CRISPY CHILI DOGS

This recipe will satisfy hotdog lovers  of all ages.

It's simple and delicious and it could become  a regular  dish addition to your weekly meal plan.

This is how I did it...

VINTAGE CHIC ORGANIZER BOARD

You can pin it, pinch it, hang it and hold it.
This board is large enough to even put your reading material in.
This versatile board is not only beautiful and elegant, it is also perfect for organizing your nick-knacks in style...
You can use it to put your Jewelry, Pictures, scraps, cards, small bags, hair accessories, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and anything small that would otherwise be inside a drawer or laying out around your room waiting to be lost or broken.
For more pictures continue reading...

BURLAP & LACE, Terrace Club.

Burlap & Lace, Terrace Club is born!!
Is finally done!...
My Garden Shed is complete and decorated and soon the Club will be launched.

This is such an exciting time for me... I have dreamed with the idea of opening this Boutique/Club for a very long time but I never knew how to start it, now it's done and I can't wait to invite all my fiends over for the GRAND OPENING!!
If you know me, you'll have me on your facebook and you'll be getting an invite soon so, start getting the idea of coming for a visit  and experiencing this unique club concept.
All you need to do when you come to the Grand opening is...

SHABBY LACE CUSHION

Such romantic look!...
This project was really born from pure inspiration, since I never sew, not because I don't know how to but because I'm not good at it, I knew I had to sew this time so I did it the best way I knew and I hope I don't offend anyone by breaking the rules of "good sewing" which I'm pretty sure I did. :0)

Anyhow, this plain grayish  cushion case was perfect for the look I wanted to achieve.
I put together a drop down style DIY tutorial for you so you can see how I did it, here you have it...

DESK RE-DONE

From classic to shabby chic in a few hours.
I bought this handsome student's desk at a garage sale last summer, it only cost me $10 and I knew I had a very fun project waiting to take part but I had no idea it wasn't going to be until now, a whole year latter...

I had the desk in my garage all winter so when I uncovered it I was a bit scared that it was going to be damaged or dirty but none of that happened and so I begun to work on it right away.

CHIC HIGH TABLE RE-DONE

A high table with a lot more personality...
The weather was so nice  this morning I didn't think about it too much and went for it!!


Re-doing furniture is one of my latest favorite things to do and this high table was waiting for the right moment.

Nothing a good sanding won't do...

VINTAGE BOTTLES

 Vintage Bottles are such elegant statement piece for any home...
There's something about glass, lace and flowers that appeals to most women, specially the romantic ones!

When I make crafts like this one I never really plan it. I like to "let it happen" on its own even if it means it will take me 4 times longer than it supposed to, I call it Inspiration...

I found these pretty cork top bottles at a thrift store for only $3 each and they were unused!!

The cute green top is actually an acrylic door nob I found at Michael's Crafts for a couple of backs, it was the perfect solution for  a handle because it was easy to install on cork and it gave it a very elegant finish to the overall look.

I like to make my bottles pretty from every angle so I carefully  ad beads and lace all around it to make it  seem perfect no matter how they're positioned.

I think these bottles can be useful as much as they are decorating pieces, you can put your cotton balls, bath balls, letters, jewelry, few vintage photos or just  candy.

See more bottles idea here...

CHIC BROWN PAPER BAG PACKAGING

Kraft Paper Lunch Bags for your Crafts packaging or wedding favors, what a great idea!
As most of you know, I've just started a new Online Shop and its called "Burlap & Lace, Terrace Club".

The Terrace Club part is added as an extra for my friends to come visit at special events where they'll be able to purchase some of my crafts directly from me.

But for my online buyers the shop is here:

         

This is how I did it!...

FLORAL CROWNS

Floral Crowns for fairies and princesses...
I still remember when I used to dress up like a princess with all the trims, the jewelry, the makeup and of course, the flower crown!!

Every little girl want to look and feel like a fairy or Princess...

These two floral crowns are very different, the blue one is constructed of delicate paper flowers and a vintage up cycled doily and the other is a more traditional crown with silk flowers and ribbon.
I made the crowns small enough to fit a young girl but also large enough to fit a women's head just in case the princess is a bit older than we thought... These can be the perfect "one-of-a-kind" gift to a daughter, grandchild or friend's kid but  some of my customers buy it as props for their child's photography session.

EXTRA-EXTRA !!

... READ ALL ABOUT IT.
I have great and exciting news!
I'm opening a little, very little, and by "little" I mean... tiny, itsy bitsy, minuscule S.h.o.p and it will look almost like the one on the picture!  --->

My husband is putting a garden shed in my yard for me to use as a weekend shop. A cute, girly place to show my friends all my crafts and offer them for sale while enjoying tea & biscuits and beautiful music.

I've dreamed about a place like this for ever! and although I never had one before, it never stopped me from making things, starting projects or experimenting with new arts and crafts.
I always wanted  something like this to showcase them and offer them to my friends in a fun and relaxing atmosphere.

I'm thinking of a cute name for my shop, something that will reflect my personality and style but I take suggestions if you have any... Please leave yours under "Post a comment"!

Have a great day!
Victoria M.M.

TINY BURLAP CROWN

Fit for a Queen!
I'm totally fascinated with a new craft... crown making!!

I saw a few on Pinterest and decided to give it a try, now I'm "hooked" and loving it!

These cute little crowns are used as props for baby's first pictures by professional photographers all over the world, is also used on older kids photo-shoots and modeling sessions.

They have a lot of character and ads interest to any  "royal" photographic theme.
My tiny crown is FOR SALE!! - Visit my On-Line shop @Burlap&Lace

DIY: FLORAL MOSS POMANDER

Or, Floral ball... :0)

Although the name is fancy, it really is only a floral ball but it had a

purpose back in the days when they knew it as a "Pomander"...

POMANDER: From French, pomme d'ambre, is a ball made of perfumes. The pomander was worn or carried in a vase, also known by the same name, as a protection against infection in times of pestilence or merely as a useful article to modify bad smells.(thank you Wikipedia)

This is how I did it...

DIY: VINTAGE WALL ART

A romantic touch for your home.

This week I'll be showing you how to make these pretty wall art pictures out of designer's printed paper using the old decoupage system we all already know...
The other day while shopping I came across this gorgeous designer's wax paper by Tim Holtz at my local Michael's store and although I thought it was pricey, I couldn't resist it so I brought it home...

SPRING TREE SKETCH

Drawing in the sun...

After a long, long winter I craved sun light like I craved cookies.
It was such a hard winter I forgot how it felt like to be warmed by the rays of the sun and let me tell you, i felt so good, I didn't want to go anywhere near indoors for the day.

Finally, April brought a couple of days worth putting laundry aside until the evening and instead, I did what I do when I'm relaxed...I drew! and I drew what was in front of me, a beautiful leafless tree I imagined was soon going to be in bloom and full of birds, or at least one bird. :0)

I hope you like this drawing and it inspires you to try drawing, sketching or doodling in the sun too!!

COFFEE FILTER FLOWERS

Paper flowers constructed of coffee filters?... 

Yeap, why not?

Paper flowers constructed of coffee filters?...

Yeap, why not?

DIY: BAMBOO TILE PENDANTS

 Mixed Media Craft For Wearing
If you ever come across a bamboo tile place mat at the dollar store or home decor shops, BUY IT!... I did, and I made these beautiful Pendants out of images and dimensional glue.
You can make them vertical or horizontal and if you use leather cording like I did, its perfect for people with sensitivity to alloys, like myself.
These pendants are water proof but not submersible... so don't go swimming or take showers with it on!!

 You can use your own images from magazines, books or printouts, you can even use designer's craft paper designs with colors and graphics you love like the ones below...

I have put together an Ebook for my followers to read explaining step by step  the process of making these beautiful tiles, you can see it online here: DIY-[BAMBOO TILE TUTORIAL]

or you can see it from my post below.

This is how I did it...

WOODEN KEEPSAKE BOX

This pretty purple wooden box will most certainly hold precious things for precious people.

I made this box to be sent over to my sisters in Spain. I needed a sturdy box to protect what's going inside because it will be delivered by mail overseas Canada-Spain.

The inside will hold all the little needle felted sculptures I been making this past winter to be reunited with their respective owners as I made one sculpture for each of my sisters... I have 7 sister!!

This is how I did it...

BABY KEEPSAKE BOX

A cute little way to keep hugely important things...

I made this keepsake box out of an aluminum photograph box. It was a very simple, but fun project and it ended up going all the way to the UK for a lady who purchased it for her daughter's first baby boy.

The box had a window in the front which I used to insert a decorated piece of car stock with a banner titled..."Once Upon A Time", a great way to create curiosity for what I added inside.

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Claire

Meet Claire!is showing you her pretty bow and letting you know its hers...

This cute little character  was created out of 100% pure inspiration, unplanned and un-patented, Claire is made of roving, also called wool.

Claire was the result of 6 hours of poking through the wool with a needle that shaped her to become who she is.
Her life-like eyes were hand painted with acrylics on 2 sewing pins. Her yellow bow is made of a tiny piece of leather and her soft fluffy ears were constructed of  shaped pieces of

VINTAGE GIFT TAGS

When the gift tag is nicer than the gift.
When a gift-er wraps using a handmade gift tag for the gift-ee, He or She will gladly assume something amazingly beautiful is about to be revealed...

A tag can be any size, any shape and any style but I like mine vintage and romantic like the ones you can see below...

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Pete

Meet little Pete, the newest addition to my collection of needle felted creatures.

Unlike my other sculptures, Pete was created substantially softer than the rest of my collection.

I knew I wanted a more anatomically correct look for Pete so I put more effort in to achieving that look by de-cartooning  his features.

DIY: TRAY FROM PICTURE FRAME

This lovely fabric printed tray is my pride and joy and a little inside joke I played to my sisters…

I often hear my sister’s comment about my crafting, they praise me for my talent but they also tease me for the many, many items in my house that are handmade, refurbished or redone… so, I made this tray to confirm their suspicions about my crafting obsessions.

The tray was originally a picture frame that I dismantled, I came up with my own Spanish quote for it that says “In this house everything is handmade, even this tray…”

This is how I did it...

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Vincenzo

He Brings Spring Alongto let us know spring is around the corner.

This is another fun little creature made of wool. Part of my little mice collection, Vincenzo was made with a very special person in mind, my oldest sister Charín who lives in Spain along with my other 7 sisters.

My needle felted mice have human characteristics that gives them

personality and makes people fall in love with them.

DOODLING, the unintentional art form.

Definition: A doodle is an unfocused or unconscious drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be abstract shapes.

I doodle when I'm tense, it keeps me focused onto something that requires attention in detail specially if its a symmetrical design.

 
"According to a study published in the scientific journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, doodling can aid a person's memory by expending just enough energy to keep one from daydreaming, which demands a lot of the brain's processing power, as well as from not paying attention. Thus, it acts as a mediator between the spectrum of thinking too much or thinking too little and helps focus on the current situation."

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Alex

This is Alex, he baby in the family...

Alex was made of roving specially spun for needle felting. It was provided to me by a friend whom harvested it herself from the animals in her farm.
Like all the other figurines, Alex is solid wool and no other foreign material was added to the result.


Being so small, Alex
was a challenge to finish at my standards but worth the extra work.

PAPER FLOWERS GALLERY

HERE'S SPRING!
These are the rest of my paper flowers all done with different types of paper like Doily paper, card-stock paper, tissue paper, crepe paper and Wax paper (like the one you use to put underneath hardwood floors) :0)

I hope you like them!

DOILY PAPER

see my gallery ...

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Pepa

Her name is PEPA And she live is Seville, Spain.
One of the most beautiful cities in the whole world!!

Actually...she does, I sent Pepa via Air Mail to my sister who lives there. It was a little gift to help her recover  from surgery.
Pepa is  a solid, roving wool, needle felted sculpture. It was constructed in only 3 hours during the cold winter month of January (hence the picture below), which we all know, is one of the worst months of the year up here in Canada so, I'm glad she's getting a lot more sun where she is now....

POWDER ROOM MAKEOVER

From Terracotta to Chartreuse.
I finally did my powder room, it took me a while to come up with a way to make this little room shine and I did it with wallpaper!!

I knew I wanted something classy but loud, clean but not sterile, bright but not too colorful and the I found this....

MONOGRAM GIFT FOR DECOR

"J" is for Jennifer!

We live in the era of monograms. Everyone owns something monogrammed to their initials, whether is a pair of cuff-links or pretty bathroom towels, everyone has something...  I made something special for my son's girlfriend, Jennifer just because once in a while i like to remind people I love that they're special to me.
 I made this project with a letter made of chipboard, a few cupcake covers, a bit of ink and a stamp and some fashion jewelry for drama and class.

This is how I did it...

DIY: CREPE PAPER FLOWER

CREPE PAPER FLOWER TUTORIAL
What a winter we're having this year up in Canada... It feels like it's never going to end!! although I still remember spring time with it's bright colored flowers and it's fragrant smells in the air, hhhhaaa.... I can't wait!!

This week it was all about spring and it's glorious flowers for me and I tried miming it's splendor using nothing but glue and paper....

DRESSER RE-DONE II

Bling your dresser!

We stick bling-bling on our nails, our shoes, our clothes, our phones....so, why not on our furniture??
When I bought this decoupaged, vintage-like dresser about 16 years ago, I was into Victorian style stuff, now I'm in to anything that shines and sparkle, hence, my new basement's craft studio...

When I decide it was time to finish my basement I had a set of requirements to meet that included a bright, crispy wall colour to keep me alert and my creative juices flowing... "Aqua blue" did it for me.


Pictures don't pay justice at all when you're photographing metallics but I can  guarantee you this shinny project was a bight, bright idea!
Once I filled the area with my stuff (lots and lots of stuff) I realized I was disrupting the feel with all those loose pieces of furniture I couldn't part with so I decided to make them work together in harmony by neutralizing them with.... what else but PAINT!!

When the lights are on, my studio resembles a disco.... hahahaha, ok, it doesn't but everything lights up with glamour and style and I love it!

I painted the shelf, the chandelier, frames and decorations all in white but the dresser, no, that dresser was too big and squarish to paint in white... I painted it in a low sheen metallic silver from the -Martha Stewart's metallic collection- paint from the Home Depot and it turned out FANTASTIC!As if the metallic silver paint wasn't enough, I ended up giving it the "x" factor by sticking some acrylic rhinestones along the top, right under the counter top, it really gave it a sparkle!

I could have done a better job at sticking the strip of bling a bit straighter but i was too excited  for the final picture so I fixed it latter.

To finish it up, I decide to bling the scalloped shape frame above it too.

I secured some wires across, I decorated it with some of my favorite pictures and nick knacks and this is how it turned out.

 I love spending time in my bright, sparkly craft studio!!

Let me know what you think of this project by commenting on this post, thanks!

VINTAGE SHABBY CUPBOARD

My re-furbished Vintage Shabby Wine Cupboard.


So I had this loud and kinda ugly wine cupboard in an already dark, narrow hallway in my house and every time I passed by it I bumped my leg on it because it was hard to see... mind you, the flowers were so bright and ugly "they" looked like glow-in-the-dark stickers!!! LOL


The other day I decided I had enough and when I realized I had three cute crowns ornaments in my studio I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel... I immediately went in to "creative-mode" and  imagined a much lighter, much shabbier and a lot prettier cupboard than would not hold wine like it never  did anyways.

This is how I did it.

NEEDLE FELTED SCULPTURE: Linda

BE MINE VALENTINES, pretty please!
This is Linda, a tiny little needle felted owl. 

Linda is only about 1.5 inch tall, she is part of my new needle felted owl collection and the cutest one so far!! 

I made Linda as a little Valentines gift for my husband but I couldn't wait to give it to him so she now lives on his beside table :0)

WALL DECAL ON FURNITURE?...

CHIRPY DRESSER LOOKALIKE


By now everyone into rustic refurbished furniture knows about the  "Chirpy Dresser" piece gracefully done by Gypsy Barn @ gypsybarn.com.

The original dresser was an old piece recycled and nicely brought back to life by Jasmin Marisset, the owner and DIYer of  Gypsy Barn. 
She used a very neat technique that allowed her to chip away the chirpy design, exposing cleverly the darker wood beneath the white paint.... absolutely ingenious! only,  it couldn't have worked on my dresser because unlike hers, mine wasn't solid wood, only melamine but that didn't stop me, ohhhhh nooooo!

VINTAGE STYLE JEWELRY

Fashion Jewelry designed for "Alice In Wonderland" photo shoot.

A while ago when I started making crafts, I experimented not only with materials but with styles too.

Here you have some of my favorite pieces, some of which were designed for a gorgeous photo-shoot that took place back in 2011, a modern version of "Alice In Wonderland". 

My jewelry making fascination lasted long enough to create many pieces of which I still Am proud of.

See how amazing this collection was...