A Suitcase Full of Lace Treasures - Simply Neutrals #19

Hello friends... today I'm sharing an old suitcase makeover, and I'm linking to Wen's Simply Neutrals Party #19.

  

This old suitcase was brown, like my old school 'port', and the corner was wrecked so it was being tossed out. Luckily I happened to be passing and saved it!

I painted the outside with a pale pink low sheen wall paint I had left over, and lined it with an old curtain I'd been saving because it was too pretty to throw away.

The curtain was cut to size, the edges folded under, and I used a hot glue gun to stick it in.

This rose print is so pretty.... 

Now to fill it with laces... instant decor!

I found a piece of olive green velvet ribbon just the right match to finish my paper doll box from the previous post... I also added some daisies, small pearls and a flower trim to hide the ribbon join.

You might like to pop over to Wen's blog AppleApricot to see all the gorgeous neutral beauty on display through her linky party. Wen's lace card is divine, you should take a peek! Thanks Wen for hosting Simply Neutrals again.

Hope you can find some creative regeneration time this week.

Jesse

Collaged Box For Paper Dolls, and Weathered Wood Textures

Happy Autumn! It's one of my favourite times of the year - the ocean temperature lags by about three months, and the weather is mild, so swimming is glorious. Happy Spring too, for those opposite us :)

Recently my daughter started gymnastics seriously, with two afternoon sessions and two morning sessions, plus my son plays basketball and does gymnastics too. I needed a project that's easy to work on in the car. 

When I was young I used to cut up old dress pattern catalogues my Mum was finished with, choosing some models to be the dolls, and others to be sacrificed as clothes with tabs at the shoulders and sides. I've been collecting paper dolls on my Pinterest site hoping to interest my daughter - but no way!

Oh well, I'm still just a big kid! I printed out some paper dolls to have a go at assembling and dressing. 

The old chocolate box I carried them in was unattractive, so decided to alter it...

In Photoshop Elements I've been adding the heads of my favourite Edwardian and Belle Epoch actresses onto paper dolls by E.K. Duncan. One of them didn't work as she was facing sideways, so she now has a place on the box lid.

Layers of scrapbooking paper were glued on first, then some lace scraps, buttons and scrapbooking paper were ladded, along with the gorgeous image of Cléo de Mérode, a French dancer from the Belle Époque. I cut a paper frame for Cléo, and glued on a fabric rose embellishment cut from an old op shop blouse. I found a lace doiley to add lace to the sides of the box - a perfect fit. I just need to add some velvet ribbon when I find the right shade of olive green....

Now for some natural and man-made neutral beauty...

Around 7am after dropping off children to early morning gymnastics, I wandered along the edge of Batemans Bay. It was foggy as the sun rose...

The texture of these weathered boards caught my eye...

I couldn't resist a play with the images in Photoshop Elements when I returned home...

After dropping the children to school, I stopped at Broulee to have a walk on the beach...

 And a swim on the next beach, in water so pristine clear you can see your toenails at the bottom without goggles...

I'm linking up to Wen's blog Apple Apricot for Simply Neutrals #18. There you'll see links to some gorgeous neutral beauty.

Happy Autumn or Spring! Enjoy!