Clutches, Scarves & Wallets...Oh, My!

New stuff I've been making lately (well, finished a couple of weeks ago, anyway):
Earth friendly spring clutches handmade from repurposed & vintage materials

Yellow Clutch made from repurposed georgette ribbon (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), vintage art deco button, vintage cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available Samsstuff Etsy

Pink Silk Clutch: Repurpose pulled silk yarn (Darn Good Yarn, Inc.), vintage cloth button, vintage cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available samsstuff Etsy

Some cute little wallets

Teal Blue Wallet: Locally sourced Alpaca yarn, repurposed silk ribbon (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), vintage flower button, cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available samsstuff Etsy

Mint, Chocolate & White Wallet: US grown cotton yarn, vintage button, cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available soon

Some fun skinny scarves

Radiant Orchid Skinny Scarf: 100% wool yarn, vintage lace, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available Samsstuff Etsy

Plus, a bracelet or two

Snake Bracelet: Repurposed silk chiffon fabric (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), metallic teal embroidery thread, snake toggle clasp, hand crocheted Available Samsstuff Etsy

Can't wait to get back to making things (My wrist is recovering from surgery)...
How about you, have you been making things lately or discovered any great vintage finds? These are great ways to get ready for Earth Day (April 22, since 1970) & celebrate every day...SAM

Every Day is Exactly the Same

So...not exactly the same, but most of our winter has been like this: fog, rain, wind, cold. This is a seven day project, one photo taken each day, for seven days in a row, from the same location, showing seven days of our wet, winter weather.

Day One: Not everything is brown & dead here, even in winter, we have a fair amount of green, like these ferns in my yard
Day Two: Foggy & Cold, front yard
Day Three: Foggy & Cold, back yard
Day Four: Budding Branches, Cherry Tree, Signs of Spring?
Day Five: Rain on my window
Day Six: A Bit of Sky among the clouds (this was in the morning, before the clouds unleashed their daily downpour
Day Seven: Bulbs starting to come up, Day Lilies, More Signs of Spring? Maybe I'm just being hopeful...We often have our coldest weather in February (hopefully not in the teens, like last month) & sometimes snow...

Hope you enjoyed these seven days in Tacoma, Washington & that there are signs of Spring in the air for you! SAM

(For any of you wondeing about the Storytelling Saturday, I will be making this a monthly feature & attempting to add a space for you to share any interesting storytelling objects you've stumble accross)

*All photos & text the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved, please contact for any desired usage.

Shiny Newness :)

Lately I've been trying to get back to the balance that all us Librans strive for. (I'm  not sure about the accuracy or reliability of the whole astrology thing, but a little balance never hurt anything, right?) & have been making some new things, trying to preserve bits of the past that aren't up to their former glory & deserve to be admired once again & for the future, their beauty preserved for others to see:

This is part of a vintage napkin made into a little wall hanging. The napkin had little  dark spots, that I was unable to wash out & so was really unusable for its original purpose. I cut about a fourth of it off & hand sewed it (not easy to do on a circular frame, but it gives everything a sweet gathered effect & a bit of movement) onto a steel hoop that was in a bag of vintage embroidery hoops. This was just a little too plain, though it framed the piece nicely & looked better than just putting the whole thing (spots & all) into a frame, so I added the fleur des lis pendant & a black seed bead, that gave a bit of French country charm to the piece & highlighted (without taking away from) the wonderful yellow & black embroidery & the beautiful crochet trim quite nicely. For hanging purposes & to go with the yellow & black scheme, I hand stitched on a lovely bit of black velvet ribbon. I could add something around the edge, but I think it would detract from the embroidery & emphasize the frame, rather than the fabric. I think it would be great among a display of photos, paintings &/or little embroideries...

Key Fob: I picked up this great chartreuse green with dark red dots fabric awhile back at the local  Goodwill, not really knowing what I'd do with it (I still have plenty left. Maybe a nice summer top?) & this mini key fob project came up. The D-ring is from the 70's (not sure what it originally came from, possibly a belt...). The buttons are from a couple of old blouses that are no longer wearable & the lace was in a bag of vintage trims & craft stuff, also from Goodwill. I like how the top became gathered & a bit more girly when I put the fabric through the D-ring. The lace & the side are machine stitched & then everything was hand stitched together. I added a few cross stitches in red to just add to the girly appeal. It contrasts nicely with the fabric. The key ring is new.

Wrap Bracelet: Hand crocheted in pink alpaca & silk/mohair (chartreuse). Antique keyhole (architectural salvage), vintage crystal beads (architectural salvage) & vintage carved bone beads (from an old bracelet)  Available samsstuff Etsy

More nerdy envelopes (so fun): Vintage Band book pages. These are a little more difficult to come by & the pages are of a different type of paper than those of the math book. Available shellseye Etsy

It helps to be able to create something new, even when all is not right with the world, even when they are only appreciated by you & even when spring still seems to be avoiding us, for now anyway. How about you? have you been creating anything new? Has spring arrived where you are? Is it distracting you with its shiny newness? SAM

More Spring Cleaning...

Spring is here & as I said in my "Spring Cleaning" feature on Handmade News, birds are chirping, flowers are blooming (well, some of them anyway), thoughts turn to love, new beginnings & ...spring cleaning? For me, this includes the April Stash Bust event, an opportunity to use up some of the supplies that I have lying about, traditional & non-traditional, to make new items from the old, without buying any new supplies for the month. Ok, so aside from the whole not buying supplies thing, I pretty much do this on a regular basis. I like to say that my items are made from the "lost, found, vintage & new." This is literally true. I have used items that I have found, things that belonged to a past time, things that others have lost or given away, saving them from oblivion & giving them a whole new life, a whole new story to tell, while paying tribute to the story that already existed. So, while I am 'destashing' this month, I kind of destash every month, every time I make something.

Project 1: Delft Necklace

1. Vintage Delft blue porcelain pendant with windmill design. This was something that my grandmother had, probably purchased in the sixties in Solvang, CA, a great little Dutch town that I loved visiting as a child.They had great little shops & bakeries. I got several Madame Alexander international dolls, in the doll & toys shops, great little mints (violet where my favorites), embroidery books, delicious cheeses & of course pastries, the many times that my parents & I visited this adorable town, scattered over the years that we lived in California. My grandmother would sometimes come with us. I'm not sure what this originally was, maybe a necklace or possibly a key chain. 

2. Copper color chain, something a bought, with no idea of exactly what I might use it for, but I liked the double loop design, the color & I couldn't leave it there on the clearance shelf. Who knows what might have happened to it.

3. Green seed beads. I bought these for my frog necklace, along with a number of other seed bead hanks. I love seed beads, they're so cute! My grandmother used to make peyote style project with them & taught me how. 

4. Round jade bead. Part of an old bracelet that came apart. I didn't want to put it back together, the way it was, so I use the beads for other things.

5. Blue wire. Bought to use for many things, but nothing in particular.

6. Copper clasp. Bought for something else but of course, you can't just buy one...

Project 2: Unicorn Locket necklace

1. Vintage Gold Unicorn Locket. This was something that I purchased, in the seventies. I loved the way the unicorn looked like it was part of an old tapestry & again, it was on clearance; I couldn't just let it sit on the shelf, without a home. It is gold plated.

2. Bone disks. Purchased, in bulk, for whatever project might call for them. 

3. Dark green glass bead. I loved the texture & the look of it. I thought I might make a necklace out of it, someday.

4. Dragon coin pendant. I liked the dragon & phoenix design, there's what looks like Chinese writing on the other side.

5. Shiny green ceramic bead. They where shiny. I liked the colors...

6. Black satin ribbon, knotted & crocheted. 

7. Pewter color chain. Another clearance item I liked the color & the shape of the links.

8. Gold color wire, copper & silver color findings.

Both pieces close in the front, for easy use & visual appeal. They are long enough, though that they can fit over your head.

I have two more pieces, a choker & a wallet, so I'll call this part one & publish a part 2. Since it's still fairly early in the month, maybe there'll be a part 3? I hope you enjoyed this look into my "destashing!" 

As for my stash, I'd like to quote a little bit of a Rage Against the Machine song "There'll be no shelter here, the front line is everywhere."

 

Spill the (Jelly) Beans Sunday Blog Hop

For this one, hosted by "Crafty Girls Workshop" you leave a comment answering "What Easter or Spring related  projects are you working on? If you are not working on anything Easter or Spring related, are you working on any craft type projects & what are they?" Me, I'm not really working on anything Easter. I just finished some embroidered garden markers, that are springish, though they can be used year round, inside. I am working on some magnets, for "On the Refrigerator Door's" magnet swap & I'm starting a necklace, headband/a ring or two. What about you? Are you working on anything?.
Available: samsstuff on ArtFire