Hooray for Friday...

So a week or so ago I was blog hopping and came across a challenge to use your "good stuff"...you know, the stuff you find and then hoard because you'll never find anything like it again and you want to save it for something really special. I wish I knew who's blog it was to give proper credit but here's what I made with all my "good stuff" and just my favorite little bits and pieces that I've been hoarding for myself...

I love, love, love these blue flowers, the metal key hole and the vintage hat label that I saved from a hat I took apart (it might even be the hat that I got the blue flowers from?)

I love old religious medals and pins, buttons and paper ephemera.
And I really love this fabric (wish you could see the pretty clear button better)
More of my favorite fabric and a bit of an old pillowcase.

And the Marie Antoinette look-a-like I got from my swap with Cerri of Little Pink Studio. I really love the blue pom pom trim and would have put it on every page if I could have (but you know how dumb that would've looked?)
This floral fabric is my absolute favorite and I can't find anymore anywhere.

More vintage ephemera and an old locker number.
A little chenille flower and the prettiest lace I've ever seen.

And these are all the tags tucked in the pockets and bags...although I found that I missed a pocket and it's completely tagless so I've got an old recipe card I'll use to stuff in there. Now I can breathe a little easier knowing that all my "good stuff" still belongs to me and it's all in a pretty look book I can fill with my favorite photos.

Spring (Break) is Here!

Ok...it may not be spring literally but today begins our school district's spring break. Unfortunately with my dad in and out of surgery and rehabilitation hospitals we thought it best to stick close to home. So...our spring break will not be full of sand and sun, it will be filled with a trip to Superior, Wisconsin to visit the college Matt will most likely be attending in the fall...AND...(hold on to your hats) a mini road trip to Omaha to check out the Henry Doorly Zoo (and my two of the best antique shops ever...Second Chance and Brass Armadillo).

My Etsy shop will remain open since we'll only be gone a few days. Any purchases will ship out on Wednesday the 16th. All purchases to date have been posted.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

What a Birthday!

Today is my dear old Dad's 69th birthday...and we spent it in the hospital while he underwent yet another surgery. He was up at 4:00 am to get transferred from his rehabilitation hospital to the surgical hospital (and I was whining cuz I had to get up at 5:30! I need to learn to keep my mouth shut!). Well, this surgery was primarily for keeping him out of the hospitals in the future so it may end up being a nice birthday gift afterall! Such is life...

I Heart Whitman...

I love old Whitman playing cards, don't you?.......32 days until Junk Bonanza!

Hello...

We're in the heart of summer and having so much fun even though Tom keeps pointing out to me each night that all we seem to do is run, run, run. It's been very busy around our house (as I'm sure it is around yours)...I'm still busy learning all sorts of things at my new "real" job (it's so nice to be out of the TV business!), trying to visit my father as much as possible during his somewhat bumpy recovery after surgery, running around with my "big" sis and her two girls who are in town for the whole summer, celebrating Shelby's 19th birthday!, and, of course, hitting every flea market, estate sale and antique shop buying, buying, buying and making, making, making for my first set-up at Junk Bonanza coming up in a few months. I'm having a good streak of creative-ness making all sorts of altered vintage book journals and paper bag/fabric journals like this one...

I have to hide all these books from my sister (whom I mentioned above) so that she doesn't steal all my inventory before I even get a chance to sell it!

Our weather has been beautiful...a little on the humid side lately, but as I always say: "there's nothing like a Minnesota summer"...and I probably say that because anything feels good after 9 months of winter! Hope you're enjoying your summer too! (Hi Jessica...my neglected blog bff)

Shop Update (finally)...

My Etsy shop was almost empty...I was down to a piddly four items...but I FINALLY added more vintage items today! I have to admit that the picture taking process is what prevents me from updating more often (I'm a horrible horrible photographer).

Pop on over and check out my new items...maybe you'll find something you just can't live without!

Etsy Store Update

I made a very large photo album titled 18 Birthdays for my daughter, Shelby, as she was turning 18 showcasing a picture from each of her birthdays. The ablum was featured in the Winter 2010 edition of Sew Somerset and since then I've been asked by quite a few readers to custom make one for them. Unfortunately the book was so large, so full of time consuming details and vintage bits and baubles that it took me many many hours to create. Unfortunatley a recreation would have a very undesireable price tag because of all the time and materials involved and frankly, the thought of mass producing them just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.


So, I came up with an alternative (not sure how warmly it'll be received but)...I've made similar albums with less pages (like ten less) so the materials and time involved were greatly reduced as well. I didn't have enough space on Etsy to show all the pictures I wanted so here are a few more for those interested...

Celebration Paper Bag Album















Shabby Vintage Cardstock Album
















Please feel free to email me if you have any questions!