Anybody want to Party??????

I can't believe I am kicking off year 4 of the Where Bloggers Create Party! I look forward to this event every year. You girls have some of the most inspiring and beautiful studios I've ever seen!! In the past years we've seen, beauty, ingenuity, amazing organization and  some really cool ideas! The studios have been enormous professional studios and little sweet corners of your homes. They are all fun to look at so I hope you will join in on the fun whether you've never participated or you've played along every year!

So, once again this is how it will work. If you want to participate leave me a comment on this post. If you have more than one blog, please specify which one you want me to link to. I will add your name to the list of participants on my sidebar. On the night before the party(July 13th), post your photos and stories about your studio, yourselves and your art. (This assures that the early risers or those bloggers in other parts of the world can see your post on time.) We all love lots of pictures so don’t be shy!!!! On the day of the party we will all meet here and you can spend the next few weeks blog hopping to visit everyone’s blogs and get a peak inside all the very wonderful and creative studios!!

 
Don't forget, it doesn’t matter if your space is big or small, it’s yours and that makes it special!!!

If you want to visit last years attendees, click here for the entire list. It will be available until this years party starts, and I begin linking the new posts.

I have quite a lot on my plate this year, so I will not be sending out confirmation emails. Please give me a few days to get your link placed on my blog. Then check back and make sure it's there. If it's missing please send me an email to let me know. Last year I had several folks who didn't leave me a way to get a hold of them, so please make sure your contact info is available.

Oh! And please take the party invitation located on the upper right sidebar and place it on your blog to help spread the word. If you want to do a post about it... that would be wonderful!!! After all, the more the merrier!!!

WooHoo!!! Party on!!

(If anyone wants to get a pretty new look from Valentine Design for their blog before the party....there's still time! Shoot me an email and I'll get you on the list!)

More Sweet...

 Well everyone, it's that time of the month again! The Sweet Salvage sale is here this weekend! Because of their HUGE success they have had to move to a new location and this one is bigger and better than ever!!! It's just south of the old location on the opposite side of the street and now it has air conditioning and more parking ! Yea!!!!!!

 As always, it's a feast for the eyes...

 Worn and weathered beauty abounds!!!

 Love these corbels!!!

  There are things piled from floor to ceiling and all of it is yummy.

 Can you say romantic?????

 As always, they have an excellent supply of great vintage suitcases.

 This chair was so cute.

I think this bike would be fabulous in my garden. Can someone please call my husband and tell him to swing by and pick this up for me???? ;)

 Sigh........

 They have some of the most wonderful chairs... 

I mean really, how cute are these???

Yumm.

 

 For those of you who, like me, think empty picture frames are works of art... there are plenty to choose from.

Are you jealous that everyone else is able to get there hands on copies of  Jeanne d Arc Living??? Be jealous no more!!! You can now find them here.

 I think this industrial cart is so cool. I can see it in kitchen, in studio, or even outside on a porch.

They truly have an eye for all things rusty, crusty and beautiful. I can't wait to see what they do next month!!

Now I have to find a place for my new acquisitions... when I do,  I'll show them to you. :)

Another Technique for Distressing Old Books.

Last week a few of my girlfriends and I got together to play and learn a great technique for distressing old books. It's a fun variation on the cover-less books that are all over in our decor these days.

My friend Denise was kind enough to let me share it with all of you. Trust me... it's really easy!

First remove the cover of any old book you pick up at Goodwill or a garage sale. Then carefully tear the book apart into 1/4' - 1/2" sections.

Next mix up a batch of  strong instant coffee and dip the 3 unbound edges into the coffee mixture. (Sorry, I forgot to shoot a photo of this step.)

Lay all your sections outside on a towel  to dry in the sun. I tried leaving one book whole, and it didn't work as well as tearing the sections apart, so take my advise and don't do it that way.

If you want to... re-dip some of the sections to make them a little darker than the others.

Once all the sections are dry put them together and tie  twine around them like you are wrapping a  package.

You can't make a mistake with this project, but some books do wrinkle better than others. If you have a book that isnt soaking up the stain the way you want it to, you can try sanding the edges with sandpaper while it's dry, or maybe try it while its a little damp too.

I love the finished effect. I have bundles of them all over now!

See.. I told you it was easy!!!

Lace Journal Class here at My (real) Desert Cottage

Happy Sunday my friends!!! Remember this lace journal made from a composition book that I taught at Paper Cowgirls this year?? Well, I decided to offer this class here at my house for all my Arizona friends whom couldn't make it out to Texas. I taught a class here two Christmas's ago where everyone made a paper clay snowman and we had a wonderful time!  Well I want to do it again! There are so many awesome Az gals that I have met already, and many that I have yet to meet, so hopefully now is the time!

The class will be held on May 26th at 10 am. It will probably take about 4 hours and I will serve lunch. The cost for the class will be $50.00 and I will supply everything but your basic tools.

We will be playing with lace, yummy seam binding, buttons, vintage images, and paper.

Students will need to bring:

Scissors, pencil, emery board or sanding block, glue sticks (I like Scotch wrinkle free glue sticks), 1" brush for apply glue, you can also bring additional bits of old lace, buttons, trims, and your favorite 5"x5" image if you prefer to use something in particular  on your project. 

If you would like to come and play, drop me an email and let me know. I would love to have you!!!

Grain Sack Pillows

A couple of months ago I was surfing Etsy and found a seller who lives in Austria who had what looked like the most wonderful grain sacks for sale, and to make it even better, they were priced very reasonably. I decided to take a chance and buy one, when I found she had a couple that had grey stripes instead of the usual red or blue. ( I know this pic makes them look blue, but they are a dark grey.) When this beauty arrived, I was thrilled. The fabric was freshly washed and had a lovely nubby texture while still remaining soft and pleasant to touch. I was debating between 2 pillows or  an ottoman cover and decided to go with the pillows. The grain sack was the perfect size to make 2 beautiful pillows from.

I didn't have to do anything but sew a closed end on one of the pillows and sew the finished edge opening on the other, as they were already sewn on the sides from being a grain sack.

I decided to make button closers for them. 

Here they are on the sofa.

 These are a couple from the other sofa. The one in the front was made with a grey ticking, pleated linen and furniture strapping. I love the way it turned out to. The one in the back came from a darling little store called Alchemy while I was in California last week.

If you are craving to have some grain sack pillows, go check out the Antique Linen Store on Etsy. She has all kinds of wonderful linens!!!