Art with a Past

There is a story behind this frame. During WW2 my father was a Navy flight instructor and flew supply missions to South America. After one trip to Brazil he brought back two frames like this. Each was filled with a beautiful design completely made of butterfly wings. At some point one was given to my sister and one to me. When I was in college I kept my frame on a coffee table. One day I bumped into it. It fell on the floor and the wings, which were very dry, broke into a million pieces. I was devastated! I kept the frame all these years, not knowing what to put in it. Then I saw this idea on a blog (sorry, I can't remember which one). It was perfect.

I've had these stickers for years. I just popped them up, typed up the Latin names from a guide book, and distressed everything a little. Now my butterfly frame is on the wall (of course!) and a reminder of the gift from my dad.

Some New Finds

On Sunday, Rick and I needed to get out for a little while. After a nice lunch we went to one of our favorite antique malls. We didn't find much to bring home this time, but I did get this little tiny tea set, which was very reasonable.

Not long ago, at this shop, I got this "Bunnykins" baby dish which I just love, even though it's not old:

And this cute little toy that added to our chicken collection:

 Here are all my little chickens things in a shelf above my kitchen desk. We use the egg scales when we get a really large egg and get excited when it goes over the "extra large" mark.

Now I can't wait for May when the flea market in town starts up again. More treasures to find!

A Good Day

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

 First, the chickens have started laying again. Hooray! We collected these 5 beauties today. And they are full size! I think I will make our favorite sausage quiche for dinner tonight.

Then I received these needlework books in the mail. I can't wait to get started on a new quilt or maybe a needlecase.

Now, I'll just heat up some chicken noodle soup and browse through my new books. See, it doesn't take much!

Birthday Book

I just finished this book to help me keep track of birthdays. I was inspired by Melissa Phillips at http://lilybeanpaperie@typepad.com. She has made several of these in her lovely shabby chic style. I made mine using an old Bazzill cardstock book, Jenny Bowlin calendars, and misc. papers and trims. All I need to do now is add the birthdays and then maybe I will remember to send out those cards that I love to make!

 

 

Spring Fever

I just couldn't pass up this pretty primrose while grocery shopping. I will have near me as I  make out my seed catalog orders. Hope I can show some restraint this year. Probably not!

New Years Calendar

I was organizing my craft closet last week and came across a couple of blank calendars I've had for years. I decided to make one up for this year using vintage greeting card images that I found on various sites, including http:/twocrazycrafters.blogspot.com. I wanted to use stuff I had on hand, so I used lots of old papers and trim. Sometimes, we just got to use it up to make room for the new, right? Here are a few of the pages:

Now I'm ready to make some things for Valentine's Day. Have you seen the pretty heart cone that Sheila, over at www.cheekymagpie.com, has designed? I think I may start with that.

Happy News!

 I always have several crafty projects to relax with while taking a break from working around the house and yard. Right now I have a quilt (I'll show later) and a baby blanket I'm crocheting. I'm using a Bernat Softee Baby and a simple shell pattern. I'll put a lacy edge around it when I'm done and add some ribbon. And who, you may ask, is it for? Well, our son, Andrew and his wife, Alison are expecting their first baby in June! Our first grandchild! We are so excited, as you can imagine. We don't know the sex yet, but I had to make something, so I chose this soft baby yellow.

  

Not only am I dreaming of holding that sweet baby, I am dreaming up all kinds of things to make for him/her!

"Big Red"

I had wanted to get a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas, but since we had just gotten new appliances and a new car, I didn't think we needed to be buying anything else for awhile (like, forever!). But Rick wasn't having any of that, so here it is...

The first thing I made with it is this Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (from an old Taste of Home magazine.)

I loved using it. I am going to have so much fun trying out new baking recipes this year. Too bad I'm trying to lose weight!