friday = misc.

UPDATE: sadly the host for this pdf has changed & in the process the file was lost plus I'm not able to find my original file so I can't make it available again...so sorry...if I happen to find the file I'll update this post again with new info.

The vintage children’s illustrated tags seemed to be well received so I thought I would try to make another something for you. This is what I came up with:



Download PDF here

(reminder - these are for personal use only. Please don't sell them or include them in a kit, or attached to an item that will be sold - thank you!}

The flat postcards should fit a A4 envelope, if you’re so inclined. Although they could also have a hole punched in a corner and be used naked.

The round tags are so if you need a to/from tag as well as a card, you will have a matching set.

Let me know what you think about the postcard format. I was going to do a folded card but then I got all stressed-out about it and flat just seemed easier all the way around.

Last time, with the tags, I didn’t tell you that I use a heavyweight, matte paper to print stuff like this out on.

But that’s not all for today, here are some links for things I thought were interesting:

I love the embellishments on The Constant Gatherer’s wreaths & this & this stuff she featured. She finds really cool stuff so I check out her blog often, so should you!

creature comforts finds such interesting, inspiring things so I check her out often as well! {really it is amazing I get anything done…}

This sweet embroidery by confessions of a blueberry bandit, who also makes adorable softies

Now lets see if I can get this right… I found this cool flickr group via this post by alilovescurtis which led me to this post by poppytalk. Isn’t the internet wonderful?!

inspireco’s studio is so pretty!

Sweet bunny & butterflies at house on hill road

I want one of these décor-a-board birds BAD!

my paper crane’s wreath is an awesome way to herald the beginning of spring! {Click on blog at the top & then go to the post for Feb. 28th} She also does embroidery {check out Feb. 21st}, makes softies & cooks fun stuff…

AND – if you love Vogart embroidery transfer patterns then you will find this newly created database invaluable & you should send an email to floresita to thank her, because she is awesome!

Right now I don’t have plans to be back here this weekend. But you never know if I will find something online or at the thrift store that I need to share asap…

Have a wonderful weekend!

thursday = embroidery

Happy Embroidery Day!

I stitched this little lady up awhile ago when I was first learning how to embroidery:


Well, it sounds from the comments, like other people are noticing the lack of vintage craft books out in the thrift world. That makes me feel better - sometimes you start to feel like the universe is conspiring against your thrifting mojo. Or maybe that's just me?!

wednesday = books

Today’s book is:


Title: Lisbeth Perrone’s Needlepoint Workbook
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 1973


This is a recent acquisition & as you can see it was $1.98. Our neighborhood thrift store does not have a very extensive craft book section. Is it just me, or is it getting harder to find vintage craft books?! I almost passed out when I saw this there...


It is an incredibly unwieldy 12x14 so I couldn’t scan it. I suppose it’s actually quite handy if you’re transferring the designs to the canvas but otherwise its not very convenient and virtually impossible to put on a bookshelf.


Personally, I'm not into the plastic canvas thing, but I think the line drawings have lots of other applications so I grabbed it!


I tried to do some research on Lisbeth but I only found book references, nothing like a biography, which is what I was hoping to find. She seems like she would be an interesting person, although I’m basing this solely on her funky designs and cool polka dot shirt.

tuesday = fabric

Thanks for your support of the giveaway & your suggestions. Right after I posted yesterday I had a panic attack about the whole thing. But by the time I went to sleep I was feeling better, excited even, and had mentally started collecting things to include. So you’ll be hearing more about that in the coming days…

I’m going to just go ahead and let the fabric swatches tell the rest of the story, I’ve got some embroidery I need to work on – see you tomorrow!

monday = thrifted

I wish that I had time to respond to every person's comment here and on flickr. I do try to answer questions in the comments, but that's not really the same, is it? I'm sorry. They really do mean a great deal to me...if I didn't get them I don't see how I could continue to do this whole blog thing. You keep me going. Seriously. What fun is a finish embroidery project, or a cool thrifted item unless you share it with others who are interested in the same things?! So I just want you to know that you are appreciated. I haven't done a proper give-away yet, and I want to do one soon. So, what I'd like to hear from you is what you look for in a great give-away? This is my 50th post...so I was thinking I'd do something special for the 75th {I don't think I could wait for the 100th but there's not time to put something together this week for the 50th so I thought I'd split the difference}. So let me know...

Okay, back to thrifting. I thought I'd show you some close-ups of the thrifted items I put on my worktable that inspire and make me happy to look at while I'm working there.


The red tin I picked up this past summer - the other two I've had for awhile. That log planter has to be one of my all-time favorites. I got it this summer and it was $7 at the local thrift store. I was so excited when I saw it and clutched it desperately on my way to the register, worrying it might all be a dream. The bird dish was this weekend's find and I'm just so enamored with her.


She's so red and so sweet. The earrings are part of a large collection I've been amassing for the last year so that I could put into place a little business selling things on etsy to support my thrifting compulsion. Haven't quite put that in motion yet but I would like to sometime soon.


I scored this ornament this fall. Another one of my favorites and a very random find at an otherwise very drab estate sale. So let that be a lesson to all of us - you gotta check them all out because you never know!


Okay, this clock is also one of my all-time favorites {I know...but I can have several favorites can't I? Like how many do you think would be an acceptable number of favorites? 20? No, lets make it 30 because I'm pretty sure I can name 17 more without breaking a sweat. So there you go, we can each have 30 favorites, I'm glad we got that settled.} I got it at an estate sale in my neighborhood this past summer and believe it was $7. The little pair of framed girls are actually printed on fabric and are signed "Wert". Anyone know anything about that name? The Oriole is one of a pair, but his mate's leg is broken. They have metal feet and are covered with a sort of flocked material, which gathers dust like a magnet. I got the pair for $2.

Wow, I think that's enough for today - I don't want to bore you!

sunday = quiet, productive, needless shopping

I hope you’re having a nice Sunday…things here are quiet:


but productive:


{see the before here}

with some needless shopping thrown in for good measure:


{from target}

i heart marie claire idees

I was not going to renew my subscription to marie claire idees – its so expensive. But then I got a couple amazon giftcards for xmas and so just like I did the year before I went ahead and just did it. I’m so glad I did! I got the March issue this week and its full of beautiful inspiration and ideas. I’ll let some of the pictures speak for themselves {there’s more great stuff so you might want to check out a real-life issue for yourself}:









Well, I’m off to do some thrifting, embroidery, laundry, organizing & cleaning – later!

friday = misc.

First off, I’d like to thank floresita for bestowing me with one of her “you make my day awards”!

She is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place so it has special meaning to me! {she’s listed some great blogs I’d never been to as well, so you should definitely check it out…}

I really loved the love squirrels little acorn did for valentine’s day but I didn’t have time to work on mine until this past weekend.


Because I like to torture myself, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to cut mine out of felt. Luckily, I found really stiff felt at Michaels and that is the only thing that saved me.

I printed out the pattern and pinned it to a folder piece of felt and then went at with an exacto. I went back in after opening it flat with little scissors to clean it up.

You can’t tell from the photo but its actually a very dark brown, not black. I was going to put a lighter brown behind it but the contrast wasn’t enough to really see the design so I went with the blue.

I still can’t find that darn hole-punch so I used a little clothespin to hang it from the doorknob to the guy’s office.

I’m happy with the way it came out. I got an idea in my head of what I wanted to do and I did it. Anything you do should be considered successful if you try, even if you fail, if you try, you’ve done something & something is better than nothing. Now go do something…and have a nice weekend!

{I’ll be back during the weekend, so if you get a chance stop by…}

thursday = embroidery

I learned a lesson from Valentine’s Day and today I’m happy {& a little proud} to say that I have an Easter relevant embroidery design for you!

This is the only Walker’s transfer I believe I have - at least in the envelope. There are two identical sheets, one is complete the other is cut.


While the envelope says that its No. 966, on the transfer sheet is says Serial No. 1979. I’m not sure what that means but I thought it might be important.


The two things I find oddest about this image {and there’s a lot to find odd I think} is the stuff falling out of his pocket and his shoes.

He reminds me a little too much of the rabbit in Donnie Darko
for my taste too…

Before I wrap this up I thought I’d share a journal I made for my niece. {this was taken before my new camera - sorry}


I used a cheapo lined journal and just wrapped the felt over the front and back covers, stitched the top & bottom edges so it would stay on and then used scalloped scissors to finish the edge.

Oh - and an update: Thank you for all the suggestions regarding the gunk on my iron – I’m sure they will be a valuable source of reference for the next time I use my iron incorrectly! As it turned out – I was using it to transfer an embroidery design but with a piece of scrap fabric in between and due to the high heat & the movement over the scrap fabric it all came off! I threw out the scrap fabric so I didn’t accidentally get the leftovers on anything and I’m good to go again!

Hope you'll come back tomorrow - I've got a finished project to share...

wednesday = books

Today’s book is:


Title: Painting Patterns for Home Decorators {Combined books 1 & 2}
Author: Ruth Wyeth Spears
Illustrator: Ruth Wyeth Spears {I think}
Publisher: Bonanaza Books
Copyright: MCMXLVII

I remember my aunt went through a phase in the 70’s when she would paint anything that wasn’t nailed down. And the style was very much like what is represented in this book. My mom still has a painted cutting board and spoon in the kitchen I think.

The book is entirely illustrated which I think makes the applications for the designs unlimited. They would look great silk screened – in fact there are a couple color pages and they look like they might have originally been done as silk screens.


And of course, they would be great embroidered, especially this ship!


Hint: if you’re interested in actually owning this book I would suggest you take a look on ebay {wink} there might be one available {but its buy it now so hurry!}

Tomorrow I’ve got a Walkers transfer for you, so see you here then!

tuesday = fabric

Hello new visitors who are dropping by via how about orange’s link!

Or via flygirls where doe-c-doe was the link of the day!

And hello to returning visitors too – of course!

{I'm heavy on the exclamation points today...sorry. But I can't help it - its fun to have new people drop by and to be honored with mentions on cool blogs...!}

Since Tuesday is all about the fabric swatches here goes…





{There are a couple more on flickr if you’re interested.}

I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for book day!

p.s. I’m definitely going to be doing some more pdfs for you to download in the near future…I got some ideas for other items I’d like to try! {Please remember that these are for your personal use only - they should not be used to sell or be included in any item that is sold.}

monday = thrifted

Of the paint-by-numbers I have managed to find, this is my favorite.

We got it at a flea market for $5 about 3 years ago & I believe it was our first one. There is an eiffel tower that I would love to get that goes with it, but I’ve never seen one for $5…

I guess I could always paint my own but that just wouldn’t be the same.

The vase is a recent thrift store purchase and was $7. I don’t know if its old but I really like it {even though I thought it was a little over-priced for the thrift store}.

Since then I have picked up other paint-by-numbers here and there. This one I bought this past summer for $3 and it is my second favorite.

I bought the gnome a couple weekends ago at a flea market for $3. I think unpainted ceramics are a really fun & inexpensive décor accessory - or maybe that's just me...

I wish I had saved the black beauty paint-by-number my teenage neighbor did for me when I was little. I don’t know what happened to it but I feel bad she did all that work and I didn’t save it…

Maybe that bad paint-by-number karma is what prevents me from finding them?!

neat things

Hey – yesterday I was so consumed with that darn shelf that I forgot something.

This might be something everyone is aware of but me…but did you know they have the russell + hazel kit products at officemax?



Okay – that was it.

I’ll be back this evening to share some thrifted paint-by-numbers…see you then!

martha stewart would be horrified

I put together shelves today. I bought them at walmart because we don't have an ikea...we use to live somewhere with an ikea. It is very hard to go from not having one, to having one and then go back to not having one. I would have rather never known what it was like to just be able to decide in the morning that you want to go run to ikea to buy a shelf and have an ice-cream cone. sigh...

Anyhow, this is what it was supposed to look like:


This is how mine looks:


I used martha stewart wrapping paper on clearance at Michaels to back it. I sprayed spray mount onto the boards they provided and carefully adhered the paper. I was very surprised how well this step went...I was high on my own cleverness & fumes.

Then things went terribly wrong {this never would have happened if I had waited for the guy to get home & he had helped me}...

I carefully lined up the backing to the shelves and nailed it on with perfectly spaced nails. I was nervous that when I turned it over the design would be crooked. I held my breath...I turned it over...the pattern looked great...too bad I nailed the backing on the finished side of the shelves...

Now, in my defense I re-read the directions and they could have been a little clearer about how you were supposed to turn over the unit before attaching the backing. They could have had one whole step showing the shelf turning...they could have, but they didn't. They didn't think about the crazy people so focused on their pattern paper looking good that they wouldn't even see how they were nailing into the finished edge of the shelf. They shouldn't assume people are focused...you know what assuming does...

Anyhow, I painted the rough edge of the unit so it doesn't look too bad until you get close to it. I am hoping that the patterned paper takes the focus away from the obvious mistake.

To further divert attention I put my buttons on the shelves:


What is still sad though, is that this shelf was supposed to hold all the stuff on my work-table but in the end it only had room enough for the buttons. Which means that I still have to find a place for all this stuff:


I'll save that for next weekend...

I'm going to go have a glass of wine now...