Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Not sure I've got THE button, but I certainly have a few...
I had a wonderful Saturday morning with several of my dear friends. Country Village was having their 7th Annual Tailgate Sale which featured lots of fabulous flea market finds! We all found a couple of treasures to add to our collections. My loot included a silver plate Lazy Susan (I can't wait to get it cleaned up a bit - it's gonna be so great in my craft room!), a tabletop world globe, a vintage chocolate covered cherries box, and of course...buttons!

A couple of weeks ago when I was in Camas WA, visiting a friend before meeting Jerry at the Seattle to Portland finish line, we went to Camas Antiques & I found these great button cards...don't ya just love the 'Buttons for Boys' Blouses and Wash Suits' one?  (And apparently I have a thing for Jadeite colored buttons!)

I do love buttons! And cool vintage ones REALLY are the ultimate. I made this necklace using a piece of an old button card. I just punched a hole using my Crop-o-Dile, set an eyelet & put a jump ring through it - a perfect charm for a simple ball chain I had. How fun & easy is that?! Now I'm on a mission to see what other charms I can create from found items.                                      

Get Inspired...

If you haven't discovered Little Birdie Secrets yet...you MUST go visit them here. I guarantee you will be inspired. They're fabulously crafty! AND today they're featuring a few of my summer projects! !

Featured in this layout is my dear sister, Brenda. Check out her fun new blog here for some inspiration & eye candy too!
Happy crafting friends...

Abode Sweet Abode

Hi friends!
It has been one of those weeks when all I want to do is immerse myself in all things crafty...but the day job just keeps getting in the way! I've had some success at stealing a few minutes here & there for a bit of creative 'therapy' though. Here's a peek at some cards I made using American Crafts' Abode line...

I love the colors in this line...the retro feel of the cherry red, Fiesta turquoise & mustard yellow are fabulous!

Wishing you a very happy Thursday & at least a few free minutes to do something you love to do!

Earth Love

'One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.' {A.A. Milne}

Well, isn't that the truth! At the bottom of a pile in my studio, I discovered some Cosmo Cricket Earth Love. This line is so, so sweet!

The next card is the prettiest shade of pale green with touches of dusty blue...but for the life of me, I could not get my camera to capture it! I couldn't bear to exclude the sweet snail & his words of wisdom  from this post though....

Have a happy Wednesday afternoon my friends! Take time to slow down & enjoy the journey...

So Proud

I'm so darn proud of & amazed by this guy...205 miles in 11 hours (I get leg cramps just thinking about it)! Another Seattle to Portland one-day ride under his belt. Way to go Jer! I love you & am totally inspired by you...there's no way I would look this good after that journey!

Felt Posies

I've been playing with my stash of recycled sweaters & some gorgeous wool felt that I bought in Sandpoint, Idaho a few weeks back. Aren't these colors yummy?! The little posies are so very sweet on a lapel or in your hair...

Another Scorcher...and Another Tropical Island

It's gonna be a scorcher here in the Pacific Northwest...and I LOVE IT! It's one of those bright & beautiful mornings. Hello Summer!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I've been working on a second mini album. Today we're visiting another tropical island...Fiji! In August of 2007 I went on an amazing trip to Fiji with my friend Mary Ann (it's about time I scrapbook these photos, eh?!). We stayed at the Musket Cove Island Resort on Malolo Lai Lai. It was quite an adventure getting there & once our luggage arrived (24 hours after we did), it was a week of tropical bliss...

For this album I used a 7Gypsies naked envelope album and added additional cardstock pages & postcards.

The envelopes are great for storing additional photos or more trip memorabilia...

I had way too many underwater photos (the snorkeling was AMAZING!),

so I simply sewed a stack of three photos to a page to create a little flip book without taking up more pages in the book.

The island where the Tom Hanks film 'Castaway' was filmed was tiny!! Castaway Island Resort is actually on a different island!

Every resort we went to had these advertising coasters. I saved a few & stitched them to the edges of pages that slid into the envelope pockets. They help tell the story & look cool sticking out of the album too...

Don't those photos make you want a tiny umbrella in whatever you're drinking right now? Hope you enjoyed this little peek at paradise! 

Aloha, sunshine!

The sun is shining...and the temperature is rising! Time to peel off the socks & paint the toenails! Here in the Pacific Northwest we've been (somewhat) patiently waiting for summer to arrive. While we've been longing for the sun to come out for more than 15 minutes at a time, I've pulled out some old vacation photos & been working on mini albums. Revisiting memories of warm sunshine, clear blue water, beautiful sandy beaches & tropical drinks. I can almost hear the waves & smell the suntan lotion!

The first mini album I've been working on is of our trip to Maui, in June 2009...

Have you made a paper bag album yet? That's what this one is. A mini album made out of paper lunch sacks. I've made a few of these paper bag albums...they're really fun! On a couple smaller ones I've made, I stitched a stack of bags together, but for this one, I choose to just use two rings. For this album, I used a mish mash of older papers & embellishments. Some from Making Memories' Great Escape line, some from October Afternoon's Early Bird and some from My Mind's Eye's Breaking Free lines, along with some reproduction vintage postcards. All such colorful, fun products! Perfect for some Hawaiian adventures...

Isn't that the truth? Lovely memories...with my fantastic hubby...in one of our favorite places. Now that's the life!

Hope wherever you are today that the sun is shining down on you! (Or that you've found some AC, if you'd rather not deal with the heat!) I'll be back soon with some pics of the second mini album I've been working on...

Citrus Tree Studio June Sketch Challenge

Happy July friends! I've been playing with products from October Afternoon's 'The Thrift Shop' line. What fun it is! I love, love, love this line of papers & embellishments...the colors, the patterns, the vintage feel...love it! I played along with the June Sketch Challenge over at Citrus Tree Studio and came up with this...

 

And guess what?!? I was one of the challenge winners!! WHOOHOO! What a great way to start the day, eh? I'm a happy girl. I have some more projects to share using this fun line of papers...just need to take some pics & get them posted!