Holy Cr...ewel

O-kay. 

I've been a little bad.

So I might have mentioned before that the vintage crewel bug has bit me.

It started with a small 70's kit I bought, of a little bunny.

I was going to sell it, but then I though...why not give it a try?

And I LOVED it.

Of course, when I saw the amazing kit sold by Betty Crafter, I had to have it.

I had spied the vintage crewels it was modeled after--

the infamous "God Bless our Pad" and "Try a Little Kindness"--

and since it seems unlikely I'll find one of those,

the modern just-as-cute version made me happy :)

The next one to really catch my eye was this pink mouse.

I mean...adorable, right?

My happiest ebay win, though, was this one:

Now, that's a completed version...I bought a kit.
And it's similar, not exactly the same.

But isn't it GORGEOUS?!

I would really love to have that one on the upper left

of the birds, but I couldn't find it.

I've recently also bought this one...

...and this one...

(a frog! mushrooms!)

...ummm, and this one.

(So that is either a tiny owl, or a giant ladybug.

I'm leaning toward a tiny owl.)

Well!

It's hard to say when you'll run across the same exact kit again,

you know? And they're pretty inexpensive!

Mostly.

I'm going to be pretty busy for awhile...

Thrifty Finds: @starsappearing

Hello :)

This week's thrifty pictures are courtesy of 

my Instagram feed, @starsappearing.

I found, to my surprise, that people were using

Instagram as a space (so to speak) to sell their vintage.

So I thought, why don't I give it a try?

Not much to lose.

I've sold a few things now,

and it's really fun finding people who also love vintage

to share vintage eye candy with :)

So, these photos are from my shop Instagram feed:

 This adorable vintage dress was my first sale,

and I'm glad because I loved it sooo much!
I knew it'd be too small for my daughter, but

the material was so pretty. I couldn't leave it behind!

I also love this oversized Anne of Green Gables book.

It's illustrated inside with both color and black-and-white pictures...

I always loved this story, so maybe I'll end up keeping it.

The cover is just so cute.

More books--very 70's, too.

 

Something about this doll won me over.

I think it was those cheeks.

This cute little mug made me think of my son Liam,

who is 3 himself right now :)

A kitschy planter.

I loved the bright colors of these vintage towels.

Equally bright is this flat sheet.

It looks faded because of the Instagram filter I used,

but it is so pretty in person.

This also sold.

I'm on a kick with all these bright colors I guess!

This chalk ware plate is so 70's...

sold.

This set of cups and saucers is one of those things that 

I wouldn't mind never selling...I was really drawn to the pattern.

Maybe I'll keep these too...

These books are tiny and very sweet.

Made in 1969, and filled with the cutest illustrations and little poems.

I have other items on my feed but these are the newest!

I went thrifting today, and bought a few fun things...

but it's really, really rainy here right now, and super windy!

I guess that stuff will have to wait until these storms pass!

Linking up here:

Sir Thrift-a-Lot

Vintage Book Finds

This week was definitely all about books.

I guess it helped that there was a big book sale in town :)

It was the annual library book sale, and they always have such great ones.

I wish I could've gone the second day, when it was fill-a-bag for $4.

There were scads of vintage ones that would've been great, especially children's titles.

Here is some of what I bought.

First, let me preface things by saying that I've always found books to be magical.

From a very young age, I took to them like a duck does to water ;)

So, maybe this will be a little boring for some--but from the words, to the art,

to just the feel of a vintage book, they are something I love and am inspired by.

I like vintage cookbooks, but what I really love are vintage baking books.

I feel like while I may not ever make a recipe from a vintage cookbook,

it's a little different with desserts.

I love the colors and "happiness" radiating from this Betty Crocker cookbook.

This book is called A Calendar of Dinners.

Subtitled "Including the Story of Crisco."

I don't know why I found that funny!

"The Story of Crisco? No Way!"

You can see how all the "lard" was crossed out in the recipes

on the cover to be replaced with Crisco.

The inside is pretty charming!

That Crisco, so darn charming.

(btw--who still thinks of "The Help" when they hear the word Crisco?)

 This 60's book caught my eye because it's about the Burma Shave signs,

but the dust jacket is pretty cute too.

I'm really loving vintage books about flowers from the 30's and 40's.

They have the most beautiful illustrations, and there's something just lovely about certain ones.

Poppies, my home-state flower :)

They look a little dark because of the filter I used on the photos--

in person they're much prettier!

Now for a few children's books:

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.

A 1940's book of rhymes.

Very sweet and colorful illustrations inside...

...some being a little creepy, though.

Sadly, the cover illustration on this book was torn off...

But look how beautiful they are inside.

This one is called "So There,"

and is filled with sweet poems.

This bee illustration is one of my favorites.

Imagine

a tummy

chock-full

of honey!

Now do you see

why it seems to me

that being a bee is

being the best thing

there is to be?

Lastly is this book illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa,

whose drawings are so adorable.

Two quick non-book finds:

This cute tin, which now hold some vintage toys in my kiddos room--

...and this little embroidery kit.

I've never embroidered before!

But I find myself really loving it.

I can see why people fall in love with vintage craft kits!

Are books always on your radar?

Do you collect any certain kind of vintage books?

Linking up here:

A Living Space