artsy-crafty babe

a few thrift finds

The other day I got the urge to hit the thrift stores.  Considering that my luck has been horrible lately, I decided to give it a go anyway.  My mojo must still be a bit off because I had not one, but two misses.  On my way into store #1, I spied a lady carrying out a pyrex dish like this one.   Hmm, I went to the housewares section anyway hoping that I'd find another, but there was nothing.  *sigh*  I did score some wooden hangers and a cute pillowcase, so it wasn't a lost cause.  Those hangers will be perfect for some crochet embellishment, like this. If you know of any other tutorials, please let me know. 

On to store #2...

As usual, I start out with the linens.  I sift my way through the sheets and came upon this retro shower curtain.  It was handmade from two widths of fabric.  The writing on the selvage is still clear, which it pretty neat.   I love this, I think it would make a cute skirt for Ava or maybe a tote for Lily.  A bit disappointed to have not found more, I'm moseying along towards the pillowcases when a lady with a buggy got in my way.  I stepped back to let her pass, but I was a bit perturbed.  She started going through the selection, I waited, she went ahead, then she spotted some embroidered lovelies.  I saw them too at about the same time, but she took them ALL.  She was snatching them off the hanger like a thief!!   I was hoping that she'd leave me at least one, but no (she may have even given me the skunk eye as I was watching her).  Oh well, I  guess it wasn't meant to be.  At least that cute shower curtain made it home with me.

And now that the weekend is here, all is good :)  I'm in the mood for some craft therapy of the baby variety. Hopefully I'll get my chance!!

craft therapy

I'm not gonna lie, life has been busy.  No, nothing earth shattering, just everyday busy-ness.  With all my recent energies focused on house stuff, I haven't had much time to create purely for the heck of it.

My studio clean up opened my eyes to all the scraps I have.  I have way too many scraps!  My hoarder tendencies make it hard for me to let them go when I just might need them one day.  Well my friends, that day came.  I made it happen.

I grabbed my basket of vintage sheet scraps (my smallest of scrap baskets) and started sewing.  I used the pattern I made for my spring bags last year and started foundation piecing strips of scraps to some muslin.  It was quite therapeutic.  The mindless sewing and random grabbing of strips was just what I needed.  Oh, and the ripping of sheets beforehand was kind of fun too :)

After several hours I had a stripey-floral-patchworky very spring-like bag exterior.  Lily flipped out when she saw it (I think that's a good thing?). 

I decided to line it with a pretty light colored floral, along with a stripey pocket - it's reversible!  Of course, I like the colorful floral stripes best, but if a subdued mood hits, no problem.

The straps are made from a light colored burlap.

I *love* this bag.  I love everything about it.  I especially love how it feels. After all the strips were sewed onto the foundation piece, the exterior had a nice heft, no need for any interfacing.  I decided to do the same with the lining, using a layer of muslin in place of interfacing.  This bag is soft, yet sturdy.  I think I just found my new favorite way to make bags!

As tempted as I was to hang on to this one, I'm letting her go.  You can find her in the shop if you're interested. 

irresistible

With my first leather encounter fresh on my mind, I decided to try the thrift stores again in search of more.  Maybe I was searching at the wrong time of year before, but I did happen upon  some leather this time.  I found a mini skirt for $25.  Yes, twenty-five, not $2.50.  Um, I don't think so!  Seriously?  It was a thrift store!!  That skirt stayed on the rack along with the others which were just as expensive.  (but I did find a too big cute printed twill skirt that I may or may not cut up for something else)

 

 

 

Naturally, my attention turned to the sheets.  Yeah, I know that I don't need any more sheets, but I can't help it.  I may have struck out on the leather, but I found some beauties in the linens. 

 

 

 

Oh my heavens - that pink one!  The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw that was Lilly Pulitzer.  Wouldn't that make the perfect Lilly-esque tunic?  I know I've tried sewing clothes out of my linens before and ended up not wearing them because it felt weird to me, but I don't think I'll have that problem with this one.  Did I mention that it's a king size flat sheet in perfect condition?  Love.

 

 

And this green one, I love it too.  I don't know if I'll be wearing this one, but I can certainly see a large bag made from this one.  Maybe with some bamboo handles...to bring to beach while wearing my pink tunic.

 

 

I would have been perfectly happy with just those two, but I couldn't leave those other pretty ones all alone, could I?  The yellow one is just plain sweet and super soft.  I'm thinking it would make a nice night gown for miss a or pajama bottoms for Lil. I already have the blue flowered one in my collection, but there's always room for more. 

For a non-linen focused buying trip, I don't thinkI did too bad!

 

thrifty thursday

I think I may be a hoarder, of vintage sheets, that is.  Never mind that I still have Christmas gifts to buy, instead of hitting the toy store what do I do?  Go to a thrift store.  For sheets.  Yeah, crazy I know!

 

This blue one is my favorite of the bunch.  I'm very into these colors right now, though the rest of the batch are pinks.  I'm always in need of pinks.

And this one, well, I bought it for the embroidered hem.  The rest of the sheet is plain white.  Wouldn't this make a beautiful hem on a dress?  I've been promising someone a pair of lounge pants for a while now...these just may inspire me to get them done before Christmas!!

While I'm on the subject of vintage sheets, I'd like to thank the Vintage Sheet Blog for featuring my Mallory baby blanket!  If you'd like some vintage sheet inspiration, head on over there.  Lots of good ideas.

 

as ready as i'll ever be

By the time most of you read this, I'll be off on my Dottie Angel weekend in Seattle.  Right now, I should be asleep in bed, but I had to get one last post in before I leave.  I must admit, I've been rather preoccupied with this trip all week.  I'm not an easy traveler, in fact, I'm downright sick over it.  Seattle is a long way from home!

Oh, I know that I'll have a blast once I'm there, especially considering that I'll be hanging out with some friends, it's the leaving my family and getting there all by myself that is causing me grief.  Yes, I know I'm a big weenie.

Anyway, I think I'm prepared - I have a stack of vintage linens, a dyed slip or 3 (all we need is 1), and a great big bag of lace, trim, buttons & whatnot.

One of our homework assignments was to make a name-tag.  I took inspiration from some embroidered pieces I had in my stash.  Eh, let's just say that embroidery isn't my strong suit.  As you can see, I'm not finished, but I'll tend to that on the 4 hour leg of my flight.

Okay, I really must get to bed, as I'll be up in a few short hours to catch my 6 am flight.  See y'all next week!!

yellow!

What?  Don't you know what that is?

How about now?  It's the mother load of yellow thrifted sheets!  Holy yellow cow!!  I've *never* found that many goodies at one time.  And to have them all coordinate is pretty special.

 

As I was checking out, I thought to myself that all of these together would make a lovely quilt.  But it will have to be made with the scraps from all the ginormous market bags and lounge pants I plan to make.

That yellow daisy on top is my favorite.  It's a good thing there were 3 of them.  Crazy, huh?  They're only twin size, but I'll take it.  That yellow hibiscus one behind it is pretty awesome, too.

I don't know what I've done to deserve this good fortune, but it sure changed my blue mood to a cheery yellow.  Happy weekend friends!!  May you all have a little yellow in your life this weekend :-) 

sheet finds

I think those warm fuzzies from this past weekend have given me some good vintage sheet ju-ju.  Look what I found - yippie! 

I'm well aware that I have a sheet problem.  After using up some of my sheets on those ginormous market bags, I had to hunt for some more (not that I don't already have a stash). 

A handful of those I walked away from because they were just boring white sheets with flowers.  But then it occurred to me that I could dye them...so I dashed back to the store to snatch them up!

My first try was pale petal pink.  I really like how it turned out on one, but the other was just eh.  I knew it could be better, so I went on to round two using tangerine.  Yay!  I love that the flowers don't take the dye and the poly cotton blend only takes a bit of color.  This is so fun!

I haven't even gone through my stash yet to see what I can dye, but I'm loving what's going on so far!  Now that my stash has a little boost, I think I can start some more ginormous market bags now :)

thrifty thursday

I'm happy to report that my thrift store trip on Good Friday was a success.  I seem to be having luck in that department lately, which isn't always the case, but for now, I'll take it while I can!  The first things I came across were these two glass decanters with stoppers.  I had to have them because they work perfectly with the cocktail tray I have on the chest in my dining room. Do you spy my thrift store lamp?

The rest was all linens, my usual thing.  There are probably finds I'm passing up as I make a beeline to the linens department, but my eye zeros in on them - I can't help it!  I couldn't pass up these two neutral colored pillowcases.  I have the fern print in green, so it was a treat to find it in another color and in such good condition.

These two sheets are in prints that I already have in my collection, but they're some of my favorites.  Also, these were in excellent condition!  I love finding a vibrant vintage sheet.  I'm thinking about making another attempt at making a dress out of a sheet - the one on the right is one of my all time favorite prints, which I think would be mighty cute as a shift dress, very Lilly-esque.  My only concern is that I feel a little too old to pull it off.  We'll see....

And lastly, I scored some fabric!  The purple print had been made into a wide valance, but there's plenty enough to use for making bags (of course!).  The weight of this print is pretty heavy, almost a canvas.  The little tulip print is sweet, isn't it?  I could totally see making something for Ava out of that.  I'm sure Lily would turn up her nose at it, but Ava is still putty in my hands!

***thanks for all your kind words on the previous post, you sure know how to make a girl feel good!!  I might just have to pull several names :-)

some thrifting luck

Working with all my vintage linens has given me the itch to thrift.  Perhaps it's spring, or maybe I'm panicking a little bit as I use up my stash, I don't know, but I hit the thrift stores three times in the past week.  My main focus was on sheets, but there were a few surprises....

like these napkins and tablecloth.  Oh my, isn't that tablecloth fabulous?  The gray + the roses is perfect.  I always get excited when I come across a vintage tablecloth.

I found some pillowcases - my favorite is the yellow one at the end.  I have that print in both blue and pink, so it's nice to add the yellow to my collection.

And some floral sheets.

And more sheets + a cheapo poly blend tablecloth (at the top).

Lily has been requested some nightgowns lately, so I thought some of these sheets would be perfect.  I was a little bummed that I didn't find any bold, colorful sheets, but these more delicate ones are growing on me, especially that blue floral one (first sheet photo, far right).  I may have to make myself a pair of lounge pants from that one.  The pants I bought from Chris get so much use that I need another pair to wear when those are in the wash.

I don't usually check the housewares because I never find anything, but today I was lucky.  How about that lamp and vase?  I've been looking for a blue lamp for a while without much luck.  This little prize was a whopping $3.88.  I plan to scrape the flowers off even though I kind of like them -they come off super easy and a few big chunks are already gone.  The white drum shade with silver trim was purchased a few weeks ago at Ross for $2.99.  I think they go together perfectly.  Not too bad for about $7.  That vase had to come home with me too, even though it is missing a top, because I've started collecting blue & white plates for my kitchen/dining.  I don't have a plan for it yet, but I'm sure I'll figure out something.

All I have to say is 'yippie' for spring cleaning.  I always seem to find good stuff at this time of year.  If you haven't been thrifting in a while, get out there, what are you waiting for?

making time

I should know this by now, if you want to do something, you MUST make the time for it.  And that's exactly what I did.

After the kids went to bed Monday night, I made my way to my sewing room.  I don't remember why I went up there (I didn't plan to stay), but once I got there, I couldn't leave.  I started picking up a bit, which lead to FINALLY put the Christmas decorations in the attic, which then lead to putting away the fabrics pulled out from my last project.  Once the room was clear and I could see what I had, I started pulling out again.

With thoughts of spring on my mind, I zeroed in on my vintage thrift store sheets.  I admit to being a hoarder in this department - but really, what good is it to have these if I'm not going to use them?  I've decided to challenge myself to do a shop update with bags made entirely from these linens.  Sounds like fun, huh?  I'm pretty excited about it!  I don't have all the details worked out, but I'm ready to get busy.  It will be my spring line (ha! how fancy is that?)

When I first stepped foot into that room Monday night, I was exhausted, but once I got going I couldn't stop.  Before I knew it, it was almost midnight.  I was so energized - I LOVE that feeling.  THIS is how I used to do it - I made time.  Each night this week, tonight included, I made some time for myself.  I planned on going to bed early tonight, but then decided that I'd rather finish what I started.

I LOVE it - so worth my lack of sleep!  I think this may be my most favorite vintage sheet pattern yet, just perfect for a little clutch.  Though I planned to line it with another sheet, the pink polka dots spoke to me.  Now all I can think about is making clutches out of sheets with polka dot linings.  I'm pretty sure my next big bag will be made of this same combination.
Mmmm, it's a good thing I have 2 of these sheets :)  Okay, I'm off to bed now...I think I've hit my time making limit for the week.