Vintage

As much as I appreciate looking at all the vintage items on Etsy, so far, I haven't listed anything vintage. There are many vintage styles that I find inspiration from, like coats and hats. And there are some vintage finds that are so cute and remind me of my childhood. I don't know much about vintage or antiques. I'm just not the type that has a house full of things and I don't flock to sales to rummage through and find that mint condition whatchamacallit. I did stumble upon this Christmas apron and was fascinated by the design and the colors that were used. I don't know much about vintage kitchen linens - or more specifically whether it's linen or cotton. It looks like a very sturdy kitchen towel material. Plus, it has jingle bells on the ties! I love it.

Recycling with Mom

My parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 16th! We're planning a huge celebration for the end of June. Mom and I have been buying decorations and making plans. When she asked me to bake a cake, I said I would, of course. I'm not very good at cake decorating, but somehow have become the cake baker for all the family birthdays and get-togethers. I can bake a good cake, but writing 'Happy Birthday Mom' with a few sprinkles is a far cry from recreating their wedding cake!! She has agreed to help me with the flowers and the final decorating, so I'm sure we'll be able to pull it off.

We couldn't find a picture of their cake, but she did bring over the original cake top that they used. She had fixed it up and added some fabric to the dress and it was used for her sister's wedding cake in 1971. We found a gold "50" and some new flowers. The base was pretty delicate and part of the back came off when we took the old veil off, but she covered it up with new tulle. Mom was thrilled with the way it turned out. It is beautiful. She is so excited now, too! I just hope I can get the cake to look as nice as the top. It's a great feeling to reuse something that has so much meaning. (And thanks Mom, for modeling for me. Sorry I cut off your head! This new shawl is the perfect color for her too.)

A Vintage Find

It has been yard sale season here in Ohio. Everywhere you go, someone is having a sale. I don't usually stop, but I decided to take my daughter to a few and look around. She found some great vintage clip-on earrings and pins today. I came home with a really pretty piece of retro canvas fabric and a huge cone of some sort of heavy-weight wool yarn. I hesitated buying the yarn, but decided it would make a great rug. Yes, it's that thick....and scratchy too.

So, I spent the day washing the fabric and cutting out a nice size library tote from it. Here's the final picture. I love the colors of orange, rust, brown, and green.