Bird Silhouette Pillows .....in progress

Ok, I give in. I decided to jump on the silhouette bandwagon.

I usually veer away from doing what everybody else is doing, and let's face it, a bazillion people in blogland are putting their spin on the silhouette craze right now.......... but, that was before I found some great new bird stencils. I didn't care who was doing it - I was going to use those stencils.

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I've had some black and cream houndstooth fabric and a stash of washed canvas sitting in my fabric closet for a while, and I really wanted to use them for some pillows, but I couldn't decide what to put on the fronts.

And then I saw this over at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures, and I had to have it.

Not the bench, although it's fabulous, but the bird stencil.

She said she got it at HL, so I immeditaely put it on my shopping list.

(If you don't already know Tracy, you should really check out her blog and see all of her great projects.)

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To my surprise, when I went to HL, I discovered that stencil was from a whole new line.

So, I bought all the bird stencils in that line. When I got home and opened them, I realized there were 2 different stencils in the smaller pack.

Woohoo, bonus score!

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I'm not finished sewing all of the pillows yet, but I wanted to show you anyway,

mainly for the purpose of showing how something so easy can make such an impact on your decor.

When I get them finished later today, I'll come back and add the pictures.

Here's a start.

I got so excited about getting these done that I forgot to take many before pictures.

TIP: When I use stencils, I prefer to use the small bottles of acrylic paints, but I always mix them with a little bit of clear glaze to 'water' them down a bit. Makes it so much easier to paint on fabric!

TIP: Another tip for using stencils - invest in the stencil adhesive spray. It's a lightweight ashesive that you can spray on the back of your stencil to hold it in place. I was out of it at the time, and I really should've waited until I got more. These stencils had lots of little pieces that would've stayed in place much better if I had.

See, aren't these great stencils?

Here's another. (I added a few buttons to the smaller stencils to fill in the space a little more. I also added a rhinestone for the eye to give it some sparkle.)

And the last one. (I see I have some overflow paint that needs cleaned up. :( )

(More on placing and marking buttons in an upcoming Tips on Tuesday in the Home Decor Series.)

Here's what I've finished so far, along with the pics of the other two I still need to put the backs on.

I love the contrast of the black houndstooth on the back and in the cord.

If you want a complete tutorial on how to make a corded, zippered pillow just like a pro, click the link.

What have you made with birds?

Let me know so I can go see.

Boxwood Nope-iaries

.....and I say "Nope iaries" because these aren't your traditional topiaries.

Granted, they started out with the intent to be, but we all know what they say about good intentions. I figure I needed to get the most bang for my buck with the boxwood, so I stirred clear of the large balls that require more than one bunch of it.

I'm gearing up for the biggest craft show of the year in this area, so I have a lot of furniture to be painted and accessories to be made, and not a lot of time to do it.

Ever heard of the Webb School Art & Craft Festival in historic Bell Buckle, TN?

No? WHAT? Where have you been?

If you're in the middle TN area or within a reasonable driving distance, you'll really wanna put this on your calendar. HUNDREDS of vendors in the best little downtown area ever.

Vendors come from all over the US to be a part of this one.

Read about it here.

Anyway, when I get ready for a craft market, my modus operandi is to raid my supply storage, gather a bunch of like things, and just start making stuff until I run out of supplies.

Then I move on to the next batch of like supplies, and so on, and so on.

I enjoy upcycling furniture, but I really get into making all the little things you need in a booth for space fillers and furniture toppers.

At my last market 2 weeks ago, I sold 2 full 4' x 8' tables of those type of fillers, so now I have to get busy stocking up again.

We all know that greenery makes everything more cozy, and in my area, anything made with boxwood always sells first.

So, boxwood it is!

Here are a few of the things I made yesterday.

Simple, but pretty, just the way I like them.

I made something with all of the pots you see in the first picture, but I've only picked a few to share right now.

The 'How-to' should be self explanatory, but just in case you'd like to make one and need info on how to do so, let me know in the comments and I'll post a step by step for ya.

And for good measure, I made several of these spoon bird nests. I got a great deal on a whole jar of these little spoons, so I had to come up with something for them. I made half of them into magnets, which are really fun to scatter on the fridge.

Hope you enjoy these little projects and make some for yourself.

I'm linking up at the following places:
Making the World Cuter
Cottage Instincts
Skip to My Lou
It's So Very Creative at Cheri's

What have you all been making while I was away?

An Update on My Whereabouts

Where oh where has Polly gone?

Here I am!

Geez, you'd think I got lost as long as I've been gone.

Thank you all for your patience while I get my life organized.

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Where do I start?

I'll just start from the beginning.

Nothing really earth shattering has been going on here, just life in general.

As we all know, even the best laid plans can run amuck sometimes.

So, here's part of what's been going on the past month.

1. Hubby had some medical issues (twice) and needed my full attention. Poor guy was absolutely miserable, and he wasn't getting any sleep. He's doing much better now but is still facing some surgery.

2. I got sick myself (after him, thank goodness). I had some kind of awful stomach thing going on that lasted 10 days. In bed for almost 5 of those. Serious pain kinda thing.
 And right before that started, I got another migraine.

Another situation of complete agony.
The migraines are bad enough without the excruciating pain that kept me doubled over for over a week.

3. During my time away from the blog, I did 2 markets.

For those of you who do them, you know how much work they require.

4. I had 3 drapery jobs that had to be fabricated and installed.

5. I had family stuff that needed tending to, which required me to be at my mom's on three separate ocassions. (About a 2 1/2 hour drive each way.) It's always hectic activity there, so blogging is out of the question.

.........and if that wasn't enough on my plate......

6.  I'm getting ready for a neighborhood yard sale tomorrow. 
(although the weather is calling for a 60% chance of rain)

If you're local to Bowling Green, KY, let me know in the comments and I'll send you the info.

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In addition to that, I have 2 more exciting things going on, but I can't let the cat out of the bag just yet.
Still some details to work out and some dotted lines to sign, but as soon they are done deals, you'll be the first to know.

If you follow me on FACEBOOK, you'll know even sooner than that.
I'll be back to regular blog posts on Monday. You know, the actual decorating kind.

AND, many of you asked me about when I'll be picking back up on The Home Decor Series.
I'm happy to say that I will be returning to that next week as well.
Those post take a really long time to plan out, so I had to put them aside for a while,
but I have several prescheduled already that will begin next week.

Ok, that's my update. I still have a busy weekend ahead of me, but I'll meet you back here on Monday!

What's been keeping you busy?