a tiny heart shaped box....

its a tiny heart shaped box...
with a bit of vintage french moire wallpaper along the outside.
filled with ruffles, flowers, and a rolled up note~

i have been collecting tiny millinery flowers for years.  the tiny velvet ones are my favorite, but i also am
completely taken by the sweet starched cotton ones with rolled fabric stems.

here is a box for you to start your own collection~  

 here is the vintage french wallpaper i used.  it has beautiful tiny pink buds and a moire pattern.  rolled up and tied with ribbon, just for you...

lately i have been seeing gorgeous vintage valentine candy boxes like this one from such pretty things.
with lovely satin ruffles and vintage millinery flowers...
what a gorgeous combination.

more delicious ruffles on pinterest of course.
i always buy vintage crocheted heart pin cushions at thrift stores...

if the satin ribbon is stained or ruined i just take it out.  this blue heart pin cushion has a few millinery flowers added along with a vintage velvet hat bow.

pink is always irresistible...

this tattered and stitched pin cushion is just stunning.  the colors and the embroidery are perfect!
i am starting to see hearts everywhere~
enjoy,
julie

i think i'm in love with a wolf....

well in love with this wolf anyway..

i love this sweet valentine set by retro and rubys , $4 and check out these amazing envelopes!

i am reading the sisters grimm right now and tucked the little forest valentine in as a bookmark.

these amazing candied apples would make the perfect valentine day treat for me and my wolf wouldn't they.

this year i collected papers and trims in red, aqua, black and white for my valentine making kit. i adore using these red dennison labels to close tiny glassine envelopes.

these lingerie ruffles are for my aqua blue coin envelopes...

a bit of whimsical inspiration by tammy smith  darling circus themed swinging birds...

its true love.
thank you little red
xo
julie

my secret heart...

the blinding white snow outside and temperatures in the single digits.
i have decided to just move on to the next holiday.  somewhere warm and pink.

here is my secret heart...

it was my mornings indulgence while the house was still quiet.
pale pink wool heart tied closed with a silk ribbon.  the front is in two pieces
with each half hemmed down the center before stitching to the back.
perhaps i will tuck inside a paper with my wish for this new year.

 photographed on a page from my fabric book 'living praise' published in the first issue
of Art Quilting Studio. you can see more of the book here.

oh, the frame of vintage buttons~

just a few moments until the kids come home from school. 
everyone will be hungry
and tired.
luckily someone else is making dinner because i still have miles to go before i sleep.
xo
julie

the vintage whites market...

guess where i'm going to be this spring?   at the Vintage Whites Market....
i'll be posting photos of my new spring finds,  its going to be a great show!
hope to see you there,
julie

baby its cold outside...

 

it was an unbelievable 6 degrees this morning.  

piles of snow everywhere

and a nasty icy driveway!

it was so cold this morning as i scraped off the cars all i could think about was making some cashmere sweater rice bags to tuck in my pockets....\

 i sewed them using some left over pieces of a cashmere sweater and filled them with rice, so very soft and cozy!  all you do is microwave until warm and toasty. 

then i made this little snowgirl and tucked her in a little snow scene with some bottle brush trees and some vintage mica snow.  

the snowgirl is made by sewing together 4 wool circles.  the bottom circles are 2 3/4 inches in diameter,

the top circles are 2 inches in diameter.  

i sewed the snowgirl together with silver embroidery floss and stuffed her with some stuffing.

the arms are a cotton pipe cleaner with the ends folded over for hands.  one hand holds a tiny pink tree. 

a vintage petticoat ruffle is added around her neck with a tiny tinsel puff.

 the face is embroidered with hand dyed wool threads.

the tiny wool hat was knitted in the round with a tiny white glittered bell sewn on top.

for the photograph i added a pile of vintage mica snow to the base.  i bought my box from StorageAndDisplay on etsy for only $8.00  it is just gorgeous with a very vintage color!

the old graphics on the box have been reproduced for a box of mica sold by Bethany Lowe, but this old box is the real deal!  There is even free shipping right now :)

so if you don't have all the snow i do right now, you can order your own.

Sherene from StorageAndDisplay has the most adorable story of how they bought an old Victorian farm house built in 1896. The unfinished attic held all kinds of old and not very pleasant things, but there was a mountain of Antique Sparkle Snow boxes! here is the photo of the house they bought.

a perfect winter wonderland.

hope you are staying warm,

i am going to microwave my cashmere rice bags~

julie

happy new year!

it is snowing again outside, adding to the pile up of white stuff out my window.

i am making a few little snowmen today in the studio just for fun.
this little gal is made with spun cotton and frosted over with mica glitter and snuggled
in a vintage ruffled collar. 

another experiment....
i started with a little water balloon {always have a few of these around}
and filled it with air.  i built the cotton batting around the balloon and left it
to dry.  in a couple of days the balloons shrink and you can trim a nice
edge on the top. 

add a cute handle and some paint.  don't forget a cherry nose and some glittler
frosting and you have a little snowgirl ready to celebrate

happy new year wishes!
julie

Candyland for the holidays...

everything looks like candyland around here...

i had to share a few photos, the colors are just making me happy today.

the tiny forest from the game Candyland...

 

tiny pink rhinestone deer

vintage aqua blue velvet flower and petticoat ruffles on this stocking

mercury glass ornaments~ gorgeous colors

the tiny striped trees are all dusted with mica glitter!

      

tiny stocking only 4 inches long.  such a soft aqua wool I just loved making them

an ice cream forest...

stars were gleaming...

frosted bottle brush wreath in pink sugar candy

welcome home collection...

silver wreath tag tutorial...

 

today i needed a little tag for this bag of mercury glass beads....

so i got out a few supplies and got to work.  these silver dresden wreaths are new in the shop.

i first saw them in the martha by mail catalog years ago and loved how tiny and detailed they were.

the wreaths are the perfect frame for making a tiny holiday tag.

step 1. cut out a piece of tracing paper just larger than the wreath.  glue a little image on the tracing paper and center your wreath over it.  

i like these old vintage holiday gummed seals by dennison.  little pieces of wrapping paper and holiday cards also have great images to use.

step 2. run your glue stick around the back of the wreath and stick the wreath down to the tracing paper.

 step 3.  cut out the extra tracing paper around the wreath.
 step 4.  poke a hole in the wreath with a large needle so you can thread some ribbon through.

 step 6. make the berry twist.  wrap a double ended berry stamen around something smooth and round.
 i used the end of a paper piercer.  { i have lots of these berry stamens so let me know if you need some }

step 7. thread the berry twist on the ribbon and tie the ribbon in a bow.  i poked my ribbon through the
cellophane bag so the wreath was tied right on top.

just darling!
hope you have fun making a little stack of your own,
julie

its all red and green today...

tiny red tinsel string tied on a vintage bottle of mica flakes

with a pile of snow sparkling outside today all i wanted to do was make christmas decorations...
i bought a roll of 1940s Christmas crepe paper streamers and quick turned it into ruffles.

1940s vintage crepe paper ruffles

finally found a tiny red tinsel string for all my packages.

evergreen ruffles, love that tulle bow!

can't get enough of these lacquered holly leaves and spun cotton mushrooms...

new french bistro white bordered labels, look great with a tinsel pom.

tiny curly tinsel and striped string.

vintage dennison crepe paper a lovely sage green

these dyed trees were a special request, in juniper, evergreen, and spruce.

mistletoe stamen bundle

i just gave in and everything turned red and green in the studio....
around here we don't wait until after thanksgiving to start making things for the holidays.
left over from last night on the kitchen table is a bucket of glitter glue,  a stack of tiny wool stockings and
ornaments, and a forest of bottle brush trees....

we sent off a package today to my nephew Christopher who is in Norway with some glittered ornaments, a tiny wreath with a snowman, and a lovely hand finished black walnut star my husband made. 
it's beginning to look a bit like happy around here.
hope you found a bit of sparkle today,
julie