It's picture day for Henry, so just for fun here is my kindergarten picture. Nice bangs!

Oh, wait--maybe I shouldn't rag on them, afterall!

By the way, this is what I want to do every time I have my picture taken. Seriously--I hate it.


I would so much rather take photos of these two mugs!

I went to my favorite thrift shop this morning hoping to find a few bits of crewel wool for a special project for this weekend. Lucky me--I found this lot for $2.50! I love when that happens!
The chair below comes from the same shop. Advice: don't walk to your favorite thrifty spot, or you might find yourself carrying a bentwood chair through town.




Besides that project, I have organization on the brain! I would definitely use this luggage for a weekend getaway, but since that won't be happening any time soon I can also see it being used to hold craft supplies! All of these (plus a few more) have been added to the vintage shop.

AND... As for the white elephant in the room... New blog design!! I have been working on it myself (while ignoring my child, of course. yikes!) and have a few more elements to add. I'm sure things will change along the way, but we shall see.

Hey, there!

Just a quick note to say that the header and photos might look a little funny this weekend.

I am fixing things up, and everything should be good by Monday.

Have a great weekend!!

Three pretty little notebooks are now in the handmade shop.

I'm ready for the weekend. Are you?

I love watching the girls in their crazy outfits when I drop Henry off at school in the morning. If I had a little girl, her kindergarten wardrobe would consist of the following:

vintage chambray dress

vintage wool vest

these

these

these
and

this.

WIP (and a clue to the tutorial I am working on)...

(all photos from Ladies and Gentlemen)

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Some pretty little things for baby girls have just been added to the Vintage Shop. I have a few more things to steam and list tomorrow.
I am also working on some new projects that I am having a lot of fun with--hopefully I will be ready to show them to you this weekend!

Most candles and scents bring on the migraines around here... These, however, have been burning in my house for the past eight years. They are the best! They are all nice, but honey and pear are my favorites, and don't give me headaches. Yay!

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. july-205, 6. my home, 7. Lemon Lime Yarn Wreath, 8. Owl Examples, 9. newbie

My most recent flickr faves... Again, with the unintentional color coordination!

Happy birthday, AJ!

Sometimes old books can provide the best inspiration and information. The one above was my grandma's Home-Ec book, printed in 1926.

That's her!




The fashions and language are obviously dated, but the lessons in the book are ones that I think should still be taught to boys and girls in school: taking responsibility for yourself and your share of the household duties; planning ahead and budgeting for purchases; buying quality items, which will last for a long time; mending or fixing instead of replacing; and making thoughtful choices, which will not only benefit you, but those around you.

This one was mine when I was little. Kind of silly, but good basic instructions for a little girl!

These last books offer more information than I can process yet. I just recently discovered some of the books in a thrift shop, and have since found a few more, which makes my collection just three books shy of being complete! Everything is covered in this amazing series, which was published by Time Life Books. We are talking knitting to pickling and preserving to camping to cardboard furniture to macrame to bonsai and BEYOND! They are filled with amazingly detailed instructions for every wonderful retro craft you can imagine.




Each project also features a photograph and biography of the artist who authored the section. Love it!!

As with Grandma's book, these offer not only step-by-step instructions for amazing craft projects, but enforce the values, which I feel are important: being thoughtful of and spending time with the people you love; making instead of buying; reusing or re-purposing what you have; taking the time to notice and find joy in your immediate surroundings, instead of focusing on what you are missing out on somewhere else.

If you run across any of the Family Creative Workshop, snatch them up!

The obsession with vintage floral fabric paired with doilies and lace continues. The latest incarnation is these binders... Each is covered in a vintage sheet, embellished with a doily, and contains 50 sheets of the best pale yellow binder paper with rounded corners.