Vintage Fabric Valentine Aprons

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift that'll last longer than a box of chocolates?

And longer than a dozen roses?

I made these aprons from vintage fabrics that have stood the test of time!  Most of the fabrics are from the 1950's and they're still in excellent shape and very vivid with color.

I've also stitched up several made with new, retro fabrics:

They're all available in my Etsy shop if you want to take a closer look.

Happy Valentine's Day

Sending you love a day early!

 

Romantic Styling for Coffee Table

 

Decided to add a little romance to our home décor in anticipation of Valentine's Day this week.

 

 

Grabbed a couple of my vintage creamers and placed them on the beautiful silver tray Daughterlypoo gave me for my birthday last year.

 

 

Twyla decided to photo bomb my pictures.

 

 

Guess I'll stop now since she's obviously bored!

 

Valentine-inspired Aprons

I've been busy sewing valentine-inspired aprons this past week.

 

 

Busy mixing hearts,

 

 

With pink and red fabrics,

 

 

 And candy fabrics too!  This is a bonbon print:

 

 

Candy dots:

 

 

And sugar sticks!

 

 

I thought a 1950's vintage tablecloth with vibrant long stemmed, red roses was perfect for Valentine's Day:

 

 

It was big enough for two full aprons plus a half apron (not shown).

 

 

Mixing and matching prints is what I like best about sewing my Retro Revival aprons!

 

 

 

I used pink, vintage crocheted trim and a vintage crocheted pot holder on this apron:

 

 And good, old fashioned polka dots on this one:

 

 

 I've listed all of these in my Etsy shop in case you want to take a peek.

 

 

They'll certainly last longer than flowers or a box of chocolate.

 

 

And I think they're just as sweet!

 

 

Hope you have a sweet day!

I Love You Just the Way I Am

Whoops!  I meant to post this on Valentine's Day.  But I've been out of town in ISTANBUL, TURKEY!  Yep!  A once-in-a-lifetime, last minute opportunity.  I'll be blogging about it soon but in the meantime, my belated Valentine card for you, my sweet Blogville friends...



Happy Valentine's Day!

Cupid

An early valentine...

"Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren't even there before."  ~Mignon McLaughlin

An apropos sentiment since blogging has introduced me to so many lovely people.

I love you, my dear Blogville friends!

 
 

Decorate a Valentine Candy Box

Last February after Valentine's Day, I scooped up a bunch of candy boxes on clearance with plans to decorate them something like this lovely vintage box I saw on Pinterest:


source

I made this for a friend and had such a fun time doing it, thought I'd share with you just how easy it is!



1. Use an inexpensive plastic or cardboard candy box.



2. This is optional:  Cut the candy compartment out of the bottom of the box:



3.  Using paper (craft, scrapbook, wallpaper, whatever you have on hand), cut a heart, about a 1/2 inch bigger than your box, and glue it to the top of your box, wrapping the extra 1/2 inch up and over the edge like this:



4.  Repeat step #3 for the bottom of your box.

5.  With a glue gun, begin embellishing your box with lace and other trim you have in your stash.  Start with gluing trim to the edges of your box (where you wrapped the paper over ~ picture above).  You can glue one or many layers of lace to the edges.

6.  Next, move on to the sides of the box.  I used red pompom trim on the side of the bottom of the box, and purple ric rac on the side of the top of the box:



(After years of trying to sear off my fingerprints (duh!) with hot glue, I used a stainless steel skewer to press down my lace and trim.  When the glue had dried/gunked on the skewer, I easily peeled it off the end.)



7.  Then you'll cut two more paper hears and glue them to the inside lid and bottom inside of the box.  I added felt hearts on top of the paper.

You'll want to cover every possible surface of your box in paper, lace, and trim.



8.  Once you've finished decorating the bottoms, sides and insides of the box, you're ready to go to town embellishing the top.  I glued four layers of lace, two layers of eyelet, and then three silk roses onto the top lid:



Ruffle-y, frilly goodness in reds and purples ~ my friend's favorite colors.  Inside where I'd cut out the candy compartment, I placed a Valentine-shaped, homemade brownie because she loves chocolate.



I can hardly wait to hear how she likes her Valentine surprise!