Some Sparkle on a Gloomy Day

I'm slowly getting back into listing vintage beauties to my Etsy shop, KittenCreates.  This brooch above was from either my Mom's or Grandma's collection.  Hard to say as my Grandma's collection became my Mom's...and now it's all mine.  The sweet bouquet always reminds me of Forget Me Nots...and spring. 

This brooch was definitely Grandma's...it is marked as made in Austria...and that is where Grandma is from.  Those aurora borealis rhinestones are simply stunning with the dainty enameled flowers and leaves.

 

This one was an anniversary gift from Grandma to Mom...I love the two circles of pearls entwined with a golden ribbon.

 

This swirl of faux pearls & rhinestones set in silver really sparkles.  I remember Mom wearing this on her spring coat often.  Remember when women wore brooches on their coats?  It's one of the fondest memories from my childhood...even I had some little brooches to wear on my coat...like this sparkly little daisy below...from the early 1950s.

 

The turquoise marquis cut rhinestones forming the daisy petals still have plenty of sparkle left.

 

Finally...this little beauty has aged to perfection.  To my eye, the rhinestones have a slightly gray tint now...not all of them, but some do.  It's quite sophisticated.  The brooch still sparkles like mad...even though it's from the 1940s or 1950s. 

 

All of these & more are now in my Etsy shop.  I do love my collection of vintage jewelry, but I simply don't wear it anymore...so it's time to see if it will find a new home...maybe yours?  With Easter & Mother's Day approaching, these would make lovely gifts...more lasting than flowers or candy...although those are wonderful, too!  I ship them in a gift box so you're all set.

 

You'll find my Vintage Jewelry and Apparel right here.  Thanks for stopping by. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another quilt inspiration

Years ago I wanted to make a Tumbler Quilt but never did get around to it.  One day as I was working in my Etsy shop, I decided to look to see if anyone sold a Tumbler template...and sure enough...I came across this one & ordered it right away.  Fast shipping & excellent quality...I'm quite happy with it.

The tumbler measures just 2.5" from top to bottom, so it can be cut from lots of little scraps of fabric.  It is designed to fit exactly on a Jelly Roll, too.  Since I have tons of quilting cottons in my collection, I've decided to make my quilt out of an assortment of different fabrics, alternating lights & darks. 

The little sampler above was cut & stitched...by hand...in a day.  I simply pulled out 2 dark & 2 light prints & got to work.  I sure don't want a quilt that is all shades of brown...but I believe this little sampler will be made into a pillow.  I'll probably add a couple different brown/beige borders, then make the final border & the back of the pillow blue.  There is a bit of blue in the one light print, so it will all tie together nicely.  I've always loved the color combo of brown & blue...even my Arabia hand painted stoneware is brown & blue & we use it daily.

I'm still working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden, but I think this will give me a nice diversion from that small, intricate patchwork.  I'll have more pix of my flowers for that quilt soon...I'm having so much fun doing hand sewing this winter...and it's something I can continue to do in the summer, too...sitting outside piecing fabric...a girl can dream.

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Well...one of my favorite days of the year is here...it's Mardi Gras!  Or Fat Tuesday, if you prefer.  But it's Mardi Gras to me...especially since the time we lived in Dallas & there were lots of celebrations...and beads...and King Cake.

Ever since we moved to Ohio...we couldn't find a King Cake.  I thought of baking one...briefly...but since my culinary talents lie in cooking, NOT in baking...we just remembered when we could get them.  This year one of the local grocery stores had King Cakes...or at least the Parma, OH version of a King Cake.  They're a little unclear on the concept, though...

The box side has this warning...and yes, there IS a baby hidden INSIDE a traditional King Cake.  The person who gets the baby in their slice buys the next King Cake.

For this King Cake...the baby was stuck into the top of the King Cake...right in plain sight.  I suppose you could bury the baby on the bottom of the cake...but this version was simply a braid of dough & quite dense...with just the barest little hint at adding cinnamon & apples to it.  They're usually a ring of yeast dough with a nice amount of a cream cheese &/or fruit filling...and purple sugar that doesn't turn blue.  Hey...maybe this is a Ghoulardi version for Parma...one of his catch phrases was "Turn blue, Knif!"  You probably need to have grown up in the Cleveland area to really get that one...but I think it's kinda funny...and appropriate.  Ghoulardi is a part of Cleveland history...a strange part, but a part nonetheless.  And Fat Tuesday here involves Paczki...you can read all about them here.

 

So...since our King Cake turned out to be a dud...we'll celebrate with another tradition we've developed over the years...I'll make a big pot of Shrimp Étouffée.  I use a recipe I found in a Paul Prudhomme cookbook years ago... and it's so yummy.  This one is similar to what I make...although I don't use tomatoes. 

 

Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all!!!  It's the day of the year to eat decadent stuff...before Lent begins tomorrow...if you do that giving stuff up for Lent thing.  We don't...but it's always a good excuse to party!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

 

 

 

Maybe Spring IS on the way...

I saw this little robin last Wednesday...eating some berries that grow on a vine throughout the rhododendron that grows outside our living room window.  I don't know what the vine is, but it has red berries that stay on it even after the rest of the vine is dormant...and the robins find them each spring. 

Mr. Robin stayed around long enough for me to grab my camera & get some decent pix of him through the front window...thanks, my dear friend!  No sun for him that day...or now.  We're back in the deep freeze here...and got some snow over the weekend, but not nearly as much as they got south of us.  I'm sick to death of all this snow & bitter cold...I'll bet this robin thought it must be spring here by now.  I found this pic from last year on March 9th...the first crocus were just coming up then.

No hope for that early bloom this year...there's over a foot of snow covering them right now.  Usually they arrive around mid March...almost always by St. Patrick's Day...so let's hope SPRING is getting ready to kick Old Man Winter out of here SOON!

 

Yellow and Springtime...A Swap for All Seasons

Oh yes...during this all too cold & snowy & bleak February, our March swap at A Swap for all Seasons had the theme of SPRING & the color yellow.  The very cool pouch of wonderful treasures is what I received from my partner, Pam.  It reminds me that one of these days we may actually break out of winter so I can go plant some stuff outside. 

Tucked inside that cool pouch was this adorable card.  I love the vintage chick and the lace & rose buds...& check out that cute little felt butterfly.   There's lots of dimension in this card as Pam raised up the chick with pop dots...great effect. 

I always love Pam's tags...the sewing theme is near & dear to my heart.  I won't be able to part with this one...it's on my inspiration board.  Gotta love that vintage pattern image.  I had a dress with that dropped waist back in the 1950s!

And then Pam sent the most wonderful goodies...that 1930s reproduction fabric is already cut up into patches for my quilts...and I know I'll use all this stuff throughout the year.  Thanks so very much, Pam...it's always a delight to swap with you. 

 

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Of course...I mailed to a different swap partner...it really is fun to swap this way.  The yellow package above left cold NE Ohio & flew down to Georgia to my partner, Becky. 

This is the card I made for Becky...the little chick is from a vintage Easter card that I received back in the 1950s.  I love that there are crocus blooming...those are the first hint we get here of spring...our front lawn will be covered in them....IF this snow ever melts & we get out of these frigid temps!!!

Here's the tag I created for Becky.  The lovely spring flowers are also from a vintage card from the 1950s.  I'm lucky that I found scrapbooks of greeting cards that my Mom & Grandma had saved over the years.  I love using them in my creations.

And here are the goodies I sent to Becky.  She makes yoyos, so I included some yellow fabric from my stash...and other yellow bits & bobs.  There are yellow bingo markers in that tiny glassine envie...those make cute halos or accents on cards & such.

 

Once again...this was a fabulous fun swap...it sure helped me get through February.  Thanks for organizing another great swap, Linda! 

 

Sign-ups for the April Swap...with the theme of Mother's Day & the color peach are tomorrow, March 1.  You should go check it out...there are rules, of course...but they're easy to follow & you'll make lots of new friends & have tons of fun along the way.  You can find all the details right here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little kitten update...

The kittens have been out of my studio for about a week now.  We do herd them back in there at night, but daytime is theirs to have the run of the house.  They chase each other around and explore everything.  Each day around 4pm, it gets quiet and here is what I see.  Gracie & Fluffer all snuggled up between our pillows taking a nap.  Peanut is usually in the computer room sleeping by himself...as you can see below.

It's hard work being a kitten...and they're so sweet when they sleep!

 

The only one around here who isn't happy about the kittens being around is our Sunny Cat...but each day she's learning to tolerate them a bit.  They play with her toys...and sleep where only she could sleep before...this is quite an adjustment for a 6 year old cat!

Peanut really wants to be friends with Sunny...but she's not interested.  Lots of hissing can be heard with the occasional growl & loud meow...topped off by a swipe or 2 of a paw...but no huge fights. 

 

Sunny chooses to retreat to the basement where we have a couple baskets of stuff topped by a quilt for her to sleep in.  We don't let her stay down there overnight...but she needs a place to get away from the crazy kids.

 

Well...I hear something happening that I should investigate...I wonder what they're into this time? 

 

 

More Valentine Treasures

I participated in another Valentine's swap through Sandy's blog 521 Lake Street.  We were to swap a decorated candy box filled with destash goodies & make a tag or card for our partner.  I was paired up with Jann of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.  It was so much fun getting to know Jann through emails & visiting each other's blogs. 

The absolutely gorgeous box above is what Jann sent my way.  It's so beautiful...and inside were lots of  fun goodies to play with.

 

Not only did Jann send fun artsy stuff, but those Ghirardelli chocolates were gone in an instant!  There was also some popcorn coated in pink chocolate...and chocolate covered pretzels. 

 

Check out the detail on the box...

 

And here are more of the goodies for me to enjoy...THANKS, Jann!!!

 

I love everything Jann sent...but the best part is making a new friend.  Be sure to check out Jann's blog...she has delightful posts that I'm sure you'll enjoy.  And thanks to Sandy for organizing this swap...it was awesome!

 

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Here are a few pix of what I sent to Jann...like I said, this was a fun swap!  There was this box...

 

Filled with this stuff...

 

I made her this card...

 

...and this tag...

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!