A Long Day of Shopping

My day started at 5:15a.m. I was meeting my friend at 5:45 to hit some early garage sales. I just got home at 5:15p.m. It has been a long day full of adventures.

The best find of the day is this vintage, toy cake tin. I just couldn't resist the cheery red and green design.

I also found this toy sewing machine labeled Casige, made in West Germany.

At the same sale I also found this Ball Mason, Salt and Pepper Set. 

I also bought another vintage, leather suitcase. It has a lovely red lining inside.

So that was our adventure at garage sales. Next, we picked up another friend and drove into downtown Los Angeles' Garment District. What a different world that was! There were shops and shops filled with fabric, lace, buttons and so many different types of trim. It was overwhelming. I bought just a handful of buttons. It was a unique experience but almost too much for one day.

The final part of our day found us 55 miles away searching for a thrift store that someone had told us about. It was closed but we explored other thrift stores where I bought some items that I plan to use in future projects.

It has been a long and fun day but now I think I need a nap.

This is linked to:

Apron Thrift Girl, Coastal Charm, Creating a House of Grace, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, Tales from Bloggeritaville, The Colorado Lady and The Thrifty Groove

Mother's Day Coupon Book

Mother's Day is fast approaching so I wanted to make something to celebrate all of the mothers out there.

I used to make coupon books for my mother when I was little. Inside were handwritten chores that I promised to do when asked. So to continue this tradition, I created a Mother's Day coupon book.

I used the Sizzix, Bigz Pro Die, Pocket Page and Tag that I designed. It will be available in craft stores in May. This is exactly the type of project I had in mind when I created this die.

I also used the Flowers, 3-D die to embellish the cover. All of the papers are from Cosmo Cricket.

Here are the inside pages with their removable coupon tags.

Here are a few design tips:

I used four sheets of double-sided cardstock. I also cut additional tags out of solid-color cardstock. Once everything was folded I began embellishing the pages.

I die cut the 3-D flowers and then lightly inked the edges. After they were glued to the page, I added small pearl buttons in the center. 

I used double-sided foam adhesive to slightly raise the bee off of the page. This added a little dimension without adding too much bulk.

 I first stitched the lace onto the page and then glued the rick-rack on top of the stitching.

 Nothing is complete without vintage buttons. The card that reads "Bon Appétit" had a straight edge along the top which didn't match with the scallop edge of the pocket so I added the buttons to hide the edge.

I had cut the blue zigzag edge off of the tag on the cover that reads "For You". I used the leftover zigzag pieces to soften the edges of this red bowl tag. The brad was meant to read "WOW" but everyone knows that MOM is WOW upside down.

 I added a few bits of bling to the center of these flowers.

I left the last page very simple. I envision this as the page where you could add a personal note to thank Mom for everything she does. This could also be the page where the gift certificate to the spa could be included... (hint hint, in case my son reads this).

I was featured on:

This is linked to:
504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, All Things Fee, All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Cherished Treasures, Common Ground, Craft Envy, Creative Every Day, FaveCrafts,  Finding Fabulous, Homemaker on a Dime,  I {heart} Naptime, Inspiring Creations, It's a Very Cherry World, Just A Girl, Keeping It Simple, Krafty Kat, Lolly Jane, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Backyard Eden, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Paisley Passions, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do, Simply Designing, Singing Three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Sunburnt Cow, Tatertots and Jello, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Trendy Treehouse, Truly Lovely, Under the Table and Dreaming and What Allie's Making Now

Thank You and a Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered in the 200 Follower Giveaway. It pleases me to announce that, through the use of Random.org, the winner is ...

Jackie at Let's Go Thrifting.

Congratulations Jackie. I will be contacting you soon.

And thank you to everyone for visiting, commenting and Following.

Estate Sale Doldrums

The holiday weekend made it a quiet day for estate sales. It wasn't a total loss though. I found a couple of good treasures.

My favorite find of the day was this vintage display shelf. It is made of metal, about 14" x 26" and a sweet, rusty blue. Can you guess what it was originally?

Here's a hint when you see it from the side.

It is a Doll-E-Bed by Amsco. It is from the 50s and was part of a bunk bed set. Here is a view of how it would normally be seen.

The only other item we found today was this chocolate pot with wooden handles. It is marked as Made in Italy. I love the shape of it.

Please be sure and check out my GIVEAWAY going on right now. I'm giving away a little tote bag that I made in celebration of reaching 200 Followers. Check it out for a chance to win. This giveaway is now closed.

Time to relax with family and friends now. Happy Easter.

I am honored to be featured on:

 



This is linked to:
504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Apron Thrift Girl, Between Naps on the Porch, Blue Creek Home, Brambleberry Cottage, Cherished Treasures, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Creating a House of Grace, DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Finding Fabulous, French Country Cottage, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, I {heart} Naptime, Inspiring Creations, Just A Girl, Keeping it Simple, Lovely Crafty Home, My Romantic Home, Tales From Bloggeritaville, The 4Rs, The Colorado Lady, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Groove, The Thrifty Home, Under the Table and Dreaming, The Girl Creative, Truly Lovely and Very Merry Vintage Style

Thrifted Dress Form Remake

Isn't she beautiful. I first saw her at the thrift store last week but decided to purchase something else instead. She wasn't vintage and originally looked rather frumpy but there was something about her that got me thinking. Then, a week later, I had an idea of what I wanted to do with her if only she were still at the thrift store. I raced down there during my lunch hour and found her still sitting standing on the shelf.

I love the idea of a vintage dress form but I don't have the space nor the cash to own one. This dress form is not old and only about 25" high. It is the perfect size to use as a display.

Here she is all dressed up in her Easter finery. All of the lace is vintage. I rummaged through my mother's old jewelry and found some necklaces. Draped around her are some beautiful glass beads and a pearl necklace that might be real.

But to really appreciate her, you need to see what she looked like when I first bought her. Both the choice of fabric and lace (left photo) made this dress form look oddly misshapen but I saw potential.

I removed everything off of her, saving only the velvet around her neck and arm holes. Using the blue striped pieces as a pattern, I cut linen fabric to fit. I hot glued the fabric in place making sure to stretch it to fit the curves. This wasn't easy and the hot glue was really hot. I used vintage lace to cover all of the seams and then gussied her up for her photo shoot. Here she is re-dressed on the right. What do you think?

Please be sure and check out my GIVEAWAY going on right now. I'm giving away a little tote bag that I made in celebration of reaching 200 Followers. Check it out for a chance to win. This giveaway is now closed.

I'm honored to be featured at All Thumbs Crafts.

This is linked to:
504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, All Thingz Related, Apron Thrift Girl, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Creek Home, Blue Cricket Design, Brambleberry Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Craft Envy, DIY Home Sweet Home Project, FaveCrafts, French Country Cottage, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, House of Grace, I {heart} Naptime, Inspiring Creations, Just a Girl, Keeping it Simple, Krafty Kat, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Backyard Eden, My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Paisley Passions, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do, Simply Designing, Singing Three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Somewhat Simple, Sunburnt Cow Handmade Shop, Tales from Bloggeritaville, Tatertots & Jello, The Colorado Lady, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Groove, The Trendy Treehouse, Truly Lovely, Under the Table and Dreaming, Very Merry Vintage Style, What Allie's Making Now and Wildflowers and Whimsy

Second GIVEAWAY and 200 Followers Milestone

I am so excited to be able to have my second GIVEAWAY to celebrate reaching 200 Followers.

To thank all of my Followers, I am giving away this handmade tote that I posted about yesterday. I had it filled with Easter Eggs and a hankie so you couldn't see the black and tan fabric inside. Both the tote and flower are in neutral colors but I can create a different color flower if the winner has a preference.

If you want more details about the vintage items used on this bag you can read about it here.

The bag measures 6"w x 5"h x 4"d not counting the strap. The felt flower can be detached if you need to wash the bag. Because the lace is vintage, I suggest hand washing the bag.

Everyone has up to two chances to enter this giveaway. If you are a new visitor then leave one comment on this post to enter. And if you become a Follower then leave a second comment letting me know that you just became a Follower (total of two chances to win).

If you are already a Follower then leave two separate comments (one stating that you are already a Follower and a second comment to enter.) This way everyone will have two chances to win if they are a Follower.

Again, this is an international giveaway for our friends all over the world who are so kind to Follow my blog. And, again, I will add a few ADDITIONAL surprise vintage goodies in the prize (I'm thinking vintage button cards or wooden spools or ???).

I will have this giveaway open for one week, ending Monday, April 25 at 9pm Pacific time. At that time I will randomly select a winner. Good luck and thank you to all of my wonderful Followers.

This Giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced shortly. Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway contest.

This is linked to:
Blue Cricket Design, What Allie's Making Now, My Backyard Eden, Paisley Passions and Someday Crafts

Easter Fabric Tote

I had some fun sewing and created this simple fabric tote. It is the perfect size to hold over a dozen Easter Eggs or a few paperback books or even to pack a lunch. {To see how you can win this tote, click here.}

I wanted it to be a neutral color and sturdy cotton fabric so I used all new fabric. I also kept the decorative accent (flower) a neutral, soft gray so that the color of whatever is inside of the bag would not clash. But the flower can be removed and other accents added later if I change my mind.

The felt for the flower and leaves are thrifted as well as the vintage pink millinery stamens in the flower. I also added some vintage lace around the top of the bag.

The bag measures 6"w x 5"h x 4"d not counting the strap.

This is linked to:
All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Coastal Charm, I {heart} Naptime, I'm Topsy Turvy, Keeping it Simple, Krafty Kat, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Under the Table and Dreaming, Very Merry Vintage Style and Wildflowers & Whimsy

Christmas in April Estate Sales

The temperature has finally climbed into the 80s with no chance of rain so there were lots of estate sales to choose from. The ones we went to had an interesting assortment of vintage Christmas items. Christmas in April!

My favorite find of the day were several bags of Mercury Glass garlands. I love the vintage teal and pink glass garlands the best.

I also love these Christmas elves marked "Japan" on the bottom. The little elf on the left looks a little mischievous but they are rather cute.

We found this unique, ceramic teapot. The color, a deep periwinkle, and the bird on top were just so adorable.

On the practical side, we found an unused picnic basket filled with metal utensils, cloth picnic blanket and cloth napkins. Lots of useful storage here.

And, by sheer serendipity, I found yet another estate sale by the same woman who held the two previous "polite etiquette" sales (here and here). Her previous prices were high for things she thought were valuable and quite reasonable for other items. Today, there were still some items that were over-priced but I was able to find these lovely teal and pink hankies and old tomato-shaped ceramic salt and pepper shakers.

***Please be sure and check out my GIVEAWAY going on here. This giveaway is now closed.


This is linked to:
Apron Thrift Girl, Blue Creek Home, Brambleberry Cottage, Coastal Charm, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, House of Grace, It's a Very Cherry World, Tales From Bloggeritaville, The Colorado Lady and The Thrifty Home

Versatile Blogger Award - Wow!

I love blogging. I love sharing. And I really love the nice people out there who blog. Case in point: Melissa Burger of Mel Dreams Often. She kindly awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award. I love the crafting and the thrifting but it is so sweet when someone out there kindly pats you on the back and says "Good job". Thank you Melissa. I am honored.

This award comes with a few rules:
• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
• Tell us seven things about yourself.
• Award fifteen recently discovered new bloggers.
• Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received their award.

Okay, so here goes: Seven things about me:

1. I am addicted to estate sale shopping (no one should be surprised by this one)
2. I watch less than 2 hours of television per week (usually BBC America)
3. I've been scrapbooking since 1988
4. I've designed advertising and packaging for large corporations
5. I love English history and know more about Richard III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Edward VIII than I do of any American president
6. I worry too much
7. I enjoy reading Shakespeare

My nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Babushka & Co.
2. Monkey Box
3. Rook No. 17
4. A Sentimental Life
5. Beatrice Banks
6. Brambleberry Cottage
7. Very Merry Vintage Style
8. Common Ground
9. Design It Chic
10. Faith Hope and Charity Shopping
11. French Bleu Vintage
12. I Love Collecting
13. I Bake Cakes
14. Into Vintage
15. One Cheap Bitch

These are all wonderful, creative blogs that I believe deserve some well-earned recognition. Hope you take a moment to visit them and thanks again to Melissa of meldreamsoften.com

Belated Birthday Card

It was my dear sister's birthday a few weeks ago. I wanted to make her a nice card but I wasn't inspired to create anything special. I create things all of the time and yet I had a creative block when it came time to make her a card. I could have bought her a card and sent it in time for her birthday but I waited because I wanted to make something special.

Then I received a lovely, vintage table cloth and it ignited a spark of creativity.

I scanned a section of the table cloth and added the words in Photoshop. I added three vintage buttons to finish off the card. This is exactly the inspiration I was waiting for.

Here is the inspirational table cloth.

Happy birthday Elaine! Sorry this is belated.

This is linked to:
A Little Knick Knack, All Thingz Related, Baked by Joanna, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Designs, Brambleberry Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Coastal Charm, Craft Envy, Creative Everyday, Decor to Adore, Fave Crafts, Finding Fabulous, Hey, What's For Dinner Mom?, House of Grace, I {heart} Naptime, Inspiring Creations, It's A Very Cherry World, Just a Girl, Keeping it Simple, Krafty Kat, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Backyard Eden, My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Paisley Passions, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Simply Designing, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Tatertots & Jello, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Truly Lovely, Under the Table and Dreaming, What Allie's Making Now and Wildflowers & Whimsy

Finding Childhood Memories at Estate Sales

Sometimes I find myself wondering if I am destined to spend my time hunting for things that my parents used to have. There is a certain comfort, as if meeting up with old friends, that comes from finding objects that reminds you of your childhood.

Today's best finds were these two, midcentury modern pieces of office equipment that reminded me of my dad's desk. The "airplane wing" fluorescent lamp is almost identical to the one I remember sitting on his desk in the den. The Victor, Bakelite adding machine is a little different than what I remember but the sound it makes sends me right back to my childhood. These cost more than I would normally pay but how do you put a price on such fond memories.

I also bought this beautiful, hand-crocheted tablecloth. It is very large and in great condition.

I found these toy building bricks. They look like the modern Legos but are made out of wood. They are copyrighted 1939 by Halsam Products.

At another sale I found several dish towels embroidered with the days of the week and a stack of delicate hankies.

Just in time for Easter, I found this package of Ritz Easter egg decorating transfers. The dye tablets are still inside plus it has the "Mystic Writer" and all of the transfers.

I also bought two, brand new, car engine testing things that my dear boyfriend said my son could use on his cars. I didn't include photos here because they are boring black things with meters and wires and such. Nothing cute or vintage about them at all. 

But speaking of cute and vintage, during the week I received this beautiful table cloth that my dear sister found for me in Iowa. I love the look and feel of vintage tablecloths. This is my favorite one so far.

This is Linked to:

A Little Knick Knack, Apron Thrift Girl, Blue Creek Home, Brambleberry Cottage, Coastal Charm,  Common Ground, Finding Fabulous, Hey, What's For Dinner Mom?, House of Grace, The Colorado Lady, The Thrifty Groove, The Thrifty Home and Very Merry Vintage Style