A Book Bundle Treasury and Awards!

Sometimes I bop around blogland and flip through magazines, and before I know it, I have 50 projects I want to do!

Topping the list right now is the book bundle....so many versions are out there, but they're all so vintage and romantic and lovely!  Below are a few of my absolute favorites.

Honey at 2805 tied hers so beautifully!  The handwritten cover is gorgeous is as well.

Angela, Whitney, and Lauren, a three-sister blogging team, showcased this bundle on their blog, Better Together. Theirs are beautiful without removing the covers!

Here is a bundle from Confessions of a Plate Addict. I love how she added the postcard!

I don't think I could do what these ladies did, but I'm probably going to give it a try here soon!

In other blog-related news, two more sweet, kind bloggers have passed along awards to me....

The first is Christine, the "Krazy Kraft Lady."  She gave me this....

Thanks so much, Christine! Y'all visit her pretty blog here.

I also recieved this from Melanie...

To accept these awards, I must tell you seven things about myself!

1. I love going to concerts.

2. I hate watching movies.

3. C.S. Lewis is my favorite author.

4. I love reading historical fiction.

5. When I was in high school, I wanted to be an astronomer.

6. I'm not a fan of cold weather.

7. I'm addicted to chapstick.

Melanie has some fun ideas at her blog, which you can visit here.

To see the blogs I passed awards to, click here.

Thanks so much, girls!

Salt Shakers to Vases

Gray winter days are bad for spirits but good for crafting!

Here is one of my latest "creations".....

It's begging for Spring blooms!

Here is how it began....

Except for the fact that it's a little banged up, it's actually really cute!  It just doesn't match my kitchen, and I don't need anymore S/P shakers!  But when I saw it, I thought it would be fun to play around with.

And, it was in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby!

I gave it a coat of milk chocolate paint, (a lot of) crackling medium, then white paint.  Then I filled it with craft moss.

I removed the tops for instant "vases."

And then I put them into the moss to finish it. 

Now I'm just waiting for the flowers to grow!

P.S. I'm linking this up to Sunday Showcase, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday and Saturday Nigh Special! To see what other parties I participate in, check my Blog Parties tab!

I'm also linking to a BRAND NEW party at The Charm of Home:

Burlap Fleur de Lys Pillow

I recently foraged ahead with my no-sew agenda and made a burlap Fleur de Lys pillow.

Stitch witchery is fast replacing Mod Podge as my best crafting friend!

I took some burlap....it needs a LOT of ironing.

Acrylic paint and a stamp....couldn't be easier!

I used the adhesive to "sew" three of the four sides, leaving one end open.

Yes....I stuffed this with toilet paper.

Ironing the last side as a little difficult since you're trying to hold it closed and keep the seem straight and not catch the toilet paper on fire with iron.

Voila!

P.S. Don't forget to enter our giveaway HERE!

I'm linking this post to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday and Sunday Showcase!

Giveaway with Cotton Breeze and The Tattered Tag!

Would you like to win this?

This is a trinket tray from my Etsy shop, Cotton Breeze!

Christina of The Tattered Tag is currently teaming up with me on a giveaway for this Silver Paisley Trinket Tray.

Please visit HERE to enter this giveaway, which ends this Wednesday!

P.S. I'm also linking my blog up to The Newbie Party over at Debbiedoos!

New Etsy Items

Here are two fun items that I recently added to my Etsy shop, Cotton Breeze!



First, a shabby blue and white trinket tray

This photo gives you an idea of how cute they look displaying items!

Second, a red and white yarn wreath

I think this looks adorable displayed on a chair!

And last but not least, a Fleur de Lys decorative tile.

I love this shabby tile standing up or lying flat.

It looks great on one of the trinket trays!

Please visit!

Rustic Runner

I've spent the last few days working on an area of my den.  It involves an occassional table, and as part of dressing it up, I decided to make a small "runner" for it.

Here it is!

I love how it turned out.  And I love how inexpensive it was to make.  Simple cotton fabric is just a few dollars, and the transfer paper is roughly a dollar per sheet. So, I'd ring up the entire project at $4.

 I took my two fabrics (it didn't take much!) and cut out three panels that would become the three sections of the runner.

I picked out a pretty French graphic from The Graphics Fairy and opened it in Paint.net (a simple, free photo/image editing program I use).  I then converted it to a mirror image so that it would look right after I transferred it onto the fabric.

I printed it on iron-on transfer paper--no fancy tricks here--an ironed it onto the fabric for the center panel.

I matched up the edges of the panels and used stitch-witchery (an iron-on fabric adhesive that you can get at Hobby Lobby, JoAnne's, etc.) to bind them together. I did the same to "hem" up all the edges.  I still don't have my sewing machine, ug!

I didn't worry about cutting my fabric perfectly straight, because I knew I could iron on straight stitches with the stitch-witchery.

Even though I ironed all the fabric before starting, I pressed the panels again to make them crisp and clean....but if you try this, remember NOT to touch the iron to the image, or it will melt! (I had a near miss...eek.)

The image is perfectly vintage.  It transferred perfectly to the fabric.

Rustic yet elegant....my favorite combination!

P.S.  To see where I'm linking up this week, click the "Blog Parties" tab at the top of the page! I'm also linking to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Blog Honors

I'm still something of a newbie in the world of blogs, so I'm so grateful to be remembered by Cindy at
The Heart of Your Home and Katie at Ohh Baby for two blog honors. To accept these awards, you must honor other bloggers and answer a few questions about yourself. 

These are wonderful gals with wonderful blogs, so be sure to visit!

Kate at KJC

Katie at Ohh Baby

Alana at All is Amazing

Pam and Robin at 2 Vintage Sisters

Tara at Fabulessly Crafty

Kim at Here on Crow Creek

Allison at No Place Like Home

Seven things about me:

1. My faith comes first.

2. I love cats.

3. I want to become a much better gardener.

4. I drive a Mustang GT.

5. I like to crochet.

6. I'm originally from Georgia.

7.  I grew up on a working farm.

Cindy at Heart of Your Home

Christina at The Tattered Tag

Megan at Milburn Musings

Erin at The Kennemer Family

Melanie at Comfy House

Kim at Table Scraps Diner

Tami and Maddie at Lillie Beffers and Maddie Lumpkin

Ten Questions

1. Why did you create this blog? There were several reasons.  I wanted to network with other crafters/designers, get feedback on my own creations, and eventually launch and promote an Etsy shop, which I recently did!

2. What kinds of blogs do you follow?  I mostly follow craft and design blogs and those of my friends.
3. Favorite make-up brand? FAVORITE brand is Lancome, but brand I actually buy on a regular basis is Cover Girl.
4. Favorite clothing brand?
5. Indispensable makeup product? Mascara, absolutely.
6. Favorite color? Orange.
7. Favorite perfume? Miracle by Lancome

8. Favorite film? Star Wars. Kind of surprising, no?

9. What country would you like to visit and why? Romania.  It seems so beautiful and mysterious.

10. Would you rather forget to put mascara on one eye or forget blush on one side of your face?

Blush, since I don't use that much.


Thanks again, ladies!