Friday, September 27, 2013

some recipes and a winner...

Happy Friday!
Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my 'boo' garland and Halloween decorations!! I've had a busy week working on a couple custom orders, finishing some goodies for the shoppe, and working on a strawberry pincushion swap hosted by my sweet friend Erin of Why Not Sew?, that I look forward to showing you once I get it finished over the weekend! So, my apologies that I haven't been around to much to visit you, but will be catching up over the weekend to see what you sweetness you have been up to! 
I was going to show you some more pages from The Workbasket magazines, but my printer ran out of ink and it won't let me even scan pages until I replace it, so I will have to get some today. But, luckily I had these two recipe pages from the September 1951 issue, and an old recipe for Apple Brown Betty that I shared last year! Hope you enjoy them! 
and, now to the winner of the Simple Sweet Fabric giveaway! 
Congratulations to Laura of Vintage Bettys for winning the $25 gift card to Simply Sweet Fabric! Yay! I will send you an email and get you contacted with Shay! 

Wishing you a lovely and beautiful autumn weekend! 
I will be back on Monday to show you some new goodies and projects! ♥


Monday, September 23, 2013

a vintagey 'boo' garland

Happy Monday and Fall! 
I am so happy that autumn is finally here, and the weather has been absolutely lovely! Over the weekend I started to do some more fall decorating, along with Halloween. I wanted to make a simple, vintage style Halloween garland, so this 'boo' garland is what I came up with! 
I used some vintage book pages, polka dot fabric letters (traced on Heat n' Bond), and then glued them on. I also had to lay them between books to flatten them out while the glue dried. 
Then, I added some paper doilies with black and white craft papers, and cut out some circles to go on the sides.  Then I used my sewing machine, and sewed them along the top, leaving a few inches of thread at the beginning and end so I could hang it up. 
Finally, I added some vintage lace ties at the end, and it is ready to bring some Halloween cheer to my home! Simple and sweet! 
I also made this crafty goodness for my black frame. The fabric pumpkin I made a couple years ago, and actually have about eleven all around my home. I used this tutorial and always make a few more each year to add to my collection. 
My Halloween kitty and another pumpkin.
 
Some spooky accordion paper wheels. The small ones were from a Halloween paper pack I got years ago, and the big one I just made! 
I used some vintage paper and a craft paper circle for the middle, and that's it. They really are so fun to make, and I should make some more! ;) 
Some more decorations, and my vintage shutters got some fall fabric. 
And, my quilted table topper that I made a couple years ago. I wanted to make a new one this year, and still may, but for now this one will do. Have you started fall/Halloween decorating yet?
Last week I was a lucky winner of giveaway from the sweet Pam of Virginia Retro, and these are all the pretties that I won!! So fun! Thank you Pam for having a lovely giveaway!

And, if you haven't had a chance to enter the Simple Sweet Fabric giveaway, you have until this Thursday, and I will be announcing the winner on Friday!

Wishing you all beautiful and crafty autumn week! 

Friday, September 20, 2013

a simply sweet giveaway

Happy Friday!
Hope that your week has been wonderful and you have some sweet and crafty plans for this weekend! This darling girl "September Miss" is from The Workbasket magazine September 1951 issue. Each issue in 1951 has a monthly character that you could trace to color or embroider. I think she would look adorable embroidered on a pillow for a little girls' room! ;)

Well, I love meeting new bloggy friends, and I am excited to introduce to you the most lovely Shay of Simply Sweet Fabrics and her darling blog, The Little White Farmhouse
Her etsy shoppe is filled with such a cute selection of fabrics that are sweetly unique to her pretty style including Japanese and 30's reproductions, which are always on the top of my list! If you haven't had a chance to get your hands on some pretty Briar Rose by Heather Ross, she has a sweet selection! And, make sure you head over to her blog and see her gorgeous pinwheel quilt that she made with the fabrics from her shoppe!
 She so generously sent me these pretties to play with, which I am just loving! 
Some 30's reproduction mixed with the adorable pastel florals!! Love, Love! 
And, of course I have already starting cutting into one of the rose florals for a hexie flower!! 
Shay has been so sweet and generous in offering one of you dear friends a $25 gift card to her etsy shoppe! Yay! Giveaway Closed

If you would like a chance to win, here are two ways you can enter!
♥Leave a comment on this post and make sure you pop over to visit Simply Sweet Fabric
♥Leave a comment letting me know one of the fabrics you would choose if you won

That's it! Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one. You have until Thursday, September 26th to enter. I will be announcing the winner on Friday, September 27th. Best wishes to you all! 

May you all have a wonderful and creative weekend!! 

Monday, September 16, 2013

a new collection and a winner

Happy Monday!
Hope that you had a lovely weekend and are enjoying the last days of summer. I am looking forward to fall and those cooler days! Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! You made my birthday extra special! 
Over the weekend I finished up another hexie flower, with one of my favorite Flower Sugar prints. Only a few more to go! Well, I have started a new collection of something that I discovered right before my birthday, and have become quite fascinated with these vintage treasures! 
The Workbasket magazines! Have you heard of them? Oh my, have they just made my vintage heart so happy! I discovered them on this blog, that I had stumbled upon and was completely smitten with them. I have never heard of them or seen them at estate sales before, and I have sure been missing out on these little gems. 
And, to my surprise a very dear and sweet friend had sent me the set above for my birthday, knowing how much I would love them, and she was so right! The day I received the ones she sent, I read them all night and over the weekend! 
I ended up ordering some from 1955 and 1954. Almost complete sets, so I need to look for the ones that are missing. I love all the patterns, graphics, ads, and it is so fun just reading through the articles and seeing the names of the sweet ladies who once received this monthly in the mail. They were based out of Kansas City, Missouri and started in the 1930's. You can read a little more about them here
My plan is to collect as many from the 40's, 50's and early 60's. My eyes are going to be wide open for these when I am out. They are such amazing little pieces of history!
I thought it would be fun to share them by month and show some neat things inside. So, we'll start with this issue from September 1955. Each issue from 1955 has a colored graphic of the flower of the month, which is Aster for September. I am thinking of copying these and embroidering them and making a patchwork quilt of all the flowers. What do you think? I ran out of time to scan more pages, so I will show some more later in the week. ;)
And, now to the winner of my birthday giveaway! 
Congratulations to Helen of Helen Philipps for winning the pretty embroidered pot holder!! Yay! I will send you an email to get your address! Thank you all so much for the sweet birthday wishes and entering in the giveaway! 
And, if you would still fancy yourself a pretty rolling pin embroidered pot holder, I just added these two to my shoppe! If you would like one to match your kitchen colors, just send me an email and I would love to make one specially for you! ;) 

Wishing you a most lovely and creative week! 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

a sweet day...

Today is a sweet day of celebration...it is my 31st birthday! I can't believe how fast the year has gone by. It has been filled with many wonderful memories and blessings, along with some tough things, too. It has also been a year of new treasures added to my home and many crafty and handmade goodness being made. God is always so good in seeing me through each day may it be a sweet one or hard one, and each one of you dear friends have been there to lift me up and shower me with love, inspiration, and support every week. 
I am also a little behind in celebrating my one year anniversary for my blog and shoppe, and I can't tell you how amazing this adventure has been with you and to be apart of such an awesome community of crafters and vintage loving friends. So, I thank you and I look forward to another fabulous year ahead!
Well, one of my birthday presents this year was this vintage Royal typewriter, which I just love! I got it a few weeks ago as an early gift and have been eager to show you my new toy. I have been wanting a typewriter to do tags and things for the shoppe, so I was looking for one that worked, was in good conditioned, and not expensive. And, this cute one found its way to my home!
I love the creamy keys and the dusty blue cover. I am thinking of adding some vintage pink rose decals to either the sides or the top. So, I will have to show you once I decide. Can I tell you how much I love typing on it! So much fun!  
And yes, typing on paper doilies is a must for me! 
A girl is always in need of a new bag, so I finished up this patchwork bag yesterday using two of my favorite colors and fabrics. I used a cream and grey polka dot fabric for the handles, a green floral reproduction print for the inside, and some simple quilting in grey. 
And, a big thank you to my sweet friend Erin, who did a little fabric swap with me and generously gave me some of the gorgeous out of print graph line and rose fabric by Urban Chiks that I have always loved, but missed out of this line as I had started my hoarding of fabric yet. :) 
There is something about a simple patchwork bag that I just love! It is filled and ready for some adventures and treasure hunting! 
Now, it is time for a little birthday giveaway to say thank you for being such awesome bloggy friends! And, this is open to all friends, including overseas! ;)
I will be giving the lucky winner this pretty embroidered pot holder that I lovingly made just for you using a vintage rolling pin pattern! And, of course it wouldn't be complete without a crocheted scalloped edging! Giveaway Closed

If you would like a chance to win this pot holder, here are two ways you can enter! 
♥leave a comment letting me know you are a follower of my blog
♥leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about fall

That's it!! Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one! You have until Sunday, September 15th until midnight to enter. I will be announcing the winner on Monday, September 16th! Best wishes to you all!! 
And, to keep the birthday celebration going, you can enjoy 15% off your order in my shoppe.  
Wishing you a most lovely and happy day!!


Friday, September 6, 2013

family treasures

Happy Friday!
This week sure went by fast, but I am definitely ready for the weekend! Last week I picked up some family treasures from my grandma and aunt who were moving. I am always more than happy to take home vintage treasures, especially when they are family ones. 
One sweet item was my great grandmother's maple seat that held her magazines. My Nana has had it since I can remember, and I have always loved it, so I am so excited to have and treasure it in my home.
 It is now holding all my vintage crochet doily and pot holder pattern books, which I think fit it perfectly. And, now that I can see them everyday, maybe I will tackle some doilies and more pot holders! ;) 
And, it also holds some old books and candle holder, along with a pretty maple leaf coaster. I was thinking that my vintage aqua rotary phone would fit nicely on this shelf, too! 
My aunt gave me a set of hand-painted china that was painted by my great-great grandmother. I love the peachy and cream colors with those pretty pink and purple flowers delicately painted around. 
 Most of the pieces are stamped on the back France, but that is pretty much all I know about them. The cups and saucers are a lighter weight, while everything else is heavy china. I think they are very romantic and pretty! 
 I look forward to getting a hutch one day so that I can display them! And, maybe I can start a pretty plate wall, too! 
My Nana gave me this large print that is framed in maple that belonged to her mom. I have memories of this in my great grandmother's house hanging above her sofa in the living room. 
 It was painted by Oliver Glen Barrett, who was a California landscape artist. It is a print and I am not sure when the painting was done, maybe 50's-60's. It is not a painting I would normally pick up, but with family and local history, I think it is a pretty neat piece to have in my home and there is just something about it that I love.
 I envisioned how pretty it would be to display it with vintage floral/nature paintings, embroidery, and crewel framed art all around it in a living room, with an antique velvet green sofa beneath. Oh, the dreams!  But, for now it will have to be stored in my sewing room until I get that living room space.  
And, my aunt gave me this Fenton hobnail milk glass cat shoe that was my great grandmothers, that I thought was cute. I would love to collect the rest of the collection of bowls and vases in the pretty milky blue. So, these are just some of the family treasures I brought to cherish in my home. 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and I will be back next week with a little birthday giveaway!