Saint Salvage

It's spring. Trees and flowers are coming back to life. I love spring! The crocus that come back every spring were gifts from my mother years ago. She gave me other plants that are in my my small yard in front of and in back of my townhouse. When I see them come back, I am reminded of my mother's love living on. Even though she's been gone just a little over a year, it still hurts. I look for little reminders to help keep me going.    The cherry blossoms on the cherry tree are a time-honored symbol of the joy of spring. So, when I saw this chambray shirt embroidered with cherry blossoms, I had to find it.  I found the creator of the shirt. It's Judy Rice, of  Satsuma Street (on Tumblr) . She sells cute things on  https://www.etsy.com/shop/SatsumaStreet The refashion I have done is inspired by Judy's design. It is not meant to be a knock-off or copycat.I have this great Levi's denim/ chambray top. It has great notched pockets and "pearl...

I inherited a vintage floor-length dress from my mom when she passed away in April 2015. I've had this dress in my possession for months, not knowing what to do with it. It was in colors and a pattern I love, and it fit. But, it was way too long, and not practical for my life.    Oh, what to do.... I trawled Pinterest for ideas, and I came upon this photo, but with no instructions. Tie-dyed Denim Skirt But, I had my inspiration, and I knew what to do with my dress. I decided to honor my mom, and update the dress to fit my lifestyle.... separates... a top and a skirt. Step 1: Gather the Materials Step 1 is pretty simple... gather your supplies: Dress, jeans, pins, scissors, color-matching thread, iron, ironing board, dressmaker's dummy. I selected the button-fly jeans because I wanted to have a different type of denim skirt. I've seen a lot of them with zipper-fly fronts, and the skirt material just slapped on the bottom. I didn't want tha...

I've been in a sad place for a while. My personal life has been rough, and it was capped off my my mom passing away suddenly in April 2015. This was the last picture I have her and me. It was taken at the Philadephia Flower Show in March 2015. I've been really soul-searching, and I've been mising her every day. I spoke with my younger son last night, and he told me that I need to do more than just work and "do mom stuff". He's 17, and he sensed that I've been suffering for a long time, despite hiding the pain from the world. Working and going through the motions. So, I thought about it.... I was happier when I was creating things. It felt good to do this, and I know Mom would approve because she was and arts & crafts person too. Mom and my Nan (my Dad's mom) got me into being creative.  I don't want their gifts of love and creativity to die. I need to keep going and creating and honoring the love those two special women gave me...