Under a blue moon

4.9.12

Every Easter I like to make treat bags for all the kids.  Okay the kids are between the ages of 19-32 but who wouldn't like getting a treat bag?

The ones I made this year would work for any occasion, not just Easter.   The blog post I found them on was dedicated to Valentine's Day.  They would be cute for a tea party, a bridal shower, for Mother's Day, May Day, a birthday party; really - just about anything.

I found them on Oh Happy Day!

The were very simple to make and your only limitation is to what color crepe paper you can find.  If I was going to do them for a bridal shower I might skip the yellow stamen and dip the end of the toothpick in glue and then glitter for a little sparkle.  

 

1.26.12

Last Friday I linked to a project that outlined the steps for speed verdigrising brass objects.  I thought I would give it a try.

I'm always so suspicious of DIY things I see on Pinterest with a cheery caption that it is super easy (I'll tell you about my efforts to give something a zinc like paint job in a couple of days).

This project, however, lived up to the hype.  

All you need is salt (I used Kosher), apple cider vinegar (I would hazard a guess that any vinegar would do) and some brass objects.  I found that once I was in the selection process that I didn't want to offer up too many of them for this project.  

I forgot how pretty some of my pieces are.  I really need to figure out something to do with them.  But I digress.

Evidently the age of your vinegar has no bearing on the project.  Mine expired in 2007, as is evident by all the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.  I really need to clean out my pantry.

I mixed one tablespoon of salt and three tablespoons of vinegar in a small container.  Then I plunked in my brass pieces and let them soak for about 30 minutes.  I was conducting this experiment in the kitchen but the smell of old apple cider vinegar was overwhelming so I moved my operation out to the garage.  

After 30 minutes I removed my pieces from their bath and put them on a paper towel to dry.  An hour or so later I repeated the process. I think I did this about four times total.  Each time I could see them getting a little greener.  This morning, after letting them dry over night they were in the state you see here.  

The original steps, taken from a Sommerset publication and outlined on Good Grief Girdie's blog say to preserve your verdigris by sealing it with a coat of varnish.

Not sure what I am going to do with my little experiment but it was fun to test out.

Note:  The place I purchased my stamped brass pieces is Fancifuls. Fabulous selection. 

1.4.12

Okay so my oatmeal post wasn't a resounding hit.  I still think it is a genius idea.  

We'll just get back to our regularly scheduled programming of sparkle.

I do have some fabulous readers here on Under A Blue Moon.  Patti, who just so happens to live near me and turned me on to the Under the Freeway antique fair (officially known as the **Sacramento Antique Faire) a few years back, is one of those readers.

Anyway - Patti emailed me and asked if she could send me some bits and bobs she had.  I find it hard to resist rhinestones so I accepted her gracious offer, figuring she send me a few broken brooches and loose beads.

Well imagine my delight when a very heavy box arrived a week later stuffed full of all kinds of beads, rhinestones, parts of necklaces and bracelets and the like.  

I can't wait for creativity to strike me so I can put them to good use.  In the mean time I'm just enjoying sorting through them and petting them.  

Thank you Patti!  This was such a treat.

**Sacramento Antique Faire is this weekend (1/8/2012 6:30am-3:00pm) if anyone is in the area.  

 

12.24.11

Gosh I love the internet.

Naughty or Nice gift tags from Brooklyn Limestone (from yesterday's Friday's Favorites)
Vintage Santa image from The Graphics Fairy
Candied Almonds from My Baking Addiction
Caramels from Giver's Log

12.15.11

I saw something just ridiculous on Pinterest.  They are pushpins with a Swarovski flatback rhinestone slapped on top of it.  And they are selling at eight for $6.95 (87 cents a piece).  

Pushpins.  Rhinestones.  Glue.  How hard could it be to make them? Well I didn't have any flatback rhinestones that were the right size but I did look up the cost for them.  And if you bought Swarovski rhinestones and clear pushpins and a bit of glue you could make them for 25 cents a piece.  And why would you really need Swarovski?  If you go with a Michael's or Hobby Lobby brand you could make them for even cheaper.  

Okay enough of that.  I think I am going to challenge myself in 2012. You know how you see something (especially now that Pinterest is such a big deal) and think "I wonder if you really could make that?" Well I am going to pick one project every month and give it a go.  See if I can make a skirt out of a man's shirt or make my own lipgloss.  

Changing the subject - I saw this print on Rachel Ashwell's FaceBook page.  Does anyone know who the artist is?  It looks something a Swedish artist would do.

11.19.11

Table runner has been made.  Why oh why do I insist on sewing ruffles and pleats?  I love the look of them but man, what a pain to sew. 

I did come up with a trick for sewing pleats today.  After I had sewn, unsewn, resewn my first attempt.  

The actual runner itself was easy.  I bought three yards of flax colored linen (a cotton/linen blend actually) that was super cheap. $3.99 a yard at Hobby Lobby.  

I trimmed the ends and selvedges using a straight edge I've appropriated from Rick's garage.  It looks totally greeby but I prefer it so much over the plastic Omnigrid ones.  Since I rarely quilt, and therefore rarely have to cut small pieces, the heavier metal straight edge works better for me.  Mainly in that is stays put when I am cutting.  I can't tell you how many times the plastic one has scooched while I was cutting.

Plus I think I can square things up better with it.  

I cut two 3" wide strips from the end for the pleats.  Then I just sewed the long edges together to make a tube and then turned the tube inside out.  I pressed it so the seam was centered down the back of my runner. 

Then I started fiddling with the pleats.  And fiddled some more.  First I pinned the pleats in place and sewed them in but they wouldn't stay straight and I didn't catch the back layer when I was sewing.  So I unsewed.  Twice.   I repleated my strip and then - here is where my brilliance kicked in - I used scotch tape to hold down the pleats so I could stay stitch them before sewing them to the ends of the runner. 

After I stay stitched them I positioned them between the layers and, once again, taped them in place.  On both the front and the back. Then I just stitched through the tape.  It was easy enough to remove after I was done sewing.

Maybe this is a well-known pleating trick but it was new to me.  I suppose if you have a super duper fancy Bernina you may not want to risk gumming it up with tape.  But then again if you have a super duper fancy Bernina you probably aren't coming to my blog for sewing tips.  

This fabric was a dream to sew with.  Washed and dried with minimal wrinkles and irons beautifully.  

I had to do a trial run of my Thanksgiving tablescape (forgive the cellphone picture).  I wanted to find a white pumpkin or maybe even a ceramic turkey but didn't have any luck.  So I just used my little quail pot.  I'm still going to look for something a little more Thanksgiving-ish.  I think the floral arrangement with the greenery and candles looks too Christmasy.

 

10.12.11

Click on image to enlarge

The annual Halloween Costume Party invitations have been sent out. Each year I like to top my previous year's effort.

The inspiration for this year's invitation came from an image I stumbled upon on Pinterest.  I tracked it down to this Flickr account. 

Almost all of the work was done in Photoshop Elements.  I just layered images until I got the look I wanted.  Then I printed the cover and insides on matte photo paper.  I mounted the inside artwork on thin foam to give the invitation a more 'bookish' feel to it.  

As always I have to make several prototypes before I get it the way I want to.  I was having trouble getting the foam and photo paper to adhere to each other.  I finally found that double sided tape from Duck to do the trick.  This is by no means meant for archival quality mounting but if you want something to stay stuck together this tape will do the job.

Another tip:  If you want a great recommendation for a white pen to write on black envelopes (quite the thing these days) Pentel's Sunburst Gel pen, medium line in white is fabulous.  Very opaque.

Yikes!  I better get cracking on my costume!

9.25.11

Saturday was one of those days where I didn't have a single thing planned.  I love those kind of Saturdays.  

I slept in and when I did finally get up I just sat in the living room with my cup of tea and caught up on my magazines.  As I was sitting there, flipping through the pages, I started looking at my living room with a critical eye.

Things were looking a bit cluttered and fussy to me.  Too much going on visually and not the soothing refuge I envision for it.  

There are certain elements that I just can't change.  Like the floral on the love-seats and the plaid on the Bergere chairs.  But I can control all the stuff I have adorning all the surfaces.  

I started off with this throw pillow.  Perfectly serviceable and it certainly goes with the color scheme in this room.  But I decided that three different patterns on one 14 x 24 pillow was too much.  

So I headed to Joanns (where I advised a Nun on the relative merits of two different fabrics for her habit.  Like I'm an expert or something....) and picked up some creamy white, bottom weight fabric.  I wanted it to have heft to it but not be too stiff.  I find bottom weight fabrics make good upholstery fabrics for smaller projects.

I basically just made the same pillow cover but in the creamy white. The only difference is instead of a zipper I put an overlapped opening in the back.   

Then I took an antique tray scarf that I bought a few months ago and basted it to the front for texture and interest.  

I think the entire project cost me $10.  Half for the fabric and half for the tray scarf.  The pillow was free.  

Not a bad way to fritter away a Saturday.

9.6.11

 

Just a quick post - This three day weekend has thrown me off and I keep thinking it is Monday.

Yesterday we celebrated a few birthdays in our family.  For my two neices I gave them some beauty products and a little bit of green for their wallets.  I wanted to do something different for the card.

I had some faux French postcards so I wrote my birthday wishes on the blank back and then I made vellum envelopes.  Tied them up with a slender ribbon and added an embellishment.   

I've seen something similar but tied up with twine and an old rhinestone brooch that I used as my inspiration.  I think they turned out really cute. 

8.18.11

I can't believe my two week, stay at home vacation is almost over. The theme for the two weeks ended up being sewing.  

Our patio furniture cushions are in dire need of recovering.  I would love to just replace them but the cushions (the seat cushions anyway) are an odd shape.  It dents in on either side at the front to accomodate the armrests.  

Finding replacement cushions is tricky - I suppose we could just get square ones and squish them in but the cheapest set I could find (and not even in a fabric I would consider) was about $50 or $60!  I have eight chairs and two lounge chairs.  That would add up.

So I decided to make a prototype chair cover.  Took two separate tries (and many trips to the fabric store) but I think I found the fabric I want and have created a pattern that works.  

Now I just have seven more sets to make.  Plus the two lounge chairs.   

I was thinking of taking them to a place that does machine embroidery and have a scripty monogram put on the back cushion but Rick looked at me skeptically when I mentioned the idea.  Personally I think it would add a nice touch.  

As you can see the deck is nearing completion.  The deck guy thinks it will be done by next week.  

In other parts of the yard....

Knock knock

Who's there?