millinery flower circle pin broach

Dear Violets-

I have not posted anything in quite a while due to lots of traveling, so I had to get out my instructions and relearn the whole process!!!!  I was inspired by a "circle pin" hidden away in my old jewelry box to try and make a felt one with my ever growing collection of vintage millinery flowers.  It measures 2 1/2 inches across.  I hope the top flowers hold up when the pin is being pinned on and off repeatedly.  I chose flowers for the top that were not as fragile....we'll see!  It feels good to be home long enough to plug in the hot glue gun and get creative!  Before long we will be back at Briancon stitching away....I can't wait!!  LOVE to all-  Julie

any ideas?

Hope that all of you violets are well and happily crafting away....
Having received my latest batch of fabric from spoonflower and draped it artistically over various bits of furniture around the house, I confess that I don't have a clue what to do with the ever increasing stash of cloth that I am aquiring. I have taken to hiding bags of fabric as Nick and the kids are beginning to feel second place to my obsession with trying to become a textile designer at this late stage in my life! Maybe Francesca will be able to rustle something up for me from my far too big tattoo fabric!

Jean Bugs

Well, the color is not exactly right, but my friend Jean and I were playing around with some of my bug images and came up with this fab polkadot image repeat that I LOVE!

I named it "Jean Bug Green"....and I can't wait to play with other possibilities to coordinate with it. It does seem to need a couple of extra dots thrown in here and there, but I like it!

Birthday Party !

Sam´s birthday the 18th of April.

Sweet cakes, cute kids, beautiful flowers and a lovely atmosphere!

Charlie

Molly

Grant´s beautiful flower arrangement!

Strawberry cake, carrot cake and shortbreads!

Sam and her family are living in the most beautiful apartment!

My daughter Alma and I on our way to Sam.

Love to all of you

Becky

Ready to GO!

I just finished three of the little ladies on boxes and thought I'd share them with you.

I still love this twirling girl...but thought that she needed a few little blossoms to spin with.

I think she "moves" without really moving and that it sooooo cool! Can you see her?

This little one looks like she is holding onto a kite string, but it is really a flower stem.

...more movement here, too.....love it!

This one still cracks me up. She looks a bit awkward, though the braids do help. The bird is very fat and probably needs a tail to balance out - we'll see.

Hope you are all having a great day.

It is chilly here and overcast, with the sun peeking through the clouds every so often.

We were supposed to go on the river, but I thought it might be too chilly - good call!

Viva Espagna

After a simply amazing visit to San Sebastian over the Easter holiday we are back in sunny France (yes! Spring has finally arrived!) with a bewildering list of "things to do", but thought you gals might be inspired by some of the colours and smells (well, you'll have to imagine those) of the costa del norte de España. You can read about all the scrummy and inspiring food we ate whilst we were there on the LSA blog. Hopefully some of you will be able to get a taste of it when you are back in July.

little green houses

These houses are "in process" at the moment.

I am not sure that I like the direction that they are taking with the paint, but I will continue to finish them up. I will reserve judgement for later.

I hoped they would look more like the sketches that I did, but I will continue experimenting until I get the result I want. I guess I will be making a few more until I am satisfied....

Mushrooms

Ta Da!

MUSHROOMS!!!

At Oolie's house, I made several mushrooms from foam core. I glued them and shaped them and let them sit for a couple of days.

Yesterday, I pulled out my paints and below are the results!

These red and white ones look pretty good, though I may try to think of something to do to make the stems a little more interesting.

But, THESE are the ones that I am in love with....sigh......

I know that I will be able to attract fairies with these fabulous accommodations!

More Little Ladies

Here are a few more of the figures I did at Oolie's last week.

I think that the "attitude" of this one is sweet. I added braids, which I think really made all the difference. She was one of the first girls that I made, so she has a few glitches. But, I feel like I have learned with each figure what works best and the rhythm does eventually flow...

Don't you think the Big Daisy is fun? I like her a bunch.... tee hee........

This girl will be holding a tiny bird on her hand. Right now, she looks a little bit like Judy Jetson (!)   I do think the bird will help change that. I will share her with you as things evolve.

Day Two at Oolie's

I was blown away.

After all the lovely collections all around the house, Julie opened a door and we walked down the stairs into the basement........

.....wow........

The "real" treasure trove was "down under" in the basement.

Collections that you cannot imagine!

I was intrigued by the painted tin boxes, I think, more than anything else...

Delicate and beautiful, in colors that are not reproduced these days...

Above and below are just a few of the many metal boxes that are in Julie's magnificent and totally overwhelming collection. It will take your breath away!

Love this little dressing table sitting on a window sill...

These tea sets are pretty sweet sitting on the shelf...

More tin boxes and other goodies hiding in these shelves...

You just can't imagine what lies in this basement.

I will share more tomorrow, but had to give you a quick peek.

Day One at Oolie's

Hi Everyone!

I am home from Oolie's after a very productive 4 days.

I was spoiled rotten and allowed to work all the time rather than having to think about food, kids, RESPONSIBILITY! It was a truly fantastic "working vacation" for me and I have Oolie to thank for that....THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!

Here is Oolie the first morning. She had bought all the mixings for my famous (or infamous!) Migas, which are eggs that are scrambled with onions, tortillas, salsa and cheese - YUM! It was my pleasure to fix 'em right up for her! We added some sliced avocado and toast with raspberry jam - yummmmmm!

After breakfast, we cleared the table only to fill it right up with all of our necessities!

This is Mark and Julie's den, where all the living takes place. The couches in the back are where we ate, since the table was full of "creative stuff".....and Mark joined us "in the room" to watch the news every once in awhile.

It amazes me that I can actually make sense of a mess like this! Wonders never cease.....

I did so many things while there, though. Guess it just goes to show that I work well in chaos.

Here is a "candid" shot of Julie "at the knife" working on a little something. I guess the fact that I kept cutting up the foam core made her need to dive in to it, too. 

Below is what she spent most of her time working on..... and I just realized that I did not get a picture this morning of how lovely her new necklace looked!
These are 12 balls that Oolie stitched up. She was getting pretty darn fast by the 5th and 6th balls! Oolie, you need to take a photo of what they look like now that they are on the cord with the leaves, okay?

Oolie's Kitchen

Here is the window behind the sink in Julie's kitchen...

sooooooo charming!

See the little pink fridge, white stove and pink sink at the back?

They are metal and were Julie's when she was little.

She and her sister played with them all the time.

The refrigerator used to plug in and actually make ICE!!!

Can you imagine?

Absolutely love this little Steinbach Knitting Girl with her kitty....playing with the ball of yarn, which is actually string and not wood or painted wire...sweet....

This little plate has darling old wooden babies - on a swing. in a crib, playing with a baby doll (in the back) We are so lucky when we can find the old ones....

This little girl is not old, but soooo special. The charm of these little ones is ageless, timeless.

They grab onto our hearts and make us smile. It is a joy to be around them.

The other joy is fresh flowers....ahhhhhh...

These tiny little vases, which Oolie bought in Santa Fe, are all over her house with itsy, bitsy daffodils in them. A touch of sunshine everywhere!

We are off to the fabric store now....and maybe to the book store, too.

Love to all - more later.

April Birthdays

Does this look familiar?

 These are lovely pieces that 

make us think of Briancon.

Ms. Arkell's Rosy Rabbit (above) was coveted by many

and scooped up by Sam...

.....and we all watched as Sam worked meticulously 

on her exquisite bag.

Have you continued to add bits and pieces to your

"Bits Bag"?

Happy Birthday to SAM!

(April 18)

And to YOU, Jodie, on April 29th!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!

I think that your "Little Green" is still so delightful!

...and your handicraft on the tea cozy quite admirable.

So different and filled with such humor.

Missing you ladies!

ps. Jodie, we have no address for you....

We need one, in case we might have a "little something" for you.

And Sam, please "make a noise'" as Joanna might say.

You are always in our conversations and hearts!