My Spring Line

Happy New Year!

I can't wait to get back in the studio and get started on my Spring line! I'm so inspired by vintage jewlery, hymns, crosses, florals and so much more!  I can hardly sleep for all the ideas in my head! I have many custom pieces coming up too - be on the lookout!

I'll be taking these crosses from Shepherds Haven and making necklaces and wall art.

I'll be doing some beautiful Scrabble bracelets, necklaces and earrings
(can't even tell they're Scrabble tiles, huh?)

I'm also doing vintage assemblage necklaces - I finished my first one and took it for a test drive - in 4 hours I got more compliments than on any other piece - I can't wait to show it to you! 

I'm also doing more and more memorial pieces like this one:

On the home decor side I'm inspired by vintage sheet music - the more romantic the better!  I'll be unvieling several new pieces in time for Valentine's day!

1907 "Scarf Dance" vintage sheet music

I'm also designing some memory boxes from wooden boxes, cigar boxes and other "found" objects - These should be ready soon, but definately in time for Mother's Day - many will even have Mothers-themed hymns on them!

I'm planning a semi-pro photo shoot in late January, early February before I get into full-swing show season.  In the mean-time, I'm doing my 2 favorite things: Junkin' and Creatin'  Speaking of Junkin' - many of my friends are in the cleaning mood (for reasons unknown!) and have asked me what I "need".  Here's the list I put together:

Save up to $10.00 off of your ReDeemed purchase when you recycle the following items:


· 3x3 or 4x4 natural stone or terracotta tiles – 50 cents each
· Old sets of dominoes - $1.00
· Wood serving trays - $1.00 - $3.00 depending on size
· Vintage wrapping paper - $2.00
· Vintage wallpaper (pre-1980) - $2.00
· Old hymnals (pre-1950) - $2.00
· Scrabble board game - $2.00
· Backgammon games (not plastic pieces!) - $3.00
· Framed art (11x14 or larger) - $3.00
· Canvases (any size)
· Broken or old jewelry (rhinestones are great!) - varies
· Cork rolls or tiles - varies
· Vintage fabric (pre-1960) - varies
· Broken watches, parts, small gears, etc. - varies
· Hand-written letters (vintage and/or foreign language are even better!) - varies
· Wooden boxes, crates, etc.
· Cigar boxes
· Old windows, doors, cabinets
· anything rusty :)
· Old paper, sheet music, notes, reciepts, broken spine books, aged and waterspotted even better!
· Just about anything - just ask!

Limits: up to $2.00 off minimum purchase of $10.00, up to $5.00 off minimum purchase of $25.00, up to $10.00 off minimum purchase of $40.00 or more. May not be combined with any other offer.

It's my birthday!

I'm a Christmas baby - I used to think that the whole world celebrated my birthday and Jesus' at the same time!  My B-day is actually today, December 26th.  I'm 35 - and I wouldn't trade it for 15 or even 25!

I know myself so much better, how strong I am, how creative and competent in my own talents.  I've stopped trying to be perfect, trying to be right, trying to fit in and trying to petend that I had already achieved the previous.  I've learned to appreciate my flaws, learn from every mistake, embrace that which makes me unique and to just be honest.  With myself first and then with others! 

(loving me has taken time - I wonder why - look how adorable I am!)

I'm so happy that I have a man by my side who had guided much of this "self-awareness". 

(a rare shot from dating days - 1995!)

I'm thankful for the Grace of a Saviour who loves me enough to let me wander and always welcomes me home.  I'm blessed by 4 children, 3 of whom I have the honor of caring for every day. 

(Calvin, Jordan and Gavin - the lights of my life)

I've entrusted the other into the competent hands of my Father and am very much looking forwad to the day when we are all together again.

(Ian, just minutes before he returned to Heaven at 3 months of age)

I'm surrounded by loving friends and family who go out of their way to wish me birthday blessings and are always such a blessing just to be around.  They have been God's arms extended to me.

I know that the best is yet to come!

A giveaway not to miss!

Sassafrass Stuff is celebrating her 100th post with an incredible gift basket!

Stop by and enter - tell her I sent her your way (if you want!)

Vintage Home is having a big party - hurry you can get in on the last days!

And don't forget to enter Whisperwood Cottage's giveaway (as seen on my sidebar!)

That's all - good luck!

[ReDeemed] Christmas Link Party-Tutorial-Show off!

The biggest gift I've ever given...well, my first child arrived on Christmas Eve 1998, but I'm not really counting that!

Last year for Christmas my husband and I sent the big kids to grandma's house, and in 4 days redecorated 3 rooms (yes, in case you are wondering, I do know that was crazy!)

We gift wrapped the doors - I told you it was the biggest present!

Mydaughter is a diva-princess and she needed a room that better reflected that.  We started planning in September and loading things into the storage room.  One of the first things I found was this:

vintage gold king-sized headboard

I loved it, I splurged and spent $25.00 on it (remember, I like free much better!)

My mom had some vintage gold fabric that she had been saving for quite a while, and I convinced her to gift it to me :

Next, I took the bed from my son's room and made it over:

 

before

I took the bed apart, discarded the back, then spray-painted it gold to match the king-sized headboard.  Next I upholstered the end pieces, starting with a double layer of batting to camoflauge the iron railings.  I handstiched the batting in place to prevent bunching.

Next, I used the vintage gold upholstry fabric and sewed covers with my machine, placed them over the batting, then handstiched each end closed.
Then I tufted it with rhinestone buttons on both sides.  Here's what it looked like after:

(btw, the valance was free, thrown away by one of my mom's friends.  She rescued it from their trash!  It was UGLY purple, I recovered it with a remnant from Hobby Lobby, it was just BARELY big enough!)

The vintage headboard was missing one of it's inserts, so I made a third one with cardboard, padded all three with batting and upholstered them with the matching fabric, finishing them off with a rhinestone button too!

Next we hung the vintage headboard on the wall using L brackets.  Here's how it turned out:

I also took my favorite childhood slipper chair:

and made a slip cover using a stretch velvet dress:

And here's how that turned out:

chair with new desk from Walmart (eek - we ran out of time, I really wanted a vintage dresser set with a great round mirror, but couldn't find one that was affordable!), we omitted one shelf of the "baker's rack" top and inserted  beautiful vintage mirror.

we also spraypainted this yellow shelf

and used it as a TV stand

It was all worth it just to see her face:

After Christmas, I used my new Cricut (thank you hubby!) to personalize the IKEA Zebra print that was over her bed:

(btw - the "crown" at the top of the canopy - it's a vintage pot rack!)

It reads "Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades, the woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the fear of God." from Proverbs

I was so proud of myself that I put it on HGTV's Rate Your Space website (that was before I started blogging again!)

Here's to your [ReDeemed] Christmas projects!  I would love to see them!  What did you recycle?  What did you repurpose?

How about a link party?

Hobby Lobby online!

Hobby Lobby will begin selling online on January 1st - I think that my life just got a lot easier!

That's all, I just wanted to share!

Look for me (and another gift certificate giveaway!)

Look for me today on Somewhat Simple's 12 Giveaways of Christmas (day 11)!

I'm hosting a giveaway over there for a gift certificate :)

To booth or not to booth?

Ah, I've been telling my husband for some time that I really NEED a store to house all of my creations and ideas.  He has met this proclaimation with a loving wink and "I know", but never jumped to the phone to call a realtor (if you know what I mean!)

I've check into booth space and have found a spot that is very reasonable - Frisco Mercantile, the starter space is 5x10' and $200 per month (the next nearest shop is nearly $600 for that size space!)

I know that I have a good eye for quality vintage pieces and interesting, unique items.  And I think that my artwork will fit nicely with vintage items.  I also have a passion for marketing and "dressing", even my traveling booth ends up looking like an antique's booth:

(I was going to insert a pic of my recent booth set up here, but somehow instead erased all the images from my camera phone!  EEEEK)

I need your help though!  To my friends in the blogosphere who have shops or booths:

1. What do you consider "essential" to your booth/business? (i.e. a few big shopping/stock ups or continual small shopping trips, a storage space, permenant "fixtures, etc.)
2. What do you wish you had done differently when you started?

And to my fellow shopping budies - I know I shop predominately on price, but aesthetic appeal also lures me in.  What "gets" you?  What do you like mos about your favorite stores, and more importantly, what motivates you to actually purchase?

Making the most of your decorating budget

You may know that I owned my own event planning business for 10 years. I closed it in 2006 after my 3rd child passed away. Well, A dear friend's daughter is getting married and I promised her mother that I would help with the wedding. (You probably remember Ashley's post during my 12 Days of Christmas series).

I have been going through all my files and getting ready to dust off my event planner's hat, and I remembered that I used to blog!  I have recovered my info and linked up to that old account, and here is a post from "back in the day" that is still just as good as it was then :)

August 15th, 2005

 
I recently helped a client with a dinner banquet for 200 people. They wanted a lot of bang for not a lot of bucks. This is not an uncommon delimma!

Hotels and banquet facilites regularly provide "standard" decorations at no charge, or at a very small fee. The problem is, well, they are "standard". They are boring. I won't go so far as to say that they are ugly, but they are definately predictable. So how do you dress your wedding reception or dinner banquet tables for $25 or less? The answer is "You have to be creative."

Start by looking around - what do you have in abundance already? What is easily attainable for a good price? In many cases, the answer is right under your nose.

For this client, we used ivory candles and tons of fresh rose petals. We used some things that we already had, like the gold candlesticks and candleplates, but the look can be recreated using your own collection of candlesticks and candle plates.

Here's an idea - go to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift store. People regularly donate brass and silver candlesticks of all varieties. Don't like brass? Spray paint them ivory or another color to match your decor theme. The key to keeping such an ecclectic decor together and looking intentional is to use the same color candles. We used ivory in many different forms, pillar, votive, ball and tapers. Look for sales at Garden Ridge, Michaels, or JoAnn's, ask for a quantity discount (it never hurts) or shop at a wholesale store. Always use unscented candles when planning for a large group - you don't want to aggrevate anyone's allergies!

The fresh rose petals are a lot of work, but well worth it! I recommend that you plan for 1 dozen per table for maximum impact and coverage. Go to Sam's, Costco or the grocery store and buy roses in your desired color. If they have some that are in their "last glory" you can usually get a really good price on them. When you get them home, remove any brown or damaged petals and discard. Gently remove the petals and place in a Ziplock bag. Do not include the innermost petals that are "shriveled". For extra sparkle, spray some of the petals with Design Master glitter spray. Store the rose petals (in Ziplock bags) in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before your event. (Make sure that you remove any fresh citrus, onions or garlic before storing fresh flowers in the refrigerator, the acids can damage the flowers).

When it is time to decorate, use heavy clear plastic disposable plates under your pillar candles. This not only saves you money, but it saves you clean up time - just toss them!

I'd love to see your photos, send them to me at noel@noelgiger.com
Until next time, happy planning!
Noel

More FREE vintage image gift tags (Vintage Monday)

I am a little late hopping on the Vintage Monday train started by Anything Goes Here, but I was inspired to put together another set of gift tags from my vintage Christmas card collection. 

Click here to download the file with vintage Christmas outdoor scenes.

If you missed out on the first ones, click here to get the adorable snowpeople ones!

Merry Christmas!

Giveaway's not to miss!

Six in One Hand is having a birthday party giveaway - 6 things!  Visit her post here for the first 3, and her sister's post over at Six Divided by Two for the last 3!

(check back throughout the day as I find more I'll let you know!)

Congratulations to our winners!

A Partridge in a Pear Tree (the fabulous vintage apron): The Mihills Family, Debbie
Three French Hens (fantastic hat and tags): The Lone Dollier, Marilyn
Six Geese a Laying (that adorable bird's nest): A Working Mom's Joy, Sandy

And the grand prize goes to....

Fireflies and Jellybeans, Fawnda!

Thank you all for participating and following along with me for this blog series.  It's been great fun and I've enjoyed reading all your comments!

On the 12th day...Twelve Drummers Drumming

Today is the LAST DAY to enter!  Drawing for all prizes tomorrow, December 13th!  Remember you can leave a comment on each day for extra chances to win, and look at the bottom of each post for the extra entry opportunities!

"On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
twelve drummers drumming,

eleven pipers piping,

ten lords a leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a milking,

seven swans a swimming,

six geese a laying,

five gold rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree."

I feel kind of like I always do when I get to the end of this song, a little winded and glad it's over!  I sure have had fun researching this song and all it's variations, sharing those with you as well as my Etsy finds and especially my blogging friends!

Here we go... Aussie style will bring us Twelve parrots prattling (or 12.Twelve possums playing, depending on your version - there are 3!); French style has twelve musketeers with their swords

(I think I saw the 1993 movie about 5 times when it came out, I was smitten with Chris O'Donnell and Charlie Sheen!)

Scottish style gives us three stalks o' merry corn (all of theirs after the first day are in sets of 3, very strange!); New Zealand brings us Twelve piupius swinging

(a kind of skirt!)

 Rednecks enjoy 12 packs of Bud, which under no circumstances should be paired with the Cajun's 12 shotgun shells!  The Canadian version never makes it to day twelve, they got too confused!  The Heavy Metal version presents 12 silver crosses (which is probably the only day that I'd answer the door!)

Day 12 also brings us a reminder of the 12 points of The Apostles Creed, I have always remembered these from the Rich Mullins song, it is a personal favorite!

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 
3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 
5. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
6. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
7. I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
8. the holy catholic Church, 
9. the communion of saints, 
10. the forgiveness of sins, 
11. the resurrection of the body, 
12. and life everlasting.

And now, our guest blog:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hi! This is Melissa from HoneyBeeBzz. It has been so nice to have Noel as a fellow blogging friend and I am excited to round out the 12 days of Christmas. Thank goodness this is over the blogosphere because I am singing the song right now, and I wouldn’t want your poor ears to get shattered. :D

I love Christmas time (and the twelve days of Christmas) because you get to spend memorable time with family. One thing that we have over at HoneyBeeBzz is kids. Between the three writers (not all of us write full time) we have 6 kids. So, in order to celebrate the Twelve Drummers Drumming, what better than to have our little drummers drumming?
Here are some pictures of out little drummers:
 




I hope that you all enjoy your little drummers drumming this Christmas season. If you don’t have little drummers to drum, then just gander at these here pictures. :D

I also wanted to post a tutorial. Not a 12 Drummers Drumming Tutorial, but a Christmas one. Turns out, I didn’t get it finished and so instead of disappointing you, I will post a great idea for Christmas gifts!

I love Picnics. When my husband and I were dating, our first Christmas together he wanted a list of things to get me. The only thing I could decide that I wanted that Christmas was a Picnic Basket. I was pleasantly surprised at the basket that he picked out. I love it! It is currently in storage, but this spring I am going to pull it out and use it with my new Picnic Roll.

Here is my very own tutorial on how to make your own. First, what is a Picnic Roll you might ask? It holds all of your silverware (or plasticware) for you to easily throw into your basket and take with you.


First, buy a kitchen towel from the dollar store. This one is from Dollar Tree. Cut the towel in half,

You will need to fold the towel over twice on the cut edge and iron it so that you create a clean edge just like the other three on the towel.


Sew down your iron hemmed edge.


Turn your towel so that your fresh sewn hem is at the bottom, closest to you. Then fold the towel up about two thirds of the way. I stuck a fork in at this part to test the height. I wanted part of the towel on top to still be able to fold down.


I pinned the towel and also pinned in a ribbon into the right side so when I sewed the sides up, the ribbon was sewn in. The ribbon is used to tie your roll into a roll shape. :D Kind of like the crayon rolls everyone has brilliantly been making!






Then, starting at the fold, after I had, I sewed up the two sides, and then down the middle.


After the middle, I measured in between the middle and the edge and sewed up that middle on both sides. Thus, creating four pockets.




This will complete your picnic roll. Simple enough. A hem stitch, and five stitches to create the pockets with the ribbon tie. 
Here is the picnic roll with silverware: forks and spoons.

I like to fold over the top before I roll up the picnic roll.


The picnic roll, all rolled up and ready to be thrown into your basket or into a lunch box. Great for a family of four, or you can fit more than one set of plasticware in each pocket.
Enjoy making it!

Also, for those of you who don’t have the time or don't want to sew your own, you can always find some at my Etsy shop for $7.

Thank you Noel, for letting Tiffany, Katie, and I from Honey Bee Bzz come and visit. Have a wonderful Christmas
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't forget about our gift certificate giveaway - with a drawing, from ALL the comments on all the days!
To enter:

• Post a comment (1 per day – so after you check out the next day’s blog, come back here and enter again – just like the song builds every day, so do your chances!
• If you haven't already, post the button (then a comment letting me know)
• Blog, Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway with the link (then a comment letting me know)
• Follow me (then a comment letting me know)
• BONUS Entry: Follow Honey Bee Bzz, then leave me a comment that you do!
• SPECIAL BONUS LAST DAY ENTRY:
  Leave another comment telling me your favorite post, blogger or pic!

The fine print:

• You must leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry – this is the only way to keep it fair and straight (and keep me from having to kill a tree printing them out and cutting them apart!)
• All giveaways will be held on December 13th
• A random number generator will be used to determine the winner(s)
• If your e-mail address is not publicly listed on your profile, please include it with your comment(s)
• We reserve the right to re-draw if the first winner does not respond within 48 hours (please don’t let this happen – that would just be sad!)