Gathering Dust

Paper Cowgirls Miscellanea

 
I haven't been able to figure out how to tell the "Paper Cowgirls Chronicles" in an organized way- should it be divided by category- crafts, parties, sightseeing, antiquing etc?  Or should it be chronological?  I don't know, so I just picked some random pictures I thought were fun.

First, I had to show one of the MOST amazing creations I've ever seen- Ann Denise Anderson's luscious frothy concoction of crepe paper, coffee filters, tissue paper, butcher paper and a lot of time.  Several times during Paper Cowgirls, I found myself just staring at it in amazement.

 
Dawn's shadow box collage and Dorthe's doll (all the way from Denmark) were raffle prizes.

 
Karla dressed up for the Paper Cowgirl's Prom.

 
Lisa, not dressed up for prom.  ( I didn't dress up either, we both dressed for shopping.)  In the background you can see other Paper Cowgirls shopping the streets of Waxahachie- what a darling town- and a lot of the stores stayed open late for so the Paper Cowgirls could shop.

 
There were a lot of great prom dresses, but Kristi's has to be one of my favorites- the skirt has cabinent cards under the tulle- kind of like a walking portrait gallery.

 
My two roomies, on their way to the prom- if only we'd had a fairy godmother to turn that luggage rack into a coach.

 
Lisa's shoe collection- not counting the ones she was wearing, because everyone knows that you need at least five pair of black shoes for a two night stay in Waxahachie.

(I hope that pictures doesn't put me on the banned for life roommate list.)

More pictures to come- of classes, crafts, swaps and the vendor night.  Can you tell I had fun?

Bird Song- Behind the Scenes

 
 
I've always know that Karla was a great hostess, but last weekend at her Birdsong event she outdid herself.  The decorations, the classes and the food were wonderful. Karla's Cottage, studio, fairy trail, garage, gardens & courtyard  and even bonfire pit were all put to use.

 
 
I was able to take pictures before guests showed up- this is the courtyard- Sat was perfect weather for eating and visiting outside.  In the background you can see Karla's signature disco ball- because it really isn't a party without a disco ball, right?

 
Karla's mannequin, Luwanda was all "birded up".

 
Each workstation had a bird gift/goodie bag.

 
The table covers were decorated with Karla's drawings, doodles and quotes- "Use what talents you possess".

 
Prettinesss everywhere- this is Lisa's sample project- a woven purse that I know I'll be making more of.

 
Carol's fringed paper flowers and tree...

 
... and a fringed paper wreath.

 
Even the supply boxes were pretty- this is a "Jolly Pets" cigar box full of buckles and buttons for Deb's lampshade class.

 
My nature journal swap turned out great- I was so happy with all the different styles of pages that the girls came up with.

 
Thanks goodness I had "the other Karla" to help me put the books together.  She had never been in a swap, or even used a crop-a-dile, but I wouldn't have been able to get the books together with the right number of pages without her.

 
Just so you don't think that to make everything so special, Karla must have been on high alert, running the event with the precision of a military operation- I think she was able to relax and have some fun, too- because she wore her bedroom slippers all day.

 

Low Color Crafts for Christmas

 
I'm still in love with burlap, tea stain and tattered lace in "low colors"- my Christmas crafts don't have any of the traditional red and green- or even my old favorite silver and blue.

 
Today is Christmas craft day at  Karla's, and we're doing an ornament exchange.  I couldn't decide between the ribbon and tattered lace skirted angel in the first picture or this:

 
...two girls happily celebrating the chill with fur wraps.  I've dipped this wall hanging in tea and coffee so many times at different stages in the process of making it that I think it would work as a tea bag itself in an emergency.

 
 
I can't decide between the two of them, so I think I'll bring both. 

One thing I won't be bringing is sugared pecans.  I made them this morning to go on top of a salad- mixed greens,  pecans, craisens, feta cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette.  Unfortunately, I packed the hot sugared nuts in my box to go to Karla's and found out that dogs really like the smell of nuts- and don't mind eating them out of a Baggie.  Our salad is going to have to get its crunch from croutons...

 
By the way, I've added some estate sale jewelry to my Etsy Shop- SugarPinkMoon.

Christmas Goods from Curious Sofa

 
Thur night, Deb and her crew at Curious Sofa put together a fabulous and inspiring Christmas house.  Of course, I was drawn to this display with brown transferware- a perfect fall display that would take you all the way to Christmas.

 
I love this little owl guy- he'd be a wise addition to any table.

 
Lot of soothing whites and neutrals.

 
Including the infamous chair, in all its rusty glory- perfect paired with a linen script pillow- and perfect on its own.

 
Glitter sprinkled keys, sparkly fruit and a touch of pink.

 
Reindeer dancing around a bird cage.

 
It's not all neutrals- check out this collection of beautiful felted floral pins and pink cushions.  Yummy!

 
Sock birds, sock elephants and a sock moose- classics.

 
And what did I get?  I'm not usually a "retail" shopper- I get most of my home decor, craft supplies, office supplies and even clothes if I can, at estate sales and auctions.  But I couldn't resist- these sparkling slipper ornaments were calling my name- along with the beautiful bouquet of vintage cream millenary flowers.

 
And I had to get one of those wool pin cushions- I love how it picks up the colors in this vintage game board in the bookshelf in my living room.

And the Fairies Were There

Thanks for all the feedback from fellow junkers,  antique dealers and treasure hunters- it made me feel better to know I'm not the only person that had ever had a "lull".

Last night my other friend Karla (no blog) and I went to a baby shower for Karla's soon to be here grandbaby.

Of course the decorations were over the top cute- I wish I'd taken more pictures- but I did get some pictures of the darling fairy tree Karla made.

Little babies with wings and accessories perched on real branches.

 
And on the dining table, she had picture paper dolls of the babies Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters on branches for a real "family tree".

 

There's still time to sign up for Karla and my Romantic Gothic Ghosts Halloween online zine.  We'll each be having a giveaway of some crafty decorative doodads, and to be eligible all you have to do is sign up for the class by Oct 31.  The sparklies in the picture above are my giveaway.

Crafting with Mermaid Friends

The classes at our mermaid get together were great- besides playing with new supplies- like clay- the classes and instructors were full of inspiration.

Melissa Phillips showed us how to make this sea themed photo album to keep our weekend memories in.

 Karla made this little glittered mermaid for me out of a vintage ballerina and paper clay and I added it to the cover of my album.

This Sirene of the Sea Coussin project was Holly's class project.

***Although it LOOKS like a pillow- I think a coussin is actually a pad- because the label on my puppy pee pads says Coussins Anti-Fuites- just a little bit of trivia for you- I can only imagine what fuites is*** 

These cute mermaids were made in Jenny Hernandez' class.  Jenny showed us how to make the figures from air clay.  The air clay takes a few days to harden and dry, and she wanted us to have a chance to take home a finished sea pixie, so she made a finished figure for everyone in the class and we had a chance to paint and decorate it.

My sea pixie is on the right, Karla's is on the left- and Karla's coussin is behind the pixies.  I made a deal with Karla- if she'd paint my pixie's face, I'd sew the trims on her pillow.  When everyone in the class saw what cute faces Karla gave our mermaids, they were lining up to have Karla paint their faces, too.

Luckily, Karla had enough faces in her paint box to give everyone a little bit different look, so we didn't end up with an army of Stepford Sea Pixies.

Our class with Julie Haymaker Thompson was suppose to be a mermaid inspired crown/headpiece.  Julie gave us so many different variations and ideas that I found myself making two completely different pieces- a small sea shell headband and a burlap backed seashell collage.  At one point I realized I was making one piece with my right hand and the other with my left hand- talk about two fisted crafting...

 
The event had several swaps, but I wasn't sure about signing up- I  kind of had that fear of committement.  Karla said you'll feel left out if you don't join one- so I signed up for the Beach Coquette Collier swap hosted by the very talented Christine Rose Elle.

 

Christine divided us into four groups and we each made seven fabric flowers and sent them to Christine.  Christine sorted, grouped and arranged the flowers and made them into beautiful neckpieces.

 
I made the pink ribbon flower- it was kind of a learning curve for me- I made a lot of different kinds of flowers before I found one I thought would work.  I even tried knitting flowers.

Here's another groups neckpiece.

Val with her new pretty.

Julie modeling her necklace. 

Sherry with her collier.

So what am I going to do with all my mermaid finery? 

I'm going to redecorate my bathroom- I was also lucky enough to win these fun prints by Danita-

...and they'll be a great starting place for a redo.

  

 

 

Mermaids All Around- Les Sirenes

 
Artistis Affaire Les Sirenes hosted by Kim Caldwell  was a wonderful get away. The weather was perfect, the classes were inspiring, and Kim spoiled us like crazy- I felt like I was at a craft spa.

 
Our hotel was only three blocks from the beach, and even though I was too busy to see the ocean, with all the shell and mermaid decorations, I didn't miss it.  Everyone's chair was decorated with these beautiful shell decorated burlap swags.  (The burlap came in handy- for a few craft projects, I just snipped a bit off the bow- I wasn't vandalizing- Kim let us take all the table decorations home!)

 
Beautiful mermaid and sea coral fans decorated every table.

Lola, Kim's artistic mascot was there- all decked out in sea colors.

Every time we returned to our crafting tables, there were new gifts waiting for us.  We were such pampered mermaids...

I could go on and on (and probably will), but the real world and big girl job are calling me away from the sea- but I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to share just a bit of it while I'm still reveling in mermaid magic.

To Have and To Hold Wedding Blog Party

 
  
Stephanie of Angelic Accents is hosting her first ever blog party- To Have and to Hold- Wedding Blog party.  Tomorrow is also my parents 50th wedding anniversary, so I also wanted to wish them the happiest of anniversaries.  I'm sorry we won't all be together for their anninversary, but we do have a family celebration planned for later in the summer.

My Mom and Dad met when he was the Dean in charge of housing at the college where my Mom was the new young Business Ed teacher.  She inquired of him about housing, and they ended up getting married.  

...I think some other stuff like dates and meeting each other's families probably happened in between.

Except for my Mom taking a few years of to have my brother and me, both my Mom and Dad taught at the college until they retired.

 
I love vintage wedding stuff- but as I was looking around my house for some, I realized that I've already shown my "best" stuff- and I've sold most of it. 

My all time favorite wedding piece is this gorgeous dress that I bought last fall.

I sold it at the last Miss Frenchie's sale to a woman who owns a wedding venue- a chapel and hall that she rents for weddings.  She was going to put it on display at her facility. I thought that was a perfect new home for it- a place where it could be enjoyed by new brides.

This is another vintage favorite that's gone- they are compostion dolls, and his tuxedo is made of crepe paper.

One piece of wedding memorbilia that I still have on hand are these enclosure cards.

 
These were the cards that came with gifts from a 1916 wedding.  Back in the day when everyone had their own engraved calling cards, they wrote their wishes for the happy couple on their card and slipped it into the gift box.

This enterprising bride used some kind of numbering system as she opened the gifts, and wrote what the gift was on the card.

Since it's Friday morning, I'm headed off to check out a few estate sales.  Before you go out, make sure you check out more wedding posts by visiting Stephanie.

A Creative Cottage Weekend and a Farmhouse Lunch

 
After reading all your comments after my last post about unfinished projects, I felt better- at least I'm not alone.  But, when I went to Karla's Creative Cottage getaway, I was determined that I was going to finish something- and I did. We all participated in building this cottage birdhouse neightborhood. My cottage is in the back row on the left and Karla's is next to mine.  Neighbors in the front row are Angie, Deb and Suzanne.

 
Karla had her studio set up for a crafting marathon- we cut, glued and gabbed for about eight hours- not a bad day's work.  I did *start* a couple of projects that didn't quite get finished- but I'm planning on finishing them tomorrow...it's good to have a plan...

 
Besides a birdhouse, Suzanne made this sweet cabinet card journal.

The weather was perfect for dinner outside in the courtyard.

The puppies joined us for dinner- every so often we'd stop chatting and eating and take a "puppy count"  to make make sure we knew where all six were.

Today, Carol invited us to her "new" farmhouse for lunch. We were all blown away by the 1865 house on an acre, tucked away in the middle of the city.  

 
Carol's clean farmhouse style and eye for great antiques were everywhere.   

And her ironstone collection kinda made my knees weak...

 
Especially the brown transferware- my favorite.

 
This is the door to the powder room- a great old  exterier door with a curtain added for restroom room privacy.

Lunch was delicious, and pretty to look at-

and dessert was absolutely decadent.

And the swing on the front porch- perfect for pictures.

 
And laughing with friends.

A Rabbit Ears Craft Baby Shower Alice in Wonderland Day

 
Yesterday our regular Tuesday crafting group added a little more fun to the party by having an Alice in Wonderland/Bunny Ears and funny hats baby shower for Shawn .

The Alice in Wonderland was in honor of the movie and Karla's Alice in Wonderland tag swap, and the bunny ears and funny hats was just because, well, isn't a party just more fun with hats & ears?

Marilyn made the detailed Alice invitations at the top of the post and had one at each crafters spot.   Lauri added this cute crafter's pack.

 
Our group gift for Shawn was a baby scrapbook- we each did a page.

My page- some vintage baby gift wrap, wallpaper & part of an old postcard.

And I never miss a chance to gift to a hand knit baby blanket.

 
Karla set a beautiful (and fun) table for our potluck feast.

Napkins tied with ribbon and decorated with jewels.

And a Frozen Charlotte placetag wrapped in her own flocked wallpaper blanket.

 
If you're interested in buying Frozen Charlotte dolls, Karla should have some in her shop next week- and I think she has the darling peet pot babies available now. 

Another fun "Alice" touch- everyone's teacup had an invitation to "Drink Me".

 
Gotta love a party where even the dogs are in costume. 

My last craft project was using French dictionary pages from Mary as backgrounds to make "fashion tags" as I like to call them...