Handkerchief Dye Job

My husband's grandmother is a sweetheart.  She religiously cut coupons for me every week and sends them to me so that I can save money.  A number of years ago she gave me a few vintage handkerchiefs and I have been meaning to do something with them for a while now.  I ran across this post on Once Wed about hand dyeing clothe napkins and thought it would be a great treatment for handkerchiefs too.

Subtle Color

Before Dye

In Process

Result

I dyed three handkerchiefs and was really happy with the result of a bluish tin to each of their edges.  It seems like a really delicate treatment, but artistic at the same time.  Now I need to decide him I'm going to frame them or use them as they were intended and give up my Kleenex habit.

Poppytalk Handmade

via Melanie Favreau on Poppytalk Handmade

I'm sure you've heard of Etsy by now to purchase vintage and handmade goods.  Another resource that I have purchased from in the past is Poppytalk Handmade.  They have a revolving door of artisans that sell their handmade goods from one, easy to browse, page that showcases all the "stores".

I really like the mustache ring above!

Mid Century Modern Find

A little over a week ago I saw a local seller, on Craigslist, offering a set of Mid-Century Modern dressers for $200.  I confess that I have been keeping an eye out for months now, looking and yearning for MCM furniture to furnish our new house.  I hopped right over to the seller's house (with toddler in tow) after work and looked at the furniture before deciding that I definitely needed them, scratches and all, in our new house.  A quick call to my husband and we set up the pick up via our trusty pink trailer for an hour later. 

Then, the dressers sat on the trailer for a week until my husband was able to move them to the guest bedroom.  You can see the difference from the old photo to the new.  An overall photo doesn't do them justice, so I opted to include the closeups instead.

Before

High Boy Dresser

Night Stand

Credenza dresser

Find my handle!

This room has taken a gradual transformation, but it is nowhere near being done yet.  It's a giant room, so it really needs a few areas designated in it; like sleeping, sitting, etc.

The "new" old furniture seems to compliment the antique brass bed that has been in my family for 3 generations.  The hardware is a matching brass and has a definite patina to match the wear on the bed.  The only serious issue is a missing handle on one drawer.  I've been trying to find a matching handle online or seeing about a different solution, but I'm in no hurry.

Craft- To Do List

Busy day for me, but there are a few projects that have inspired me.  I am planning on creating my own versions when I get the next opportunity.

via Lackluster Co's Etsy shop

source pending

Flip Top Notebooks from WhiMSy Love

Antique Stores on Every Corner

My family and I took the opportunity last Saturday to go to a few Antique shops in the nearby town of Chesterton, IN.  We stopped at 3 of them with a toddler in tow and had to skip quite a few.  My son REALLY liked all of the antique toy trucks and I had to trick him into thinking the truck I pulled out of my purse was off of one of the shelves.  He seemed content to leave the shops toys behind, when he realized I was going to let him keep the toy from my purse.

All of these shops were full, to the max., of precious collectibles/ junk, but I did see a few things that sparked my interest.  One shop had a vintage Lanvin dress from the 70's for only $14 and I was tempted as it was in my size, but it was 100% polyester and I couldn't bring myself to buy polyester.  If only I were 15 years younger and didn't care about fabrics breathing.  Another shop had a gorgeous kidney shaped vanity desk that has some wear to the wood veneer surface.  We already own 3 desks, so I knew to not even talk to my husband about it.  Finally, I had my eye on this painting.

It's a landscape oil painting that is signed S. Rodgers and the frame has a label from Oklahoma.  That's all I know about it, but I just loved the colors and scene so I decided to pay the $60 for it.  It does not have a permanent place in our home yet, but I'll find the perfect place for it eventually.

Prints Can Be Creepy

I ran across this bunny print before chirstmas and immediately added it to my wish list.  It's slight creepiness really spoke to me for some reason. 

Crazy Bunny Rabbit by Ashley White Jacobson

On Christmas Day I opened up the bunny print and saw that my husband purchased this bird print for me as well.  Ashley signed each of the prints on the back and included a nice little note.

It's taken me a couple of months, but I have finally purchased matching frames and hung these prints in our bedroom.

The best thing about many of Ashley's small prints is that they are under $10.  You can purchased them on Etsy at Ashley Spirals Art.

My Swap Entry

I admit that I tend to get a little obsessed with creative contests, so as soon as I saw the Blu Dot Swap Meet my gears started turning.

I used AutoCAD to build a 3D model of ...a model and imported it into Google Sketchup to render.  You can see my description below as to what, the heck, it is.  Let's think of it as "art" for art's sake.

My description is this:

Swap me a table for a world designed just for you.  Now you can stare at a hand-crafted landscape model designed with Blu Dot in mind; complete with wood base, plexi top, wood balls (who doesn't like wood balls?), and cork landscaping. 

Could be a great home to a couple of tarantulas! 

(Designer takes no responsibility for escaped tarantulas.)

Swap Meet

Blu Dot, a furniture maker, is offering their goods for swap.  Instead of paying for what you like, you offer an item or service and see if they accept your bid.  Detail are here.  You can see a few accepted bids include a motorcycle made out of popsicles sticks and 30 lbs. of Texas BBQ.

via Blu Dot

Blu dot has lovely modern furniture and I'm already drooling over these pieces...

(strut console table,  modu-licious #3, sprout dining table)