Wonderful Swappage!

Would you please just look at the vintage goodness of this swap package I received from Vicki at Hollyhocks!This was for the "Vintage Storybook and Crafty Bookmark" swap hosted by the Polka Dot Pixie.
It arrived wrapped up in sewing patterns and tissue:

And it contained these adorable items- 2 storybooks from the 1940's and 4 bookmarks made of Japanese fabric!

Here's close up of the gorgeous bookmarks- they illustrate fairy tales. The bear on the "Three Bears" bookmark is made of ribbon- how cool is that?
Thanks so much Vicki! I love it.

"Broken Belle"

A mixed-media collage. I actually had just the lady cutout for quite some time, with the cloth heart on her dress, but I could never figure out what to do with her. I just kept it on my art table, looking at it sometimes. Until I found a whole spool of that striped, wired ribbon at Hudson's for 50 cents! Then it became clear. The jewel on the heart is from a vintage earring, which I also had laying around looking for a purpose. Anyway, I like it. My hubby says it's pretty, but that he "doesn't get it". Heehee. Men are so funny sometimes.

Scandalous!

Apparently, this great state of Mississippi has ranked the highest in obesity rates.
My word. I just can't fathom why...



Now folks, this here is how you make an authentic, New Orleans/Delta style Po' Boy. This is not a sub sandwich. Nor is this a gyro, or anything similar. It's a Po' Boy. You start by cooking a cheap roast till it's just falling apart, saving the drippings to make a gravy (or use a canned gravy if you're lazy like me), which is mixed with the beef and then you shred it up like all get out. Then it's simmered till it's even softer. Serve dressed on real French bread. If you don't have real Po' Boy bread like what is shown below, keep your french bread out for a couple of hours till it's just slightly stale. This is traditionally served with onyon rangs, I guarantee, cher.




Note: If you don't have gravy dripping down all the way to your elbow while eating this, you have not made a Po' Boy.

Because my Swiffer duster was cold. And ugly.

I had to make a cozy for my Swiffer duster. Swiffers work wonderfully, but they lack the old fashioned charm of feather dusters. The emboidery pattern was part of a pack I won on ebay- it dates from 1915. I stitched the embroidery (done on a piece of unbleached muslin) to a cloth gingham bag I made. Only then did I realize that the ginormous flower on the embroidery is just a tad creepy, and the bonnet girl appears to be fighting it off. So now my Swiffer duster is warm, but it probably has nightmares.

Anyway, I got this lovely pink 50's cannister this weekend, along with the pretty hanky it's sitting on. Prince Froggie, guardian of my craft table, is checking it out:



I needed a nifty storage for some glitter letters (which I am dying to make use of, but haven't yet) , so I dressed up this apothecary jar:

Fairy Jar and Thrift Store Score

I have been loving the various different "fairies in jars" i've seen lately, so I thought i'd try my hand at it. I have discovered that putting something in a jar and trying to make it look like it belongs there is not exactly easy.



Neither is photographing it, as my hubby found out. I wish you could see this in better detail, but you get the jist.

Here are my latest thrifting/antiquing finds, and I luv, luv them: A pretty tin, aqua colored with gold trim and roses. I've already put a bunch of paper scrap in there:




Also, a box full of adorable, differently illustrated Pennsylvania Dutch recipe cards from the 30's:



...Aaand the recipe on the back, "liver dumplings".

"A" is for "About Dang Time I Made Something".

Here's a wooden letter A that I embellished with Tuscan Rose stamps, scraps, paint, etc. I've gotten obsessed lately with those shades of robin's egg blue and aqua that everyone else has long since been admiring. As usual, i'm the last one to notice. Usually by the time I catch on to a trend of any type, it's already over. Woohoo! I made it just in time. But hey, we should make what we love, regardless of what's popular. I also love my "vintage" paint chip-y watering can there, that I keep my brushes in.

Well we've been in this house for a while now, and the only room i've really done anything with is this one- the office/craft room. I am slowly but surely transforming it into a cozy studio space.

Lately, i've felt somehow down that I hadn't been making anything. But then I began really following some other artsy type blogs and I realized that they don't always have to make something new in order to post on their blogs... they just post things they like, things they find, places they go, etc. I found that inspiring. I always enjoy looking at pictures of the things that people find on their thrifting expeditions.

Past weekend, I found these prettyful vintage curtains at an antique/thrift store here in town. I think they are barkcloth, but who knows. I just love them.

They have a sweet yarny tassely trim. There's flowers, chickens, etc... But my favorite embellishment is this little colonial horseman:

And here is a weenie dog:

His name is Oscar, he is a mini-daschund, and he's the cutest pain in the butt I ever saw.

New Old House.

Been out of commission for awhile, moving into this lovely old house. Built in 1920, it was originally the main farmhouse of a huge farm in the area that has been sold off piece by piece over the years.

\

We are still partially living out of boxes. We went from a tiny place to this one, which is pretty darn big in comparison.

I'm so thrilled to be in this house- but very overwhelmed. We're so blessed. Thanks to everyone who said us a prayer!

This is my favorite, but completely empty room, the dining room. I love the old chandelier. I do not love the weird 70's pumpkin color. Oh well, that's what paint is for. This house has some oddball colors.

We are only the 3rd owners of this house. The people we bought it from were only here for 7 years, and they had bought it from children of the original owners and builders, who, as I understand, both died in this very house. I'm not sure what the husband's name was, but the lady's name was Annie Mae Stockstill, and she died around 1999... which brings me to the next room I want to share....

This is the office/art studio, which I understand is where the lady passed away. It is extremely gloomy, shadowy, and is painted the same awful shade of peach that the outside of the house is. This side of the room with the fireplace and closets is mine. The other side of the room is my hubby's computer area, where I am sitting right now. The weird little closet to the left connects to the other bedroom, which is my son's room. We are going to make this room bright and cheery. All in good time!