I'm Stuck On You, Valentine!

I have a PRIZED collection of Mary Engelbreit Home Companion Magazines
[EVERY issue!] and turn to them often for seasonal inspiration.

Mary is such a champion for independent artists, small businesses, and creative spirits,
filling the pages of her lovely publication with color, fun, and 'Breit Ideas'...

Like so many others, I miss this magazine - but I do understand why she discontinued it.

Recently, I was thumbing through past winter issues of MEHC,
and saw a really cute and simple craft idea on the pages.
Since it's something I have already done myself, I thought I'd share it with you.

Before I drafted this post, I messaged Miss Mary on facebook,
and asked her permission to show a few pages of her marvelous magazine in my blog post -
and she replied 'That would be great, Deb! Thanks for asking first!'

SO.... with permission from 'The Queen of Everything', I shall proceed!

Here are the pages I saw in the February/March 2005 issue of MEHC Magazine

... when I saw them, I immediately thought of THIS little creation of mine:

I made this tiny 'foofoo faux food'TM ice cream sundae pincushion a long time ago.
I MAY have even been inspired back then by this very article in Mary's magazine!
.
Inspired all over again, I made use of some stuff that I had on hand:
red sweater scraps, leftover trimming, polyfil stuffing, and some miscellaneous containers,
and created a few MORE pincushions:

An errant cupcake wrapper and an ironstone creamer are perfect pincushion bases,
and my Original Sweet Sweater Snowmen are pulling double-duty as happy pincushions!
[PS: I still have a FEW of them left - for sale now in the HWf SHOP ]

I unearthed several of those 'tomato' ('strawberry'????) pincushions, too,
and popped them into other containers just for fun.

How 'Fast, Cheap & EASY'TM is this?!!!

As the article in Mary's magazine suggests,
this would be a simple craft project and great gift idea for Valentine's Day!

My quick collection of pincushions now populates the wall shelves in my office...

Joined by a pair of sweater-covered pillows and a cableknit throw on the sofa,
it's a happy corner with easily changed Seasonal Style!

[oh, and that 'D' on the shelf? It's a lil' something I just whipped up, using
a pressboard letter, some old giftwrap, and two round pieces from a place card kit.]
Does it look like something specific? Like maybe MOUSE EARS? IT IS!
I'm celebrating... because my lifelong dream came true last Friday afternoon...
I now work for the Walt Disney Company!!! 
____________________________________________

I'd like to offer my deepest thanks and gratitude to Mary Engelbreit,
for her permission to show the pages from her treasured MEHC Magazine!
This woman has a heart of gold, and I admire her so...
Connect with Miss Mary on her 
website, blog, and facebook page!

OhMiGosh...have MERCY!
Miss Mary shared my blog post on her own facebook page today!


shared online:
 
Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}

Valentine's Day Post Roundup

Looking for sweet and love-ly ideas for February decor?
Check out my

Valentines Day post ROUND-UP!

View ALL of my Valentine's Day posts

.

shared online:

2016: yesterday on tuesday | project inspire{d}

Fabric Hearts Tutorial

 Many years ago, I used up some small scraps of fabrics left in my 'stash',

making little stuffed fabric hearts for my winter / Valentine's Day decor.

Created from remnants of a chenille bedspread, a matlasse' bedspread, and burlap,
I've displayed them in many ways over the years...

As my seasonal decor contribution to two lovely publications,
Creating Vintage Charm Magazine and JOYful Home & Life online,
 I'm sharing a simple tutorial for making stuffed fabric hearts for the month of February

Because the tutorial is so photo-heavy,
I am hosting it here on my blog instead of at the other locations...
Enjoy this 'fast, cheap & easy'TM craft project!

continue reading for tutorial...

A 5 Minute Project to Love

 I found a hidden-away stash of miniature metal frames!

I snagged one and did a quick project with it,  just for me.

True to form, I utilized a 'Fast, Cheap & Easy'TM method:

I grabbed a white paint pen and scribbled all over the metal!

That changed the frame from silver to white  - in a matter of three minutes.
Now the details of the carving really stand out.

I turned the photo print around, stuck a heart on it, added the word 'love',

then I sat it in the back of my miniature 'Grandpa's Truck' in my office:

This took me all of five minutes to make, my friends...

and it's a really sweet little vignette on my shelf that I see dozens of times a day.
It's not only about Valentine's Day coming soon,
but about that truck and the memories of my Grandpa's truck that I love.

I'm sharing this to remind you that
seasonal decorating doesn't have to be a huge undertaking.
It can be something you do in five minutes

just to brighten up a corner or a shelf, or a gift-wrapped present - and your day!

Charmed, I'm Sure!

This blog is, for the most part, about seasonal home decor.
But once in awhile, we girls just need to decorate OURSELVES, don'tcha' think???

Well, I do! And when I found something today that fits right in with
my 'found object' obsession and my 'fast, cheap & easy' decor style,
I wanted to share it - to hopefully inspire you to create something similar: 
a charm bracelet
This is a really easy, inexpensive and quick project made from stuff you already have.

And I'd bet that like me,
you don't even KNOW what kinda' stuff you already have...
start looking around the house, and you'll come up with a lot!

continue reading for the how-to!

Heartfelt Thanks

thank you all for playing along for the past month,

visiting the HOMEWARDfound blog, facebook page, pinterest boards, and HOMEtalk posts!

the countdown is over...

but you can still catch up on all 31 posts - just click here!

[ and stay tuned.... SPRING IS COMING! ]

tout de suite

Welcome to Day 29!

imagine if the shelves shown in yesterday's post were in a kitchen, instead of in my office.
 you could create a quick little display tout de suite*
just by raiding the kitchen cabinets & drawers:

 cake pans, cupcake wrappers & box, cookie cutters, and a few edible goodies
become decor items! easy. or, rather...

[*tout de suite ]
which is one of the most common expressions in the French language,
and is just one of several ways to say "right away, immediately."

now what if you grabbed a little bit more from the kitchen,
and pulled together a candy bar beneath those shelves?

it might look a lil' something like this:

the best part? 
the candy AND darling 'cookies on a stick' ALL came from the dollar store
and the glass vases & candleholders came from thrift shops!

This is a simple, easy idea for a family-time Valentine's Day dessert
that your kids are sure to love

* leftover Christmas candycanes fit the color scheme and fill up a huge vase

* smaller lidded jars hold cheap but cute dollar store candies,

and a tiny butter dome holds some jellied fruits wrapped in red & white wrappers

 * decorated cookies-on-a-stick stand in a cup lined with doilies

* dotted wrapping paper forms the base of the decor

* an overturned custard dish acts as a pedestal for a cupcake
[and a flattened cupcake paper forms a colorful 'saucer' beneath it]
* small red glass heart plates stand inside raised candleholders, secured with hard wrapped candies

several other ideas from HOMEWARDfound are shown above:

wrapped glass vases [view post here]

bakers' twine tags [view tutorial here]

shared online:
2016: one project closer | creativity unleashed link party
 

All Together Now...

Welcome to Day 28!

this Valentine Vignette  

sits above my desk, and is the first thing i see when i walk into the office.

it's a small space that benefits from very little 'tweaking'

by adding new elements each season / month, along with just a touch of color.

you probably have a windowsill, or an entry table
that is the first thing you see when you walk into your home or kitchen...
it's a perfect place to create a seasonal vignette!

elements like the white ironstone pitchers & mini bowls and the white silk tulips 

are used almost all year long.

the simple addition of some aluminum heart-shaped cake pans

[picked up for 25 CENTS each at a thrift shop],

the L-O-V-E letter tiles, 

and the red & white striped hearts and cupcake papers

makes this arrangement say 'Valentine's Day'.

the photo above brings together two previous ideas from HOMEWARDfound:

 gift tags and hearts, cut from an old box [ see tutorial here ]

and

giant letter tiles [ see tutorial here ]

Stop the Presses!

Welcome to Day 27!

i had a completely different post ready for today...

then i went to Barnes & Noble yesterday, and spied something SO FABULOUS

that it is just too good NOT to share!

i don't know why they do it, 

but Barnes & Noble offers reprints of the original 

1800's - 1900's Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogs!

yes, the same ones that used to be dropped with a THUMP onto your porch each summer,

just in time to pick out 'back to school' clothes and dream over toys for Christmas. 

i spied that volume on the sales shelf and grabbed my phone to take a shot to share

[while an older gentleman on the same aisle looked at me suspiciously...]

inside the book are hundreds of pages with thousands of vintage images 

and words in antique typography

that would be PERFECT for paper crafts! 

do you create collages? mixed media art? 

are you like me and wrap everything that's boring in paper of the vintage variety?

this is just a fabulous solution that saves you the time and trouble

of rooting through boxes in barns, antique stores and thrift shops 

to find old magazines for your projects.

those paper crafts shown in yesterday's PARTY post? 

you could totally make that stuff with these catalog pages - instead of sheet music.
for any holiday or season!