Bunny crafting

I've mentioned before lately that I feel like my crafty mojo took a hike when baby #2 took up residence. I haven't completely shaken that feeling, but it's getting a little better! I wanted to share a fun little Eastery treat I made for a dear friend.
I literally woke up with the vision of this project in my head...stumbled downstairs in my jammies and started dragging things out of my craft closet. This is a 5" square stretched canvas. I covered it with vintage ledger paper and a stacked rosette made of a cute pink cupcake paper and vintage blue crepe paper. The crepe paper rosette is edged in pink German glass glitter and the middle has another bit of ledger paper and a gold foil dresden bunny. The edges are finished with some of my favorite pink foil dresden border.
I'm very happy how it turned out and think the recipient is pleased too. ;) I have another 5" square canvas in the closet so I believe maybe I'll do another one before I put all the bunnies away.

The Sad State of Thrift Stores

I don't know about your area, but around here the state of the thrift shops lately has been just pitiful! It used to be that I couldn't wait to go at least once a week (more if I could sneak it in) but after so many experiences lately of walking out empty-handed and disgusted, I just don't bother. It's disappointing, because it's a long time from October to May when the garage sale season starts up in earnest again, and I need my junk fix! Normally I've been able to count on my thrifts (there are four or five within a short distance, more if I want to drive a little) to get my fix but this year I've been coming up dry.

Yesterday I popped into a thrift in search of some plates for a project. The first thing I noticed is that it looked like a bomb had gone off in there--it was a pigsty! Normally that thrift is kept pretty clean so maybe they'd had a particularly busy Sunday or something because it was a disaster. Adding to the chaos were at least a dozen little kids running wild, crying, leaving toys all over the store, and generally behaving like a bunch of heathens while their mothers ignored them completely. I almost left, but did find one treasure that it was worth waiting in line to purchase:
A bag full of tubes of vintage sequins, rickrack (not pictured), glitter, and beads. I love the older sequins and these are great! The red beads in the front are mercury glass.
My favorite thing in the bag was this little glass bottle of glitter. It's marked "StarTwinkle" by Elizabeth Arden in great pink script. I did some googling but can't figure out what was originally in the bottle. I think the vintage gold glitter is a perfect replacement for whatever it might have been!

In this store yesterday I was looking at the children's clothing and found a plain white Hanes under-T, size 4T, marked $2.99. Seriously, can't you buy a package of three for about that much? It was hanging right next to a Hanna Andersson sweater that was also marked $2.99 (which is perfectly reasonable) so what kind of moron do they have doing the pricing?

I wonder if instead of donating, people are holding onto their stuff and hoping to sell it this summer at garage sales to make some money. If so, maybe that's a good thing--more garage sales, where prices are much lower than the thrifts anyway, right? How is the thrifting in your area? Have you noticed any change in inventory levels or prices?

Vintage black and white dress

Of all the places on the earth, the dinky farming town of Spanish Fork, Utah is the last place you'd expect to find a store full of really great vintage clothing, but that's what I found when we visited family there last Christmas! I love vintage clothing but I'll admit I don't buy much because it usually doesn't fit me. People were smaller 50-60 years ago and although I'm average size for an American woman now, I'm also 5'8" and unwilling to wear a girdle, so that takes me out of the running for much of the vintage clothing I find.I loved this 1950s-era black and white dress from the minute I saw it, but there was no tag so I couldn't immediately tell the size. A quick trip to the dressing room showed that, wonder of wonders--it FIT! And not only did it fit, but it was very flattering (and inexpensive!). I was so excited for spring to come so that I could wear it with some fun bright colored heels.
I love the fabric! What a fun print. (The photo is not upside down, the pattern runs both ways)
The black detail on the collar and bow is actually thick black velvet. LOVE the shape of the neckline.And then a few short weeks later, I found out I was pregnant! I knew there was no way this dress would fit for much longer--there would be no waiting for Springtime for this dress, so a few weeks ago I poured myself into it and wore it to church. Oh man, it was a tight squeeze! I could hardly breathe (that was a LONG three hours) and I'm surprised that I didn't pop the 50-year old stitches on the zipper. But I wore it, and now it has been retired to the closet until next Spring, when I will hopefully have my body back and be able to wear it again!

Strollers, a Marie swap & garage sale linens

Thank you all for your suggestions on the strollers & handles--I knew you would be able to help! Would you believe that the idea to check Craigslist didn't even cross my mind, a fact that is particularly ironic considering that I have something for sale in the baby/kids section right now? DUH! I looked yesterday and there was a Maclaren Volo for $65, but it's WAY across town (as in, it would take me an hour to get there) so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope maybe another one shows up. I know the Maclarens are well-made but I just can't stand the thought of paying full price, because I know that I would be paranoid the entire time at Disneyland that someone was going to steal my $125+ stroller. That would not make it the Happiest Place on Earth for me.I signed up for the Marie Antoinette collage swap over at Maria's blog and I'm totally excited! Since my creative mojo has been on hiatus for approximately 16 weeks now, I'm glad to find something that finally sparked my creative interest. We won't get our partners until April 6 but I'm already mentally going through my supplies, pulling out pinks and blues, ruffles, foil dresdens, and feathers. I think I need to go rent the movie again for inspiration. This should be FUN! Maria's taking sign-ups until April 6th so there's still time if you're interested.

Today I head to the OB for a checkup and to hopefully schedule my ultrasound in 4 weeks! I think I finally felt the baby move yesterday, which is about right because I recall I felt Maren around 17 weeks. I thought maybe it would be earlier this time because I knew what to look for so I've been paying attention to all the swishy feelings in my tummy lately, but this pregnancy my tummy has been generally very *bubbly* so it's been hard to tell if it's the baby down there doing the boogie, or just my lunch.

And because this post needs another photo, here's an old one I never shared of some fun garage sale finds from last summer. Have a good Wednesday!

A stroller request and new (old) treasures!

Dear blog friends, I need your help. I'm in the market for a new umbrella-type stroller but I need it to have one particular feature: adjustable handles! The handles on our previous stroller were so short that it was inevitable that you'd end up with a backache after pushing it for even a short while. I know there are stroller manufacturers out there that offer height-adjustable handles and I've done some internet research but haven't been able to come to a consensus on which one is the best buy. I do know that Maclaren makes strollers with adjustable handles, but they're far more than I'd like to pay--my budget is about $60. Do any of you have any experience with a stroller like this that you loved or hated that you'd like to share? I'm hoping to purchase one *soon* for our Disneyland trip in a few weeks. I didn't think it would be this hard to find one, or I would have started looking months ago! I'd appreciate any input you may have.

Last weekend my favorite local store Patina had a birthday sale so naturally I had to go--this place never offers sales or discounts of any kind, so 25% off everything was a big deal! I picked up a few treasures, including these darlings:
I've been on the lookout for some old trophies for a while now with no luck--and I'm even willing to pay antique store prices--so finding these two little treats was exciting! I put them next to each other to see which one I liked better, then decided that they look so great together it would be a shame to split up the pair. They both came home with me! One is from 1957 and the other is 1955-56, and I believe they're both darts trophies from different British pubs.Here is a wide shot of the entire display atop my china cabinet. It has been like this since after Christmas and I like it so much that I hate to change it, even for Easter. Three whole months may be the longest I've ever gone without rearranging! My sweet little trophies add just the right touch of sparkle. :)

Girl Scout Goodness

I know that Girl Scout cookie season is pretty much over, but I still thought it would be fun to share some images from a 1949 Girl Scout catalog that I picked up at an estate sale last summer.
I'm amazed at just how much GS paraphernalia there was available in 1949! For example, the official GS bathrobe and bedroom slippers:Although you've gotta know that I'd give my eyeteeth to find one of those aprons at a thrift!

A whole range of GS wardrobe options. My favorite is the checked boy-style wool jacket on the right. Very evocative of the time period to me.

You can even make official trefoil-shaped GS cookies with this handy cookie cutter! I actually found a GS cookie cutter at the same estate sale that I bought this catalog, but it's a newer style. Still fun, though.I had to show this page because I once bought a charm bracelet exactly like the one in the picture! It was from one of the best garage sales I've ever encountered, run by a couple who were big time into buying at auctions and selling off all the stuff they didn't want for almost nothing. Really, the stuff of garage sale legend. Anyway, the charm on the bracelet is quite large and has "Be Prepared" engraved all over the front and back in many different languages. I ended up selling it on eBay but it didn't go for as much as I had hoped, so maybe I should have just kept it. Oh well. Maybe I'll come across another one, like Rebecca did!

Is anybody craving a Thin Mint, or is it just me? Good thing I have some still stashed in the fridge for just such an occasion!

Birthday Girl

Today is Maren's 4th birthday and to say that she's been looking forward to celebrating would be a gross understatement! For months on end I've heard her talk about her birthday and how excited she was for it to get here. Now it's finally the BIG DAY and I think so far that it's shaping up to be a pretty fun day for her! In fact, this morning after she awoke to the sight of her fancy new pink and purple Princess BIG GIRL BIKE, she sighed happily and told me that today was "the best birthday ever!"--and that was only 7:30 am! She got lots of attention at preschool today, lots of loved ones have called to wish her a happy birthday, and tonight we'll dine on Pasketti & Meatballs (her requested birthday dinner) and vanilla cake before we open presents. I think she's right--for a 4-year-old, this is turning out to be a pretty darn great day!

A swap and a tag

I'm excited every time I get a package in the mail, and a package from overseas is especially exciting! My partner for the Sweet Goodness Winning Hand swap was Caroline, who lives in Bath, England.
She sent me such a fun package! Caroline didn't even know that I collect Alice in Wonderland things when she chose this great edition of Alice for me--what a lucky coincidence! (And as an Alice aficionado, I'm embarrassed to admit that the idea of using Alice-themed things to fulfill the swap theme NEVER even occurred to me!) Caroline also included a neat handmade beaded bookmark that is perfect because I'm guilty of grabbing the nearest scrap of paper to stuff in my book, so it will be nice to have something pretty. She also made me a set of darling heart hairclips in my favorite colors of red and turquoise.

Another clever interpretation of the theme was the package of cupcake sprinkles and the beads that are definitely club-shaped! And last but certainly not least, a few of my favorite British candy bars, including the BEST peanut butter Kit Kat I've ever eaten, which is conspicuously missing from this photo because it made its way into my mouth immediately after its discovery. :) (The Mister and I loved it so much I'm thinking of starting a letter-writing campaign to the Kit Kat folks to convince them to sell them in the US). It was such fun to swap with Caroline and I love the package she put together for me!

I was tagged by one of my fellow blogland Heidis to share the 6th photo in my 6th photo folder. I have to admit that I've been tagged with this before but didn't participate because my 6th folder doesn't even have six photos in it! LOL I just did some cleaning and sweeping the old photo folder and moved things around but folder #6 still doesn't have six photos in it, so I'm going to improvise and choose the 5th photo in the 5th folder.
This was taken of Maren the Sunday after Valentine's Day. A friend gave me this dress even before Maren was born, and it just now fits her. It's very frou-frou and pretty--not something I would normally have picked out but it's awfully cute, so I wanted to take some photos to send to her grandmas. The string she is holding is the enormous heart-shaped mylar balloon that Daddy bought her for Valentine's Day. This wasn't the best photo of the bunch but the look on her face does make me smile. :)

Sivinteenth o' March 1966

I'll readily admit that I don't much go in for St. Patrick's Day--I'm not Irish, Catholic, a drinker or a big fan of the color green so there's just not that much in it for me. My love for ephemera knows no bounds however, which is why I picked up this little treat several years ago at a garage sale.
This little card must have been given to passengers who flew United Airlines on St. Patrick's Day in 1966. It lists the menu served onboard the flight (click to enlarge). Considering that we're lucky to even get a package of pretzels and half a cup of Diet Coke on flights these days, it certainly sounds like quite a spread! There is even a little pale green chenille & tulle shamrock to be tucked one's buttonhole! They certainly thought of everything, didn't they?

Today I love...

My new watermelon-colored ruffly silk shirt from Gap:
(have you noticed that ruffles are everywhere this spring? I couldn't be happier!)

And my new shiny turquoise flats from Target:Oh, how I ADORE this color! I can already tell these are going to get a lot of wear.

So yeah, I did a little bit of retail therapy this weekend. Just doing my part to help out the economy!

A Major Hottie

This past weekend was a special one for my little family because my husband, The Mister, was promoted to the rank of Major in the Army! That in itself is cool, but it's even better because he was promoted a full year "below the zone" (basically a year ahead of schedule, the zone being where his peer group is)! I've always known was awesome, but it's nice to see that other people recognize that as well!

Here are a few pictures from the (very short) ceremony:My in-laws were able to make a quick visit to share in the occasion. The Mister's father was a Major in the Air Force and so he used one of his old rank pins on The Mister's beret, which was a nice touch.

I'm so proud of my husband! He's a great officer, a great leader, and an outstanding husband and father--not to mention a Major Hottie too!. :)

Puzzle giveaway winner and Pink tulips

Whew, sorry about that! I know I promised to do the kitchen puzzle giveaway this weekend but I will admit to being a bit of a slacker and I'm just now getting around to doing it. I consulted the Random Number Generator and it chose:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

5 

Timestamp: 2009-03-10 21:35:49 UTC

Comment #5 was left by the lovely Barbara! Barbara's blog Oodles & Oodles is one of my favorite reads, for both her witty commentary and great photos of fun vintage stuff. Congratulations, Barbara!

In other news, I don't think I'm alone in blogland in saying that I have the Spring Fever something fierce! I shouldn't complain because we've had an unseasonably mild winter here (although we did wake to snow this morning) but nonetheless, I'm ready to break out the bunnies and chicks and pastel colors STAT. I'm making myself wait another week or two because otherwise I'll be sick of the mess by the first week of April, but to tide myself over I picked up these gorgeous pink and white tulips at the grocery store last week. The bouquet was big enough to fill both my favorite Lu-ray pitcher from Sarah:

and the fab jadeite repro pitcher I got last spring. I love the combination of the pink & soft green, don't you?

I'm hosting book club at my house tonight (we're discussing Three Cups of Tea, a fabulous book that I highly recommend) and I had planned to make these cute treats that I found on a friend's blog. I opted to make homemade caramel instead of using the store-bought squares but darn it all, I overcooked it! Sheesh. I should have paid attention to my instincts and taken it off the heat earlier but I stubbornly cooked it to the recommended temperature and was left with a scorched, brittle mess. I don't have the ingredients to make another batch and I'm too lazy to run to the store for square caramels, so we'll be having brownies instead. :) I do still want to make the pops, but those will have to wait for another day (and until I can chisel the current mess out of my saucepan).

Vintage kitchen puzzle Giveaway!

I love to cook. I also love vintage, so it's no surprise to me that one of the things I love most to collect is vintage kitchenalia! I prefer the bright happy colors of 1940s and 50s kitchen fashions--tomato red, cornflower blue, aqua and yellow make my heart sing every time.

I was tickled then, when I found this puzzle at a yard sale one summer:I love to look at the photo and identify all the things I have in my kitchen: the red Krispy Kan, bowls of beaded fruit, stacks of printed tablecloths and dishtowels, green wooden-handled utensils, a red plaid metal picnic basket. There are also a few things in the photo I'd love to add to my collection, like the little chicky egg cups and the scotty dog light switch cover.

I've done the puzzle and it's complete. It has 750 pieces but it's not too difficult to put together. If you love vintage kitchenware like I do and would like to win this puzzle, just leave a comment on this post between now and Friday at noon. I'll draw a winner this sometime this weekend!

A weekend in Glenwood Springs

Thank you ALL so very, very much for your congratulations and happy comments on my last post! :) They were an absolute DELIGHT to read! Thank you all for sharing in our joy--your excitement made me more excited!

I'm feeling much better now, but those first three weeks of February were a bit rough (hence the lack of blog posts). The one thing I've noticed this time is the sheer exhaustion I'm feeling. I hit the wall at about 4:00 pm each day and from there on out, I'm good for nothing except laying on the couch under a blankie until it's time to go to bed. I'm learning that if I want to get anything done it has to be in the morning and early afternoon or it's just not going to happen. I'm nearing the end of the first trimester so I'm hopeful that soon some of that magical second trimester energy will kick in. I've also apparently lost my Crafty Mojo--it seems that once the baby moved in, it took a hike--but I'm hoping that will return quickly as well.

This past weekend we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by taking a little family getaway to Glenwood Springs, a small town about 3 hours west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains. On Saturday we went skiing at the local ski resort. While we watched and waited, Maren had her first ski lesson. We were amazed when the instructor took her up on the lift after only practicing for about 20 minutes on the small hill outside the lodge! I guess they figure the kids learn best by doing.The instructor said that Maren 1) didn't want to stop and 2) wanted "to go FAST!"...not a big surprise there! She's aways been a daredevil. After her lesson we stopped for lunch and then mommy and daddy got suited up as well to ski for the remainder of the day.
Suffice it to say, Maren's first run with us was also her last. Although she'd done great with her lesson, by the time we finally got going after lunch she was very tired and turned into that kid...the one you see throwing a huge tantrum and carrying on, the one that makes you think "I'm glad that's not my kid!" Just getting from where the lift dropped us over to the start of the hill was a 30-minute ordeal in which Maren was alternately sobbing, throwing herself dramatically into the snow, popping off her left ski, going boneless, and repeatedly expressing her fervent wish to go back to the hotel. Oh man, it was BAD, but there was nothing to do at that point but get down the mountain. I had to snowplow the whole way down with her between my skis, resulting in both my lower back and my knees feeling like they were en fuego.

From there on out, The Mister and I switched off staying with Maren and taking runs. By the end of the day we were absolutely wiped out (see my earlier note about feeling exhausted) but still glad we went.
Sunday morning we visited Glenwood Springs' namesake, the famous Hot Springs pool, which has been in use since the 1890s. I remember visiting when I was a child more than 20 years ago and not being terribly impressed with the salty-tasting hot water, neither of which are desirable for a kid unless they're accompanied by a beach to play upon. I'm old enough now that I'd rather be in warm water than cool so I appreciated it much more, especially on a chilly March day!
The big pool is kept between 90-93 degrees and is like stepping into a lukewarm bath. The pool itself is enormous--easily the largest pool I've ever visited and probably one of the largest in the world (it's over two city blocks long!). The therapy pool is kept at 104 degrees and has neat old-school coin-operated chairs that give 5 minutes of bubbles for only a quarter. The warm mineral water felt so good on our joints that were sore from the skiing fiasco the day before. It did seem a bit funny that we were skiing one day and then swimming outdoors fewer than 24 hours later!
It was a fun weekend and I'd encourage my local friends to plan a visit!

Beans: Spilled

I'm 11 weeks and the due date is September 17! We're excited. :)

Pret-a-Porter Poodle

A local thrift chain is having a 99¢ sweater sale this weekend so this morning while Maren was in preschool I stopped to have a look. My mom gifted me with a darling handbag made out of a felted sweater and I think it's easy enough that even my meager sewing skills can recreate it, so I was looking primarily for wool or cashmere sweaters. I was also looking for anything vintage or anything that I could harvest buttons from. Further down on the list was sweaters I could sell and last, sweaters I could wear.

I had no idea how few 100% wool sweaters are out there! Even the ones that felt like wool were often made with a blend of a synthetic fiber as well. I don't have much experience felting sweaters, so can anyone in blogland tell me--do they have to be 100% wool for them to felt properly, or will 80% wool/20% synthetic work? I bought a few that were wool blends and figured for 99¢ it was worth the gamble.
In the button category, I did find one that had these cute flower buttons. They were definitely worth 99¢!
I scored in the vintage category as well! I almost passed this one by because it wasn't wool but at the last second the vintage tag inside caught my eye. There was no size on the tag but it looked small, so I figured I would just resell it.Once I got it home, on a whim I decided to try it on and to my extreme surprise, it fits! Thank goodness for a nice stretchy knit. I can fasten the belt, as long as I don't plan on doing any breathing or moving while wearing the sweater so that's going to have to be fixed. It really is tiny--I could barely fasten it around my size 6 dress form for the photo.Here's a close-up of the poodle detail. The leash and mouth are made of red rattail satin cord, the knots feel like wool and the eye is a faceted metal bead. There are also vintage metal buttons to fasten the neck in back, although they look very tarnished so they may be replaced. I'm picturing this with a black pencil skirt, and maybe a pair of Laurie's fab glasses--what do you think?

Vintage baby dress valance

After I graduated from college I moved home and lived with my parents for almost 2 years before I got married, during which time I repainted the walls of my bedroom in a periwinkle blue. After I moved out, my mom finally got to have a craft room all to herself. Just recently she found some darling furniture and redecorated, and it's so cute! One of the things she did that I love the most is make this window valance out of vintage baby dresses, and I wanted to show you all because I'm always looking for useful things to do with the vintage goodies I collect.

The dresses are beautiful--simple cotton shifts decorated with lovely hand embroidery and crocheted hems. (click on the photos to see the details) I'm not precisely sure of their age but I know they were made without buttons--a special pin was used at the back to hold them together. My mom found these at a garage sale several years ago and I think she paid at most 25¢ for each one--it might even have been 10¢. Either way, they were a total steal. To make the valance, all she did was purchase a white wooden curtain rod and slide it through the arms of the dresses--easy as pie! There is already a heavy wooden blind on the window to block the light so the valance is purely decorative, and I love how light and airy it looks! Wouldn't this be such a cute idea for a little girl's or a baby's room?

Condensed Milk

see more pwn and owned pictures

Seriously, this makes me laugh SO hard! Can you imagine what it must have looked like when the driver was getting the cows IN that little car? That is funny for DAYS. From one of my favorite daily reads, the FAIL blog.

Vintage postcard garland and Valentine's wrap-up

Oh, my poor little abandoned blog! I'm not sure I've ever gone so long without posting but truly I haven't had much to say. I've been sick for quite a long time now due to germs Maren toted home from preschool and I'm just now feeling a bit better. At the same time, The Mister has been recovering from surgery and even the dog has an ear infection, so productivity levels around my house have been hovering around 0%. If it couldn't be done while laying on the couch under a blankie, it didn't get done at all.

I know we're two days past Valentine's now but I did want to show the one and only thing I've crafted in the past three weeks. My mom and I saw some cute garlands in a boutique for around $35 each and we knew we could do them ourselves for much cheaper. We were right--we already had everything we needed! So nice to do a project without having to run to the craft store first.
First, I found a few vintage postcard images from this awesome Flickr group. Next, I resized them and printed them out onto matte white cardstock. I just guessed on the size, making sure to get the approximately even (the original files were different sizes). Next, we ran them through the Xyron and adhered them to sheets of chipboard. We covered the backs with pages torn from a very old dictionary just to make them a bit more finished.

We punched holes in the top corners using a Crop-a-dile, then embellished the edges with sparkly red pipe cleaners, which we glued on using Zip Dry glue. We tried a few other glues (hot glue, tacky glue) but the Zip Dry was perfect because it dries quickly and is a bit thicker in consistency so it didn't run all over. As a final touch we embellished the images using a glue pen and some sparkly iridescent glitter. I tied mine together with pink Martha Stewart seam binding ribbon.

It was an easy craft with satisfying results, perfect for a gloomy day and not so involved that we couldn't visit while we glued. This garland could easily be adapted for any holiday you can find vintage postcard images for, which thanks to Flickr should be just about any of them! I don't normally decorate for St. Patrick's day but I think I have some sparkly green pipe cleaners kicking around my craft room, so maybe I need to make a St. Patty's garland just for fun!

Our V-day was nice, even though we weren't feeling well. We beat the crowds by going out for sushi on Friday night, the Mister brought me an enormous, gorgeous bouquet of flowers and Maren got a balloon that is bigger than she is.

Now that I have a bit more energy I'm hoping to get back to doing something interesting enough to blog about! Until then, take a look back at the cute thing I received for last President's Day. It's still one of my top 5 favorite things I've ever received in a swap!