silhouette picture frames

Wow! I love antibiotics. I went to the doctor yesterday afraid I might have pneumonia. I've had it before and I was beginning to experience a similar shortness of breath. I have a bad sinus infection and fluid behind the ears but no pneumonia. Two doses of antibiotics and I am feeling a lot better and can sleep again. So I've been sleeping a lot. Fortunately, I plan ahead on my projects so the tutorials and photos are always written and ready to go before I need them.

Today, we reverse the silhouette and make picture frames.


The one above frames a page from an old atlas and if you can't read it (it blurs when resized for the web - click on it and you can see a bigger image) it says "Oh, the places she will go." The one below is a page of sheet music and it says "Oh, the music she will dance to."



If I had done these for myself, I probably would have painted the frames lighter and distressed them. However, they are my FIL's (belated) birthday present. He and my MIL have separate rooms so his is all dark and masculine.

I wrote a tutorial How to Make a Silhouette Frame at Suite101.

I will be linking up at linky parties - those wonderful events hosted by fabulous bloggers and where all the creative people go. Check out all the creativity and wonderful women for yourself!!

thinking about Mother's Day

My poor Mom. I've always had a habit of giving gifts early. Plus, she reads my blog so if it shows up here, well it is no surprise. So I gave this to her in February when we met at my sister's for my nephew's first birthday.





I wrote a tutorial for this little placard at Suite101.

I love buttons and have made lots of different crafts from them. For ideas and inspiration check out my list of links and ideas.

Don't forget all the wonderful people who host linky parties so that all the brilliant crafters and artists out there can share their work. Check out the hosts and parties I share at.



Brown Paper Packages Mother's Day Party

Sharing at Fireflies and Jellybeans: Mother's Day Gifts Linky Party

button topiary tree

My zipper earrings were featured:



You have to check out the list of my button crafts. I didn't realize how many of my crafts were about buttons until I put the list together.

INSPIRATION and TUTORIALS for BUTTON PROJECTS

Now you can see my latest button project. The tutorial will be up soon - I am waiting for How to Do Things to bring it on-line.




I am sharing at:

gorgeous antique button bouquet

Last summer when we visited some old friends in Florida, I spent a silly amount of time showing my dear friend M all the things I make via my blog. As soon as she saw all the stuff she hauled out a bunch of her oldies and started giving them to me. I got beautiful jewelry, old German sheet music, and buttons among other things. All she asked for in repayment is a button bouquet made out of these glorious, gorgeous old shell buttons. I finally made it.


I left the ribbon tie long. It actually holds the shanked button on as part of the tie because I couldn't figure out how to make that particular shank steady enough for a good flower. I think I will ship it loose so it won't scratch the glass on the vase.



This bouquet was hard to balance because all the buttons were big - I had a hard time grouping the for visibility.



If you aren't sure how to make your own bouquet check out my tutorial on Suite101.



And just for fun. Check out these pony tails on K. She usually wears a braid - partially because she likes it (she loves to whip it around) and partially because it I like it (keeps her hair from getting so tangly). But on Friday she wanted pony tails. I was startled at how long they were!!



For those who might be curious. She has only had one hair cut. Last May when she turned five we cut about five inches off because it was getting scraggly on the ends.



I am participating at A Soft Place to Land.

inspiration and tutorials for button projects

And these don't include all the other projects that incorporate buttons but aren't really about buttons.

How to Make Button Bouquets
I've made many, many, many of these - and they can be so customized - and you can change the style so easily with a little imagination, the right vase, and color combination.

How to Make Floral Hair Wreaths

I've made probably close to twenty of these. I started making them when I got sick of all the wreaths my MIL bought that would fall apart within a few weeks. I wanted to make wreaths that held together and were more comfortable than wreaths based on wire or plastic bands. These are fabric and are sewn and glued for added durability. They don't fall apart - the ones my girls wear get tossed all over the place and the only thing that doesn't look so great is some of the ribbons are fraying...

How to Make Wind Spinners
The one above is buttons - the ones below give you a better idea of what wind spinners look like.

How to Make Button Wall Art

Button Pins are fun to make.

How to Make a Mother's Day Button Placard

How to Make Button Christmas Trees

How to Make a Button Pomander (or kissing ball)

How to Make a Button Memory Jar

How to Make a Button Lamp - Like Little House on the Prairie

How to Make a Laura Ingalls Wilder Button Necklace