Indulge Your Shelf

Do you have Olympic fever?  We sure do -- we just love to watch the games! This was the fare at our house on the night of the opening ceremonies: fish and chips, and... some spirits to get us into the spirit! I stopped by the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to pick up some T shirts for my family, but... the quality was lacking for the price, so, I skipped that.  Made in China, with couture prices -- I'm just sayin'. (Boo!)  Above, the clock that counts down to the opening of the games -- it was 8 days away as you can see. I'm a huge fan of this man, Michael Phelps, as well as all his team mates, and the US gymnasts.  I love all the games, but definitely enjoy watching the swimmers most of all. I would sure LOVE to have been able to visit London for the games!  How about you?  What do you enjoy about the Olympics?

I gifted my pal Lisa  one of the canvases I made on our Summer Song craft day... I was wishing she could be with us, and remembering our fun times at the last two Birdsong events! Remember, every comment you leave on this blog until August 28 is an entry to win this canvas ! I am so happy to show you this very special gift for my dear friend Rebecca, which was skillfully created by Melinda .   Melinda just opened her Etsy shop, fancypawsquilts , and she makes these incredible fabric quilts featuring pets, from a photo you send her. Melinda makes a lot of great fabric (and other) crafts... but I truly believe that with her pet quilts, she has found her calling. The photos just don't do this justice.  It is perfectly beautiful! I wrapped the quilt up, using an art portfolio as gift wrap. Rebecca is an artist, so I think she thought the gift might be some sort of canvas, or art supplies. Instead, she was surprised with a keepsake of the be...

I'm not at the beach. I wish I was at the beach, but I'm not. This is the last beach I was at: Rehobeth, in Delaware, in 2010. Do you remember the wonderful plant name tags I found at Old Glory a few weeks ago? And I said I wanted to make them into necklaces? Well, one of them was actually stamped "Rehobeth" -- like the beach! So I ran with it, adding beachy blues and glass and pearls -- and even a tiny seashell button! Then I sent it off to my buddy Karen, who lives in VA. She loved it! I'm so glad. But...I'm still not at the beach...

At the conclusion of her visit,  Tami and I stopped on the way to the airport to shop at The Brass Armadillo, and we found some very fun stuff there! We had about 3 hours to shop and giggle... we both wanted this dress, in one of my favorite booths full of vintage clothes... and pretty things like this purse with its huge Lucite clasp on top! But it's the things I did get that I wanted to show you:  first, this handmade display of old buttons, clasps, and sewing notions. It had pieces falling off of it as soon as I picked it up... so I won't feel bad if I take it apart and reuse some of the fun little bits in my art! Sweet ephemera pieces spun cotton flower picks buttons... including this falling-apart button brooch that I just had to rescue! But this is the find I really wanted to show you: the scrapbook of a gal who became a director of plays It was FULL of fun stuff in this girl's life. Really fun photos... ...

You may remember when I made this red train case for Angela , and told you she would be sending me a purse in return? Feast your eyes! I sent her the fabric, which was vintage, and she did this AMAZING job lining up the bird pattern perfectly among the three seams of the purse! She lined the purse with soft, pretty fabric. Even the bottom panel is completely gorgeous! She also included a pair cute socks that she knitted just for me!  Sometimes you can find purses like this -- along with quilts, pillows, and other great hand made stuff, in Angela's Etsy shop . All comments for the next month are entries in my  800 posts/4 year anniversary of my Etsy shop giveaway !

'Remember that amazing vintage egg carton Suzanne gifted to all of the gals at Summer Song? I promised you I'd show you what was inside of it: First, more pretty wrapping! Then, goodies galore in every little compartment! Two words: swoon worthy! She included these little bird salt and pepper shakers, velvet ribbon, a larger paper egg to decorate, and a pretty tag! Suzanne is so generous, and she has exquisite taste! This pretty book on tea gardens came in a wonderful, tagged  gift bag (above) that same day, from Lisa. My friends are so thoughtful! All comments for the next month are entries in my  800 posts/4 year anniversary of my Etsy shop giveaway .