Happy Birthday Grandma Washington!!

I made this wall hanging for my Mom in-law. I love making these because they are quick and easy for me to make, but special and more lasting than a regular card because they can be hung up. Just combine scrap book paper, vintage wall paper or wrapping paper, old sheet music, vintage trims like rick rack, pom-poms, or ribbon, old buttons, etc.....whatever fun things you have saved up for creating with.....and there you have it!!

I made these with the women at a women's retreat for church once too. It was during the fall so I laid out images of old postcards from Thanksgiving and provided colored trims and paper that matched the theme. They came out so cute and can be hung up year after year! Happy Crafting! Kristin

Show and Tell Sundays....Happy Hutch!!!

Today's topic for Show and Tell Sundays, hosted by Analise and Cerri, is china. The picture above is of my hutch...and the pastel lu-ray dishes I have displayed if there isn't a special holiday going on. I just love my hutch....especially because I found her at a thrift store, just sitting there, marked $149.00. I thought that was a steal and I wouldn't leave her side until an employee put a big ol' sign on her that read "SOLD".

My hutch gets lots of attention from me because it is one of my favorite places to play! I love to put different displays of dishes up for the different holidays and throw a lot of little vintage extras in the mix too!!
A close up of my hutch at Christmas this past year....my most favorite find ever....the red and white beaded edge dishes....which are Westmoreland. The milk glass holly pattern is from Japan and is made by Termacriso . We use this on Christmas morn for breakfast!!

Here is my hutch for St. Patrick's Day. I placed this cream china on the shelves, and mixed it up with a few pieces of green depression glass and Jadite. I also collect these sweet, glass,rectangular, lucheonette plates that have a little cup that goes with each one.
The cream china is marked Pope-Gosser Rose Point, and I picked all of it up for $15.00 at an estate sale last year. It is heavily crazed, which adds lots of character. I have this urge to collage on it someday. I just picture black and white photos and small typed words glued onto it.
Here is my hutch at Valentine's day. I mixed my pink lu-ray pieces in with the red and white Westmoreland. The red and white striped glasses are hazel-atlas.

I thought I would show you what kinds of dishes I have dressed my hutch up with throughout the year. I guess you could say this is my version of china...not the fancy type, just the cute kind!! Hope you have enjoyed it and feel inspired for all the different holidays! Kristin

Share Your Studio Saturday....

Welcome to my studio!! I bought this little shelf to sit atop my desk to hold all of my little things that inspire me and make me happy. It was already dolled up with this vintage trim that I fell in love with. I have little jars filled with pom poms, and other goodies, and that strawberry collander full of vintage trims. I love to re-purpose things that I love to be useful in my studio.
I used this beautiful wire cake stand as a multi-level organizer.

I don't know if you have ever run into these little glass jars that are all connected, but I bought this at a thrift store for my studio. These were originally intented for flowers, but they also work great to display vintage supplies all ready to craft with. I love finding old floral picks that were made in Japan and storing them here.
These are little pottery bowls I already had that I had no purpose for until the now. I love seeing these things out in the open...the colors and textures inspire me.
A vintage mini muffin tin holds more supplies. I dream of filling shallow drawers with lots of these someday and opening the drawers up to see all of these cute things looking up at me.
These glass kitchen canister/jars have been painted pink and now hold tons of ribbons and trims.
I love coming home from sales or flea markets and adding more buttons to this large jar. It is easy to see through and pick out just the right button to glue onto a card!!

I took Rosalyn-Sue of The Little Bluebird Diaries up on the offer to share my studio today. She had a sweet idea for everyone to share their studio orginizational ideas today, so that we might glean ideas from oneanother. It is so inspirational and motivating for me to look at pictures of peoples' studios. In fact, a year and a half ago I was completely in the dark about the whole blogging world and the community of crafters sharing their work online via blogs, flickr, etc... One day I happened upon a blog called ButterflyRocket, and followed her links to other blogs, flickr, and etsy. I was blown away at my discovery that day, and a whole new creative world was opened up to me. I immediately decided I needed a "studio", like all of these other gals would talk about. My kids thought I was nuts when I all of a sudden was creating a "studio" in a corner of my bedroom. It has been a lot of fun!! So, I wanted to show some ways I try to keep things organized and cute in this little area of mine. Love, Kristin

Chop Chop!!

I wanted to throw something extra in for my swap partner, Rosemary, in the Vintage apron swap I recently took place in. So....I did a little perusing through old magazines and cut out this fun advertisement for breakfast cereal. Paper, glue, ribbon,rick rack, and a couple of vintage buttons, and voila'....a little wall hanging. Just wanted to show you in case you get the bug to create something quick and easy!! Love, Kristin

Show and Tell Sundays...Mother's Day

My Mommy....Dara Jean Lane. One of our daughters has her "Jean" as a middle name. I love looking at pictures of her when she was a little girl!!
September, 2007. Mom in Paris on her birthday...looking at a rasberry tart.
A little craft for Mom...from me, because I love her!!!

Today, in honor of Mother's Day....I would like everyone to meet my Mommy, Dara. She is the most giving, wonderful person!! She has saved my tush more times than I can count. She is so loveable, personable, and funny. She is very adventurous, infact she and some ladies from work went to France for my Mom's 60th because she wanted to turn 60 in France!!
We have a lot in common...she taught me how to cook, entertain, show hospitality to others, be a Mom, and be a friend. She even taught me about Home Companion Magazine, which taught me my love of all things vintage, flea markets, collecting, etc. She is the best Grammy in the whole world too!! My kids love her to pieces and call her constantly. (she is 3 hours away) One more year until she retires and she gets to move closer to us! Yay!!

10 Things I Love About My Mom......

1. She loves everyone around her unconditionally. She is there for us all 100% of the time.

2. She turns everything around her into beautiful. She always has fresh flowers in different rooms of her house, lovely placemats and cloth napkins, pretty guest rooms for us to stay in, and the most calming, beautifully decorated home.

3. She is sooooooo generous!!! She took us to Yosemite for Thanksgiving last year!!!! She helps us with sports costs for the kids, school trips, etc... We appreciate her so much.

4. She is a gourmet chef!!! Everything I know about cooking, I learned from my Mommy! She always has something fantastic she is making. Last night she served us a plated salad with mango, jicama, avocado,cilantro, pepitos, and a mexican cheese. She made a homemade dressing for it. It was amazing!!

5. She is so fun to hang out with!! We have a list of stores we love to visit together in many different cities!! We love to antique together! I love helping her decorate her house. I love watching movies together and making a meal together.

6. She loves Scrabble like I do!! She is a super competitive player though, which is a good thing because it ends up making me laugh a lot during the game.

7. She is very smart!! She has done a lot in her life and is a school administrator in Special Education. She has great insight and wisdom.

8. She is creative. She is a self-proclaimed floral designer, caterer, decorator. She has passed these qualities down to me, which I appreciate greatly!!

9. She has a great sense of humor!!

10. She has an amazing command of all the freeways in Southern California and can tell you how to get anywhere in the fastest way, depending on the day of the week and time of day!!

Diaper Cake Delivery

Yep.....this cake is 100% calorie free and made from 100 diapers. My daughter's Kindergarten teacher goes out on maternity leave today, so the teachers all chipped in and asked me to make this diaper cake for her. I had never made one before, but I say just about anyone could do it!! I was amazed to find several you tube video demonstrations also!! So, if you have to give a baby shower anytime soon, keep this idea in mind! It was a lot of fun to make!