My Pretend Flower Garden

I guess since I haven't spent much time in the flower beds this spring, I can pretend that these are my flowers...

pretty little cone flowers...

...and meandering vines and zig-zagging dragonflies...

I've been working on silk ribbon embroidered pillows for the Lavender Festival. I have a pretty good stack of embroidered tops; I just need to make sure I leave enough time to sew and stuff them before the 16th.

I have been known to stuff just one or two more and sew them up while waiting for the festival to begin...

...but that was the first couple of years that I did the show and I didn't quite have the hang of being completely prepared a few days before-hand.

I've been doing this particular festival for at least 9 years... I think maybe a little longer...

...and it's much less stressful since Jess and I take our tables and props the evening before the festival and pack the car with inventory when we get back home that night.

Then early Saturday morning at about 4:30am we leave for Oak Ridge and arrive with plenty of time to unpack the car, then one of us parks it a few blocks away to leave room for customer parking, while the other one stays at the booth to get started with the displays.

You can still see some of the marker on them, but it will disappear in just another day or so. I don't use patterns --- I just draw a design on the fabric and then get busy embroidering. I love air-soluble markers... I can change my mind half-way through the project and just re-draw the new design and know that it will disappear later. The water soluble markers are great, too, but not when you are using silk ribbon. I like to keep my stitches loose and more 3-D like so I don't want to take a chance on ruining the design and flattening the ribbon.

Since I'm on a slim budget this time, I'm trying to use everything I already had on hand, other than having to purchase some silk ribbon and stuffing.

I have tote boxes full of fabrics, but prefer to use silk, linen, osnaburg, and vintage damask. Thankfully I had enough of those kinds hoarded stored away. I laundered them to soften the fabric a bit, especially the linen, and then I stained the damask with coffee and tea.

I made a list of how many pillows of each size I plan to have in my booth, and then cut all the fabric. Now all I had to was get started embroidering!

Sometimes it's hard to get started, but once I start looking at the colors, pulling out ribbons and flosses and trims... things start to fall in place and I finally get "in the zone".

I mostly use narrow piping on the little pillows, and fringe and gimp trim on the larger sizes. I didn't think I'd have enough to trim out all the pillows, so I decided to tear muslin and quilters cotton into strips and make ruffled embellishments for many of the pillows. I can also use the shorter scraps of gimp on the ruffles.

Ok.... that's enough chit-chat. I have more embroidering to do and I'll be back next week to share some photos of how I plan my set up ahead of time so I know it will work at the show.

Have a lovely, blessed weekend!
Lana
~*~

Found: Paper Hearts Soldered Charm

I found this rustic, soldered charm amongst my jewelry supplies today. Evidently it got lost in the drawer and was never listed.

{back of charm}

It seems I never tire of making woven paper hearts from parchment papers stained with watercolors and coffee and printed with late 1700 letters about an indentured servant. Never, ever.

The 1 1/2" charm has beveled glass on front, flat glass on back. The colors are melon, dark ivory, and sepia. The lead-free, soldered edges have been given a very dark patina and buffed to a satin sheen. It will come with a yard of ribbon. Please let me know if you'd rather have dark ivory ribbon instead of melon.

The cost is $35 plus $5.50 shipping in the US. 
SOLD ~ thank you! :)



Have a lovely day!
Lana
~*~

Weigh-In Wednesday

Since I won't be sharing photos of myself but once a month or so, I was really at a loss of what to use to illustrate these posts! So I figured I could photograph something I've eaten or drank in the past week. Really exciting, huh? ;)

I try drinking lots of water.. shooting for a gallon a day but sometimes it's hard to guzzle down that much so I started adding flavor to it. Crystal Light has some great flavors, but often I go for the cheaper off brand. WalMart has a Great Value brand that I like: Peach Mango Green Tea. I put 2 packets in a quart of ice water and drink it as I'm working on things like this and this and most recently I'm working several hours a day on silk ribbon embroidery for the Lavender Festival.

I only walked 6 miles on the treadmill in the past week, but I did do some outside work in the yard as well --- like helping my husband drill post holes for our back yard fence. Let me tell you, just because it's gas powered and they say just stand there and hold the handles... it's hard work... especially when it doesn't want to drill into the ground. I was sore for days after I helped. Since I've been trying to get a lot done for the festival along with all the other daily chores, by the time I get supper finished and sit down in the evenings... I'm out like a light! For that reason, I'm going to try to get my walking done in the mornings now.

I'm still watching what I eat and keeping a basic count of calories. We live out in the country and can't run to the store every evening if we're out of something, so if I forgot to pick up a few extra things for my "diet" I just try to do with what I have on hand for a few days and watch the calories. Also, if I'm craving something.... which thankfully I don't normally crave sweets... I treat myself and just try to work extra hard to make up for it. I think if you do that, you are less likely to give in later and eat a plate full of whatever you are craving.

My weight loss for this week (from Wednesday to Wednesday) is only 2 lbs. but there again --- it's still a loss and not a gain. I don't find it a struggle as I've heard a lot of people say, because when I do what I should, I see results. It's just a matter of doing what I know I should be doing. Does that make sense?

I'd better get off the computer and get back to working on festival items. Thanks again for the comments and the personal email messages you have sent. It's very encouraging to hear your stories. :)

Take care and God bless,
Lana
~*~

You can see all the other Weigh-in Wednesday posts here.

For You

Enjoy!

God bless,
Lana
~*~

Saturday Sundries

sundries: miscellaneous small articles, details, or items

I don't know about you, but I love hearts.

I guess you could say I heart hearts {giggle!}.
Ok, that was goofy but I couldn't resist.

I collect them and I make them.

I probably have and make too many of them, but if hearts symbolize love...

...how can you have too much love???

Do you find yourself drawn to hearts?
What kind do you collect?

Thanks for stopping by ~
Take care and God bless,
Lana

~*~

I don't have the soldered charms listed on my website, but if you are interested in them, just email me. The horizontal charm with the vintage pen nib is $40 and the vertical charms are $30.

The papercut heart in hand pieces are available on the Valentines page of my website or in my Etsy shop.
To see more Saturday Sundries click here.