Brooches, Strawberry Cupcakes and More!

I have loads to things to share with you today.  Well, maybe not loads but some eye candy and some news.

First, I promised you brooches:

 

I took some small lace appliques, hand-dyed them, tacked them onto some heavy weight interfacing and then embellished with silk ribbon embroidery, beads & sequins. When they were done, I glued a piece of card stock to the back and then some flannel (couldn't find my felt) and added a pin back.  They're very sparkly and available in my Etsy shop.

Next, I'm sure you're all wondering what the plan was for the strawberries.  Well, here they are:

 

They look good enough to eat, don't they?  But they're not edible.  They're pincushions!  Oh, what a fun project this was!  It's really incredible to get an idea and bring it to life.  Not that cupcake pincushions haven't been made before, but I wanted to put strawberries on mine!  The cups are vintage tins.  I'd like to say that I sprayed them pink but I can't.  My father did it for me.  I'm spray paint challenged!  Ha, ha, ha!  Anyway, they're available in my Etsy shop as well.

I spent the day over at mom's and completed several more projects that I had started.  I had to let them sit overnight so the glue could dry.  I'll share those projects next week.

In the meantime, I wanted to share photos of some lovely gifts that I received this week.  First are these beautiful hankies from Judy:

 

Aren't they beautiful?  I just love vintage hankies!  Judy also sent me a copy of her choir's CD.  Oh, I just love choir music!  And she sent me an issue of Sew Beautiful.  Oh, I love that magazine.  Thank you, Judy for all the lovely gifts you sent to me!

I received another wonderful package this week as well:

 

These pretties were a gift from Mary Ann.  Beautiful hankies, crocheted pieces, appliques, lace and sequins.  And check out the gorgeous smocked piece!  I don't have anything like that in my stash.  I will be using that on something special.  Perhaps a new purse once my Crazy Garden Quilt is done!  Thank you so much MA.  It was a lovely surprise!

Finally for today, I have an announcement to make.  Due to the lack of interest in my Biscornu of the Month designs, I have decided to drop the project.  I apologize if this disappoints anyone.  I just feel that without the interest in the series, I could better spend my time creating other things. 

Well, that's my post for today.  I'm quite tired now so I think I'll go fill my tub with bubbles and relax.