Friday, March 30, 2012

More Spring Mantel - Songbirds of Spring


You have to forgive my slightly blurry pictures today.  There's a reason for it, and I'll share that with you later on.  Hint:  steep learning curve.  

I'm sharing another little step towards completing my spring mantel.  I love the wicker cloche, above.  I lucked into that.  We went to an estate sale, and there were three (!!!) of these nested together, in three sizes.  One needs some repair, but the entire set only cost me $5.00.  Couldn't very well walk away from a deal like that, could I?  I've nested some plastic Easter eggs in some greenery, and clipped on some spring-green butterflies to watch over them.  I have it sitting on a little porcelain pedestal that I picked up at the Good Samaritan for a song.

Butterflies aren't very good babysitters, so it's a good thing Mama and Daddy Bird are nearby.  I bought this adorable ceramic set with the crushed glass inset in the wings at Michael's.  Isn't there an actual bird that's called a glasswing?  

Hm-mm .... OK, so a little googling showed me that the glasswing is actually an unbelievably beautiful butterfly. But my birds are pretty good, too, and I don't mind saying so.


Two more little pretties, and the week goes on.  Full reveal tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Love,

Sass

Thursday, March 29, 2012

More Spring Mantel - Song of Spring


This sign announces Spring in our little corner of Montana.  I found an old wall plaque that was decoupaged, sixties-style, to a 1" wooden board.  I liked the size and shape, and the Goodwill price was right, so I brought it home.  I just mod-podged strips of music across it, then printed out the saying on the computer, cut that carefully out (chose that font carefully, too, so that it would be pretty much continuous), then mod-podged that over the top of the music.  A few bits of green vinery, cut from cardstock, and a few silk flowers complete the face of it.

It actually had a existing hanger on the back, and for a while, it hung on that hanger, but it was too high, and I didn't like the way it looked.  Kinda bunched up, like a guy with no neck.  I decided it had to have a different sort of hanger so as to hang lower from the mantelpiece.  I asked MMM to drill me a couple of holes. (Not that I couldn't do it myself, but they're his tools and he knows where the drill bits are!) Thankfully, he was happy to help out.)  I had picked up this nice garden tool at the Dollar Store earlier in the day, and he drilled a hole through the spade, as well.  Then I just tied it to the plaque with a bit of black ribbon.

Now, we're busy proclaiming the Song of Spring!  I'm not 100% sure I love it, but I like it a lot! ;-)

Love,

Sass

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring Mantel - Window and Wreath



Here is where the inspiration for the whole Spring Mantel came from:  the scrapbook paper section at Michael's.  I fell in love with a grouping of papers, and had to buy one of each.  But I'm not really a scrapper.... so what was I to do with them?  Aha!  I cut them in long, very narrow pennant shapes.  Then I simply curled them, just like you would  curling ribbon.  I love the fact that you can see both sides of the paper in the curls.  Scrapbook paper lends itself to this particularly well.

I covered the styrofoam wreath shape with ribbon - just wound it around and around, then fixed it in place with a drop or two of hot glue.  Then, one at a time, I attached these curls to the wreath frame, and tacked it to my window with a bit of the same ribbon I used to wrap the foam shape.

Are you loving my window?  I went to the ReStore, and there it was, waiting for me.  I have to say, the ReStore has figured out that folks want these old windows for decorative purposes, and I ended up paying a premium price for it.  Not particularly happy about that, but I'm pleased, at least, that the ReStore does the work of God, making sure that low income people have the opportunity to enter into the American Dream of homeownership via Habitat for Humanity.  So, if I have to pay a little more for my window - better I do that at the ReStore than just about anywhere else.  I carried this home with more than a little happiness.

Love,

Sass

Monday, March 26, 2012

My Spring Mantel - Floral Freshness


Here I am again, unashamedly touting my love of silk flowers.  These, I bought at Michael's.  Just fell in love with their pretty spring brightness.  The vase is something else.  It was nothing more than a clear glass vase I bought at Goodwill and then dripped matching paint down into it to make it a bit more opaque.  These are quite tall - probably about 25 inches and they are simply an explosion of color against that dark stone fireplace.  

There's a tiny hint of a little item I picked up at the ReStore just to the left.  You'll see more of that tomorrow!

Enjoy!

Love, 
Sass

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sass's Sunday Salvation Show #17

What a crazy weekend!  I've been so busy now that it actually looks like Spring might arrive (Omigosh!  I am soooo EXCITED! It's never seemed this slow to come before.  I'm sure it's just me, but I feel like I've been waiting for years!)

On Friday, I stayed home from work.  I was pretty sure I was coming down with a stomach bug (norovirus is going around pretty good), but I have a hard time just sitting around all day.  And I don't have television at my house.  Occasionally, on a quiet evening, I will pop in an old movie, but during the day, I just turn on K-Love, and listen and sing along while I work. So yes, I was achy, but aside from a small uneasy feeling, nothing came of it.  So, instead, I got a bunch things done.

I changed out and washed the towels in the master bathroom, stripped and changed the bed, scooped the kitty poop, refilled the kitties' self feeder, swept the bathrooms' and kitchen floors, vacuuumed all the carpet, scrubbed my stovetop and set the oven to self-clean, wiped that out, scrubbed the faces of all my large appliances,  changed out my old canisters for some new ones I bought earlier at Goodwill, scrubbed my countertops, did a load of laundry and a load of dishes, and fixed dinner (just Papa Murphy's pizza) for MMM and I.  We watched In Time on DVD and cuddled on the sofa.  At the end of the day, I felt great about all I had accomplished.  It isn't often that my day goes so well.  And I got to have some real solitary time.  I hadn't realized how much I miss that.

Saturday?  Slept in.  Went out to breakfast.  Went the the early bird matinee of The Hunger Games. Did a bit of shopping.  Ate leftovers for supper.  Posted Saturday's Sneak Peek.  Crocheted a little and went to bed.  I think I deserved a day like that.   I wish I had a day like each of those days in every one of my weeks.  That would be so wonderful!

We'd better get on with the Salvation Show, hadn't we?  I sure had a favorite from last week.  Kei, at Unfortunately Oh! crafted the most amazing Swarovski-inspired bracelet and her knockoff is so incredibly close to the original! I can't believe it!  You won't believe the comparison.


I'm a sucker for an interesting piece of jewelry, and Kei had me at Oh!  And not so 'unfortunately', either.  If I can just find a bit of braid that resembles hers, I'll be following her killer tutorial for a blazing knockoff of my own.  You just have to go over there and have a look.  Plus, you can consider it a cheapo vacation.  Kei is in the UK, so have a cuppa tea while you're visiting her.

For you, Kei, my 'Featured' Button:


Sassafras Salvation





Time for this week's Salvation Show.  First, a few rules:
 
Share something you've done recently.  Take a moment to look at and comment on someone else's link - we're all in this together!  Please consider becoming a follower of Sassafras Salvation and take a Sunday Salvation Show button to remind yourself and others to come back again and again!
Sassafras Salvation





Saturday, March 24, 2012

Saturday Sneak Peek - My Ring


Well, OK - you've had a look at his.  It's only fair that I give you a Sneak Peek at mine.  I am over the moon delighted with my ring.  I realize that some of you reading this may not realize that this is a part of an ongoing series.  Here's the quick-and-dirty of what's going on.  MMM and I are getting married on September 1st.  It's a second marriage for both of us, and we want to do it well, but wisely, so we have committed to incurring no new debt as we enter into this marriage.


Essentially, that means that we each have a number of tasks ahead of us, and, within reason, everything about this wedding will either be homemade or thrifted.  Our rings were one of those items for which it was unreasonable to consider thrifting or homemade.  We're just not jewelers and we wanted nice rings.  Each of us has very specific taste.  I am a girly-girl and MMM is nothing if not masculine, so a matchy-matchy set was just out of the question.  Without doubt, any set I would prefer would be too fussy for him and whatever his preference would be too stark for me.


So, here is my gorgeous ring.  It's black diamonds set in 10K white gold, in a style reminiscent of rings of the late 1800s.   I love its antique style, particularly the way the whole top section is set like a crown, with tiny diamond chips surrounding the larger stones in an infinite ribbon.  There's no single stone that rises like a solitaire.  Instead, the entire ring is unified.  The whole set of stones has shared importance. 

 
 MMM and I went to a local jewelry store and tried on rings.  Two good things came out of that.  First, we were able to get accurately sized.  I'm a six on a good day; a six-and-a-half after a popcorn movie night.  


Second, I had previously imagined that a simple gold band would do it for me.   Oh, how wrong I was!  When we left the store, I had (at last) tried on the one ring that really spoke to me - the ring that I had somewhat avoided, thinking that it was just too expensive.  And it was.  But it was full of pretty details, and that made me fully aware that I wanted more than a plain and simple band. Self awareness is a good thing, no?


We started looking online, and, while I didn't necessarily want to insist on diamonds (because of the sometimes-outrageous cost), I wasn't completely ruling them out.  One day, I did a Google Image search for 'diamond ring', and then just scrolled down through the many results.  Then suddenly, in the middle of a page full of white diamonds, there was a black diamond, and I fell in love. 

[[Here's where you have to forgive my wrinkly fifty year old hands.  A hand model I am NOT!  Some women have pretty hands.  Mine are utilitarian.  They look like they should be kneading dough or changing diapers or wielding a hoe.  That's okay with me.  They look very much like my Grandma C's hands.]


I found this ring online, on Amazon, and we paid under $500 for it.  I think that's pretty amazing value.  Diamonds set in white gold for that price?  Wow. 

I think it's beautiful and timelessBest of all, it's from MMM.

Love,

Sass
 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Open the Door to Spring!

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I just thought that a few pretty wreaths (from Pinterest, of course) would inspire you as much as they do me.   Anyone with an online interior design degree knows that the entrance to a home is important to decorate.  I want to make all of these!  They are so lovely.  And, if you follow the links, you will find that a couple of them have tutorials.  I love this collection - they are all from such different materials and construction techniques.  What they have in common is their bright Spring beauty.  Drink it in, sweethearts.  Spring is coming!

Love,

Sass

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Sass's Sunday Salvation Show #16

Does your weekend speed by like it's on the autobahn?  Mine sure does.  I have been so incredibly busy, mostly on projects for the wedding.  I hope you enjoyed yesterday's Sneak Peek - if you didn't see it, it's the first link, below.  

One of the things I did was check with a couple of local bakeries for the cost of a small wedding cake.  We have specific plans for the guest cakes - which I'll share with you some Saturday, but I want a small cake just for the two of us to cut.  One bakery said they could get the job done for about $40, and the other said it would be $86 plus labor.  I, frankly, think that I can bake a cake for us for less than either of those figures.  So, today, with the help of Martha Stewart, MMMom and I tried out a cake recipe.  It was really delicious, and may even be the winner.  I still have some other ideas I want to try out, though, before I make a final decision.

My favorite link from Salvation Show # 15 was for Miss Information's Crockpot Lotion Bars. Not many reptiles could survive Montana's cold.  In fact, aside from a few snakes and a salamander or two, we really don't have much in the way of reptiles.  But my dry skin pretty much makes up for that.  So I love anything that might soften me up a bit.  In fact, I carry a lotion bar in a little tin in my purse all the time.  I love that thing.  And I never have to worry about it leaking all over the place.  To know that I can whip out a few anytime I like is beyond wonderful.  And I can do it in a crockpot?  Where do I sign up?  Thank goodness I don't have to and neither do you.  Just buzz over there and read through her directions.  You'll be soft and supple in no time at all.  And Miss Information introduced me to a crockpot product I had not known existed!  For you, Miss Information, my 'Featured' Button:

Sassafras Salvation




Time for this week's Salvation Show.  First, a few rules:
 
Share something you've done recently.  Take a moment to look at and comment on someone else's link - we're all in this together!  Please consider becoming a follower of Sassafras Salvation and take a Sunday Salvation Show button to remind yourself and others to come back again and again!
Sassafras Salvation


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Saturday Sneak Peek - His Ring


MMM and I have committed to entering into this marriage without entering into any new debt.  We determined that everything we do, within reason, has to be homemade or thrifted.  That just isn't possible with our rings.  We're just not jewelers, so we needed to turn to capable, reputable sources to find our rings.  MMM's came in the mail today.  
 

Mine has been here a while, and I will feature it some other Saturday.  But I'm really excited about his.  Don't get me wrong - I'm excited about mine, as well, but I bought his.  News flash: I am giving a man a wedding ring.  It's really so much more real.  A bit like feeling that baby kick for the first time.  Suddenly everything is more clearly in focus.  


We thought, at one point, about simply getting a matching set and calling it good.  But we're both very strong individuals, and we each wanted a ring that spoke to us.  We're really good together, and that's because we each are strong enough to stand alone.  It makes us doubly strong when we choose to stand together.  We're not 'dependent' on each other.  We're two independent beings, choosing to become dependent on one another.  Our rings are very different from each other.  You'll see what I mean when I feature my ring.  As are we.
 

There's a world of difference in that.  We both bring our 'A' game to this marriage.  Nobody's running away from one thing or to another.  This is a careful, thoughtful choice about how we each want to shape our lives.  And we are choosing to shape them together.  I really think that our rings are a perfect example of that.  


MMM ordered his ring online from an Etsy shop - Titanium Knights.  He considered many rings.  We looked at cobalt, stainless steel, tungsten, gold, and platinum.  We looked at simpler rings and much more complicated rings.  


But he was convinced he wanted a hammered look and he wanted titanium.  This isn't quite hammered, since that would be almost impossible in titanium, but it's got a great look and we're both really happy with it.
 
 

Here's the funny thing.  He has very large hands.  Here I am - size 6 ring finger, trying on this size 13.5 ring.  Isn't that so funny?  It's even too big for my thumb!  


But here it is, on his left hand, where it belongs, and it's not a bit funny.  Suddenly, all is right with the world.

Love,

Sass

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Serendipity Scarf and Headband


Maybe one last winter crochet project before spray paint season starts and I get going on all the furniture I have plans for!  We have such a teasing kind of pre-Spring weather going on.  Sunshine one day, snow the next.  Makes me a little crazy - I'm never sure how to dress!


This is another scarf I made while I was at the Montana Rural Water Conference.  I ran across this lovely yarn at Michael's - and while it was more than I am accustomed to paying, I certainly think it worked up into a nice scarf.  It has a kind of curliness to it, and is whimsical and practical at the same time.  


I had just a bit of green leftover from a former project - but just enough to make a coordinating headband.  And strangely enough, my bit of leftover blue yarn matched, too, so that this whole set came together by serendipitous means.  Nice how that happens sometimes.  

Love,

Sass



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My Midwinter Rag Rug Project



 Last summer, for my birthday, MMM's mom gave me a rug-making kit.  And just for good measure, she got herself one, too. Because we were very busy with summertime tasks - gardening, for instance, we decided that we'd put off this particular kit until wintertime.  This lovely gift came with an instructional DVD.  I have to confess, right up front, that I was going to try to do a picture tutorial with this post, but I realized, after looking at my pitiful (hard-to-describe) pictures, that a tutorial of this sort really has to be a video.  So, I am buying yardage towards the next rug, and perhaps, I'll film a video tutorial, once I have enough fabric to roll with that future rug. OK?  Stay tuned!

These rugs have a lovely primitive feel - and the colors that came in the kit emphasize that, as well.  That ball of strips in the picture up top?  That ball is about the size of a regulation basketball and it contains twelve yards of fabric, cut into 2 inch wide strips, and joined together.


These have also been called toothbrush rugs.  Apparently, the first large crochet hooks that were used to make these rugs were DIY'd out of old toothbrushes.  My kit came with a lovely big hook, so I didn't have to sacrifice a toothbrush for this  rug-making venture.

I worked out this rug once, ripped out the whole thing, and did it over again.  It had a big bump in the center, and wouldn't lie flat.   It deserved to be ripped out.  But on the second try, it really came out well and sure worked up fast.  Just one of those single crochet stitches uses nine inches of fabric, so you can imagine how fast you can burn through the yardage.


Well, what do you think?  I really had fun making this rug.  I want to make a room sized one.  Hope you like it!

Love,

Sass



Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sass's Sunday Salvation Show #15

Such a busy weekend!  Yesterday, I went to a performance by a pair of artists who've spent a couple of weeks in the local schools and then showcased some of what the students did.  Among those students was my grandson.  It was very interesting to see how thoughtfully put together their performance was, and I was particularly proud of the way Kieran demonstrated his own very insightful thought process.  Today, I went to our local ski hill, Great Divide, to watch Kieran and his little sister, Kai, as they showed off their considerable ski skills.  What amazes me most is how fearless they are!  It was a lot of fun.  We all ate lunch together on the deck (it was nearly 50 degrees!) and enjoyed the sunshine.  Tonight, we'll all gather to have dinner together and celebrate Kieran's 11th birthday.  He's turning out to be quite a nice young man - and very handsome, and I am so very proud of him.  Hope your birthday is the best one ever, Kieran.  I love you!


Last week's Sunday Salvation Show was not huge, but there were some lovely links to really cool projects.  Becca, over at Gardners 2 Bergers created my favorite - a wonderfully inexpensive way to create a set of corner curtain rods from electrical conduit.  I particularly love that she walked us through it, so I can recreate this lovely corner set, if I ever need to.  What a great project!


Another really cool thing that happened this week was this:  MMM created a new button for Sassafras Salvation.  It's my 'featured' button, and Becca will be the first to get to enjoy it (unless folks who were previously featured stop by to get one first)!



Sassafras Salvation




Time for this week's Salvation Show.  I am ready and excited to see all your creativity - bring it on!  First, a few rules:
 
Share something you've done recently.  Take a moment to look at and comment on someone else's link - we're all in this together!  Please consider becoming a follower of Sassafras Salvation and take a Sunday Salvation Show button to remind yourself and others to come back again and again!

Sassafras Salvation






Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sneak Peek Saturday - Chalkboard Welcome



As the wedding nears, I am getting a more and more concrete vision of what it will all look like.  Don't get me wrong..... I've always pretty much had in mind what I wanted.  Some changes have happened along the way, in terms of practicality,etc., but I knew what I wanted from the start.


One thing I have had my eye on was a chalkboard that MMM made for himself - for his pottery business.  I know that I have mentioned that he is an excellent potter - he makes really interesting and inventive pottery.  You can check out a few of his things at his Etsy store: Creatively Strange.  You may just find something you can't live without.
  

  
Here are a couple of shots of a teapot set in progress and then the finished work, below.  Don't they have a wonderful steampunk feel?
 
 
He's a true talent, on his way to being recognized, and deservedly so.


 

Almost a year ago, he picked up a cupboard door at our local ReStore, and after putting several layers of classic black chalkboard paint, it turned out to be quite a thing of beauty.  Time to consider an alternate, albeit temporary, use for this item.  It will make a perfect welcome sign for our wedding.

 
I lettered it with a liquid chalkboard paint marker,




carefully laying out the words, and a border design to finish it off.




Here's a very useful lettering tip, for anyone who struggles making their lettering look nice.  First, it's helpful if you write in a standard fashion - that is, generally making your strokes the way we were all taught back in third grade.  If you don't write in cursive, or if you developed a non-standard way to make your letters (many left-handers do, for instance), then this will be less helpful.  

Generally, here's how it works: any stroke that initiates at the top and then goes down gets double the thickness.  Strokes that initiate at the bottom and go upward are single thickness.  So.....you simply write out, as neatly as possible, whatever your message is, then go back over it, thinking carefully about the direction those strokes took.  


See that 'W'?  After the curlicue, it starts with a downstroke - that's double thickness.  Then an upstroke - that's single thickness.  Then the second half of the 'W' begins with a downstroke - again, double thickness.   It finishes on an upstroke.  Single thickness again.  I added curlicues and geegaws to fancy it up, so there are a few extra fancies, but it's really no big deal to write this way.  You just fatten up the lines afterwards.  It couldn't hurt to practice this on a sheet of paper before you do something that's more permanent - with paint, for instance.




Well, what do you think?  I love it!


Love,


Sass

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