jane's apron

thrifty march

March was an extra "thrifty" month...as I took these pictures, I realized I was not even including everything I found...just crazy.   First off are the items I found for the Vintage Kitchen Swap.  The color "robin's egg blue" was calling my name this month.  The best item I found for the swap is the vintage table cloth that you can only see a little bit of in this picture.  It's one of those great heavy cotton ones...just perfect.

I finally got some good vintage apron mojo...was beginning to think I would never find any at the thrift store again.  I even paid a little more (gasp!) than my usual 1.99 limit for them.

Here's a extra cute picnic basket...it's an old one but in really good shape and will be great for storage.    Found some more vintage cookbooks this month too.  They are always so funny.

...and just a few more goodies...I bought the "E" plate for my daugher Ellen so she can have her own "special day" plate when she wants.

After all of that, I think I'm going to have to take a thrift-break...either that, or open a shop...now, wouldn't that be fun?

vintage kitchen swap

The Vintage Kitchen Swap is just about complete.  The swap has been great...I got to do some "extra" thrift shopping (score!), met some new friends on flickr, and got to meet yet another talented girl.  My swap partner was Beth and, as you can tell by the pile of aprons and vintage sewing pattern she sent me, she spent a little time at my blog to figure me out.

Beth recently joined us all in blog land and you can find her right here...a big thanks again Beth for the wonderful swap!

I'll post my vintage finds for Beth along with the insane amount of thrifted finds I accumulated in the month of March on Friday.

a little spring cleaning

I was doing a little spring cleaning in my craft room and found these cute little books I made for a fund-raiser at our preschool a couple of years ago.  The "Sunny Bunny" is written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle (the Raggedy Ann guy)...the whole book is so cute (really great colors) but the end-papers inside the front and back covers are really, really cute.  All I did was add a little hand-stamped tag that says "happy easter". 

While I would normally discover something like this in my house AFTER Easter, since I actually found them before the holiday, I am going to list them in my etsy shop.  I think they would make a cute Easter gift for a little one or anyone that loves vintage illustrations.  OK...did I use the word "cute" enough in this post? 

i did it!

Back at the beginning of the year, I made a very small "to do" list for my blog.  I still had one more thing to to...and that was to sew something.    I'm happy to say that I did it!  I did get lots of help from my Mom but I did all of the cutting, ironing, and sewing. 

All of you real sewers will probably laugh at me but I had to use a pattern to make the apron.  But, really, isn't that just the cutest pattern?  Sure, the girls are wearing aprons..but they are still so sassy.  I made the apron from a vintage pillow case from the thrift store...so now I have another thing to look for when I'm thrifting.

pattern collage

I've been working on several collages using my new stash of sewing pattern counter book pages.  Some are best at 11x14 or 8x10.  My favorite size so far is 12x12 like the one pictured.

I'm new to collage but am learning as  I go.  This collage is made from layers of paper (no paint or anything else) on a canvas board and sealed with a thin coat of sealer.  I also papered and sealed the back of the board (seemed to make it lay flatter).  I then painted the edges in dark brown and rubbed a little gold in it...kind of gave it a frame.   

The collage can be framed or left as is (hang it or place it).   I really like how this turned out and think it would be so fun to have in a bedroom or sewing room...or anywhere. 

My next step is to get all of the collages scanned so I have a good copy of them and then list them at my etsy shop in time for Mother's Day.

thrifty confusion

I've ventured into the Goodwill Outlet Store (every item, every day is $0.95)  just a few times since I found it...finding my way around.   I stopped in a couple of weeks ago and made my usual rounds...picked out some cute dishes.   So...I go to check out, and the guy tells me "You need to go get some more dishes...they are 8 for $0.95".    At this point I am totally confused...what?...8 dishes for $0.95?...are you serious?  I'm sure everyone in line behind me was rolling their eyes thinking "amateur" or "she's doing it wrong"...or, you know, worse.    Obvious to everyone but me is a big white board in the front of the store with the days "specials"...now I know.   So, I get out of line and pick out 16 dishes for $1.90...I'm still shaking my head saying "WHAT??".

These are some of the dishes I bought...perfect cherry blossom branches for spring.  There's a large platter and 5 each of dessert plates and fruit bowls.    I'm hosting my book club in April and will use these for dessert...won't a little cake from Trader Joe's look cute on the platter?

my vintage kitchen

I'm participating in my first-ever swap...the Vintage Kitchen Swap hosted by Jenny at everyday is a holiday.  I've already had fun putting stuff together but, as usual, it's a one-for-you-one-for-me kind of thing...or even worse...I'll-just-keep-this-for-me kind of thing.  When it comes to a vintage kitchen, I have no restraint.   

Here's a peek at a corner of my kitchen.  It used to be a real vintage kitchen (a working 42in wide beautiful oven,  a cute built-in cabinet with little dutch kid decals...but one light,  one outlet, no dishwasher, no garbage disposal, etc.).  We updated it in 2001 but it still has a nice vintage look that makes it look like it belongs with our house.

For the first picture, I cleaned off the mess that was on my window shelf but then felt a little "fake" so I put it all back and took another picture.   My son Ross is very proud that he found the carrot and radish decorations at the thrift store and told me that they would look good in our kitchen...and they do!   I got the idea for the curtains in a magazine...they are supposed to be dish towels but these are really just sewn to "look" like dish towels.  The kitchen doesn't get a lot of direct sunlight so I painted it a really bright yellow ("sunflower" from Martha Stewart Everyday Colors)...with the breakfast nook painted "drop of green" to calm the color down a little bit. 

used to be an artist

I really like the quote on this card.  I know I see it in my own kids...especially in my daughter who proudly recognizes herself as an artist.

I used to be an artist too...always making stuff when I was little and taking all of the art classes I could in high school.   That all kind of got lost through engineering school...no time for fun art classes.    There was a watercolor or sewing class here and there after college and then, much later, I was introduced to scrapbooking.  The whole paper/scissors/layout thing really hooked me. 

I still really don't see myself as an artist...but working on my larger collages...having the idea to add paper "aprons" or maybe sparkly "crowns" to the pattern models kind of made me remember the kid in me that was an artist.

Are you an artist?...a crafter?...an artful crafter? 

thanks again!

I had the kids draw a number this morning (sorry no picture but we were all a little behind with the time change)...and the winning post number is #23 from Colleen at not quite vintage.  Colleen's blog is a new one for me but if you haven't met her, be sure to stop by (her banner is really cool!).

Thanks again to everyone for your nice comments...I met some new people and visited some new blogs...loving this whole blogging thing more & more!

say hi!

So...I've been creating this little blog since October (around 50 posts I think)...and it's about time I said a great big THANKS to everyone that has found me and left such nice & encouraging comments.   And...an even bigger THANKS to everyone that I have found ...so much talent, so much cool stuff to see.

I had such a great response to this little card set that I would love to send a set of 6 to one of my blog friends.  Just leave a comment    

...even if it's just to say "hi"!...

I'll pick a name from the comments next Monday, March 12.

The flower I used is from Shabby Princess...too cute.