How to Make a Vintage Embroidered Doily Apron

Happy Summertime to All of You Lovely Art Ladies!  

DIY with Vintage Wallpaper

I have to admit that I have been enamored with vintage wallpaper ever since Julie and Candice sent their welcome kits for an Art Nest art retreat and they used some sweet vintage wallpaper to decorate them.  One of the teachers at that retreat was Pam Garrison who was using a lot of vintage wallpapers in her art journaling at that time.  I fell in love with the soft colors and the florals and geometric patterns.  Since then I have seen vintage wallpaper used in many ways and it always looks so fresh and lovely.  Here are some fun examples of things that you can do with it!

Pretty Correspondence

100 Layer Cake

A Fresh Approach to Wallpapering

Pinterest Pin

Oh Joy

Applied to Furniture

Better Homes and Gardens

bare wunderbar

Country Living

A Sweet Wreath

Such Pretty Things

Mini Chocolate Bars

Such Pretty Things

Fabulous Lampshade

Fondue

Decorative Windows

Mitzi's Collectables

My Vintage Wallpaper Cabinet

When I was thrift shopping I found this ugly, brown, house-shaped wall cabinet.  It had potential and I had some cute pieces of vintage wallpaper that I had found and some that I had purchased on Etsy.  So I decided that I would decoupage the little cabinet with vintage wallpapers.  First I removed the hinges and hardware from the cabinet.  Then using Mod Podge and a small sponge brush I cut pieces of wallpaper and applied them to the cabinet.

You can cut a decorative edge on the pieces that overlap.

Almost done!

Mask the glass on the doors so it stays cleaner.

Prop up the wet doors to dry so they don't stick to your work surface.

Just to make sure it was all the way dry I set it out in the sun for a bit.

All finished and loaded with trinkets and what-nots!

Art Tribe

Remember that song from Sesame Street, “One of these things doesn’t belong here”.  Well, if all the art friends lined up and that song started playing…I would be the “thing” they are singing about!  

I'm a "W" in a room full of "2"s

Unlike all of these sweet and wonderful “art sisters”, I am loud, I am obnoxious, I cuss like a trucker and have very little natural artistic talent!  Does that matter to them…absolutely not!  Years ago, one of our sweet friends, Rena and I had a conversation about how important it is to belong to a “tribe”. 

My family - 

By the way - I'm Emily Mortimer (I'm the old gal in the middle - not the pretty off to the left).  I am fortunate in many ways.  I live in the house I grew up in.  My little family and I live surrounded by aunts and uncles, cousins, friends since childhood, and my siblings near by.  Add to this a community of my parent’s friends, their children, neighbors, my church congregation…and my life is full of people.  Wonderful people!  People who have influenced my life in so many ways – mostly for good ;)  As I met my sweet art friends, I added them to my “tribe”.   I LOVE these friends.  I love that we have diverse backgrounds and life situations.  I love that none of that matters.  I love that we support each other, laugh with each other, cry with each other, mourn with each other and celebrate with each other.  Shouldn’t everyone be so fortunate? 

In the past few months I’ve take some on-line courses from the lovely Terri Brush and the adorable Jeanne Oliver.  Both of these women have created Facebook pages for the class participants.  It’s been a place of sharing and encouragement for students to share their creations, ideas, tricks and tips.  I’ve been amazed at the generosity of complete strangers, and it just reaffirms to me that in this world, we all need each other.  We all need a tribe.   That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about this blog!  We want you to join us, create with us, laugh with us, and possibly cry with us!  We want everyone to have what we have…an art tribe. 

Inspired by Jeanne Oliver's e-course

Now – on to creating!  I love metal.  I love patina, rust, chipped paint and all other manner of character on metal!  I also love jewelry.  I remember as a child scouring the Utah desert with my family - looking for beautiful rocks and arrowheads.  My father would then take the rocks to a friend and have them made into jewelry for my mother.  I treasure my mother’s jewelry, and I’m sure those memories helped develop my love of all things “earthy”. 

Leather cuff embellished with vintage door hardware

This simple bracelet is made from rusty vintage door hardware, simply wire wrapped to a leather cuff.  In the center of the hardware is a vintage earring secured in place using either resin or clear caulking.  I have had so many compliments on this bracelet…and the best thing?  It gets more comfortable each time you wear it!

May Day Pockets

May Day marks the midpoint between the spring equinox and summer solstice.  The celebration of this beautiful season weaves through many cultures and is celebrated in many ways.  Today the tradition of "bringing in the May" is celebrated by the gift of giving sweet blossoms gathered and leaving your anonymous gift dangling from a doorknob (Also known as doorbell ditching)!!!  With May Day just around the corner here is a simple idea to fashion a sweet May Day pocket.

Sew a pocket with a tight zig zag stitch on burlap fabric.  Make sure to sew your pocket large enough to fit a mason jar or glass.  Trim your pocket with bits of vintage lace and trims.

Decorate your pocket with pretty ribbons and rhinestone buttons.  Use your stash of vintage goods to add a personal touch.  Fill your jar with gathered blossoms.  I love the crinkled ribbon (below) from our Marilyn.

Add a sweet tag to finish off your pocket with an anonymous message.

Pretty tag from Bluebird Lane

Happy spring!  xo Lorraine