated collections!

Irish Eyes are Smiling

by DiVaRoCks- features all things Irish green, including my Vintage Applique Leaf Pillow.

Looking for Robins

by whiteoakroom- beautifully serene in shades of my absolute favorite color! I LOVE the enameled necklace by tekaandzoe. Thanks for including my pillow!

We do color well....

by VintageRerun is an explosion of color featuring Cleveanders- including my Tiny Silver Lovebird Earrings.

Take some time to look at these Treasuries & all the wonderful handmade finds.

Etsy Treasuries.....

Just showing off a few weekend Etsy Trearury lists I was included in. I'm always honored to be included in these artist curated collections. This first one is "Greens and Blues and Browns...Oh, So Pretty!" by trinasclaycreations. You can see the entire collection here- including my Vintage Fabric Lovebird Pillow.

This next collection "Foggy Morning by Monarchdancer" features my new Linen Flower Sampler Pillow. Thanks Monarchdancer- you can see the entire list here.

Lastly, "I love you this much" features my new Applique Valentine Pillow. Thanks magalerie for including me in this lovely collection!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Sepia Love

Another beautifully curated Etsy Treasury featuring my Linen Valentine Pillow titled "Sepia Love". Thanks magalerie!

You can see all the talent here!

Be sure to check back tomorrow. Last night I had a sudden burst of creative energy & spent the wee hours of the night on some new necklaces :)

Being Thankful

It's that time of year again to reflect on all I have to be thankful for. I have only one word- Family. These are the people with whom I have been blessed, and I'm thankful for them every day. I hope you all share a peaceful feast with your family tomorrow.....

As I said in my previous post, I won't be blogging much in the next few weeks. I need to focus on sewing & getting ready for upcoming holiday shows. This a new little bird design I'm using for little pillows and little bags.....

Of course I have many, many new leather wrap bracelets. Since most of these are one-of-a-kind, there's no way I can photo and list each one in my Etsy shop. I will try to list a selection of color & styles......

I dug deep in my stash of vintage fabrics and have a new little clutch style bag I'm selling this year. They are all in various stages of completion- hopefully later in the week I can photo a few....

I hope you all survive the airport scanners, Uncle You-know-who's terrible jokes, and Black Friday shopping and remember to be thankful!

Etsy Front Page!

Whooo Hooo! It's not every day I make the front page of Etsy. Last night there was a flurry of activity in my Etsy shop & it wasn't until this morning I realized why. Thanks to HausProud for curating this great collection.

Hopefully a handful of those 140 hearts will end up as sales! You can find my Vintage Fabric Applique pillow here!

A few new Leather Wrap Bracelets.....

Here's a sneak peak at a few new Leather Wrap Bracelets just listed in my Etsy shop. The new bracelets- a continuous 30" length of leather, chain, and linked beads- wrap around your wrist 4 times. Oh so trendy...

Whether you like chunky or delicate, vintage glass or semi precious stones- I have a variety to choose from in my Etsy shop.

Tomorrow I'll post my fall/holiday show schedule (just waiting to hear back from one venue)

Stay warm (I had to turn on my heat last night for the 1st time!)

What I'm working on.....

I just realized tonight that it's been awhile since I blogged. My show last weekend was a success. I would have liked a little more traffic- but this is an odd selling season. The Cleveland Handmade group is a really wonderful group of people! I met some great artists and am sure I'll do this show next year. Shows take so much out of me though- not so much the actual show- smiling, talking about my work, shlepping displays, making sure my presentation looks great. It's the preparation- new ideas, new product, pricing, display- it's all so important. Am I making something people want to buy? Is this self-indulgent?

Sometimes I feel so comfortable here behind my computer that to step out and interface with clients face to face I always question myself. I don't know why....

Here are a few new pillows I made- vintage 40's quilt fabrics appliqued on linen (the 1st photo is from a new fabric collection) I really love to make these- it satisfies the quilter in me- without having to commit to months of time. (My mother is an amazing quilter with the patience to HAND quilt her pieces. HAND quilt!) These are all new in my Etsy shop.

I hope I'm not too rambling... more later about some new ventures I'm working on..

Have a wonderful weekend!

Peace.

Dog V Cat

This one makes me smile :) RockStarDogTreats curated this awesome Etsy Treasury list titled Dog V Cat. (Personally I like cats better but I 'd never tell my puppy that) You can see the entire list here- it's worth your time!

Thanks RockStarDogTreats for including my Applique Cat Pillow!

"tweet"

I couldn't resist sharing this adorable Etsy Treasury- a collection of bird themed crafts curated by myartstuduio. Titled "Tweet"- one of my Vintage Applique Bird Cage Pillows is included in this cheerful group. This is just a snapshot- you can see the entire list here.

I'm always flattered to be among such talent- thanks myartstudio!

I have some new applique pillow designs to share this week. I'm working on a cat series, some dogs, and smaller house pillows. A LOT going on & and upcoming shows- more tomorrow! Time to get ready for the first day of school. YAAAAY!

New Bracelets...

My new leather wrap bracelets....I knew it was bound to happen. Instead of wrapping 3 times, these wrap 4 times. What's next- I'm already working on the 5 & 6 wraps!

In this series of chunky leather wrap bracelets I use handmade African glass beads. I call mine my Wilma Flintstone bracelet- is everyone old enough to know what I'm talking about!

You can find them in my Etsy shop- along with so much more!

Well- I'm off to a bonfire- more tomorrow or Monday! Have a great weekend :)

...a few new pillows...

I have this thing for vintage fabric. I almost never buy new fabric- why should I when there's so much vintage fabric out there just waiting for a new life? I decided to use some of my stash, along with a few recent flea market finds.....

These new pillows are in my Etsy shop- the big Peonies & Birds....

Big Poppies.....

..and this fun Mod Leaf print.

More tomorrow!

Avacado Baby

While She Dreams... featured my Bird Bag in her blog post I Wish...Avacado Baby. Such a pretty blog (LOVE the banner!) with great shopping & crafty finds.

I like the idea of her series "i wish...a series of things i really really want". Thanks A.J.! I'm thinking of doing a similar series of my inspirations.

Off to sew! Have a great Thursday!

More of what I'm working on...

Summer craft shows coming soon! Here's a sneak peak at a few new bags-

More linen (of course!) & more birds (of course!). These bags are a little smaller than my usual...

.....trimmed with cotton crocheted lace. All one-of-a-kind using vintage quilt fabrics for the birds....

You can find them in my Etsy shop.

A few more new bags tomorrow~

What I've been working on...

The other day I was so excited to be featured in Etsy's Daily Finds email blast featuring themed products. I sold 7 of my leather wrap bracelets that day- plus some special orders. I didn't even realize I was in the promo until someone emailed me!

So I scrambled into my studio to make a few more- I figured if people want them now- I'll make more. So much fun to make and mostly one-of-a-kind. I get to take out all my beads & trinkets...

You can find them here in my Etsy shop- or contact me if you want your own.

Mustard & Burgundy

Here's a little snapshot of an Etsy Treasury East that includes one of my house pillows~ curated by BlueForestJewellery. It's a beautiful collection called Mustard & Burgundy~ you can see the whole collection here.

I can't stop making these pillows! Here's a few more new in the shop...

I like the 70's brown & orange theme here....

That's all I got- more tomorrow~

New Work for Summer Shows...

Here's a sneak peak at a few new bracelets I made. It's that time to start building inventory for summer shows. I love putting my sewing machine away for a week or 2 to make more of my leather wrap bracelets. Just the right combination of feminine & masculine...

Mostly one-of-a-kind, these leather & vintage bead bracelets are designed to wrap around your wrist 3 times. An eclectic mix of vintage glass beads & semi precious stones, vintage brass studs, old train tokens & religious medals. This vintage German cobalt blue glass beaded bracelet is available in my Etsy shop here...

I love the vintage glass beads on this bracelet- they remind me of pine cones- combined with black leather and other vintage trinkets- available here.

This one is a mix of vintage glass beads, quartz, carnelian, and a vintage Catholic medal. I might keep this one :)

Photos don't do this bracelet justice- it's a best seller at shows. A fun mix of vintage glass ladybugs and brass charms- in my shop here.

Well- off to work! After my special orders I'll be making more of my little fabric birdhouses- hopefully later this week. That's always a flurry of fabric scraps everywhere!

Have an inspiring day!

Antique Dresden...

Who does this by hand anymore? Is hand quilting a lost art? Don't get me wrong- I LOVE my sewing machine, & I especially love the satisfaction of completing a project (which is why I'm not a quilter)....

I have always admired my Mom for being able to work on the same quilt for months- sometimes years! I would lose interest and have to move on. Is that just me or my generation?

I've been making pillows from my overflowing collection of antique quilt pieces- wonderful old feedsack prints and ticking. While pondering these hand quilted pieces late last night it hit me! Why are there so many vintage quilt squares and pieces out there at auctions and estate sales?

Is it because there were a lot of women like me in the 40's & 50's? Spend 2 months on 12 Dresden Plates and maybe it's time to move on? Tuck them away in the hope chest- in hopes that some day they will become a quilt......

...or perhaps a pillow! Could there be a woman up there smiling down as you read this- happy that we're enjoying her work? (or did I just stay up too late last night?)

I'll be listing more Dresden pillows in my Etsy shop all this week.

Happy Tuesday!

More House Pillows....

More house pillows this week- so much fun to make. I'll be listing these and a few more as time allows in my Etsy shop. (I always forget how long it takes to do photography, edit, upload, etc. while trying to help with homework, start dinner, etc.)

All my pillows are one-of-a-kind, using mostly vintage fabrics salvaged from old quilt tops. They're stitched on linen, and embellished with bits of antique lace and trims.

I used to have a hard time cutting up these old quilts, but most were damaged or stained. The variety of prints is amazing and the colors still vibrant.....

These teal and brown pillows are the first in the "Picket Fence" series.

More tomorrow.. I have a few Dresden pillows to share...

Have a great evening!