Making your own brooch bouquet

image via The Ritzy Rose
image via fantasyfloraldesigns.com

On my online hunts for flower brooches, I keep seeing more and more brooch bouquets for sale. They go for around $350 and up and are great for brides that want that vintage look and a sweet memento to remember that special day. If you are feeling adventurous these are pretty easy to make ahead of time, but you will need to start collecting asap! Start hitting up thrift shops, flea markets even relatives. You will need anywhere from 50-90 pieces, depending how big you want it.

image via fancypantsweddings.com
image via offbeatbride.com

There are lots of sites that offer tutorials, some are better than others. I've seen people bundle them together with twisted wire or stick them into styrofoam forms for that rounded shape. www.fancypantsweddings.com had a nice step by step tutorial. Below are more yummy images for inspiration.

Aldo to Zippy

I thought I'd share some beautiful projects made from a fabric collection I did with P&B textiles. Thanks to everyone who has sent me images.


Elephant quilt made by of Tracy Jay for her son. http://traceyjayquilts.blogspot.com


Burp cloth reversible cotton baby bib set Aldo to Zippy. Made by Etsy shop Our Little Messes.


Quilt by Erin from Piper's Quilts

Bust magazine

I just found out my animal flash cards are featured in the Aug/Sept issue of Bust magazine. The feature is of Rachel Denbow's home, she is a crafter and artist. She hung my cards with twine and clothes pins to decorate her son's room.
Love it!

Click here to find out where to buy my animal flash cards.

Illuminated flowers

Ever since I had seen an illuminated arrangement at my Agents house I've always wanted to get a bunch of my own. Not sure where they would go but it's on my list. I found a good selection at www.traditionsfurniture.com

DIY: Make a mod cardboard mobile

Heather from dollarstorecrafts.com took one of my mobile prints and turned it into an actual moving mobile from materials you would have in your craft stash. Click here to see how she made one.

Artist Anna Bond

Anna Bond has some amazing work up on Flickr, some of her pieces are even hand stiched! You can purchase her beautiful stationery on her website www.riflepaperco.com.

Modern Miniatures

Lindsey of Etsy shop LBRANDTerraria has been hunting for a modern home of her own but with no luck. So she's made her own cute teeny tiny homes!

Pumpkins

Here are some of Martha Stewart's pumpkin decorating ideas, hopefully they will get your creating juices flowing! Check out more ideas at her website!

Fabric

I found this fabric in an Etsy shop called SelvedgeShop, and thought it was so colorful funky that I just had to have it! I got 2 yards of it in the mail a few days ago and it matches perfectly with my red/orange wall and my gray/beige sofas. I just might make some pillow cases, but first I need to practice on some ugly fabric before I ruin this stuff..

Papier-Mâché Floral Brooches

I just love mod flower brooches and I was so happy to see on Cathy Callahan's blog (Cathy of California) that Craftzine just posted her tutorial on how to make your very own papier-mache floral brooches. Check it out!

Sublime Stitching

Sick of all those traditional/county stich patterns? Well now over at Sublime Stitching you can snag some swanky retro embroidery patterns. Makes a great gift for someone crafty!

Cathy's flowers

Click here in case you missed Cathy's flower looming demonstration on Martha last week. Now I want a kit!

Pretty pretty flowers!

Cathy from Cathy of California will be on the Martha Stewart Show March 11th. She will be showing us all how to make beautiful loomed flowers. The main theme of the show is the 50th anniversary of Lily Pulitzer so Cathy mentioned to me that she will be sporting one of her own vintage lily dresses.


Feeling creative? Cathy sells vintage flower loom kits on her Etsy shop.

Hey Yo Yo

Hey Yo Yo is Amanda Graff, cupcake baker and glitter duster. She got her diploma from The Culinary Institute of America in pastry, but developed her love of all things crafty while working for Martha Stewart Television as a recipe developer. Check out her Etsy shop for more vintage inspired cake decorations and cup cake liners.

Fun with felt

Check these cute items from Etsy shop Soleil girl. It's amazing what you can go with felt!

Stitchy McYarnpants

Debbie is the curator of the Museum of Kitschy Stitches, an on-line (and now in print) gallery of notorious knits. Debbie also has an Etsy shop Stitchy McYarnpants, where she takes old magazines and vintage fabrics and gives them new life.

I found these on Debbie's Myspace page, what a hoot!

Etsy shop Katrina Kaye

Trina and Andy are a husband and wife team working together to run their full time Etsy business, katrinakaye. They use beautiful vintage patterns to make pillows, bags and much more. The pillows above are a steal at $35!

Be sure to check out the Storque interview on Katrina's shop titled "Quit your day job"

Mini Mod

Krista Peel has been working on a new series of miniature rooms designed inside of glass aquariums. Each room has a great collection of artists, and some wonderful pieces of miniature artwork. Check them out here.




Each of these handbuilt roomboxes is an art gallery of collected works from around the world.

Room materials include original miniature artwork, fabrics, beads, paper, wood, mirrors, rocks, pins, tiles, perfume lids, stir sticks, plastic, glass, foam core, bottle tops, artificial plants and pre-made dollhouse furnishings.