Crafty Pals!

Last weekend I got to visit my super-duper friends, Anthony and Tommy for Arts and Crafts Night! I haven't done anything hands-on creative in so long, and we don't get to spend all that much time together these days, so this was a Big Special Treat!

This is an image of the jumble on the worktable as we were being crafty and industrious and mostly telling funny stories.


I got to drink my tea out of the Happy Monkey Mug!
I love Mod Podge, but my bottle was old and separated and smelled strongly of vinegar. Luckily, Tommy had a new one, but I didn't end up using it anyway...maybe next time.


Anthony, the happy crafter, after I showed him how to do a running lock stitch to finish off the softie he had started some time back. He tells me it's almost finished, so I hope to get a photo soon! Is that not the *coolest* thread spool organizer on the table in front of him?! They got it from Tommy's mom (and I wanted to steal it, but I refrained).


I believe it was about 10 pm when we declared ourselves arts-n-crafted out. Tommy had worked the fastest all evening, and had an almost complete soft friend to show for his efforts.


Anthony is a very manly and menacing sew-er, witness:


And this is what I came up with, after hours of cutting and gluing pieces of felt:

My daughter declares it beautiful, so there!

And a group shot of the Happy Crafters, plus Mr. Scoots, who was not happy at having me come between him and his Men.


I am one lucky girl to have these two amazing guys as my friends. And I will tell you more another time....!

Introducing....My own personal designer!

It is high time I gave some on-blog credit to the designer of my wonderful blogger and Etsy shop graphics! I am tickled to bits with my blog banner at the top of this page - it is sooo ME!! Her name is Dawn, and her business is Sensoria Design. There is a link to her blog on my blog-o-rama, through which you can find her Etsy shop, or just click HERE.

She is currently having a Word Hunt promo where you can win a set of Etsy graphics!! If you've got an Etsy shop, this is a fantastic prize. She also does beautiful birth and event announcements and personalized photo cards. You really must check out her designs - there is something for every taste, I think. Personally, I love her retro designs (duh!), but she has elegant, funky, pretty, crafty, cutsie designs, too! And her prices are great, and she's a joy to work with. Seriously, I know next to nothing about this stuff and she was very patient with me, and very helpful.

If all that wasn't enough to convince you, she has a FREE Going Green avatar and thank you that you can download just for visiting her Etsy shop - what a gal!!

Some Friday Fun

This is what I want to do tomorrow: go see this show! I used to work with Big Sandy's younger brother years ago, and I remember him talking about the parties they'd play and such. They've been around doin' gigs and doin' well it seems! Anyone want to babysit?

Good Stuff!

Oh, this blogging stuff is fun!


I *think* this is what I'm supposed to do! I go to Songbird Tiff's blog and link on her page to my post about my great finds, then write about it here and show everyone her cute "badge". (Is that right, Tiff?) I'm such a newbie! Check out her post for today, which highlights her amazing finds, and then invites other bloggers to do the same!

Wanna join a cause? It's a fun one, I promise!

Check out this link to a super blog dedicated to thrifting. And these chicks are serious - they want to change the world! At the very least, get a month dedicated to thrift-store-shopping awareness. What a great idea to promote at this time of financial crisis! Anyway, go read what they write about it - it's much more eloquent than I!

Thrifty gal

Update: This post was my Good Stuff on SongBirdTiff's blog, here!


Can you see the allure? I got this shot on a day when it was pouring rain, and I had to make a trip in to the Salvation Army to pick up the other two blue chairs I had bought two days before. Of course, I found a book, a record, and a pyrex lid while I was in there (with two not-so-well-behaved kids - very embarrassing). So now, instead of curling up with a good book in front of the fireplace on a rainy day, I'm out thrifting...sigh. But check out some of my new finds!

Mom and Dad gave me the lower dish a few years back, along with some others in the same vein. Said they'd used them as a young married couple (circa 1964). Now, I've found others in the shops, like the tiny one above, so I'm expanding my collection. Does anyone know if these have a name?


At a crazy estate sale, on another rainy day. Had to wait outside, in the cold, with about 20 other folks, just to see what was in there. There was lots of grumbling, but very few people left. They had the coolest Danish Modern dining room set, way to expensive for me. I snagged this funky-cool sewing box, complete with contents.


Bunch of old spools of thread, buttons,

snaps, hooks, give-away advertising rulers, typewriter ribbon, needle threaders, etc.

And then there was this baby:

An aqua blue Hoover Dart for ten bucks - and it works!

Pretty dresser scarves and a hankie. One dresser scarf is embroidered with these darling little fawns:


A whole stack of vintage cookbooks and booklets - these are just three:


And this gorgeous Georges Briard warming tray, in its original box, apparently never used!

Help! I've been compulsively thrifting!

Lately, I've been doing some retail therapy at various thrift stores I'm exploring in our new area. Reading all these dang blogs, seeing everyone else's cool finds...how can I help myself?? I've found some things I really like for my collection and/or to decorate our home, but I've also decided to open an Etsy shop and try my hand at vintage vending. Here's some of my new loot: