Creative Valerina

Two More Down

Camp Out Embroidery, originally uploaded by valerina15.

That makes 3. I dont think I ever posted the first one. Hmmm...no consistency here. But anyway. These little designs are so much fun to embroider. I sort of wish I didnt start them on jeans because the colors don't pop as much as they would on a lighter colored fabric, but hey. Im 3 squares in, theres no turning back now. 3 squares in to what you ask? Yeah, I didnt mention that either. The squares are for a quilt (that I'll probably never finish) but really hope to. Happy Friday y'all. Have a wonderful weekend!

Pretty Pile of Pyrex

Pretty Pile of Pyrex, originally uploaded by valerina15.

Hanging out at Pyrex Love on Flickr yesterday motivated me to take some pictures of my own pyrex collection. I have quite a few different sets of bowls that I have picked up at thrift stores over the years. The pink one on top is my favorite find so far (the rest can be seen here). I don’t know about you, but I use my pyrex a lot. I don’t collect it to display it, or save it, I collect it to use it. I love taking the pink casserole dish to dinner parties and using the mixing bowls as serving bowls for cook outs. I love coordinating the colors and patterns on the bowls with my menu, my mood, and the season.

In the background you can see my thrifted vintage canister set that’s entirely to big for my tiny kitchen but I had to have them anyway. I’ve collected so many cool vintage items before my digital camera days and flickr, that I don’t know if I'll ever get around to photographing everything. I want to though, I really do! In fact, I have an entire closet of vintage dresses and clothing that I want to photograph. Where does one find the time? I'll just have to make time. Have you ever thought about that - making time? Are you good at making time? I’m not. I think I’m much better at wasting time. I need to stop that. I need to make time.

Playtime in the Garden of Sunshine and Rain

Yesterday afternoon a beautifully fierce thunderstorm passed through, knocking down a number of trees and much of the electricity throughout town. Shortly afterwards, the most pleasant, sunshiny, perfect evening emerged. With the electricity out for hours, I had plenty of time to play in my garden and take pictures. It was too beautiful out to do anything but.

(Prepare for garden tour....)

:: Raindrop (the picture that started it all)

 

:: Purple Perennial

:: Day Lilly

:: Snapdragons

:: Beetle Bug

:: Cucumber Blossom

::and of course, Happy Dog was there too.

Sunny Days call for Sunny Embroidery

Pink Poppy Sunrise, originally uploaded by vlsst15.

Score Four at the Thrift Store

Yesterdays finds:

A quilted patchwork tote bag. Super soft and super cute. Label inside says "made by mary", thank you mary, whoever you are, I love it!  ($3)

A magazine holder! This was an item from my list, you know, the list of items that you look for every time you go to a thrift store. Super excited to have finally found one. ($12)

 

Owl magnets, couldn't pass these up, I love magnets ($0.75)

 

Candle holder pottery. Perfect for holding my beeswax votives, especially in last nights thunderstorm. ($2)

 

Typing this post makes me want to go back there again today. I love that place.

PS. These pictures are terrible, I know. I just wasn't in the mood to fuss with them.

WIP: Pink Poppy Sunrise

Pink Poppy Sunrise, originally uploaded by vlsst15.

My neighbor (also known as the crazy cat lady) wandered into my yard this weekend saying "Valerieeeee??? I have some thiiiings for you. Might you want theeeese?? Vintage embroidery transfers, vintage iron-on t-shirt transfers, and vintage embroidery books. Ummm.....YES, I might. I snatched them out of her hands, raced through the pages and prayed that the transfers would still in fact transfer. As you can see, they do, and Im totally in love with this design.

Stakes from Sticks

My tomato plants will (hopefully) need to be staked soon and tomato cages are just hideous, aren’t they? I mean, if you have an all out garden with rows of and rows of vegetables, then maybe they're ok. But my garden is a mix of flowers and vegetables. Its set around my patio and around a little tree stump in the middle of the yard and those ugly tomato cages stand out like a sore thumb. So - in what should have been an episode of woman versus wild, I set out to make garden stakes from the sticks and vines in my back yard. I gathered sticks and vines, ripping the vines out straight from the ground, and pulling them down from the trees they were trying to strangle. I laid out the sticks and then started weaving the vines tightly around the sticks to hold them in place. After I finished one, I felt compelled to make another, and another...and another. I even started doing some decorative weaving that reminded me of being in girl scouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing that stopped me from making another was the sudden torrential rain that sent me running around the yard placing miscellaneous coolers and tubs under the rain gutters. I really need a rain barrel (tell me you have one, I'll be so jealous). Have I mentioned that I don’t have an outdoor spigot for a garden hose? Yeah...a major problem for gardening but I try not to let that stop me. I collected enough water on Saturday to last me for a while so I’m pretty excited about that. I really hope this garden grows!

Things with wings (and wiskers)

Natural beauties catching my eye this morning...

:: Purple Finch and Friend, while waiting for my ride to work

 

:: Luna Moth, sleeping on my office door

  

:: Office Kitty, hiding in the lillies

And just for fun, a little color play....

:: Purple Finches, while waiting for my ride to work

:: Luna Moth, sleeping on my office door

:: Office Kitty, hiding in the lillies

Relaxing; I've got that down

The weather this weekend was insanely beautiful. Like totally amazingly beautiful. I spent every possible moment outside - yard sailing, gardening, farmers marketing, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, sewing, reading, playing, drinking wine, and just straight up lounging in general. On Saturday J and I spent most of the day fixing up the yard. I dug up tons of grass and expanded my garden, hopefully making room for vegetables that will actually grow this year. J cut the grass, cleaned up the horse shoe pits, and put in tiki torches. We put up a canopy tent for shade, and even made a small campfire on Sunday night.  

 

We ate delicious snacks - tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil, all from the farmers market. Cheese, crackers, fruit, cookies, and wine. A lot of wine. Yum. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a closer look at the tomatoes, they were delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winston was thrilled to be outside all weekend. Look at his happy little face :)

 

I was thrilled to be outside all weekend too spending tons of time with my boy and my dog and all of the beautiful birds that visit our yard.  It turned out way better than the camping trip we had originally planned. Vacationing at home might just be my new favorite thing.

Bye Bye Beer Sweater...

...you made a fabulous little going away gift, and now you're traveling far far away from here. I cant say I'll miss you much, but I'll miss my friend for sure. Keep her hands cozy and her beers cute. Be the best beer sweater you can be.