Lace and Fabric Book

I've been collecting vintage lace for many years. I can't resist it, and on the rare occasion that I do resist, I always regret it. And it's not just lace, but also doilies, trims and ribbons. They just beg to be reused and made into something new and pretty and feminine. Something I've always wanted to do is make a lace collage but didn't know how to go about it. I have a Pinterest board that I look at daily for inspiration.

Last summer, Suzy from Suziqu's Threadworks, offered a discount on her lace book making workshop. I have followed her blog and admired her work for such a long time. I didn't hesitate to sign up for the online workshop and learn from the best.

Usually, you see the lace collages with old pictures of women or children from different eras. I chose a flower theme. The images I used came out looking bright and new, so I used distressing ink to age them. That was something I had never done before, but I liked the way they turned out. There were many "firsts" with this project!

The next step was choosing the lace and fabric to arrange around the photo. This was quite the process for me. It was very time consuming, sometimes taking days to get just the right lace together. I was surprised to find that all laces don't necessarily look good together. There was a lot of auditioning of lace, fabric and trim. I found it annoying at first, but by the end I was really enjoying coming up with different looks.

When I had the page looking the way I wanted it, it was time to sew and glue it together. Then it was time to audition the embellishments. That was fun! I used vintage buttons, scrapbooking flowers, and little bows.

The journal pages were fun too. I chose a flower quote for each one that I distressed the same way as the photos. And of course there is some lace on each page.

All the pages are done. The only thing left to do is make the cover and back and then bind it together. I'll finish it eventually. I'm so happy to have gotten this far and look forward to doing more of the lace collages. I think it was more enjoyable and satisfying than anything I've done in a very long time.

Have you attempted anything new recently?


Continuing my thankful list
     ~ creative fulfillment
     ~ springlike weather
     ~ cinnamon orange tea with cream ~ tastes like a creamsicle
     ~ aha moments when something clicks