Crafting for Christmas

I couldn't post these prior to Christmas, because some of them were given as gifts.  I also failed to take pics of the items that I gave away, so am dependant on the pics given to me by the recipient.  I wanted to try using the butcher paper method of inkjet printing on fabric, and these are the resulting projects.

You can iron butcher paper onto lightweight fabric, cut to printer paper size and print your photographs onto the fabric side.  The butcher paper then easily peels off, leaving you with personalized fabric with which to craft.  I did find that heavier fabric didn't work in my inkjet printer.  I tried tea dying some of the muslin I was using.  Unfortunately, this seemed to plump up the fibers just enough to jam my printer.  Not all printers are the same though, so experiment to see what works for you! 

I used calico fabric, burlap, vintage lace, embroidery floss, satin ribbons and vintage buttons to create tree ornaments featuring old family pictures.  A bit of quilt batting wrapped around cardboard worked well to stiffen and plump them up a bit.

I gave some of these ornaments to family for Christmas, and kept a few for myself.  In addition to tree ornaments, I also used injet images printed on parchment paper and inserted into antique bottles.

This is my Great Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Chapin, standing in the lake, wearing her ever so fashionable wool swim suit.  I filled the bottom of the bottle with a layer of sand and pebbles from the very lake she is standing in.

I did a second "bottled Great Gramma" that I placed in this shadow box, for my Sister.  I decopauged the box with pages from an old hymnal, because Mary Elizabeth was very musical.  The twigs, pebbles and dried foliage were all gathered from the area in which she spent much of her life.  The lace and beads are vintage.

As long as I was playing with antique bottles, old sheet music and vintage handmade lace, I made this, just for fun!  I'm considering how I might create a special topper for this bottle, or maybe I'll use it as a reed diffuser with some yummy smelling oil. 



Vintage Drinking Glasses~

One of my favorite things to find while thrifting, are vintage drinking glasses.  They are very easy to find, and usually reasonably priced.  My cupboard is filled with a wide variety of these beauties, most of them from the Depression era.  Not only do I collect them, but I use them, every day.

I really love this particular glass, but haven't been able to discover it's manufacturer or the pattern name.  I only have one, but I adore the color and shape.  If anyone out there knows who made this glass, and what it's called, please let me know!

This is my current favorite.  I have two and use them every day!  It's a depression pattern from Anchor Hocking called "Bubble".  I'd love to find more.  It has a lovely, smooth feel in your hand, combined with just enough texture to make it interesting.

I have several of these beautiful ice tea glasses, made by Indiana Glass.  It is the American Whitehall pattern.  I have found it in crystal and aqua as well as this gorgeous teal.  My nineteen year old Son is very fond of these glasses.  They hold alot- 20 ounces, and have a great "cubist" pattern that provides a nice grip.  Alex plans to take a few of these with him, when he gets a place of his own.

I've got a few of these as well.  This glass is a Fostoria Whitehall pattern.  It is very similar to the American Whitehall, with just a couple of minor differences.  The main difference is that the lip of the glass flares out.  I've got a couple of crystal ones and one amber one, in the ice tea size, and this 16 oz. glass, plus a slew of cute little amber juice glasses.

This is another pattern that I've found quite a few of, in various colors.  I especially love the milk glass, but I have a couple in green as well.  I had two red ones, but alas, red glass simply isn't as durable as other glass.  It is much more sensitive to temperature changes.  The two red glasses I had cracked when cold liquid was poured into them while they were just slightly warm from the dishwasher.

 I've got two of these beautiful glasses, that are etched with grapes.  They have proven to be surpisingly durable, despite their much thinner glass and more elegant design. 

My vintage glass collection is constantly changing, since I find so many wonderful examples on my treasure hunts.  Sometimes I sell them, or give them as gifts, or like my red glasses, they break during use.  I have many other examples stored away, since I only have so much space in my cupboard.  One of these days, I'll dig them out and snap some pics to share with my friends here in blogland.  So, what kind of glasses do you have in your cupboard?