CUTE STUFF INSIDE

Please visit "Frannie and Me" at www.CuteStuffInside.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting.

S.W.A.K.

CUTE STUFF INSIDE - HALLOWEEN CONTEST/GIVEAWAY

Click on the Halloween icon to enter the Cute Stuff Inside 1st Annual Halloween Contest.

Good Luck!

S.W.A.K.

NAME CHANGE

Hi,

I just wanted everyone to know that I'm changing the name of my blog. It is now called "Cute Stuff Inside". I just thought this was more appropriate. You can click on the link here or type in www.cutestuffinside@blogspot.com. Please visit often. I will be hosting a strawberry swap over there and you're all invited!

S.W.A.K.

Did Somembody Say Cupcake Swap?

I just found out about a cupcake swap being hosted by Red Geranium Cottage and I think there's still time to get in on this. Sounds like fun, fun, fun! I, too, am thinking about doing a swap. Being that it's summer, how about a strawberry theme? Anybody out there interested? If so, leave a comment and I'll arrange it.
S.W.A.K.

Strawberry Sundae

This is my version of a "strawberry pincushion". It is reminiscent of an old-fashioned vanilla ice cream sundae. Made by Me from a tag sale find dessert dish with vintage lace, buttons, pincushion "skewers", and topped off with a yummy beaded strawberry. Visit Heather Bailey's website to see her scrumptious strawberry pincushions.

S.W.A.K.

Bakerella

Thank you Bakerella. These not only look adorable, they taste great too! Although a little time consuming, they have endless possibilities. We are definitely going to try your bikini beach bears next. By the way, that lazy susan they are placed on was decoupaged by Me. I used photo copies of cups, plates, and spoon images, as well as pictures of various cookies and chocolate curls. The napkins are photo copies of actual vintage handkerchiefs that I own. I made this several years ago and it has been sitting on my kitchen table ever since.


S.W.A.K.

Pur-sonality

Just received this purse made my sister, Ellen (one of the Pennington "Material Girls"). I just love the colors! And there are so many compartments inside:) When I visited the Sis Boom event on June 5th, Jennifer Paganelli came up to me and commented on how much she loved this purse (especially the fabric selection)!


Or, perhaps you prefer a little cupcake purse? This one was crocheted by Me for Frannie. It is made from Tahki cotton classic in light green and pink. Just a little more than one skein of each color was used. And if you're going to have a cupcake, you've got to put sprinkles on the top, so Frannie picked out small round beads in her favorite colors that had little sparkles on them. The basic pattern is from an e-book by Hip Chick Crochet called "How To Make A Cupcake Bag". I did a little tweaking of my own by crocheting on two icing ruffles instead of one. I found it easier to do this immediately after completing the green part of the cupcake instead of at the end of the pattern. Extra rows were added between the beaded rows as well as adding on extra rows of single crochet after the eyelet pattern. I also crocheted my own version of a drawstring handle.

S.W.A.K.

Swing Your Pardner

Congratulations Tanya of Grand Revival Design! Your ruffled skirts were my original inspiration. Here is my version of a flirty skirt. But I must give credit where credit is due. This is a "Bowznstuff" Triple Layer Twirl Skirt pattern with a few of my own tweaks. It was made by Me for Frannie and her best friend. They do-si-do'd in them all night long at a Brownie square dance event, but I know they are also planning to twirl around in these red, white and blue cuties on the July 4th holiday. Now working on one with an ice cream theme. Y'all come back now!

S.W.A.K.

Sugar & Spice And Everything Nice

That's what little girls are made of. Here is a birthday banner I created for a sweet little girl. Each one represents a different girl's outfit, made from paper, crepe paper, buttons, ribbon, and lots of glitter! They have little paper tabs attached to the back so a ribbon could be strung through them to hang up and then removed for easy storage to be used again and again and gain.

This adorable little romper was used as the separator between the words happy and birthday. It has little birthday presents and balloons all over it.

S.W.A.K.

Sis Boom

I just found out that the very talented Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom is having a raffle. She is giving away 16 fat quarters of her fabric to each of three lucky winners. Check out Jennifer's website at Sis Boom and visit her blog to enter. Good Luck!

S.W.A.K.

Easter Greetings

Easter Parade

This is week two of the Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-Thon. I like to make people smile by using tea cups in unexpected ways.


A Tisket, A Tasket
An Easter Tea Cup Basket

Or, how about a tea themed song?

Tea For Two

JIMMY:
Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me...alone-

JIMMY:
I'm discontented with homes that I've rented
So I have invented my own.
Darling, this place is lovely oasis
Where life's weary taste is unknown
Far from the crowded city
Where flowers pretty caress the stream
Cozy to hide in, to live side by side in,
Don't let it apart in my dream-

Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me alone

NANETTE:
Nobody near us to see us or hear us Mm, mm, mm,
No friends or relations Mm, mm, mm,
On weekend vacations Mm, mm, mm.
We won't have it known, dear,
That we own a telephone, dear...

NANETTE:
Day will break and I'll wake
And start to bake a sugar cake
For you to take for all the boys to see

BOTH:
We'll raise a family

JIMMY:
A boy for you
And a girl for me

BOTH:
Can't you see how happy we would be...

S.W.A.K.

Tea Cup

Gracious Hospital-i-Tea is having a Tea Party and we're all invited. My favorite tea cup may not be vintage or made from fine china, but I love the cheerful colors and, best of all, it has polka-dots! It is from the Mary Engelbreit collection.






Speaking of tea cups, this lazy susan is always set for a tea party. I decoupaged the top with images of tea cups, plates, spoons and napkins. The napkins are photocopies of vintage handkerchiefs from my collection.

S.W.A.K.

Happy Birthday Frannie

Yesterday was Frannie's birthday. We celebrated at the American Girl Place on Fifth Avenue in NYC. We celebrated again later at home. We will be celebrating again today at school. Finally, we'll be celebrating with a Tea Party for all her Brownie friends.

A ballet slipper birthday cake made by Me
(Instructions from Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating book)

S.W.A.K.

Top O' The Morning To You

Here are photos of a Pot O' Gold made by Me for Frannie's class last year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was created out of a new paint can with lid that I purchased at one of those big home centers. The outside of the can was covered with paper and then decorated with stickers, decoupage, and chipboard letters. The letters were covered with gold glitter and then adhered to the can with foam adhesive to make them dimensional.

This next photo shows the opposite side of the can. Here I decoupaged on a leprechaun and surrounded him with several St. Patrick's Day stickers. Tip - Never throw out your old calendars - they're great for decoupage. This image came from an old Mary Engelbreit calendar.

These next two shots show the two different sides. I wasn't able to remove the handle from the can, so I covered it up with green pipe cleaners - it worked out very well.

Finally, in this last photo, you can see the lid detail. I found pirate gold coins at the party store and hot glued them on the top of the lid to give the appearance that the can was full of gold. The lid is easily removed and I filled the can with little sacks of gold/foil wrapped chocolate coins. This was a big hit with the kids!

May the luck of the Irish be with you!

S.W.A.K.

Crowning Glory

Crowns for the mothers-to-be to wear at their baby showers. Made from several layers of paper and embellished with glitter, ribbon, buttons, pink pearls, etc.


S.W.A.K.

Banner To Come Soon

Will the real "Georgie" please stand up?



S.W.A.K.

Valentine Mailboxes

Here are some photos of two mailboxes made by Me.

This one is made out of an oval hat box that I decoupaged and added ruffled crepe paper to the bottom.

I used an actual mailbox for this one with lots of decoupage and buttons. The feet were made from wooden doorknobs.

S.W.A.K.

"How Sweet It Is"

This is my first blog entry, so, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, I thought I'd quote a famous line from Jackie Gleason. Here's another one:

"And Awaaay We (I) Go!"

Stay tuned.

S.W.A.K.