DIY Peacock Wall Art

I don't know about you, but I think peacock feathers are one of the most naturally beautiful little things in our world.  

I'm quite certain I'm not the only person that feels this way since the top selling items in our shop are the peacock feather headbands and hats.

After finishing some new headbands I had some burlap and lace scraps left laying on the table next to some peacock feathers and had the sudden idea to make some wall art with it all.

I went rummaging through the house trying to find other things to use and by the time I was done I ended up with a cute new little piece to add to my living room.

I took a frame that I had painted in red, then went over it with a watered down coat of white paint. After the white dried I sanded it here and there to show more of the red.

I took the cardboard backing out of the frame and glued a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper onto the center of it.  

Since the paper wasn't big enough to cover all the cardboard, I put pieces of burlap over the edges.

(notice the hand of my little helper, she's always there assisting me!)

I then glued a piece of sheet music onto the paper.

I though about staining the paper with tea to give it a more shabby look but decided I wanted to leave it white so it would go with the white frame better.... and to be honest I didn't have the patience to wait on the paper to dry.

The star of the piece, a perfect peacock feather, was then attached with a few dabs of hot glue, followed by a strip of lace across the top corner.

For the finishing touch I stamped some whimsical swirls kind of randomly on the edges of the layout.  The stamps and ink were all from "Stampin' Up".  The ink worked well on both the paper and burlap.

When I started working on it I had no idea what I wanted to do.  Like everything I make I never really start with a plan I just go to throwing things together and hope I end up with something acceptable.....  luckily this ended up being perfect for what I was wanting.

In keeping with my love of peacocks, I have to show you my current favorite piece in our shop.....

It's this funky peacock feather hat.  The clip detaches and can also be worn directly in hair!

I'm also in love with this one-of-a-kind feather headband I made last week, unfortunately it's already sold (I kinda wish I would of kept it for Felicity now)... 

P.S.

Don't miss our low entry "Share it to Win it" giveaway on our Facebook Page.

I'm linking this post up at some great blog parties.  Click Here to see who they are!

A Few New/Old Things....

I love finding a place for new (old) treasures in my home....

I rarely ever go shopping looking for something to go in a specific area and I do not have any particular theme, colors or style I abide by in my home. 

 I just create and buy what I like then I worry later about where it will go.  

A little while back I bought this set of wrapped up shabby books at a craft show from the owner of the Etsy shop Shell's Vintage Charm and I am in love with them - I keep moving them around to different areas until I find their permanent home within my home.

I was recently digging through things at an old junk store in town when I uncovered these old lidded mason jars.  They have become the perfect place to store extra lace remnants and embroidery floss that I rarely use.

(the blue heaven platter on the right of the photo was my Great-Grandmother's - I have a couple of them and love putting them out about the house)

I've also been having fun bringing in all kinds of beautiful green tree, bush and flower clippings.  I love the fall weather that is coming soon, but I dread not being able to walk out in the yard and find brightly colored green things to bring inside.

Oh, and the chair on the right is new (but actually old) from Goodwill and is undergoing an almost finished makeover that I will be showing soon.

And I have to share this - My husband recently got one of those little children's seats that attaches to the back of his bicycle and Felicity loves it!

I didn't even know they made these anymore until we found it at Wal Mart.  Being a very protective Momma it made me very nervous at first.  When they rode off I just knew her seat would fall off or they would have some kind of wreck, but I'm learning to let go, relax and try to let her have fun.... even though my stomach does still knot up a little bit every time they ride off.

....and of course I can't forget to plug my shop and the new things that are in it as well.

Glittery Tiger Newborn Headband

"Love Set Free" Brooch

Satin & Glitter Cheetah Headband

Use discount code "Postcard2012" to receive 25% Off!

www.InspiredByFelicity.com

P.S.

We are having a "Share it to win it" contest on our Facebook Page.

My Little Dinning Room is Finally Finished...

Hello - come on in!  A while back I showed our dinning room remodel that was almost done but lacking the finishing touches.  Well I think I can finally say it is officially done for now!

It is a very small room, redone on an even smaller budget, but I truly love it......

This is how the room looked when we bought it.  My husband redid all the Sheetrock, base boards, crown molding and put in a new light fixture...... (yes, he's awesome like that)

Here it is now:

My burlap tablecloth was made by Sonya at Beyond the Screen Door - it really helped give me that shabby look I wanted in what is actually a new room.

My desk and chairs came from Target.

The candle stick holders, pears and silver tray all came from Goodwill....

In case you haven't noticed I buy a lot of things at Goodwill and garage sales.  I'm one of those frugal people that cannot justify paying full price for pretty much anything. This whole room was redone on an extremely tight budget.

(notice my little helper trying to break into the hutch)

My desk was a consignment store find that that I decoupaged in sheet music.

  

The room is small so instead of keeping a chair at the desk I just turn around one of the chairs from the table when I use it.  But I really do not use the desk often, it's more for storage than anything.

This is taken standing in the entry way that comes from the kitchen, which is currently in the process of getting a major makeover.

and here's a shot looking back into the living room.

My birdcage in the corner was a garage sale find.  It was a brassy gold and I just spray painted it brown.  I'm going to take it with me to the craft shows i do in the fall and use it as a display piece.  I think my feather hair fascinators will look really cute clipped all over it!

I wanted to paint the cage and stand turquoise but my husband was already complaining about all the "overload" of color in the dinning room and living room so I just went for a neutral color.

My hutch was a college graduation / wedding gift from my Nanny and is one of my favorite things in the house.  We always think it's funny trying to watch people try to figure out how to open it.  There is a small lock on the side that you undo and the door actually slides across open.

I have been collecting dishes since I was in college and I love having a pretty place to store and display them.  I do not collect anything based on value, I just pick up what I like.

Oh, and I found this cute little piece hanging on the window at Goodwill and fell in love with it immediately and I got the curtains off Ebay for a couple of dollars.

I have to share this because it's just too cute....

After dinner I always let Felicity blow out the candles.  She was playing in her room when I was taking these pics and when she came in and saw the candles lit she climbed up on the table and started blowing away.

Have a fabulous weekend!

-Pamela

I'm linking this post up at some great blogs.  Click Here to see who they are!

Fabric Yoyo Shirts & Dutch Babies Re-run

A couple weeks ago when I posted my recipe for Dutch Babies Martha, from "Lines from Linderhof" commented that she always made her version of Dutch Babies in cast iron skillet (we had always just made ours in a glass baking dish).

My Nanny (who I got the recipe from) was here visiting this week, as well as my Aunt & Great Aunt, so we decided to try making dutch babies in a cast iron skillet and they were delicious!

If you've never tried these you totally should.  You can click the photo below to go to my post with the recipe....   from now on I will definitely always make them in a cast iron skillet.

On another recent blast from the past a few weeks ago I showed you some shirts I had fancied up using fabric yoyos sewn from fabric scraps I had.  

Well, I'm kind of addicted now and I've been at it again.  I gathered up some more scraps and a few nights ago I had so much fun sewing up fun little designs.

I will either sale these at my Fall shows or will hold onto them for gifts.

So far I've only played around with yoyo designs on children's clothes but now I'm wanting to get some adult tank tops and see how they look jazzed up with some yoyos made from more elegant fabric scraps. 

Well I'm off now to get back to work.  One of my favorite Fall craft shows (the Amish Auction & Craft Show in Clarita, Oklahoma) is this weekend and I have so much to do to get prepared!  If you are in the area I highly recommend you come check it out.  It is the largest one day event in the state of Oklahoma 

-Pamela

Easy No-Sew Clown Costume

I have loved summer but I am eagerly awaiting the Autumn season. 

 Something about Fall is magical to me.  The air, the smells, the beauty.... it's all wonderful, but one of my favorite things now that I have a sweet little munchin is Halloween!

With the season quickly approaching I thought I would share Felicity's no-sew clown costume from last year.  This was so easy and fun to make!

1) I made a colorful no-sew tutu (click here to see a tutu tutorial - FYI: the tutorial tells you to sew the elastic waist together but I just hot glued it)

2) For the shirt I used a plain white onesie and ironed on heat transferred tie from Hobby Lobby (found in the clothing craft section)

3) For suspenders I just safety pinned two strips of turquoise sequence elastic also purchased from Hobby Lobby onto the waist band of the tutu.

4) I bought the wig at a costume shop for $4 - clown wigs are super easy to find so that shouldn't be a problem for anyone to locate and under it she wore leggings that she already had.  Any bright colored leggings would be cute.

The best part of the costume is afterwards she was able to wear the tutu with all kinds of different outfits until she outgrew it and she also wore the shirt with colorful skirts and cardigans during the Fall until she outgrew it as well.  

Warning: Clowning around is hard and exhausting work!

Since we are talking about Fall and Halloween I have to mention that our orange & black Halloween feather headband is now available in my shop.  

You can use discount code "welcome2012" to get 20% OFF this headband and everything else in our shop right now!

www.InspiredByFelicity.com