~On Fire for Handmade Top 10 Treasuries~

On Fire for Handmade Weekly Challenge #14

TOP TEN

My "Under the Umbrella" treasury was included!!

CLICK HERE to visit On Fire for Handmade

 

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

 

 

CLICK PIC to visit my shop

~Mason Jars~

The Mason jar was invented and patented in 1858 by Philadelphia tinsmith John Landis Mason.  They were originally designed for canning fruits and veggies.  

Well somewhere along the way we started using them for home and garden decoration.  We use them to drink out of, we use them to put candles in, we plant in them, we tint and paint them, we add sayings and names to them, we glitter them, we tie string and ribbon around them, we put knobs on their lids and use them to hold Qtips and cottonballs, we glue sea glass, beads, fabric, doilies onto them, we turn them into lights, we make them into snow globes, we turn them into birthday party favors, we eat out of them and we must not forget to wrap them in burlap............lets just say the list goes on and on!! 

Mason jars make me happy, so today I want to share some Mason jar transformations that I found on etsy.com.  I hope you enjoy and visit the shops that turned a plain 'ole jar into something very delightful and very useful!!

Heritage Tree Designs 

 The Shabby Chic Wedding

 talona

Romantic Southern 

Elizabeth Kate Decor 

 Heidie With An E

 Lamp Goods

 RM Simple Rustics

Just how fun are the pink polka dot Mason jars?  I could have kept posting more of these, but I will stop at 8.  Just click on the name of each shop to see what they have for sale.  It will be a fun visit for ya. 

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee 

(CLICK ON PIC TO VISIT MY SHOP)

~Happy Birthday Mom~

Today would have been my mom's 81st Birthday.  She passed away after a battle with cancer in 2006.  I have missed her everyday that she has been gone.  I know today she is with my dad, brother and sister having a wonderful Birthday celebration in heaven.  Love you all.

In honor of her Birthday I thought I would feature a few Birthday items from etsy.com.

A Banner Affair

Maison Vogue

Neda Fayes Attic

Nida's Designs

Me, My Sister, My Mom & My Dad (1974)

My Mom and two of her best friends.....Nita & June (2003)

 Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

My etsy shop.........MadeByKarenLee  (just click)

~April Showers~

You know what they say.......April Showers bring May Flowers!

Well it rained cats and dogs here today.  We really need the rain here in California, so its very welcomed.

I want to share with you today a treasury I made for On Fire for Handmade Treasury Week 14.  We needed to make a treasury for April Showers.  I decided I would include umbrella's in each of my picks for this treasury.  I found so many that I fell in love with.  It was hard to narrow it down to these.

~Under the Umbrella~

click here to view treasury and find links to each etsy shop

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee 

click pic to visit my shop 

 

~A Little Organizing~

Hello blogging friends.........I've been missing in action for a few months.  The end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 were the pitts for me and my family.  I have today off from work due to Ceasar Chavez Day here in California.  Thank you Mr. Chavez!!

I decided to do some much needed organizing of my fabric.  I had fabric in containers, in the garage, in my closet, in bags and it was so unorganized!!  I bought more storage containers last week and today I gathered all my fabric from their hiding places and now at least its all in one spot.  I must admit that I haven't organized it by color yet, but that will happen soon.  I love it when I have all of one color together.  But for some reason it does not stay that way.  I guess little fabric fairies come along and mess it all up!!!!

I don't have a large working space, all my sewing is done in my bedroom, so I have everything in one corner of my room.  Its small but it works for me.  I must admit I miss my craft room.

My latest project:

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

 Please visit my etsy shop

(just click on pic)

~A Tree for Mom & A Tree for the Kids~

For the last several years my daughter Lisa has had her own special tree that she gets to decorate all by herself.  She calls it the "Mom Tree".  It sits on the bar between the kitchen and family room.  This year she decided to use peacock colors and it is FABULOUS!  She has gotten mixed reviews, the men hate it, the women love it and the kids don't get it!!  These photos really don't do it justice.......you just gotta see it in person.

 

AND NOW A LOOKY AT THE KIDS TREE

 My daughter is a wonderful mom to her 5 year old son Dominick and also a wonderful mom to her husbands two children, Kelly 16 and Michael 14.  She loves and treats all the kids the same.  I'm very proud of her.  She has the best heart ever, just ask anyone that knows her!!  

Well.....back to the kids tree!!  Lisa sets up the tree, gets the ornament boxes out and she lets the kids go to town.  She never changes anything they put on the tree.  I stood in the kitchen as the kids decorated the tree.  I watched Dominick jumping for joy, so excited about every ornament he put on the tree.  Michael really got into putting the Santa hat on the tree top and putting the garland around the tree.  Then there was Kelly, after all she is 16 and could barely set her phone down.  But in the end she got into the spirit too.

Now that the trees are up, the rest of the house will turn into Christmas next weekend.  Lisa has her last final on Friday.  She will graduate from the nursing program at American River College on December 17, 2013.

Thanks for stopping by........

(PLEASE VISIT MY SHOP, JUST CLICK)

~The Aluminum Christmas Tree~

History of the Aluminum Christmas Tree

(just click on link)

I came across this article on etsy.com and it brought back so many memories of my childhood trees.  Mom and Dad even had the spinning color wheel!!

(just click to visit my etsy shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

~I'm THANKFUL for my FAMILY~

My treasury made the top 10!!

 The treasury challenge at On Fire for Handmade last week was to make a collection of what we are thankful for........easy one for me, MY FAMILY!  I found so many cute family items while shopping at etsy.com.  You can find links to some of my favorites from this list below..........

I'm THANKFUL for my FAMILY

STICKS N STONE

KYLEE INSPIRED CRAFTS

SWEETEST PIE

REFINED INSPIRATIONS

TIMO HANDMADE 

KATHLEEN BUCK ART

 

WATER COLOR QUEEN

DANNY PHILLIPS ART

I hope you have time to visit these shops to see their wonderful collections of art!!

(click  to visit my shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

~Pedricks Lavender Wands~

(click on photo to view shop)

Hello, its Saturday afternoon and I'm waiting for family to arrive so we can play our favorite game of Aggravation.  We play on a large handmade wooden board and we have many sets of 1 inch marbles to play with, along with every color of dice you can think of!!  Great family fun!!!

Today I want to feature Pedricks, a shop of beautiful lavender wands.

ABOUT Catherine Pedrick, owner of Pedricks.  (taken from her etsy.com account)

Pedricks began when I discovered I could weave my long stemmed English lavender into wands instead of just harvesting the flowers and drying them for sachets.

Lavender falls off of it's stems when they begin to get dry and the ladies of the Victorian age created this unique means of preserving the lavender from their gardens so it could be used for many years to scent their clothing or any room they were in.
I have seen a photo of a lavender wand that was 40 years old, with the caption that it still smelled wonderful.
Since only long stemmed English lavender can be used to make these wands, I cannot begin making them until each summers crop is mature enough, and then I have to stop once the stems are no longer supple enough to bend and the flowers begin to fall off of the stems when they are cut.

"I  have always loved working with my hands to create. From drawing and painting, to knitting and embroidery. When I first began to weave my lavender into wands in the Victorian way, it was as if my hands already knew how to do this. It is a joy!"

You can find more info about these wonderful wands made by Catherine at her shop PEDRICKS 

(just click to visit my shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee