Driftwood Valance

This post is compliments of my friend Ruth who created this unique valance out of driftwood pieces and I wanted to share it with all of you!

 

"Here are the pictures you wanted of my driftwood valance.  After several beach walks I had enough pieces to span the window.  I laid them all out on the basement floor until I was satisfied with the arrangement.  I was able to purchase a metal rod in the correct length from my favorite local hardware store but if you couldn't get the correct length a longer one could be cut down.  I chose metal over a wooden dowel for overall sturdiness.

Then I got busy with the drill and a bit a little bigger than the metal rod and made a hole in each piece of driftwood.  I have to admit to splitting a couple pieces and having to replace them.  I threaded them on the rod until I had almost the width of the window casing.

I purchased wooden balls with one flat side at the hobby store and drilled a hole in two of them with a bit exactly the same size as my metal rod, then inserted pencils into the holes and stuck them in a block of styrofoam so that I could easily paint them.  When they were dry I put them on the ends of the rod using a little dab of good glue.

The brackets are simple cup hooks screwed into the window casing.  All I had to do was lay the rod into the hooks and voila!  Beachy, unusual and fun."

Vintage Hanky Pillows

In my cedar chest I've kept a collection of beautiful hand-crotched handkerchiefs that my grandmother made. Recently added to this collection were more handkerchiefs from my mother that she had saved. They were given to her by her mother mostly in birthday cards. In mentioning this to my sister, she sent me her collection as well as her wedding handkerchief.

So why did everyone send me their handkerchief collections? Well, what do you do with them really? Yet, they are not the sort of thing you want to discard as they really are beautiful. I had mentioned to my family that I was going to experiment with them to see how they'd make up into little heirloom vintage hanky pillows. So far, I've made 7 and I'm really liking how they turn out. I've found some pretty fabric to use as a backer for some of the white hankies and other coordinating fabric to use as a front or back. They are fun to make and just all look so different!

Sailboat Nautical Bedroom Decor

I found this really beautiful jacquard fabric online and couldn't resist. Because of the size of the repeat and the amount of the fabric I have, I decided to make pillow shams and a pillow. I found a perfect chocolate brown chenille for the piping and also a coordinating chenille in a soft butter color that compliments it perfectly. The runner at the end of the bed is actually fabric that I have left over, so it can either be a runner or more pillows, but I really like the runner idea!

Mom's Apron

Years ago I made my mom an apron with a cross-stitched pocket. She literally wore it out! So I had her mail it to me so I could remove the pocket and reuse it on a new apron. So I just packaged it up and it's ready to throw in the mail. The new, improved apron :-)