Galentine Crafting fun

My pal, Tami, has been hosting craft days for a group of  friends, many of us who met at Birdsong.  It means the world to me that some of theses buddies were introduced to each other at my home and are now close.

I sincerely miss Birdsong and all the camaraderie, crafting, and caring that we shared there.  Last year was ROUGH on me, so I was glad I didn't host the party, and this winter, when it was time to plan another event, I still wasn't quite myself, and I decided not to have it.

But- man, I feel good again! Back to my old self!!

Yet, I thought I'd missed the window of opportunity and it was too late to invite my Peeps to a bash for 2017.  Then, someone mentioned waiting til Fall instead of having a Springtime craftathon.

hmmmmm…..

tempting……..

I'm turning that one over and contemplating the possibility.  It has been so nice to get inquiries about Birdsong '17, and my whistle has been wetted.  

I'll give it a little more time, and will let you know when I come to a decision.

In the meantime, until I reunite with Peeps at my own home, I'm thrilled that Tami includes me in her crafty group.  She is generous with her time and space, and we love gathering there for a day of laughter.  Here are some of the examples she made in advance for us to see before we started work on our own projects.

She is generous with her supplies too, and set up a big buffet of goodies for us to use.

I brought my own lace, because I wanted to make a heart from the tattered remains of my beloved curtains.  The fabric is French Net, and was very old.  It was in great shape when I hung them up, and I adored the curtains in my kitchen for years. But after those years of use, they just couldn't hold up.  We like windows open, and blowing in the breeze wasn't the healthiest thing for 100 year old, dainty lace.

I salvaged what I could to make new curtains when we remodeled.  You can see here, I used some of the netting over vintage dotted swiss, hoping that will be a sturdy enough backing and they will hold up better now.

But I missed the ornate scrolls of lace that I previously had, and wanted to make a heart from some of the remnants to hang over the remade curtains.

Ta- da!

I  like it so much, I might make one for each window and leave them up year round.  Who says hearts are only for Valentines?

While at Tami's though, I made a second one from this beaded lace since I didn't have more curtain material with me.

It is from the same vintage dress I'd taken apart to make angel wings for Christmas.  Those are still hanging above my mantel. While angel wings are sweet for Christmas, and hearts are traditional for Valentines, I feel both are just lovely year round.    I took down all of the overt holiday things on the mantle and left my wings over burlap up for the winter. I'll return to roses and bluebirds when spring finally returns too. Til then, I'm enjoying the neutral tones.

For now, this second heart hangs in the kitchen window above the grand fairies' play area.

Which is why you are only seeing a close up of the details, not the whole nook.  I'd need a bulldozer to move Legos, crayons, piles of paper, and scissors out of the way before I could take a picture of the area.

Tammy also had out cotton batting for us to use to make embroidered hearts.  Instead, I used two layers of it, glued together and stuffed to make this hanging heart.  (no sewing for me!)

It is covered in the same lace, using the beaded scalloped hem as the top of the heart. I've added a print of a vintage picture (from Tami's stash of treasures) and framed it with ruffled seam binding. 

That one was so quick and easy to do, that I made another one the same way.  I was out of scalloped trim (durn it) but I did have the edging from the sides of my old curtains to add to it.

My wires on the other hearts are actually coat hangers, bent into a heart shape.  I found it was easier to get the corners smoothed out of them  and reshaped with a pair of pliers.  

Then, I decided to wrap the wire in fabric before gluing the lace to it, that gave something for the lace to stick to better than just the wire. (Tami sewed hers, so that wasn't an issue for her pretty creations)

The beads, MOP buttons and rhinestones are woven around the shape on thin wire.  

To glue the millinery in place, I placed bits of fabric behind the lace, so the flowers would have something to stick to. I was afraid that if I tried gluing them to the delicate lace, they wouldn't have anything to grab onto. 

The day was filled with hearts.  Beth was stitching this one onto some of the cotton batting.

And Nora made this with foam core board and wrapping paper. 

But hearts weren't all that was going on.  Look at this foam core guitar covered in treats! 

Yep,  lots of goodies, lots of lovelies, lots of laughs.

Thanks, Tami!

ps- I made a few more of these hearts, most have sold, but at last check there was still one on Etsy.