12/25/11

Merry Christmas!

Shiny Aluminum Christmas Tree!

Handmade (not by me!) Tile and Hex Bolt Ornaments... So Pretty!
Merry Christmas to all!

What I have been up to - new kitty update!

Yes, we have a new kitty, and despite the fact that she has peed on my Christmas tree skirt FOUR TIMES since we got her, she is still pretty darn cute.

 





Her name is Klondike. 

She is a barn kitty from Mr. KnickityKnack's grandparent's farm.  

She loves to sit near the radiators where it is toasty warm, and sneeze all over my couch.  Klondike has a little cold which she hasn't been able to kick yet, so until she does I guess I will be continually wiping the boogers off the furniture.  I still can't believe the amount of snot this little thing produces. 

Well, she says Merry Christmas to you all!

12/17/11

What I have been up to - a slipcover

So I have this chair.  I have had it for a long time. The cat has DESTROYED it. 
Here he is, lounging around like he owns the thing...
 Soo... I thought I would make a slip cover for it.

I love all the drop cloth slipcovers that I have seen around blogland, and being the ambitious person I am, despite my lack of sewing skillz and patience, decided to tackle the project of making a custom slipcover for this chair.



I used Miss Mustard Seed's video tutorial series to complete this project.  Her videos are great - super detailed and easy to follow. 

 I had to push the chair around my apartment to find enough light to take the pictures... silly me.

The hardest part was joining all the fabric around the wings - well, just generally joining all the thick fabric pieces together.  My machine didn't want to sew through all of it, so I had to darn a few places by hand (this also helped to keep all the fabric connected when transferring it from the chair to the machine - my pins wanted to fall out a lot!). There are still a few holes here and there that I will probably never fix because they don't bother me enough (lazy me).

I also wish I took Miss Mustard Seed's advice on putting a separate piece of fabric around the front of the chair.  To me, this just seemed like more sewing, so I just made the bottom of the chair all one piece, from the back of the cushion to the ruffles, and wrapped it around the sides to meet the side panel.  Not good - as you can see I have all sorts of puckering going on around the arms.  Furthermore, I am not sure I allowed enough give in the seat area.  When you sit down in the chair, it sort of stretches the fabric out because there isn't enough there to allow for the cushion to sink in.  Ooops.


I plan on making a matching slip cover for my futon, and another pillowcase to match the one on the chair... The pillow is made from old sweaters that I had shrunk at one point or another.  I saved them with the intention of using the fabric, and then I saw Dottie Angel's 4th day of Joyfulness.  She has posted a super simple tutorial on how to make an envelope back pillowcase with multiple pieces of fabric.

Busy busy...

Linking up at MMS and Primp!

12/2/11

It's Christmastime! Bottle Brush Trees and Spools!


Yay! Who doesn't love the classic red and green colors of Christmas...





 I am especially excited to traveling to Fiance's Grandma's house, which truly is over the river and through the woods, way up north in Wisconsin. I plan on knitting and reading and eating - and that's about IT!

I love this bright red glitter.  I want to cover everything in my house with it!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend! 

11/20/11

Quick and Easy Pom Pom Craft

Of course I had grand ambitions of making tons of Christmas crafts from vintage items for my Etsy Shop, but for some reason it just doesn't seem to work out.

All I seem to be capable of is making a mess.

Yes this was my dining room.
 Anyways, I did manage to make a few cute things...

One project started out as old Christmas tree light reflectors.  I have a few that are really nice quality, and then a few that are not so nice.  These not so nice ones are really thin metal and a little bent up...

Even though they are still pretty cute, I had a good idea...


And now they are even cuter! All you have to do to make these is hot glue a pom pom to the center of the reflector.  For the hole at the top for the hook, I simple took a hammer and slammed a nail through it, which only took about two taps.  Quick and easy!


Shared my craft at Just a Girl

11/19/11

Do any of you get easily overwhelmed?  Well I sure do...

Sometimes I live in this fantastical world in which every craft project I can dream up will be super easy to make and turn out beautifully...

Then reality hits, and I realize that I have no patience and subsequently give up on all my projects that don't turn out right the first time.  I am a perfectionist with no patience.  I should take a picture of the dining room craft room and show you guys the disaster I have there.

Oh well... at least I have a very talented sister with a steady hand...


Who I commissioned to make these darling rabbit plates for me... I have about 7 that I plan on listing on Etsy in the next day or two...

For now I have a few vintage Christmas items going up in the shop.  Here's a sneak peek -

Vintage gift tags...

     
Vintage Gift Boxes...
Enjoy your weekend! 

11/16/11

I'm back! And with Christmas Crafts!

For those of you wondering where I've been lately, I have been overwhelmed by schoolwork for my graduate degree.  Thank goodness DePaul's fall quarter is over this week, and I'm done!

I'm free!  Now all I have to do is make crafts for Christmas!


MERRY pom poms and tart molds!
Over the summer I picked up any little bits of vintage Christmas decorations and supplies I could find, and now I get to put them to good use.  I am planning a little Etsy shop update filled with merry holiday items this Saturday.

Linked up at Primp and at the Shabby Creek Cottage! AND at Vintage Wanna Bee!

10/16/11

Jack the Cat Poses for a Fall Photo Shoot


He's cute, but he's a real bad model.  It took forever to get him to sit anywhere near the mum like I wanted.

Instead, he spent a lot of time doing this...


And this...


And this...

10/13/11

Etsy Updates

I haven't added anything new to my Etsy shop recently, but have still had a few sales.  I've noticed Etsy's new search system that prioritizes results based on relevance and not on what was most recently listed really helps sales.

I still haven't filled my shop back up since recovering from the Vintage Bazaar in September, where I sold about 2/3 of my merchandise (making Fiance very happy).  The bazaar was so much work that I needed a break from estate sale shopping and cleaning the dust off all the stuff I brought home...plus it is kinda nice having a little extra space around the house - not to mention all the Christmas stuff I want to work on and list in the shop: a combination of crafts made with vintage items and vintage decorations.


I've been wrapping my items recently.  In the past I have almost always tied a bow around what I have sold, but after receiving my lovingly wrapped little string of happy from Dottie Angel, I decided to take it a step further....

and use tres chic magazines...

I wrapped a sold pair of vintage glasses in this magazine article...
Other recent sales include this jewelry box. 


I noticed the yellow bunny on "The Playboy Club" keeps her money in one just like it. I would have loved to be in charge of props for that show!

10/8/11

My Sun Porch

The other day, the colors of the leaves changed... and just like that, fall arrived.

I have a great view of it from my porch...

Click to enlarge!
I spent a lot of time collecting things to make it cozy out here... the papasan from Craigslist, the little white desk from an estate sale (that a stranger so lovingly delivered to my home after it failed to fit in my car), the hand crocheted throw from another sale, the houseplants, the Jesus candles, the ceramic animals...

There is only one problem.


AND OH MY GOD, they are having the time of their little lives up there.  AND - I have a gap between the light fixture and the ceiling... AND - I am not even kidding you, as a type this, I could actually SEE one stick his head out the gap and peer down on me with a leaf in his mouth.  AND HE ? SHE ? SQUEEKED!  AT ME!


So as you can see from my photo above... I have enlisted the help of my little squirrel Dream Pet - and also, evidently, Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Hopefully they can work together to convince the squirrels to go away and make a home somewhere else, because my landlord sure isn't in a hurry to do so...

10/7/11

Spooky Bird Plates for Halloween

The latest issue of Country Living Magazine features a display of stenciled bird plates.  I love birds, I love Halloween, I love fancy china, and I love copying ideas.  So I made my own.

Love the gold design!



This craft was super easy to make (really!) and took almost not time at all - which is good because I usually get bored and give up on projects if they take too long to complete.   I bought some glossy Martha Steward Paint, although cheap acrylic would have been fine.  Then I printed the templates out from Country Living and used them as stencils on the plates, tracing them with a pencil.  The most expensive part of the entire project was purchasing the plate holders - which at 3 bucks a pop wasn't terrible...



I plan on scraping off the paint after Halloween and painting kitschy little red Christmas designs on them.  Then I'd like to save them for my wedding, because ideally I would like to serve dinner on fancy mix matched china...
* linking up at 30 Days!
How are you getting ready for Halloween?

10/2/11

A Treat from Mossy Shed

All week I excitedly checked my mailbox in anticipation of something I had ordered from Dottie Angel...until finally, on Saturday - it arrived!  

My Little Strings of Happy!  

Yay!  Look how cute - she wrapped them individually in little bits of magazine. 

 All the little details made them seem even more special... I always write a hand written thank you when people order from my shop, and this one, written on a postcard is darling.

 Look at their little packages all tied up with string!


Yay.  I have been meaning to make a colorful little bunting, but I don't really have much "happy" fabric.  I love these fabrics, and so does Fiance, surprisingly!
 

10/1/11

Second Hand Dining Room

Since moving in in June, I have barely finished unpacking.  There are still a few boxes here and there and a bunch of stuff that is very disorganized with no home yet.  I have prioritized my dining room though, and it's almost done enough for me to be satisfied.  Here is a glimpse:

In this room I have south facing windows, and I just love how the sunlight streams in throughout the day. 
  • The orange curtains were about a dollar at an estate sale, where I happened to grab a large amount of fabric that I have been able to use in different rooms in my house.  
  • The chair was six dollars at the Village Thrift on Kedzie.  I bought two of them but had to make two different trips because only one would fin in my car at a time.  I spray painted it white.  
  • The horse paint-by-number was also from an estate sale - I love it, and probably over paid for it - eight dollars.  
  • The little magazine rack was five dollars at another estate sale.
Total for this little corner: 20 dollars!  YAY.


Here is what the other half of the window looks like - as you can see, the chair is totally not cute without the white paint... I just haven't gotten around to that yet with all the rain.  The hamper is probably the most expensive thing in the photo, which I splurged on at Home Goods one day ($40!) because I was sick of all my fabric laying on the floor and I needed a place for it.

I originally bought this little black bookcase for my sis, but it didn't fit in my car, so after my fiance carried it home we decided to keep it here (! He's the best!).  Anyway, it holds most of my craft supplies so I made little curtain for it out of the rest of the fabric from the estate sale.  I love that the plaid has a bit of orange with it - it makes it a nice unexpected match for my orange curtains!  I made the chalkboard out of an old window...

I hope to share more little corners of my apartment as it comes together! 

9/29/11

Fall is Here!

And thank goodness the sun finally came out!  I was finally able to shoot some photos...

 Spooky owls in an old enamel coffee pot!


Boo!

How are you using vintage items to decorate for the season change?

9/20/11

Vintage Bazaar!

This weekend was the long awaited Vintage Bazaar - and boy oh boy was it wet!  I was pretty apprehensive and worried people were not going to come out and shop - but they did!  And they came in droves!  And, much to my fiance's delight - I sold a lot of stuff (so that means there is less "junk" in our home...)  Thank goodness he came out to help along with my sister.  This was my first really big fair and I learned a lot - most importantly, perhaps, I learned I cannot do this alone.  Between the rain, the tent set up, handling all the customers, and the hauling things up and down from my third floor walk up, it was a huge task.  (Oh - and did I mention the drive out to O'Hare to rent a minivan to haul it all in?)


Doesn't my booth look crowded?  Although I was allotted a ten by ten foot space, the canopy of my tent was only eight by eight, and I had to squish everything inward even more to prevent it from getting wet in the rain!  I also wasn't able to hang up a lot of my prints for fear of them getting wet.


I sold both the typewriters, two of the chalkboards, and the window, along with the record box, the hat boxes, the suitcase, the fall painting and lots of the smalls on the table....


The tins, owl paintings and the beverage cart also sold! 


I definitely need to focus more on my Etsy shop now that this big fair is behind me.  I am hoping to really beef up my vintage Christmas Stock.  I also have grad school to worry about so I am hoping to find the time to keep up with the shop.

I wish had more pictures - but you can check out the Thriftaholic's blog for some beautiful pictures of other vendors' booths.  I got to meet her at the fair and she was super friendly and well dressed to boot!

Bit of a check in...

Alright folks.  I have been absent from blogging for a while haven't I.  Truth is, preparing for the Vintage Bazaar took a lot of work.  Not to mention I started grad school and have papers to write!  I'll post pics from my booth later today or tomorrow - hopefully!

8/15/11

Vintage Vanity Chair Makeover

A few weeks ago I found a couple vanity chairs at an estate sale - sans cushions.

My grandmother had a little one in her bathroom when I was young, and that was just one of the things in her farmhouse that I thought was cute.

So I sanded the rust off and spray painted them white.  Spray paint fixes anything!

Jack likes to help me craft.  Here he is being super helpful by not sitting on all my fabric!



Then came the tricky part.  I tried to make a cushion...


I think it turned out pretty cute.  I made it with all vintage fabric from various estate sales... I just love the little lacy flowers...



I did make a few mistakes... aside from not being able to sew in a circle, I decided to put a zipper in after I stuffed foam into the cover and realized there was no way I would be able to sew it shut around it.  So... I took the foam out and figured out a way to sew the zipper on last...  Didn't turn out the best, but at least it closes!  I plan on making another cover and using this one to make a pillow since I am not really happy with it as a cushion.

Thanks for visiting!

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