jane's apron

thrifty july

Once again, it was a bit of a slow month for thrifting.  I found these pretty embroidered linen towels earlier this month.  I like to use these in our guest bathroom...put a "regular" towel underneath them for better hand drying.  This picture also shows a little of the cool vitrolite tiles in the bathroom...it's like jadite on the walls...my favorite.

Things finally picked up at the store's end-of-the-month half-off sale...

  

...a FireKing dish that seems to be hand-painted (never knew such a thing existed) put to work on my windowsill holding tomatoes.

...a set of matching pitchers for cold drinks (and maybe just for cute storage).

...the cutest little metal and plastic tea set.  The thrift store bags up small toys and prices them by the bag....this was all in one toy bag for $0.61.  I have a weakness for tiny things and especially love little tea sets.  My daughter and I made strawberry cream cheese tea sandwiches and blueberry tea for lunch.

style

When I was working on these new collages last week, I was thinking about my "style".  I know it is very simple but that really is on purpose...that's just "me".    With vintage sewing patterns, I could easily take the design into something more "kitschy" (...and I love kitschy stuff by the way!) but I really see the sewing patterns as completely innocent and sweet.  Their little dresses and mary jane shoes...and is there anything cuter than a clean kid in pajamas?  I imagine the collages hanging in a little girl's bedroom or, with the pajama kids, hanging in a "jack & jill" bathroom. 

fish pond

Our house is over 75 years old but we are only the third owners.   The original family that built it moved in with their 19 year old son (Elmer) in 1931 and Elmer lived in the house until he was well into his 80s (he got married and his new wife didn't want him taking care of such a big house!).   Elmer was quite the young handyman and built a fish pond in the yard...he even added a concrete slab at the back with the family name and the year the pond was built (1933).    The pond was still working and was full of goldfish when we moved here in 1999.    My husband has worked way too long restoring it with new pumps, filters, etc...but it's his hobby.  I do love the sound of the fountain and the fish are kind of cute...

...they swim around happily all day while our dog tries to catch them and the birds in the yard love to use the top section as a bird bath.   Since everybody always asks, I'll tell you that the fish stay in there all winter...the pond is deep enough that they hibernate on the bottom...even when the pond freezes.

...and it's also good for cooling your toes on a hot summer day. 

practical and not so practical shopping

1. Decole - Red Riding Hood, 2. kitchen corner, 3. tablecloth dresses, 4. Scrap Box Craft Apron, 5. spring living room, 6. New to Me Blue, 7. Apron detail..., 8. Vintage Wallpaper Rolls, 9. Proud Sally, 10. yellow clutch, 11. Pretty Hankies, 12. sarah-detail, 13. My Vintage Kitchenware with a Nasturtium Motif, 14. ~pretty in pink~, 15. little red hood, 16. Hello Joe, 17. Sweet Whimsy Greetings Display For Retail Store, 18. vintage flower pin, 19. Vintage Dolls, 20. Birdies, 21. jersey shore, 22. Cherry Soda close-up, 23. give a hoot!, 24. new hang tags, 25. what's left collage  

I've been piling up some flickr favorites and finally combined them into new mosaics.  For reasons I can't quite figure out, I seem to be drawn to little red riding hood photos...hmmm.   There's another one at the top left.  Cute? Insanely cute.  You can buy her and other completely impractical things at spiralling...it's only a matter of time before I justify a purchase there. 

Now, for more practical shopping, I found blackbird press...an etsy shop with really pretty personalized letter press cards.  I bought these for my niece.  

thrift shop partner

I first found Jen Duncan from Jenny Holiday's Vintage Kitchen Swap and then her blog went straight to my blog list when I saw this post...where are the booths like that at the fairs I go to??  When Jen found out I'm always on the look out for vintage sewing patterns (the $0.10 ones!), she added them to her thrifting list and mailed me a nice pattern (and other vintage goodies) package.  She's like a distant "enabler" for my sewing pattern addiction...giggle.  I didn't take a picture before I cut into the patterns so all I have to show is one of the end results...

Thanks Jen!

danger, danger

Everyone has probably  heard of this book by now but I thought I'd share how it's been used at our house....

We have two boys close in age.  I have found that the only people that can really relate to what that means also have two (or more!) boys.  The roughness of their play, the broken windows (more than I can count), discovering that they decided they didn't really need to change their underwear everyday, the trips to the emergency room for stitches (again...more than I can count).   Question:  Do boys have to run everywhere?  Answer: Yes.

So...when a book entitled "The Dangerous Book for Boys" shows up, it sounds like something we could use.   The boys have taken to this book like a long lost friend.  Jack spent an entire weekend building a prototype of a bow and arrow and then spent at least 6 hours building his final version.  He had the book open on the picnic table outside and worked diligently on the arrow design.  When he asked if we could go to the store to get some feathers, I sent him to the duck pond...see the duck feathers on the end of the arrow?  His bow and arrow can now shoot about 100 ft. across the yard and stick right into the ground.  I just hope he doesn't use his new skill to try the "Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit" chapter.

Jack hugged the book to his chest and said "I  LOVE this book!!".  And then his brother tried to grab it from him and a fight broke out...yep...life with two boys.

new postcards

Are you kiddin' me??  If I had known that is was this easy to make postcards I would have done it a long time ago.  They are so dang cute... bright, crisp and vibrant images...with just the perfect matte finish.   I LOVE these!

I added a "the little shop" link on the right...see it?  That's where I am selling postcards of my sassy apron girl collages  Again, I love how these turned out...can't stop staring at them. 

Don't forget that I'm sending the original collage and a few sets of noteflats to 3 of my readers...just page down and comment on my 100th post.  I'll draw the numbers tonight and update this post...good luck!

I used my new random number generator to pick the post numbers and they are 22,25, and 1.  Be back in a minute with the names that match...

Congrats (and thanks!) to:

Linda (restyled home) for the collage and postcards.

Liz Taylor & Dana (old red barn co.) for the postcard sets. 

Contact me with your addresses and they will be on their way...and thanks to everyone for your nice comments! 

bits & pieces at home

I finally found the perfect spot for my bits & pieces collage from Raesha.  I told our swap hostess that I had no requirements for my collage and was up for anything...turns out that Raesha somehow made the perfect collage for me.  It is pretty, simple, personal (check out the beautiful handwriting!)...it's so "me".  I have the collage in my upstairs hallway with my sewing machine...maybe, just maybe, it will inspire me to sew.

Don't forget about my giveaway this week...just leave me a comment in my 100th post and you're in the drawing...don't be shy!

my 100th post

This entry marks my 100th post and all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you!  Things were a little lonely here at the beginning but I'm so glad for all of your comments and encouragement...still can't believe all of the nice feedback I've received and all of the cool, crafty blogs I've found...it's all just crazy. 

In order to celebrate, I'd love to send the pretty 8x10 party girl collage to one of my readers.  I am patiently (not) waiting for "thank you" noteflats that I am having printed of this collage and would also like to send a set of 6 to  my collage winner and 2 more readers. 

...and, I am waiting for noteflats of these two collages that I plan to sell right here on my blog (as soon as I figure out how to do that...maybe by Friday?)....

Of course, you'll have to leave a comment to be in the drawing (I'll draw 3 names on Friday) but I'll give you a couple of comment options...

1. I hate cleaning my house but listening to my ipod makes it almost tolerable.   Let me know a good "house cleaning" song.  My favorite right now is "the perfect crime #2" by the decemberists.
2. I've been in a bookclub for almost 5 years and have read lots and lots of books.  Can you recommend any good ones that aren't the usual suspects?  I've completely surprised myself and have become a big fan of historical fiction (...and I count "Wicked" as historical fiction...giggle)
3. ...or just leave any kind of comment...I'm easy.

picnic cake

Our local newspaper used to have a "recipe exchange" feature (this was before you could just google a recipe) where readers would ask other readers for recipes they could not find.   I found the recipe for Toll House Bundt Cake that way (I still have the newspaper clipping).  I made the cake for some family event and found out my mom was one of the ladies that submitted the recipe to the newspaper...her name was right there and I never saw it.   She has a copy of the Toll House Heritage Cookbook and I was happy to find my own copy at the thrift store a couple of months ago.   The bundt cake is very good and very easy...and travels well...perfect for a summer picnic. 

Since it was kind of "picnic-y", I placed the cake a vintage picnic tablecloth that I bought a few years ago.  The tablecloth is a big sheet that family members signed with names, dates, and some great drawings...everything was then embroidered.  The date, 1947, is embroidered in the middle.  I bought the tablecloth for $2 at a neighborhood garage sale and use it all the time...it's a major conversation piece and I discover something new on it every time.

I'm taking a small blog break this weekend but will be back next week with my 100th post...a giveaway and (hopefully) a fun new apron project.   Have a happy 4th!