All Things Gritty... I Heart...

Yesterday turned out to be quite the crafty Monday...

I've been dying to sit down and make all sorts of fabric flower creations ever since I got back from Spark and I just haven't had the time... so frustrating and I was going through serious withdrawals from not making a regular visit to the thrift store since before I'd gone to Spark, so last Friday I used up the whole time that Tanner was in preschool at Savers!! In my mind I was singing "Heaven... I'm in heaven!!!" I found so many gritty things + lots of fun fabric sheets for tearing up and making into yummy flowers!

Oh my goodness... you have no idea how giddy I was about my whole thrift store visit and bags full of treasures - and I could hardly wait to get home and craft! I thought for sure I'd find time over the weekend at some point but I was coming down with a cold/sinus infection and just didn't feel up to it when I did have a little time so Monday came and still no crafting.

Amber saved the day, I'd been practically begging her to get together sometime and craft with me.. hee hee- she called and said she was in the mood and had nothing going on.. before she could finish I said, say no more and get your butt over here!!! The kids had a blast playing and we crafted -n- gabbed for hours. It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again.

We both had been wanting to make a fabric rosette necklace, so that was our first project!

After my kids got home from school and finished their homework, they were all bugging us to teach them how to make the flowers. Amber taught Marcus and Sydnee how to do it and Marcus whipped up this flower in no time flat, {minus the embellishments}. He had glued it to a ribbon that didn't really match as a necklace, so I tore off the ribbon and made it into a hair clip with all the hand beading to go with the necklace I made.

This is Amber's awesome necklace!

Sydnee kept saying she wanted to make one and Amber saw her yellow head band she had on and found a cute scrap of fabric she had and made this flower to clip on it. After she left I added the green beads and clip. Thanks Am.. I love it! Syd wore it to school today.

I made this headband out of an shrunk up Aeropostale t-shirt and old headband that needed a serious makeover. I love kelly green... {Oh and that big glitzy jewelry piece on the polka dot/lace clip is an earring I used to wear while competing ballroom dance}.

More shots of the necklace and matching clip... I just can't get enough of it!

~Cherry Blossom Headband~

Me: in my pj's, no makeup, early morning...

Last week's Thrift Store finds...

HellO--- Lantern

{been lookin' for one for a while now}

-Christmas Runner-

~Old Vintage Christmas Records~

{can't wait to decorate with these.. two of them didn't even have the records with them I just loved the cases! It would be fun to find an old record player though and see how this one plays}.

Tulle canopy for Sydnee's room!

We actually used to have this *exact* one and then we got a different one and gave this one to a friend. We didn't end up liking the new one as well and quit using it, so she hasn't had one for a long time now. She's been saying that she misses it and wants another one and here it is, the same kind we had to begin with. Love it when you find what you're lookin' for!

I found another one with colored ribbons flowing down it that the round form is broken in, bought it anyway.. I figured I could fix it somehow and it was too cute and cheap to pass up.

Polka Dot Sheet Set for the girls rooms!

-Set of Cottage Pillow Shams-

Totally Awesome Star Wars Sheets for Tanner's bed!

~Vintage Metal Colander~

-Snowflake Sweater-

{I really should open it up and take a photo.. it's gritty}

-Anne Taylor Sweater-

{thought it would look nice paired with a skinny belt at the waist}

-Tommy Hilfiger Skirt-

Look at all these fun trimmings I found for so cheap!!! I got the gritty Ikea organizing jars too and a bunch of mismatched printed sheets for crafting.

Owl Necklace + Earrings

I made while visiting my sister

Gold Leaf clip I made a while ago...

{I stole this pic. of me wearing the green headband from Amber.. she did some funky editing to it and I thought it looked kinda cool!}

Now go do some thrift store shoppin'

and some craftin' -n- gabbin'

it brings much joy & happiness!!!

~sandee.

Whooaaa... all of October up 'til now has been filled with seasonal goodness, activities, events, long awaited visits, brushing up on and learning new skills and more.- There's so much that has inspired me throughout this time and all these experiences... My trip to visit my sista and bff Kim was much needed for all of us I think.. it was filled with grittiness & creativity, knitting/crocheting, baking & jewelry making... I was also able to attend the creative *SPARK* event just last weekend with best friends and it exceeded my hopes & wishes of what it might be like by far!

We took classes and worked on creative projects that I can hardly wait to share. I still need to finish a few.. I did finish my vintage flower makeover on a plain shirt and love it! I'm so excited to create & do much more with this skill.

I also L-O-V-E-D the photography class and have been experimenting with all the different settings on my camera & taking photos outside of "auto." This is so invigorating to me... I really enjoy capturing what's interesting to me & what I see through the lens.

We learned a technique called "sunflare" that I really like and have been having fun working with.

Sunday, I looked out the window and saw Syd and her little friend Jade out on her front lawn having a picnic on a blanket, listening to music and playing together. It was that perfect time of day for shooting photos and the setting was so natural that I decided to go out and practice and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!