Monday, July 30, 2012

pretty treasures

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 
This weekend was very relaxing, and I had time to work on some projects. I am almost done with my granny blanket, and started sewing my granny square quilt. This aqua phone was a sweet find! Love the color, and just the nostalgia of using these phones. 
 I bought this pretty mint green and pink 50's vintage tablecloth. I love the colors, and the beautiful roses. 
 Such gorgeous colors together!!
  I love finding neat bottles, and this Meadow Brook Farm creamer bottle was a great little find. Love the fonts and graphics!
 "From Farmer to Consumer"... Love that! 
This is one of the sweetest needle books I have come across!! Too cute!
I am not a huge fan of many Christmas fabrics, but I adore the fabric lines of Aneela Hoey of Comfort Stitching. When she came out with Cherry Christmas I had to get some for my stash. So sweet, and the colors are so pretty! 

Wishing you all a beautiful and creative week! 


Friday, July 27, 2012

sweet vintage silverware chest

Happy Friday!!
Yesterday, I stopped off at a local thrift store and brought home this sweet jewelry box silverware chest. (Thank you to Kathy of Kluless for the tip that it could be for storing silverware, which totally makes so much more sense! Silly me.). I have never seen one before, and really liked the detail in the legs, and the scalloped edges. Isn't it cute!
The top opens up and there is a little section piece for necklaces silverware. I have some other plans for this sweet piece! 
 These are the two drawers, and it has the most beautiful brown lining inside...ha, just kidding! So, here is what I have already done...
 I ripped out the inside, and started clearing out all the paper stuck to the wood. I still have the drawers to do, so stay tuned! I'm going to be painting it and covering the inside with vintage wallpaper. I am deciding on a color. What would you do?
 I won a most lovely giveaway from the sweetest Helena of Blondie Blu. Thank you so much Helena for all the pretty gifts!! 
This sweet vintage Doxie pin is what I won in the giveaway! Is he not the cutest!! I am looking forward to showing him off on my cardigans! 

I am making good progress on my granny square blanket. I am loving how it is all coming together! 
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend!!


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

a box of treasures

 A box full of these pretties will make do a happy dance any day! How about you? At an estate sale I came across a chest full of vintage Christmas ornaments, and more. I felt like a giddy kid at Christmas going through this chest. I couldn't hide my smile! 
There is a variety of ornaments from Shiny Brites to others that just say, "Made in the U.S.A." This is my first huge lot of these charming jewels, and I am so excited for Christmas  to display them on my tree. They may even get their own special tree. 
Here are some of my favorite ones, but really they are all my favorites. :) 
Some mercury glass balls, a pink pine cone, and how neat is the aqua one with tinsel inside! 
Aren't they just lovely? They are also very fragile, and one already broke on the way home from the sale. So, I need a little help on the best way to store them without breaking or ruining the paint. Do you have a special secret in storing vintage ornaments?
These were some other Christmas goodies from the chest. Love these sweet houses and pine tree! So full of character! 
 A cool gold star, a bearded Santa, and an accordion card of two sweet kids dancing that was made in Sweden. 
I love the bells on his feet. Have you ever seen him before? Not sure if it was handmade or the era. I'll have to do some research, because he is so intriguing for some weird reason.  
Well, I finally finished the granny squares for my blanket!! So excited to start putting it all together. It is on the smaller side, like a baby blanket, but I wanted it to be a little easier to make since it will be my first granny square blanket. Wish me luck! 
Hope you are having a beautiful and creative day! 

Monday, July 23, 2012

a royal beauty

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
I adore vintage typewriters, and this Royal beauty is such a piece of history and just pure prettiness. I found this charming typewriter at an estate sale, and fell in love.
 It is from the 1920-30's from the Royal Typewriter Co.;N.Y., U.S.A, and is really heavy. All the keys are there, but some are a little rusty and stick together when you type. It was originally purchased at a local typewriter store, which unfortunately is no longer there. 
 It has beautiful glass on both sides, which is so neat, and just adds lovely character. I am hoping to find someone who can adjust or fix it to type better, so that I can use it more. I have always wanted a typewriter, and might have to look into collecting a few more. :)  
 I purchased some Dennison gummed labels to type little messages on...
 And here is my first one! It makes me nervous to use the labels because the keys stick, and I don't want to waste them, but it is so fun to type! Do you have an old typewriter you treasure?

I have been busy crocheting the last of my granny squares, and working on some grey ones for a new project. The single colored grannies go so much quicker!! I see another blanket in the future. 
Wishing you all a lovely and beautiful week! 


Friday, July 20, 2012

a quilt of learning

 Happy Friday! This week went by so fast! Thank you all for your sweet comments on my vintage brooches!! Your support is such a blessing to me! 
Well, I am almost finished with my granny square quilt top. Last summer I learned how to quilt, and this will be my fourth larger quilt that I have done. With every quilt I am always learning something new. 
When doing the strips for the borders of the blocks, I noticed I had four different whites in my stash, and couldn't tell which one I used. So, I chose one and of course after sewing it to the blocks, realized it really didn't match. I didn't want to waste or undo what I had already sewn, so I kept it. Then, I didn't have enough length for the border. So, I ordered more and it should be here next week for me to finish. Lesson learned, only keep one white fabric (and a lot of it) in your stash!  
One area that I need a lot of practice is patchwork. My squares never seem to line up, know matter what I do. So, all you quilters, I need your tips and advice!! ;) As you can probably see that the tips of the squares got cut off, too. Such a bummer, but it definitely is a learning experience of what not to do next time. After this quilt, I am going to try Lori Holt's  the Great Granny Square Quilt. I do enjoy making these grannies, so we'll see how those turn out for me.
This week has been such a wonderful week of beautiful vintage tablecloths!! The sweetest Gilly of Gilly Makes sent me this gorgeous embroidered tablecloth. It is unfinished, and I feel honored that Gilly thought of me to be able to complete the amazing work a sweet lady started.
 The colors are so pretty and vibrant!! I am even thinking of crocheting around the edge. I know it will take me awhile, but I think it will add the perfect touch.
 Thank you so much Gilly for sending me such a beautiful vintage treasure!! 
Wishing you all a beautiful summer weekend! And let's remember to keep all the families in Aurora, Colorado in our prayers for this tragic event and loss of lives! Blessings and hugs to you all!! 


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

grannies, vintage linens...

Happy Wednesday! 
I am making progress with my crocheted granny squares, and have decided to so a small blanket. I have 6 more granny squares to go, and then I will crocheted them together in a cozy blanket. I have also been working on my granny quilt top, which I will be able to show you later in the week! 
Over the weekend at an estate sale I picked up some pretty vintage linens. The flowers on this bright and cheery pillowcase are so lovely, and I am thinking of making it into a a couple of pillows.  
I found this gorgeous cross stitched tablecloth at the estate. Isn't it pretty? It is quite stained and has rust spots, but I have some projects I want to make using it. Do you have any ways to remove the spots and rust?
This was another pretty embroidered tablecloth that I brought home. I love the crocheted edging on this one. I am always amazed how these women had the time to do it! So incredible they were!!
This beautiful tablecloth was a gift from the sweetest Donna of Donna's Lavender Nest! I just love the pretty strawberries, with the grey scalloped design! Thank you so much Donna for such a gorgeous treasure! 
I bought these beautiful feed sack squares from Donna at her lovely Etsy shoppe. She has some new Lecien fabrics, so make sure you take a visit!!
These pretties are from Superbuzzy and they have a great selection of Japanese fabrics. 
I received a sweet gift from Tammy of Tammy's in Love.  After seeing all the beautiful tags from her Vintage Cartoon Tag Swap, and Elizabeth of Creative BreathingBox Lunch Social Tag Swap, I had mentioned to Tammy that I was so inspired and wanted to join in the next swaps. She was so sweet to offer to do a one-on-one tag swap with me, which I was so excited to do!!
Some gorgeous vintage cards...
And, two adorable tags! One sweet summer one, and I was lucky to get one of her Box Lunch Social tags!! I just love them both! Thank you so much Tammy for all these lovely treasures!!

Well, I am off to finish some new products that I will be putting in the shoppe tomorrow! 

e