Gathering Dust

I Want to Live in this Neighborhood...

I can't stand to throw a even a tiny bit of pretty wallpaper, so I came up with a project to use those little scraps.  I wrote a grant proposal, lobbied city hall, made lots of phone calls, and got TIF funds so I can rehab an urban neighborhood.

Ok, I didn't do any of those things- I just glued some wallpaper to birdhouses- but wouldn't they make a cheery neighborhood for our feathered friends to live?

I still have a little landscaping left to do.

Maybe I can take some cuttings from these paper flowers.  I got a big group of little glass creamers in a box lot at an auction and thought they'd make cute mini vases.

Since I didn't have any real flowers- I made some with my handy flower punch and some craft wire.

I've been working on some hand sewing and embroidery projects- which is something different for me.  I don't have projects done, but here are some little peeks at what I've been working on.

I'm doing this in a primitive style- which gives me an excuse for some uneven stitches!

Of course, anytime I get around a group of buttons, I have to pull the white, cream & ecru ones out and see how they look together.

   

Introducing...

My great niece, Clara Jo- she's almost 3 weeks old now, but this picture was taken minutes after she was born.

This is Clara's cousin Grace.  She'll be a year old on Valentine's Day.

This is Grace wearing her big old snowsuit- Grace's mom told me that Grace doesn't fit in her car seat when she wears this!  But a girl needs a lot of heavy clothes when they live in North Dakota and want to play outside. I know, I grew up in the frigid North! 

My Mom used to dress up  to play in the snow-it was a very long, time consuming process-  we'd put on long underwear, jeans, waterproof snow pants, suspenders, sweaters, scarves, hoods, jackets---and then we'd say "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom."- and the whole procedure would be reversed!

I'm knitting a pink afghan for Clara- I worked on it at an auction I went to last night.  Isn't it cute with the embroidered pillowcase and pink buttons I picked up at the auction?

Another auction find-  this shabby and worn coin purse- it's metal with a well aged tapestry cover.

And this Godey fashion print- which I've strategically placed to cover a spot on an otherwise beautiful cut work tablecloth.

I've added some collage tags to my Etsy Shop, and I'm going to try and add some flea market finds bits & pieces lots on Sunday.  Let me know if you're looking for anything special.

B-I-N-G-O

and Bingo was her game-o.  I had a little bit of luck with estate sales this morning, although some of things I bought were a little different- like this vintage Bingo game.  The wooden balls in the cage have all the Bingo calls on them- B10, N45, G58.  You turn the handle and a ball slips into the little metal holder- that's the number that gets called.  I think the wire cage is cool- it has a "Sculptural Quality"- that's my high falutin' way of saying I like its shape.

Vintage bandannas- like the light blue, you don't see it that often.  I like to put these on my dogs- they prefer VINTAGE bandannas to new ones, you see.

Another item with "sculptural quality"- I don't know what it is- it says Thayer in very nice script- it's surrounded by a big stack of miniature art prints- I got a big stack for 50 cents!

Cute old patterns.

A bag full of hankies for a buck!

Some pretty playing cards- and the lace underneath them.

This was my big splurge- I spent $10 on this deco 1930's school memories book.  Look at the graphics inside.

And of course, a girl needs a jewel to make her shopping day complete- this is rhinestones and white milk glass.

I've read this book- The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais- featuring Crais' beloved detective Elvis Cole, but it was only a quarter- and I enjoyed it so much, I thought it needed to be passed on.  So if you like modern day detective type novels- sort of like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch with a sense of humor- send me an email with your address and I'll send it to you.

(You probably deserve a book for reading this far into the post!)

I was working on swap book covers and watching Project Runway.  The challenge on Project Runway was to create an over the top avant garde look.  I was so inspired by all the excess on Project Runway that I really loaded this tag up, but I ended up liking how it turned out.  I'll be adding it to my Etsy Shop.

Karla's sister Sissy is our Sweet Treats swap and her package came today.  Her cards are really neat- you can see them on Flickr, but I really like her tag, too.  Obviously, an eye for PRETTY runs in their family!

 

The End of the Dry Spell

Even though it snowed four inches yesterday, I'm hoping this is the end of my dry spell for estate sales.  I went to a good one this morning, and as a bonus, the sun is shining, so I can take some decently lit pictures.

It's hard to pass up a pretty bride doll- especially when she has red hair like your truly.

And isn't this chalk wedding cake topper sweet- I bet the couple that used it got married and he had to go off into the service to fight in WWII.

And how cute is this set of dog bookends?  I bet this was someone's Shop Class project.

I also got the books at the estate sale- The Book House series.  The price tag said 6 for $35, but I could only find five.  We looked around for volume number 1, but I wasn't too worried, because I knew I had it at home.  You see, I've been collecting these books for several years, and had all the volumes except no 3- but none of them were from the same year- now I have a full set.

People ask me all the time, "Beth, where do you find this fabulous stuff?".  Really, I'm at the grocery store, or getting my hair done, or sometimes they just pull up next to me at a stop light and roll down their window  to ask where in the world do I get so many treasures...(ok, none of these things have ever really happened)

Well, I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty, and I'm not afraid to open boxes and bags.  Now, to some people this might look like some icky cowboy toys, or some scary clowns, but I choose to look further.  Here's another game of "Where's Waldo?"- Do you see what I see?

Not just scary clowns, but SCARY ballerinas too- I mean check out those monkey faces...but the bag was certainly worth $2.

Speaking of ballerinas, I also got some ballet programs from the 1950's.  The pictures inside are great.

And isn't this the prettiest ad for a bra that you've ever seen?

I know, it seems like its way to early to start shopping for Christmas again- but I couldn't pass up this tinsel for a quarter!  (Do the clowns make it seem less Christmasy?)

Our pal  Jessi sent her recipe cards for the Sweet Treats swap, and sent these beautiful bags for Karla and me.  I was going to wait for Karla to open them, but both Jessi and Karla said it was ok to open one myself- and was it fun!

Look at all these rose themed goodies!  That Jessi is a super swapper/shopper/scrapper! 

Cover Girl

Not much new here- I've been cutting & pasting working on covers for Karla and my  Sweet Treats & Roses swap.  The recipe cards have been coming in and they are really fun.

Here's a little sneak peek of  pages  and tags- Tami even sent presents to go with her tag- so whoever gets her tag on their book gets CANDY, too.  (She sent candy for Karla and me, too!)      Betty  sent some tags and the beautiful postcard in the top left of the picture.

Ele of A Bit of Pink Heaven sent this beautiful tag.  The package was so nice I almost didn't want to open it- but I did want to show all the incredible details.

I did finish a pair of knit slippers for a friend at work.

They aren't exactly in the Manolo Blahnik category of footwear, but are warm.

Here are some finished covers.

Ready Ready Ready Ready to Run

...can you hear me singing The Dixie Chicks song "I'm ready, ready, ready, ready to run..." The dogs must have heard me- they're out side.

Valentine Tag Book = Ready 

Isn't it weird- I like the backs better than the fronts.

I added a card I made for Heather using a 1920's image I got from The Vintage Workshop in their free newsletter.  This picture was for New Year's Eve.

Bandages for Junie-Moon's Bandage Brigade = READY

While I was wrapping things up for shipping, I was hit with an avalanche of tissue paper from my top closet shelf- this isn't the first time its happened- I reach for one piece

and stacks and stacks fall on my head- good thing I don't keep bricks up there.  Today, I came upon a brilliant idea.  I've had this pretty vintage rose covered garment bag hanging in my closet empty- why not put the tissue paper in there!

Sorry the pictures are so dark, but it is, after all, a closet.

Yesterday, Karla posted about her vintage wallpaper addiction- an addiction I share- so as long as I was in the closet, I took a picture of the wallpaper in there.

The great thing about having a friend who shares your addiction is you always have someone who will tell you that's it's OK to buy more, and no, you didn't pay too much, and, of course you needed it.

Karla and I also have "The Wallpaper Pact"- its similar the Magna Carta, the Helsinki Accord and the Mayflower Compact.  As long as I have wallpaper, she will have wallpaper and vice versa. 

If we go shopping together, we will share whatever wallpaper we find.  This is a good agreement- because I've gone rummage and estate sale shopping with people that are in such a hurry to get inside and "get the good stuff" that they're out of the car while its still moving.

By the time you get the car parked and walk back to the sale, they've gobbled up all the vintage goodness, and you get to help carry it out to the car for them, while your purchases fit in your pocket...

My mother in law sent me a big box of thrift store jewelry because she knows how much I like to dig through it and use bits and pieces in my projects.  I saw this on someone else's blog- it's kind of like "Where's Waldo?".   

Can you spot the "ooh and ahh" pieces in the pictures?  There they are.

 

21 Valentine Tags, 42 Recipe Cards, 18 Book Covers...

... and lots of glue and snips of paper on the floor.

I've been working on swaps.

Valentine's Tags for Heather's Valentine Tag Book Swap.  A total of 21 tags- I started out thinking they would be all the same, but got bored after the first three, so I mixed it up a little.

   

I've gotten a lot done, and had more than a few things to throw in the "what was I thinking pile".

What does everyone else do when they start on a project and it just isn't going the way they want?  Do you toss it in the garbage, push on through and as Tim Gunn would say "Make it work".  I'm a "set asider"- I hate to waste, so I make a pile of bad starts and half finished projects with plans to go back later with a fresh eye.  When that pile is bigger than the pile of finished stuff, its time to go to bed.  It's amazing how often when I come back to a started project the next day, how I can figure out what to do next.

And sometimes, when I in the middle of a project, I come across something- a picture, a ribbon, a doo dad- that I have to use.  That's where this lady came from- she was a place card made by the Buzza Company until Milo chewed off her stand- but she can have a new life as a tag.

I copied all my recipe cards at Kinko's for the swap that Karla and I are hosting.  We're making 42 recipe books, so I have 21 copies that need to be cut and possibly decorated.  The swap didn't say the pages had to be decorated, but I wanted to try it with at least a couple.  I decided to take two pages and decorate them in completely different directions.

This is sort of darker romantic look....

  ...and this is a lighter, more whimsical look.

We're making covers for all 42 books.  We've already made a few, and I figure if I get really overwhelmed, my cover can just be a piece of plain, undecorated cardboard (or maybe the front of a Cheerios box)- but even at that, I figure I still have about 18 more to make.

Here's a couple made with some pretty pink & metallic flecked wallpaper.

...ok, so that's 5 more tags, 16 more covers, and 40 recipe cards--- I better get back to my cutting & pasting!

The Sweeney Todd Effect

I haven't blogged lately because I've been really busy letting my dogs in and out of the house.  Why do my dogs want to be outside in the freezing cold?  To get away from my singing.  I saw Sweeney Todd a couple of days ago and I keep singing "Not While I'm Around" to them in my best Broadway voice- my best Broadway voice is kind of scary.  So when they hear me crooning "Nothing's going to hurt you, nothing's going to harm you, not while I'm around"- they head for the door.

But I loved Sweeney Todd- yes, it was bloody, but it was more like cartoon blood.

The Sweet Treats and Roses Swap that I'm hosting with Karla is moving right along.  Some people already have there pages in the mail to us.  If you'd like to see some pictures check out our Flickr Group.

I signed up for Heather of The Speckled Egg Valentine tag book swap.  Whenever I sign up for a swap, I have the "oh no, what will I make" panic.  I've thought about waiting until I've made something before I sign up- but as fast as swaps fill up, I'd never get INTO any swaps!

I decided to get ahead of the game and start RIGHT AWAY- so yesterday before I went to work, I took out some French dictionary pages and sheet music and a bottle of diluted Ranger Adirondack Color Wash and started coloring... then I dabbed some cream colored paint on- this was a technique I learned in Carolyn Peeler's class at Silverbella.

Cool idea- but it really wasn't going to work for these tags-they're supposed to be vintage and romantic- and this look is just a little too....Sweeney Todd.

So panic sets in- what am I going to make!!!???  I grabbed a box of vintage Valentines, looking for inspiration- yes!!! I'll scan and print some of these- that should give me some good raw materials for Valentine tags.

BUT NO, NO- my scanner is broken- more panic, and a quick order to Amazon for a new scanner.

So I started searching the web for Valentine images and found some, downloaded some and printed some...

..and came up with this...but it needs something else.  I keep imaging that I'm on Project Runway and Nina Garcia is looking at it saying "Beth, we expected more from you...

.., it's just not aesthetically pleasing".  Or Michael Kors saying "Where do you think you're going with that?" or Heidi Klum saying "OK, who's tag do we hate?"

Auf Wiedersehen.

I've finished the patchwork afghan- and I didn't have to buy one skein of yarn- it's all leftovers from other projects.  It's going to Sugarwings, because I think it will look good in her room at Grandma Karla's house.

I think I have knitting ADD- I can't finish one project before I start another.  This is the cable scarf I've been working on- but I only add about 8 rows a day. 

And this is the start of a pair of slippers.

And I'm still working on bandages for Junie Moon's Bandage Brigade.  I knit a lot of this in the theater while I was watching Sweeney Todd.  Something ironic about knitting bandages during that movie....

And my junking withdrawal is over.  I picked up some charming books at an auction over the weekend.

"No one's going to hurt you, not while I'm around"....gotta let those dogs out...