Happy Gasparilla!

Today is Gasparilla Day here in Tampa. Last week I posted a wreath I made to celebrate and wrote about the children's Gasparilla parade (it is always the Saturdy before Gasparilla).

On Gasparilla Day a friend of mine always hosts a super fun Gasparilla party and she lives just 2 blocks from the bay (where the invasion and parade take place) so it's very exciting and a perfect place for a pirate party. She decks her house out in pirate decor and it always looks so great. So I thought I would make her a little something to add to her collection of Gasparilla decor...

(click on image to enlarge)

If you're interested in making some vintage inspired pirate art, you can find some great images here.

Hope ya'll have a great weekend! ~Molly

Ahoy Matey!

It's that time of year again. Time for Jose' Gaspar to invade Tampa. It's Gasparilla time! Here in Tampa Gasparilla is a big deal. Sort of like our version of Mardi Gras. This weekend is the children's pirate parade and next weekend is the parade for grown-ups. All the houses near the bay adorn their doors with Gasparilla wreathes and Jolly Roger flags. A large pirate ship sails into the bay and fires cannons to start the invasion. Floats carrying pirates drive along Bayshore Boulevard, which lines the bay and beads are tossed to screaming children and adults alike. I can't wait! I'm excited too because the weather here is supposed to be perfect for the event, high in the mid 60's and blue skies. I love this time of year in Florida. Here is my Gasparilla wreath I made this year for our door...

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! ~Molly

Happy New Year!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

I wish you and your family many blessings in 2011

Love, Molly

Christmastime Is Here

I have been busy as an elf filling our home with Christmas cheer...

The true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ...

Thanksgiving Table

Even though I am not hosting Thanksgiving at my home this year, I still decorated the table. After all I believe Thanksgiving should be celebrated every day in November, actually everyday of the year I made a Thanksgiving "tree" with willow branches and paper Japanese Lantern branches. I used vintage Thanksgiving images to create ornaments. I glued the images on a brown paper grocery bag and trimmed around the edges with decorative scissors. Then, I backed them with scrapbook paper and added glitter to the images. Finally, I punched a hole in the top and tied them to the branches with vintage seam binding.

I finished off the table with a April Cornell runner from TJMaxx, antique brass candlesticks, candle rings (I made) and Tiffany blue candles.

Hope you are having a beautiful fall day! ~Molly

Book Page Wreath

Last winter I was browsing through my Pottery Barn catalogue and saw this... I L-O-V-E-D it and have wanted to make one of my own ever since. Almost one year later I finally did... I am so happy, happy. First, I googled "Pottery Barn Book Page Wreath" so I could see the original picture from the catalogue ( I know I ripped it out for inspiration back in December of '09 but I couldn't find it) Then, I googled tutorials for the wreath. There are quite a few out there. Honestly when I followed a couple of the tutorials my wreath wasn't looking exactly like the one in PB so I merged a few of the techniques together then added some of my own techniques and I think I got pretty darn close to the original. I used 3 different vintage books so I would have different shades of worn book pages and different sizes. All of my books were thrifted. One of the books was over 100 years old, one was 80 and the other was 40. I love making things out of old books. I love how they smell and how they feel. There are so many cool thinks out in blogland to make with old books I've got to get busy.

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!~Molly

Vintage Harvest Cone

I am going on a road trip to visit my best friend from high school this weekend. I am so excited! I wanted to take her a little something so I whipped up this cone and filled it with some of her favorite treats. I could make a hundred of these. They are so fun. You can find my tutorial for crepe paper fringe here. Happy harvest to all. ~Molly