Category: Mossy Cottage
Minimalism Game Continued!!!
I’M BACK!!! I’m so sorry I had to take off so long but life gets in the way sometimes. I desperately need to keep up with purging items from my home and could not wait to get started again. I left off with 21 items so today I will be showing you days 22 and 23. Please excuse that the items are a real hodge podge, but I went back to some areas and gathered more stuff while hitting some new areas of the house. So without any further ado, here are my declutters.
Day 22
4 purses, 2 wristlets, 1 notepad, 1 cup, 1 bowl, 1 tin, 1 soap dispenser, 2 pillowcases, 1 sheet, 2 more pillowcases, 1 box of light switch covers, 1 pair of gloves, 3 tank tops and 1 key hiding rock.
Day 23
1 bag of straws, 1 wicker basket, 1 soap dispenser (we have three of the same ones so you saw one of the others on day 22), 1 wood bee skep, 1 candle, 1 beanie baby, 1 Chinese calendar, 2 Victorian journals, 1 Wreck this Journal, 4 small plastic gift bags, 2 pieces carpet padding, 1 scarf, 1 shirt, 1 package party picks, 1 pillow, 2 packages Christmas napkins
I warned you that it would be totally random but I think it’s fun. I intend to keep up with the game, however, my posts may be bi-weekly instead of daily.
If you don’t know about the minimalism game, please check out my earlier posts. I hope you are playing along and finding some relief in your less cluttered space!
Cute Winter Tag From Three Kitchen Items
Here is the second weekly challenge I am doing for the Paper Outpost Facebook group. This weeks challenge is to take three items from the kitchen and make something from them or using them. Thoughts of strainers and other cool kitchen gadgets used for making marks in mixed media came to my mind. I came to my senses quickly and decided spraying inks and using acrylic paints on my cooking utensils probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do.
After opening and closing all my kitchen draws and cabinets I decided look in the recycle bin instead.
Here are the three items I pulled out to use. One is a letter from a window salesman but it is printed on very heavy white paper. Then I chose a Trader Joe’s cookie box and a pull tab off a can.
I cut the box around the cutout star and then cut it to tag shape. I cut a solid tag piece from the box for the backing of the tag. I cut the white letter paper to fit the tag and then applied white gesso and a blue mermaid marker to create an icy looking background.
A cute little snowman sticker was sandwiched between the two box pieces. The tag was then inked around the edges and the can tab was added. I embellished the tag with pompom trim, wavy glittered tape and little glittered stars. Leftover blue wool pieces were used for the ties.
These mini challenges are so fun and really get my creative juices flowing. If you would like to join this Facebook group the address is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3469195439809733/. You will be required to answer three easy questions to enter the group. I hope you join us and stretch your creativity!
DIY Spring Treat Baskets
I decided to make some Spring treat baskets from peat pots after noticing that the ones I made several years ago got re-pinned on Pinterest more than anything else I have made. Here is a picture of the original ones.
The new ones are slightly different and I didn’t have the same style peat pot and I ran out of the wire.
This whole sleeve of pots only cost 50 cents at a thrift shop. You can buy them inexpensively at dollar stores also. As you can see, these are smaller than the original ones I used and they don’t have the rim around the opening.
Watch here to see how I made them:
I love how they turned out and they were so easy to make. I challenge you to pick up some peat pots and create something for Spring yourself!
Sassy Girl Bookmarks
This post is about some more bookmarks I have made recently. These feature women cut from old pattern sleeves and colorful scrapbook papers. I’ll show you how I made them.
Cover bookmarks with pieces of vintage text and pattern tissue. Don’t think about it too much. Just place the papers down and glue them on.
Select some nice brightly colored scrapbook papers.
Cut papers into circles of varying sizes. I used some circle dies I have but you could always draw around round objects of different sizes and cut them out.
Glue the paper circles, pattern lady and quote on each bookmark.
I cut the quote into strips so they would fit on the bookmark. They look like they are just floating on the paper so I take and extra step to make them feel more incorporated onto the bookmark.
I used black watercolor pencil to loosely trace around each word strip. Now the words blend in better with the background.
Pop the bookmarks into plastic sleeves if you have them. I used the same colorful wool for the tassel that I used on the mixed media bookmarks from my last post.
Don’t forget to cover the backs to give them a proper finish. Now it’s your turn to use some vintage papers and pictures to create your own fun bookmarks!
I hope you like these fun bookmarks. They will also be for sale at the Spring Vintage Home Market.
Mixed Media Beach Book Marks
I’m going to be setting up at the Vintage Home Market show in Richmond, VA this Spring and decided to add some bookmarks to my handmade merchandise. My inspiration for making bookmarks came from some lovely wool I recently purchased at a thrift shop.
Doesn’t it just scream, “Use me for bookmark tassels?”.
Look at the wonderful textures and colors. So yummy!
Several people asked me to make beach themed junk journals for this show so I decided to add some beach themed book marks to my stock as well. Here is a quick step by step run through on how I made them along with the final results.
I cut some watercolor paper into strips.
Then I just scribbled on some blue watercolor paint.
I added some green and a darker shade of blue to completely cover the surfaces.
I added the bubbles by wiping away the paint with a baby wipe through a stencil. I painted on some seaweed fronds as well.
I cut out several seahorses with a Tim Holtz Bigz die and my Big Shot machine.
The seahorses were painted, sealed with glitter decoupage medium and dotted with a white Uniball pen. I made the eyes from gold sequins with a black paper dot for the pupil.
Some of the large bubbles got a glitter treatment and the seahorses were glued on to each bookmark. Captions were printed out, edged in blue ink and adhered to the base.
As I consider each piece a work of my own art I signed each one before slipping them into a plastic bookmark sleeve from Clear Bags. Some pieces of the inspiration wool was tied to the tops.
I also added decorative paper to the backs to finish them off. Here are the close-ups.
These bookmarks are really sturdy and well protected by the plastic sleeve so they will last a long time. They are perfect for taking on a cruise or beach vacation! I will be selling them at the Vintage Home Market in April.
Bookmarks are a lovely small way to create art that also serves a function. Cut some paper strips and let your own creativity flow while you make your own bookmarks!
December Daily 2017
I just finished setting up the basic structure of my December Daily junk journal for this year and I thought I would share it with you. Please ignore the fact that one of my “O” rings is missing, I need to order more of that size.
So here are just some basic things I have done so far.
I used covers from a hard back book and glued a piece from a vintage ornament box to the front.
I used a variety of papers for the pages. I always like to do my December Daily journals for the entire month and usually put in about 40 sheets of papers in varying sizes.
A calendar for the month was added right inside the front cover.
I also added a December Daily prompt list I got off Pinterest in case I need some inspiration on those less than interesting days.
A little hand painted paper bag was glued to the inside of the back cover to put elements in that I don’t necessarily want to glue, tape or staple.
I added glitter glue to the candle flames and gold glittered letters that read, “Christmas 2017” on the front cover. I’m still debating if I will add any other graphics to the front. You can see how skinny the book is now, but I will keep you updated every once in a while during December to show you my progress.
If you are interested in purchasing a December Daily from me please leave me a message. I still have several to choose from and have time to mail them out before December 1st.
My New Antique Mall
For the past two weeks I have been packing, schlepping, unpacking and arranging merchandise at the New Fredericksburg Antique Mall. The old Fredericksburg Antique Mall and the Antique Gallery finally have merged together at one location. We are now in the old Ben Franklin building where River Run Antiques was located. But this mall is so much different from River Run. My cousin, who owns the mall, has put in super new lighting, made beautiful spaces for all the dealers and had the floors cleaned up and polished. It is now so light and bright!
Here is the new sign on the front.
Here are some pictures of Moss Cottage Vintage’s new booth!
My showcase is still waiting for electricity. It will be nice and light when I get it hooked up!
Mantiques, sewing supplies and some cool odds and ends.
Moss Cottage Vintage is only one of many shops in the Fredericksburg Antique Mall. The entire main floor and downstairs are filled with booths. This is one antique mall you do not want to miss if you are visiting old town Fredericksburg, Virginia. Our new address is 925 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. The mall will be open every day 10-5 and Sundays 12-5. And if you are familiar with the old River Run mall, come and see the wonderful transformation!!!
End Of An Era
Moss Cottage Vintage has just gone through a major change. Due to the sluggish economy these last years, I have felt that my profit margin at the Fredericksburg Antique Mall isn’t were it should be. I am doing well on Etsy, but that is because my overhead is so low.
I like having a space in the mall because I like to “play” at displaying my items. But the space I was in was just too big and too expensive to make it worth my while.
So, out with the old…
And in with the new!
I love my new space! It’s surprising how much stuff I was able to fit in there and my sales have already increased!!! If you come to the Fredericksburg Antique Mall, my booth is the third one on the left on the ground floor, right before you go into the back section. Send me a message if you are coming and I’ll try to meet you there.
Now onto some arts and crafts. Here are two cards I made recently. One for my nieces 16th birthday (she loves anything Tudor) and one for a gentlemen who loves fishing.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Moving the shop was quite a big ordeal and I’m also busy with some household renovation projects. I hope I’ll have a chance to “art” again soon.
A Little Up-cycled Project
I purchased this ugly metal match box holder a couple of weeks ago because I thought the shape was really nice. The flower cart picture on the front, not so much.
The bottom needed help too!
I decoupaged some scrapbook paper on the front and the bottom.
I attached an old piece of broken jewelry on the front to add some bling. Now it is worthy to sit on a desk and hold pens, pencils and “old lady eyes”.
It can also hang on a wall. There are many things (including a match box) that you can corral in this up-cycled holder!
It was a quick and easy re-do that saved this vintage piece from going to the junk yard! It is now available at Moss Cottage Vintage in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Ready For The Vintage Home Market
Here’s a quickie post because I am busy with The Vintage Home Market this weekend. I just wanted to show you how great the booth turned out. A great big thank you goes out to my sweet hubby Martin for helping me get it all there and arranged. So just sit back and enjoy the photos.
If you are in the Central Virginia area, please come to the show and see us. The show information is at the bottom of this post. There are lots of dealers with really cute vintage items to see and buy!
I really hope I get to see some of my dear readers at the Market!
glitteronmyface 