My Heart in Hand

A little something I have on display on my pack porch

that also happens to be for sale in my etsy shop.

I like to say that I am not in the "keeping" business.

I get more enjoyment out of sharing and selling things.

If I was rich and could afford the postage,

I would just mail most of my stuff away as RAKs.

For free.

The heart is a ceramic one I made and

the hand is something vintage I picked up somewhere.

One of my current etsy offerings.

So much treasure and so little time to list it all for sale!

No Calorie Peeps

Found these at my local fleamarket.

Reminded me of Easter gifties I got as a kid.

Ten cents each.

CHEAP, cheep, cheep!

********

May you have a blessed Easter

and may all of your treats be calorie free!

Altered Embroidery

I am a sucker for a nice picture frame. If the design inside has potential, that's a bonus.
This old cross stitch, found at a thrift store, was a little *blah*, but I had a vision for it.

*snip*snip*

*tug*tug*

I removed the old lettering.

The new design is positively, well, ... BLoOM-ing.
I stitched right in the frame.

Freehand.

Cheater confession: I ran thread through the buttons and glued them on.

Vintage Owls, Antique Linen and Things

I do not understand the comeback of the owl. I collected them in the 1970s, but by the end of the '80s, I was over them and on to unicorns (the next craze as the 1980s make a comeback?). I do know there are collectors out there once again so I am dutifully picking them up at the thrift store and junk shop when I find good examples.

Like the sample here. Cheapy plaster toothpick holder (?) bought for next to nothing (I have great sources!) Today I got the inspiration to make it into a wee pincushion. Fabric seemed too bulky for such a tiny opening so I improvised and tried some yarn salvaged from an old sweater. Wound it into an oblong "ball" and stuffed it into the tree stump. WoW! I impress myself sometimes! Very practical solution, aesthetically pleasing AND recycled! You saw it here first. Nope, this one is NOT being sold in my etsy shop. It is going to an owl crazed friend who has just rediscovered her love of stitching.

What I will be selling in my etsy soon is this vintage/ antique linen.

My mother brought it back from a trip to Byelorus

many years ago.

She was visiting family and a generous cousin gave her this handloomed linen,

made by a family member, as a parting gift.

It is just 17" wide and was used for dish and hand towels.

A two yard length would have been embroidered on the ends

(with traditional Byelorusian motifs)

and hung over a hook on the kitchen wall for everyday use.

Simple, common, necessity.

We would consider a luxury.

This linen was old when my mother brought it home.

It is even older now.

I plan to sell it in 17" square pieces bundled with buttons,

lace scraps and miscellaneous bits for sampler stitching.

It's all the rage now.

Watch this space.

Another Tea Swap With a Twist

I am used to swaps where from the time you sign up for one, to the time the goods come in the mail, a month elapses, if not longer. Well, Pat's tea swaps are rapid machine gun fire swaps!

No sooner did the last one cool (pun intended), than she asked if I would like to participate in another and then BANG! Susan Teter's envelope arrived in the mail.

WOW!

Susan's envelope was filled with mostly black teas because I think I emailed her my preference

(it all happened SO fast, I forget now! haha).

She apologized for the not-so-exotic selection, but really I prefer good black teas.

Susan is a tea expert and I highly recomment her site.

Over a Teacup

She sent me a bag of Yorkshire Harrogate (among others!) which I did not even think could be found in the States! The last time I had it it (5 years or more ago), it came to me directly from Great Britain in a tea swap. I kept the empty box for years, hoping I would run across it again.

And now it seems, I can find it, via internet, in Virginia.

Who knew?

Thank you Susan (again) for the spiritual experience of having good tea.

I had a pot of the English breakfast today and was transported!

It was a special blessing that you "happened" to be my swap partner.

Divine Serendipity.

.

Also in the weekend's mail came this surprise envelope from Marlynn.

(She has close ups of it on her blog.)
I admired this envelope on her blog and thought,

"I so envy the person getting this creation!"

Later that same day I read her post,

DOH! The envelope came in the mail to ME!

Don't know whether to hug her or smack her!

Mute point.

She lives in another state.

heehee

A clever reuse of a Trader Joe's bag filled with teas, an ATC and some ephemoral bits.

I had mentioned in my last tea swap post that I could really get used to getting tea in the mail and Marlynn acted on it. Everyone needs a Fairy Godmother or just an incredibly thoughtful friend who surprises you with goodies in the mail!

Is there anyone you can RAK today?

Postcard Art: Another Model Installment

You might recognize Mimi from the dress pattern envelope in my last post.

She now lives in Paris...

...with two dalmatas.

Her tiny apartment required several large keys.

This postcard will be off to a thoughtful friend but,

I think I could do a whole book with these pattern girls!

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And speaking of books...

you could win one from Kristin Hubick.

Check out the giveaway- 3 chances to win!

Dress Pattern ART

I LOVE vintage dress patterns for all of their uses. Okay, maybe NOT for making dresses.

I don't have the figure for vintage styles or their sizing. But otherwise like a Native American with a buffalo, I find a use for every part.

The models are all so charming and have perfect flowing lines.

They don't have cluttery backgrounds so are easy to cut out and alter.

And their clothing matches other vintage items from their era (like this blue number on a matching blue bridge tally card!)

While I used the heads on ATCs (for sale in my etsy shop shortly), the legs did not get thrown out with the scraps. This pair found use on a greeting card. The pattern tissue? I use it for gift wrap and for packing my sold etsy items.

Reduce, reuse, upcycle!