Ladybug Rock Crossing

The theme for my porch this summer is . . . ladybugs!  Have you gotten into the 'painted rock' craze yet?  This was my first time and let me tell you . . . it's FUN!

Here's what you'll need:

Rocks (of course)

Acrylic paint (Red, black and white)

A fine tipped brush (I use a #4 round)

Toothpicks

Pencil w/soft eraser

Clear acrylic sealer

I had a bunch of these smooth, river rocks but you can find these just about anywhere.  I'd suggest looking at discount stores like Big Lots (that's where I got mine) rather than landscaping stores where they are more expensive.  

Begin by painting the black part then fill in with the red once the first color is dry.  (Hint:  The next time, I will spray each rock with a coat of white, flat primer.  I had to paint several coats of each color on some rocks that were darker.  I think if you prime them first with white, it will be easier.)

To create the spots, I tried different methods to get a nice, round dot.  If you have a SOFT pencil eraser, that would work.  Most of mine were too hard (Guess I don't use pencils that often anymore!).  I had this pen with 'stylus' end for a touchscreen laptop etc, that I don't use and it worked nicely. It left a round 'hole' in the center but I just filled it in with my brush and some paint.  You can experiment with other 'tools' to get the spots.

I just painted the white eyes freehand, then added the black center and a dot of white.  For the small and large dots I used a toothpick.  I made the 'antenna' dots just a bit larger to make them stand out from the outline 'wing dots'.  They all got a final spray of clear, matte acrylic sealer.

For the Ladybug Crossing sign, I just used scrap wood that I white washed and sanded.  I printed my words on computer paper and placed a piece of graphite paper underneath.  Trace the letters using a pen and then fill in with a fine-tipped brush.  (Hint:  Choose a relatively clean, simple font.  The more detailed it is, the harder it will be to paint.)

This sweet little ladybug family greets anyone who comes to my front porch.

I'm not sure what my next "rock" family will be but I know I will be doing more of these! A super simple, cheap and fun craft!

12th Tea Cup and Mug Exchange Reveal

One of the sweetest, most beautiful bloggers I know is Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose.  Stephanie hosts this Tea Cup Exchange.  Because of her sacrificial efforts, hundreds and hundreds of us from around the world are able to connect, share gifts with one another and make this world just a tiny bit 'smaller'.  This is the fifth exchange I've participated in.  If you're interested, you can find more information about the exchange HERE.

I was excited to be paired up with Cathy at My 1929 Charmer. Cathy and I not only share a love for all things vintage and retro, but we don't live all that far from each other so hopefully we'll be able to meet up one day soon.

As you can see, my cup and saucer from Cathy is STUNNING!  Cathy was so sweet and put a lot of effort into my gifts, focusing on some of my favorite colors (turquoise and red) with the things she included.  It all came in a lovely floral box too!

Just look at this gorgeous, vintage plate!!  It is SO SO beautiful and is sitting on my kitchen table.

I love stamping and making cards so I'm super excited to have this alphabet stamp set!

This little bag had adorable red buttons of different shapes and sizes that I know I'll be using in sewing and craft projects.

I just LOVE baker's twine and of course, Cathy was thoughtful in choosing RED!

And of course, tea and sweets are always fun to get!  This lovely tea and shortbread have already been used on multiple occasions -- I DID share the shortbread with my daughter and husband (just a LITTLE haha!)

Cute little (RED of course!) post it notes rounded out this lovely package from Cathy.  Be sure to stop over to Stephanie's blog on May 17 for the Reveal Party to see what everyone shared and received . . . it's an amazing array of kindness, generosity and friendship!

Vintage Doily Banner

If you're like me, you just can't stay away from those boxes and bins of vintage doilies and linens at garage and estate sales.  Here's a fun, simple way to use them up!

For this banner I actually found 6 of these multi-color doilies and two of these medallion doilies but I plan to make more of these using vintage linens and mismatched doilies as well.

I cut these in 'half'. Because they had an uneven amount of 'points', one doily piece is large, the other small which works out great for this project.

The medallion doilies were cut apart creating these smaller pieces.

I have lots of these packages of old quilt binding but you of course could use new binding.  I used single-fold, wide and folded that in half and ironed it to create the 'pocket' for the doilies.

I pinned the doilies inside the binding, tucking all of the little frayed edges inside.

Then I just stitched the binding, catching in the edges.

Since there were so many little 'frayed' edges, I used a small zig-zag stitch as I felt that would catch all of those pieces neatly inside the binding.

 I thought this added a nice, summery look to our bedroom.

I simply tucked the ends behind the sconces and used a decorative tack to center it on the window frame.

So many possibilities with all of the vintage doilies and linens out there!  Also a great way to use linens that may have stains or other damage but still have beautiful embroidery or images on them.  
What creative uses have you found for vintage linens?