Well Hello, Sweets!

Hope you are having a lovely Thursday. The sun is shining and everything looks so FRESH here after the rain we've been having. I did a great deal of cleaning and general mess-re-distributing ;) yesterday and I feel so....energized. Everyone was sick for so long and needing such concentrated and constant attention that when they slept or were temporarily happy I found myself just escaping and not doing much in the way of home-making (read: YUCK). But Andrew is playing happily with a Priority Mail envelope (don't tell the Post Office!) next to me and Rachel is watching Dragon Tails with Daddy and his newspaper in the living room. There is nothing totally disgusting that needs cleaning and no huge messes to hurdle in order to move around in the house. It's a miracle, really!

I am putting the finishing touches on my Valentine swap gifts, as well as a few gifts for loved-ones but I have to tell you....I'm already thinking about Easter! If you've stepped into a craft store like the Michael's I went into a couple evenings ago, you'll know that it's not just me, either! I saw SO MANY lovely Easter things and my mind began SPINNING with the possibilities...I delved into my collection of vintage fabrics, poked around in some of my favorite vintage Easter images and came up with the beginning of a whole collection of Easter/Spring items you'll begin seeing in my etsy shoppe and eBay auctions.

This is one of my favorite Easter images that I've had on a fabric block for over a year and I've just been ITCHING to make something pretty with it. I picked a vintage nubby chenille and a repro green dot and fashioned a pretty pillow from them. The "innards" are a combination of high-quality polyfil and my new favorite fragrance mixture: dried French lavender and dried roses. It makes for SUCH a lovely scent and a sweet surprise for anyone who picks it up or leans against it, since the slightest touch releases the fragrance inside! To finish this sweet cushion I embroidered a pink bullion rose and made it into a covered button on the pink ticking yo-yo. Don't miss the way the pink ticking brings out the blossoming trees in this vintage image OR the dear little church that is just up the lane and beyond the gate!

I also made a matching tussie mussie from the green dot and I love the way they sweetly compliment one another! I used a dear pink and white vintage hankie my sister Whitney found in an antique store and added a vintage millinery rose on front. The ruffle of the tussie was fashioned from the body of the same hankie and the inside of the cone is lined with a vintage book page. The "tail" and "hanger" are my new favorite pink ribbon....so old-fashioned and luxe!

My second new offering is what my friend Pat calls a "pillowette"...think combination of pillow and sachet! It is filled with the same lovely combination of lavender and roses but this one is smaller and hangs from a precious length of gingham posey trim I found in wonderful store in San Francisco and have been saving for something very special. You'll see the same trim on the matching tussie, as well! The focal point of this pillowette is an image I think is my VERY favorite Easter image...at least this year. It is just the DEAREST little toddler who is simply and completely BEWITCHING. I don't know what it is about her....perhaps her lovely brown curls that remind me a bit of one of my daughters' or maybe it's her expression or her gorgeous frock? Whatever it is, she is just adorable! Do you see what she's holding? A whimsical "hoop" from which dozens of Easter eggs hang! I just adore this, don't you?

I found some soft, soft blue cotton that was originally a vintage curtain that I used part of to make this set last year. It had dear little sunbonnet girls on the bottom but I've been saving the rest of it for just the right purpose. And here it is! You'll also notice the same nubby vintage chenille and three blue cotton yo-yos punctuated by loads of vintage and new buttons, baubles, ribbon roses and more! So simple but so very sweet. The matching tussie mussie is in the same blue cotton and lovely trim. The center of the bow is adorned with a little posey of vintage millinery forget-me-nots!

I am selling these as "sets" and you can find both of them in my etsy shoppe HERE.

Before I go I wanted to share something oh-so-adorable that the very sweet Janae sent me as a hostess gift for co-hostessing the Vintage Valentine Swap. I just can't get over these SWEET ladies and their thoughtful gifts! Janae certainly had me in mind when she created this PRECIOUS shadowbox...notice the little doll she altered (DOLL is the name of my girls' clothing line!) and the cute little heart that says "Rosey Posey"! What a thoughtful gift. I love the dear little cherub, too, and I thank goodness I thought to take this photo as SOON as the package arrived since my girls and I DEVOURED the candy hearts within minutes. THANK YOU so much, Janae! Be sure to visit her blog and check out her etsy shoppe when you have a moment.

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Hope each of you have a lovely day. My goal today is to try to start in on those curtains I've been avoiding. This of course means I'll make all KINDS of little projects in order to FURTHER avoid them! Well, we'll see....

HUGS,

Cheryl