Thrifty Miss Priss

A few swaps....

I recently participated in a cross-continent post card swap. ihanna is a blog that I love to visit to get journal inspiration.  I made my ten cards.  Then i got my list of addresses and found out there were two guys on my list!  I didn't think they would appreciate the girly Valentines so I whipped up a post card for each of them.

I hand colored each one and sewed around the edges.  I got the original Vintage Valentine "story" from Beth last year in a wonderful package she sent to me.

I should have been more original and not made each one the same....but I tend to over think these things and didn't want to run out of ideas by the time I reached postcard number 10.

(front)

(back)

(front)

(back)

(back)

and I've already received a few in the mail!  One from Hanna herself all the way from Sweden!  

(front)

(back)

and these

notice the tiny pink stitches in the upper right corner?  When I turned it over it said this?

how cute and clever!

and this beautiful work of art:

all of this paper is hand pieced.  The trees look and feel as if they have real bark.

I have a few more that must have gotten lost in my camera.  I'll take more pictures as I receive more postcards and share them another time.

Another fun swap I just wrapped up was an ephemera swap with Melissa at The Garden of Pink Shadows

We were to fill 5 bags with Spring inspired ephemera and send them off to Melissa.  We will receive 5 bags back in return.  I need more ephemera like a hole in the head but it's always fun to work with new stuff!

Here's my stash before it went into the mail today.  It's jammed with vintage papers, wallpaper, flash cards, old sheet music....vintage fabrics with roses and posies and LOTS more!

  I still had JUST enough of my Valentine postcards with all my info on them so I sent them along too, instead of a moo card or business card.

I can't wait to see the goodies I get in return!  Swaps are SO fun!

Enjoy your week!

     

We got some snow here last weekend.....just enough to make everything beautiful and quiet....

 Just look at her.....both back feet off the ground!  You'd never know Heidi is 13 years old (91 in dog years!)  She's as frisky today as she was as a pup.  I know our time left is limited but if she can stay active and healthy like this until her time comes I will be grateful!

This is what Sunday afternoon was all about.....laying around enjoying the sights of snow out the window and relaxing.  Does this look comfortable to you?  Who needs a snuggi when you've got this? 

We recently got a new computer....an apple...and it's a whole new way of doing things.....so just when I had mastered downloading photos and editing them...I have to learn a whole new way of doing it.  This computer is supposed to be the cream of the crop but I just sit here and cuss at the monitor when it won't do what I want.

I finished my Christmas shopping!  This is the earliest I've ever finished!  I'm even catching up on some projects I left incomplete when I left Silver Bella.  Pam Garrisons Holly Days class was supposed to be an advent type wreath and I started it in class.  I couldn't get my holly leaves to look right so I gave up.  I recently found several white poinsettia silk bushes at the thrift store.  I bought them not knowing what on earth I'd do with them besides put a few around the tree.  I dumped them in my craft room and then I had the light bulb moment.

since I was not too good at cutting out the holly leaves in class, why not use the white silky-velvetish leaves from the poinsettia?  This way I can leave it out all year too...it's not really a "Christmas" wreath.

  

 I started this project around 10:00 on a work night.  I just kept adding more and more stuff to it....and was determined not to leave it unfinished.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out and nothing new was purchased for it....all stuff I had already.  I have enough leaves left over to do two more wreaths so I might make another one for my etsy shop..which is EMPTY now!  YAY!  My little wallpaper packs all sold out!

OH!  The fat books are finished and in the hands of their owners!  We had 12 participants and one dropped out at the end, so we all made 12 pages.  Which means I have an extra book.  Haven't decided what to do with it yet, but may auction it on ebay with the proceeds to go to my animal shelter for Christmas.

 

 

 

The theme was "Winter Whites".  I was happy with all the pages and the way they all looked together in the book.  I will definitely host one of these projects again someday....with trial and error I now know what is involved in doing this!

I hope you all get the chance to slow down and enjoy the season and soak up all the beauty of it!

A Beautiful Life Journal

I recently participated in an on line journal class hosted by Heather.  Everything she does she pours her heart into...and this was no exception!

The theme was "A beautiful life".  Heather provided a lot of beautiful images and wallpapers for us to download to use in the journals.  I found a few old song books that were small enough for this project.  I used sheet music from these books throughout my project.

 
I won't explain every little detail...but I wanted to use really special things that I've been saving.  The tatting used here was done by my Grandmother who was born in 1895.  A relative sent me her sewing box last year and there are all sorts of treasures in there.

I used a lot of Heathers images that she provided, but also used some of my own.  I ventured off course a little and made a "title page" in my book too.

 
The last page I created a little pocket out of Heathers image...and inserted a little tag.....I wrote on it what a "Beautiful Life" means to me.

I was happy to find the music "Gay Robin Redbreast" in the music book.  Anytime I see anything with the name Robin or bird related I like to use it.  I was born with a red birthmark right above my heart....and I think it's kind of funny that my mom named me Robin.....but then again...she named my brother Brett but the moment she brought him home she thought he looked like a "pete" and we never called him Brett again!  She used to call us Pete and Re-pete.

But back to the journal!  Heather is leaving the workshop open until the end of October I think.  You can work at your own pace.  Anyone can do this.  You can spend as little or as much time as you want on it.  I love my little book I made and will add it to my little growing collection.   Speaking of book collections.....the fat book sign ups were finalized last weekend.  The participants are:  Mary, Cari B., Joyce, Julie Ann, Lynnae, Karen, Kelly, Jill, Judith, Leslie and Carrie.  If you do not see your name listed and you signed up please let me know!  Also if you signed up but did not get an email from me let me know. 

This morning I stepped outside to get some decent daylight pictures of my journal.  I glanced up and saw this.  

 
 
I watch that little lonely sad face every morning as I back out of the driveway to go to work.  When I pull in at night she is there peeking out waiting.  She knows the time line and won't lay there all day...but around 5pm she gets back up on the couch and waits for me.  I can remember watching out the window down the street every night at 5pm waiting for my moms baby  blue mustang to come zipping down the street into the driveway......

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

   

Fat Book thoughts.......

Thank you so much everyone for all the wedding Love!  The day was perfect and will always be a special memory for our family! 

Now that it's behind me.....I've been wanting to take on a collaborative project for a long time. I've just been waiting for the right time to do it......

Last February I participated in a fat book swap hosted by Dede.  We made lots of pages based on the valentine theme and sent them all to Dede.  She separated them, divided them up and put them together into fat books and mailed them all back. If you go to Dede's archives and look in January 09 you can see all the beautiful pages there.

She altered a hardback book by removing the pages and inserted all the fat book pages inside.

I just drooled over this beautiful artwork for months after wards.  It sits on a shelf in my art room where I can see it, open it, feel it on a regular basis. It's nice to have the work of so many others in your own book.  I've wanted to participate in another one immediately after I received this.

I thought I'd host my own fat book swap.  I've thought a lot about the theme and I've come up with "Winter Whites". Wouldn't a book stuffed full of ivory, cream, and white pages be beautiful?    Each participant would make a designated number of pages..(depending on how many people joined) mail them to me by the deadline and I will assemble and mail the fat book back to you.

Here are some pages from the Valentine book

This was the first time I'd ever participated in something like this.  I was a little nervous but like Dede said....everyone has to start somewhere! 

Do you like to collage?  Sew? Paint? Rubber stamp?  If you answered yes to any of these questions maybe you'd like to join me?  You might think you don't have enough   images of your own to use for a project like this....well flickr has thousands of copyright free photos that you can use. I will provide you with lots of links to websites that offer free images. Do you know Karen the Graphics Fairy?  She has beautiful images that she shares on a daily basis practically.  Mary is another source of wonderful images....some free, some very reasonably priced!

If you are interested in joining send me an email at thrifty underscore misspriss at yahoo dot com   I will post all the details.........who, what, when etc.  You may be signing up to make as few as 5 pages or as many as 16!  The more we have participating the FATTER your book will be!  I'm thinking the deadline will be the first week in November.  That will give me time to get them all separated and assembled and back out to you by the end of the month...in time for you to enjoy all "winter" long!

Enjoy your week!

I was smart and took today off to unwind from my vacation....or in all reality to prepare my brain for going back to work.  I'm geared up and as ready as I'm going to be........

I worked all day in my art room...it's become the dumping ground for every yard sale/thrift store purchase.  I was making great progress and then I'd find something interesting.  I'd stop and play around with this and that, then get back to organizing.  Then I had to stop and take pictures of my thrifty finds........then I'd get back to cleaning........then I felt it necessary to cover a cigar box with pretty fabric......then I got back to cleaning.  I need to see a dr. soon for ADD i'm sure.

Here's some journal pages I did on vacation

  

Here are a few I did in my "Journal of Interest" book, which I will now refer to as my "pretty book"!  I'm using all my best papers and trims for this book.

 

I found this picture when we went to Lucketts in June.  I thought this little girl looked like she was up to something, in fact...she reminded me so much of my oldest daughter when she was a baby.  She was a little schemer and once when she wore me down from begging and whining for something..she walked away and told my husbands mother "Works like a charm every time!" so I thought this was the perfect caption for this photo!  The date at the top is my daughter's birth date.  I forgot to share this with her so I'll have to show her!  It's been a big family joke ever since then.....wear mom down and it works like a charm every time!

So after I was cleaning and throwing away today...I came across this picture of my mother in law as a baby.

Do you SEE the resemblance????  The little girl in the top photo looks JUST like my mother in law

so I had to dig out my favorite picture of my mom and do a two page spread dedicated to the both of them!

  The background journal paper is from Lori.  In fact, the little watch that belonged to my mother is glued on to a little decoration Lori used on one of the bags she sent me in our swap.  I like to recycle!

The lace is tatting that my grandmother did years ago and never used it for a project.

 

I don't like having to use the flash but I was in the mood to take the pictures so I couldn't wait for daylight.

 

while I was cleaning I came across this box of flash cards I got about TWO years ago....I know....the things we find when we clean!

I've been having fun with these all afternoon.

 see what I mean?  I copied the pictures of the mamas and now they're in my sight every time I sit down to play.

That little "k" on the bird picture came from Karen's shop at Lucketts (Karen is also the graphics fairy

Later this week I hope to show you all the great things I found on vacation!

Here's a sneak peek:

Have a great week!

More gifts for "I thought of you today" swap!

Lori received her package for the "I thought of you swap" so I wanted to share with you what I sent to her.

A sweet little vintage christening gown and slip!  I washed it and hung it out in the Virginia sunshine...then I pressed it with rose scented linen water......that stuff smells amazing!

I coulnd't find a child's coat hanger so I cut down a regular size one...twisted and wrestled with it...then I wrapped the whole thing with a LONG piece of fabric scrap from my garland stash.

That sweet pink box was found at a thrift store!  I actually found two....this one had a price sticker damage on the top right so  I foofed it up with some OLD fabric scraps (from my garlands) and some vintage pink velvet ribbons and some little ribbon roses.  The BIG pink rose at the top is silk....not old millinery......I just don't have the luck that others do in finding these!

Lori collects porcelain trinket boxes so I found two....and those sweet rings in the middle are from forever 21......strangely enough......Jessica from Such Pretty things had posted some pictures of great jewelry from forever 21 and I went to comment on how pretty it was and LORI had just commented there on the rings!  I was heading to the mall for dinner that night so I made it a special point to accompany my daughter to forever 21 (her regular hang out) to search the jewelry.  That store is amazing....you have to go in there...and don't kid yourself that it's teenager clothes.....they have so many cute tops in there....many that look timeless and vintage.

 

The little gown fits perfectly in that box....and Lori can use the box for storage later....can never have enough of that!

I just love quotes...I hang them on the fridge all the time hoping certain members of this family will take the time to stop, read and reflect.  Mostly the only comments that are made are "THAT is so lame!" but I thought Lori might like to read the ones I've gathered that I think have to do with being creative.  I gathered them together and made this little book...with her initials embroidered on the front

I also found an amazing deal on three Tracy Porter books, all different.  I could pour over these for hours....so many ideas and inspiration here.  Even though it's a few years old now....the photos are timeless......

And lastly,
When I opened Loris beautiful packages I gasped at the site of the Rosary she included.  Just that day I'd been out finding treasure for her and came upon several vintage rosaries.  They were so beautiful....I untangled  them......and spread them all out....and just kept looking over them for more than 30 minutes.  I thought that was such a personal thing to give someone.  I've never even owned one, I'm not catholic.  I don't go to church.  I do consider myself religious in my own way.  I finally decided that I would go ahead and purchase one for Lori and one for myself.  I was secretly hoping It wasn't sac religious to wear a rosary.  They were so beautiful that I couldn't see not wearing it.  I came home and opened my box from Lori...and there was a rosary.  I could not believe it.  My family stood there with their jaws hanging down as I quickly pulled out the rosary I'd just bought for Lori.  They are almost identical.

I jumped on google to find out if it was ok to actually wear a rosary.  From what I could see there's no problem  with it.  Most sites said "don't wear it to show off the jewelry...wear it to show your faith"...either way....that's why I want to wear it! 

So Lori, whether it was "divine intervention" telling me to buy that rosary for you.....or serendipity.....I just want to thank you again for all the goodness you sent my way!  Before long Lori and I will show up at the same events dressed alike......kindred spirits we are!

"I thought of you today......."

A few weeks ago I signed up on Stephanie's blog to be in a one on one swap with another person.  Theme was "I thought of you today".  You know how when you're out searching for treasures you come across something and it reminds you of another blog friend?  Maybe something they collect or create?  Well that was the purpose...to find things you know your partner will love and enjoy.  Stephanie paired me with Lori, who I had the pleasure of meeting and shopping with last month!  So Lori and I exchanged emails about what our favorite colors were etc.....  THE NEXT DAY Lori emails me telling me her gifts are bought, wrapped and on their way!  HOLY MOSES!  I'm the one the week of Christmas STARTING my shopping....so I started sweating bullets a little bit. 

Yesterday I went out at the crack of dawn and started my treasure hunting...and I'm happy to report that Lori's box will be on it's way in a few days......I found the perfect little things that indeed made me think of her!

Here's some pictures I took of Lori's box as I unwrapped.....The lighting is not great because it was evening....you can also see some pictures on her blog too!

This is the first thing I saw.........the return address label!  HOW CUTE IS THAT?

a roll of beautiful papers...including FLOCKED wallpaper!  OH MY GOSH BEAUTIFUL!  and that ledger paper is just wonderful.....don't know if I'll be able to cut that!
Beautiful vintage postcards and cabinet cards wrapped in antique doily secured with a clip earring!
Laces and trims wrapped with a sweet hankie......

I grabbed some images from Lori's blog...hers were better than mine!  Look at that clothespin with the little "R" initial wrapped around antique lace....so sweet!

 

flocked wallpaper!  and that antique flower frog?  Beautiful!  I've got the post cards displayed now that Lori sent me!

this sweet little Limoges plate...matches perfectly!

beautiful vintage bling!

 

This beautiful Vintage Rosary......resting on the glass cloche of Loris little Faerie she made me.

 

I told Lori I was a dog freak and look what she found!  The German Shepherd in the front looks just like my Heidi GIrl

see?

Lori I can't thank you enough for all the sweetness you sent my way! I really enjoyed participating in the swap and it was even more fun doing it with someone I know!

Have a terrific week!  I'll post pictures of what I got for Lori after she receives them in the mail!

Puppy Love and Friday the 13th......

Are you superstitious?  I am somewhat.  Of course I don't think that stepping on a crack will break my mama's back...but you just never know!  And watching a loved one drive out of sight....a big no no here in my house!  Walking with someone you love?  Don't let a pole split you up! These are all my husbands superstitions that over time I've adopted.  Umbrellas open in the house...no way!  Faking sick at work because your "kids are sick" nope.  Bad Karma!  I love Friday the 13th!  I was born on Friday the 13th!  It's never brought me bad luck!

I received my "Puppy Love" tag book and it's full of Valentine beauty!  Karla hosted this and it was quite an overwhelming task putting them together!  We had to create six tags and send them to her...she swapped them around and made covers for all the tag books...then sent them back out.

 

This is the cover Karla made.  It's a sweet little pup and kitten....but the front of the tag has been carved out to create a little niche...so beautiful! And the ribbons she added with the little heart...

  Andrea-Vintage Bella Studio

 Tiffany from Shabby Scraps 

  Sarah from My So Called Junky Life

 Carrie (no blog) 

  Sissy (no blog)

  Caitlin from Chaotic Creation

 

It's so fun to be a part of these swaps.  I was reluctant the first time I signed up for one last year...but It's wonderful to see everyones version of the same theme!

Stop back by tomorrow...for the presentation of the huge Vintage Valentine Fat Book I received in the mail today.....after seeing all this creativity over the next few days I hope you'll jump in at the next chance and give it a try!  It's a true labor of love!

Waiting for Cupid

Still stitiching away finishing up my "fat book" pages for Dede's Vintage Valentine Fat Book Swap.  This has really pushed me not to procrastinate and think out of the box.

   

  This is a little tag that slips into the side of the "Certificate of Marriage"

 This was a Ralph Lauren Children's sweater from the thrift store!  (I see a piece of paper floating on it...thats not supposed to be there!) I embroidered the word "Love" onto it and stitched it will all kinds of crazy threads.

  

    

  This pink fabric on the heart was a nightgown that I bought at the thrift store!  After it was washed it had the softest sheen to it.  The lace on it was beautiful, I used it on the card below

I think they are all starting to look alike!  I'll share one more....maybe my favorite one...it's hard to choose,

   

There are a few more but I'll wait a while to share them.  Too much at once! 

In other news....Sue over at Vintage Rescue Squad came home one day to find the Brady Bunch's 1970's house plopped on her front porch.  Seems the word has gotten out that she's a collector and seller of Junk (treasure) and a friend of hers found it on the curb and took it to her house!  How's that for an extra set of eyes?  I gushed that I'd been looking for one to "renovate" and Sue sweetly told me I could HAVE it! 

  Talk about VINTAGE!  Don't worry, I'll bling it up!  I have no desire to furnish it, just do a complete renovation.  I have absolutely no room for this...and I have NO IDEA what I'll do with it, but those silly little details don't matter now.  Sue is holding onto it until we can meet up.  She has a booth nearby and I hope to get in there SOON and scoop up some of the fabulous things she has!  Thanks so much Sue!  From one Junkin' Sister to the next!

Monday is my moms birthday.  It's very hard to buy things for her since she really doesn't have alot of interests anymore.  Clothes mean nothing to her, she can't read or concentrate so books are out...same with movies......her mind can't focus on the details.  I decided I'm going to do something with this old picture of her and her dad, taken when she was about 17

  My grandparents were farmers in North Dakota.  My mom would be up before dawn milking cows and raking out barn stalls. Every.Day. 12 feet of snow. uphill. Out in the fields picking crops....they farmed just to sustain their family.  They did not sell off cattle or crops.  My Grandparents raised SIX kids in these conditions.  My mom and her siblings truly were the Greatest Generation.

While digging for the picture of my mom (and I DO MEAN DIGGING) I found this picture of me and my brother at Easter.  Look how beaten down our yard was.  My poor mom tried in vain to get grass to grow and to have pretty flowers....but with FIVE kids and TWO dogs and numerous cats I guess she gave up!

  I must have begged my mom to use her purse.....and this is our sweet "golden" hobo...but she's more muttly looking to me now.  It's quite strange how she bears an very uncanny similarity to this sweet one

 

I guess thats why when I saw Sarah wimpering in Petsmart at the adoption fair in January 2004 I fell in love with her immediately and came home with more than a bag of dogfood that day!

Hope you have a wonderful WARM cozy weekend!

Head Start on Valentines Day

 

I've been so inspired lately by all the embroidery I've been noticing everywhere. I've never played with embroidery before, unless you count the "stitchery" I learned while in grade school art class.  I had some linen left over from another project....my grandmothers metal embroider hoops and some scrap floss.  I sat down last night and stitched away.  Once I started.....I wanted to keep going.  It's so calming and soothing.

  I kind of learned as I went along.  I learned to use less floss...and make better stitches.  I had so many thoughts and ideas streaming through my brain.  I'm also working on my Vintage Valentine Fat book pages that Dede is hosting. You must stop by and visit Dede.  Her blog is pure inspiration.  She seems like one of the most real people out there.    This is my first time participating in something like this.  I'm excited but a little ADHD about it.  My basement looks like a fabric store and craft store exploded.  This is a little sneak look at some of my pages

 

 

  I tried to share my enthusiasm over these finished pages with my husband.  He thinks the stitching is supposed to be straight and pretty.  He doesn't get that  "it isn't supposed to be straight and even and no frayed edges.  He thought it looked a bit "Frankenstein-ish".  Thanks!

I have to create 16 pages.  They can all be the same or different as they will all be sent to Dede and she will assemble everyones pages, and redistribute them back to all the participants.  I hope I don't run out of creativity and can make each one individual.  On top of ALL THAT I also signed up to participate in Karla's "Puppy Love Tag Swap".  In honor of Twinkles her little Yorkie who just gave birth to 6 of the sweetest little girl puppies...Karla is hosting the swap for Valentines day. She is also having a contest to name the pups, a giveaway for her 2 year blogiversary AND her regular monthly give away.  Rush over there and check it out! 

I've been working on this stupid post all evening.  I've lost it at least three times.  Typepad kept promising my post was saved every minute or so, but then I'd get a flashing cursor and it would freeze.  Same problem I was having a few months ago.  So now I'm just going to cut it short.....my brain is zapped and I do not have the energy to retype everything for a fourth time.

Hope you have a fun and creative weekend!

PS:  Typepad....Please...Please...PLEASE!  just leave the updates and shortcuts alone!  We liked it how it was!

thank you.