Herb Blessings

 

The weather of late has been so nice, just a little muggy but nothing like the heat wave we have been having. I took a wander around the backyard yesterday and was surprised to find blooming were some seeds I thought wasn't going to bloom at all. I have a sort of brown thumb but I try. I planted carnation, lilliput zinna's, chamomile and coneflower and they are all sprouting up. I thought they were other flowers already there but no! I'm really excited about that.

 

Being that it is now December 1st I'm organizing my christmas gift stash. I want my gifts this year to be mostly homemade with a dash of new and thrift. So far I think I have a good stash. The first parcel to wrap up uses herbs as a theme. I am using one of the spoons we were stamping in the Toowoomba Simple Living Christmas DIY gifts workshop. Nanna Chel, over at going grey and slightly green was showing us how to metal stamp the spoons. The other plant poke is from the air dry clay flowers I was making. I added a water can charm and wire to the metal spoon. The clay flower I tied up with some jute string and added a little butterfly bead.

 

I've also included a cheap thrift store book about herb cooking, a vintage book with some good information, lastly I added some herb seeds. I think it makes a nice gift.

The first of December also means I can begin working in my December daily that I created. Each day until the 25 December I'll create a page for the day. I used a pack of Christmas cards from the thrift store to create the book, so the pages are only small and I won't have to do much too them.

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening wherever they are.

Vintage mail

 

The weather is lovely today, and while it is cooler I've been putting together some mail to send off to strangers around the world to write to. I've used a large amount of items from my stash to pop into the mail with the letter. Some letters I made them with themes, like the rose one above and some have random themes. I keep everything flat (ish) and light so when I send them the postage won't cost me an arm and a leg.

 

This one is actually items wrapped to go into the envelope. You might notice the back ground paper is from the one's I created here. The image and the sentiment are from thrift store brought Christmas cards left over from the stack of cards I used for the December daily. The card has simple corner punches and lightly inked edges. It didn't need anything else done to it. I also added a hint of bling and to the background paper I added washi tape and some some crepe paper ruffles. If you are using scrapbooking bling that has flourishes and such, cut it up into smaller pieces to go further.

 

This is an envelope with Carl Larrson images on the front and the back. From a magazine. I added some washi tape and scrapbook paper elements.

 

The liner has tea themed imagery and I finished it off with a collage bow and butterfly. I always like to ink the edges of the work in a matching colour or in black ink to tie it all together and make it look finished. When I'm done I also coat it with clear artist matt varnish to make it a bit more sturdy.

Now all I have to do is write the letters to go in side.

 

 

 

This envelope uses some a vintage photograph and some scrapbooking elements. I stenciled the paper background.

 

If you would like mail from me for penpal, feel free to send me your snail mail addy at vintagepapery (Gmail.com).

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening whereever they are.

 

 

Silver roses

 

The weather today wasn't as hot as it has been and we're in for a bit of a storm to help cool things done even more. Here's hoping.

It stayed fine enough for me to get the bus into town to attend the Christmas Mini-Market hosted by the QCWA Toowoomba branch. QCWA is Queensland Country Women's Association and they have a lot of branches all over the state of Queensland. They are like the Women's Institute in Britian. Where they teach skills of handicraft and hold morning teas and some social functions. The Christmas Mini-Market was held in a small hall of the QCWA rooms. There was plenty of tables with jams, cakes, & chutney, lavender, jewellery, wooden items, baby garments, cards and so on. I came home with Grandma's Date slice (Said so on the box), a small christmas present of a hanky and soap for some one in the family. And I also came home with a silver plated three piece vanity set consisting of a mirror, brush and comb all in it's original box. I was told if I wanted it I had to haggle for it. The price was $20 and I just said 15 even though I would have taken it for $20. Can you tell I'm not much of a haggler?

 

Isn't it pretty though. It's so nice mum wants it too.

 

Also I found these candle scones at the thrift store for $1 the pair. Aren't they nice? They go well with my decoupage candles I think.

 

I've also been painting and finished up a new, small, painting. Fairy Lullabye.

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening whereever they are.

Clear letters

 

With the weather being so hot of late the best thing is to stay some where cool and potter with simple things. I had this idea to make up some clear envelopes from cellophane and stamp them. Mind you I wouldn't send these off in the mail as is because they are fragile. I'd add them in a more sturdy envelope.

Items needed:

You will need, cellophane or clear packaging from items you have brought. A paper envelope for template. Narrow double sided sticky tape. Washi tape. Stamps. Stazon ink.

 

To Make:

Step 1: Pull apart the paper envelope to use as a template. Using a dark marker like a sharpie draw around the template on your clear plastic. Cut out the template following the drawn line.

 

Step 2: Using double sided sticky tape, create the envelope following the folds of the original paper envelope.

 

Step 3: Then to hide the double sided sticky tape cover with washi tape. I used washi tape on one side then on the other and trimmed where necessary. Where the enevelope folds up at the back to make the pocket add some washi tape there too. (Note: The black marker will leave a line if you don't cut close to the marked line so washi tape will come in handy to hide lazy cutting like mine. You can also use paper strips and double sided sticky tape instead of washi tape.)

 

Step 4: Use a collection of smallish stamps and stamp around the front of the envelope using Stazon Ink. The ink will stay on the plastic and not smear or rub off.

 

Step 5: Fold up your enevelope and pop inside your letter.

 

This would also be a good idea for Christmas wrapping paper for a small gift like a gift card.

Another idea would be to double line the envelope and fill it with confetti to make a shaker style envelope. You might need to use double sided foam tape to raise plastic up so the confetti will shake.

 

 

And now I have some stitching I want to finish up.

 

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening wherever they are.

Quiet Days

 

I've been pottering around decluttering things in my stash stuff. I re-arranged everything to give a better work station area so I can create without feeling cramped. Considering I'm creating in my bedroom this is no easy task, I can tell you. I managed though to get things organized enough to call it done. And with the heat that was around I picked a bad time to want to declutter. At least it is cooler today.

 

Over the weekend I attended the last of the Simple Living workshop for the year. We had a DIY frugal Christmas gifts workshop and ideas. There were some very good displays for frugal gifts. Nanna Chel over at Going Grey and Slightly Green has a good highlights of the displays and events.

 

The workshop we had was a lesson in making our own Soy Candles tea cup containers. Mandy from An Old Dairy was our teacher and she did a very good job of showing us how easy soy candle tea cups are to make. It was a good day out and I enjoyed meeting up with every one again after been away due to surgery.

 

I was asked by My Cup Runneth Over in comments how I made my clay brooches, I used air drying clay and painted them with acyrlic paint, then I varnished them with artist acyrlic varnish to harden them a little more. The ones above in the cup are large ones that were my first go and rather than toss them out I painted them up and will use them for plant pokes.

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening wherever they are.

Hello Yellow

 

These are sitting on my art desk drying and awaiting a brooch pin to be added. I'm getting ready for the Simple Living workshop and wanted something a little different to paper and sewing things. If you live in the Toowoomba area the workshop is open to all and is the last one of the year. The theme is a DIY frugal Christmas. EDIT: Oops, looks like I'm set for NEXT YEARS swap table. They are actually doing a secret santa. Pays to read emails sometimes.

 

Yellow roses in the garden with a heavely scent.

 

My kind of flower, the humble but useful Nasturium.

 

 I hope everyone is having a good day or evening wherever they are.

Lavender Ribbons

 

The weather of late has been both hot and cool. Today is starting out coolish, here's hoping it will stay that way. At home, I've been drying a lot of pot pourri and it's now at the stage where I can do something with it. I'm thinking lacey sachets.

 

I've also been painting. The theatre of the  Lantern lighters girl has a sister: Moon Waiters. Together she waits with her sister and while she waits sends ribbons to the faeries for gifts. That's the story at any rate.  I'm not too fussed on the drawing skill of it so far and may go back to improve it. So maybe it's just a start and not a finish yet.

 

 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening whereever they are.

Home Comforts

The last few days have been very hot. The heat invited in some indulges of ice-cream with soft drink to make a 'Spider'. Very sweet and something I won't want again for a while. Just when the heat looked like it was going to stay around we had a cool change today and there might even be the prospect of some rain.

 

 

While at home there has been some general yard duty to clean up the very wilted yard, pots and underneath the grape vines. I did discover a volunteer Cherry tomato plant and harvested the remains to remove the spent plant. Next year I hope to have a good veggie garden a little 1940 Victory type. We shall see.

 

 

We had a fur visitor and I hade to fur-babysit for a little while. Mister Simba was not impressed not being able to play with the kitty. And I think all that kitty action was exhausting for both of us!

 

 

 

Also I managed to 'inherit' two large book shelves that are painted green. I have one in my room and I'm sorting through things and rearranging them. You can just see that large haul of old broken vintage earrings I got from the thrift store the other day sitting in a thrift store basket I was going to use for gifts.

 

 

There has been some crafting. I am finishing up some things and just made these for Christmas wrapping paper. I cut up a sponge in shape of a tree and added paint to it to make the trees, then I used a Noel stamp, and after that I added green glitter on the trees to make it more Christmas-y.  The heart paper I added some red glitter on some of the hearts. I like the heart one enough I might use it to make up envelopes and stationery for writing to pen pals.

 

 I hope everyone is having a good day or evening whereever they are.