· Vintage Travel Party! ·

As promised- here are the "Vintage Travel" party pictures. :-)

It all started with the idea to throw a surprise/just-for-fun party for a friend.  That sounded like something right up my alley, so I quickly volunteered to help out with the planning and hosting.  During the planning, a mutual love for Pinterest was discovered, which is always a good discovery to make. ;-)

Since the other party planner was flying in from out-of-state, I was in charge of providing the decor.  After looking around the house for decor ideas, I remembered my ever-increasing stash of vintage suitcases- Perfect!  A quick search for decorating ideas, and I was totally inspired and ready! :-)

Every party needs bunting, and this party necessitated a map bunting. ;-)  I used an out-dated road map of Europe for the bunting which ended up being the perfect visual mix of land and sea.  Well, and it was pretty perfect to have EUROPE bunting!  The map provided enough paper for 2 buntings and tons of mini bunting, so now I have a great stash for other projects!

All of the decor (except the tissue paper pom poms) was either already owned or borrowed.  It was a fun experiment to see how many things we had that fit into the theme!

In keeping with the travel theme, the food was a variety of ethnic finger foods.

Each dish was labeled and had a mini flag from its country.  I was able to use this printable for most of the flags, and then I filled in with these.  They ended up being different sizes, but they looked fine once they were glued onto toothpicks. ;-)

Aaaannnnd, another picture of the Norwegian Smoked Salmon Canapes.  They just turned out so cute! ;-)

They were simple, too!  Sliced cucumbers, a cream cheese/dill spread, then smoked salmon strips arranged in a swirl, and finally- topped with a sprig of dill.

Really, the secret to cute food is just to have a nice garnish. ;-)

I took these pictures before all the food was out, so I don't have pictorial evidence of all the culinary masterpieces!  Our menu consisted of English Tea Sandwiches, Mexican Guacamole, Jamaican Coconut Shrimp, Japanese Sushi, Norwegian Smoked Salmon Canapes, Italian Caprese Skewers, Greek Hummus, with French Macarons and American Ice Cream for dessert. :-) 

The main food table- decorated with map bunting, vintage train cases, a cute map-printed tin that was my great-grandma's, atlases, and globes with a few of my vintage suitcases beneath.  Oh, and tissue paper pom poms hanging from the ceiling. :-)

I had a request for some pom pom tips, and I'm hoping to do a post about it in the next few weeks, once life calms down a bit.

(ha!) OK, how about "In the next few weeks, while life continues on in the now-normal pace." ;-)

The drinks and dessert station, complete with orange, red, and blue suitcases underneath. :-)  *sigh* I really love vintage luggage.

The 2 things I absolutely wanted for this party were tissue pom poms and stripey straws. :-)  These cute jars were leftovers from a friend's wedding and came complete with the straws!  Hooray!

I think layering cake plates is my new favorite way of displaying food. :-)

Two things learned from this party:
1- Parties like this are fun, and I need to do these more often!
2- I need to start a globe collection. ;-)

· Sewing Room Decor ·

I've been a bit hesitant to post these pictures because our sewing room still feels like a work in progress.  Quite honestly, I have grand schemes of re-painting, putting down new flooring, re-doing the trim, maybe even adding built-ins??  Posting about the room seemed anti-climactic when I'm in the "re-do it all!!!" mode, but after thinking about it- all the things pictured are the things I love and want to keep in the room anyway. ;-)  So here you go- a glimpse into the details of our sewing room. 

A vintage train case holds our jewelry supplies.  The "Complete Course in Dressmaking in Twelve Lessons" from 1922 is a delightful read, but also doubles as charming decor. ;-)

At the time of this photo, this shelf housed our button collection.  It has now grown to twice this size, so I have yet to discover a suitable alternative!  The jars are all old food jars, with the lids covered in paper that would correspond to the buttons inside. :-)

I think this print featuring Regency fashion plates is the most remarked-upon feature in the room!  The ridiculous court gowns always provoke comment. ;-)

This cute little shelf houses our collection of snaps, hooks and eyes, and belt buckles.  The top shelf was a great place to feature the vintage buckle/button sets I have. :-)  I just LOVE vintage packaging, so this is a great way to get enjoyment out of these before I use them!  Although to be honest, I love them so much that I have a hard time even thinking about using them....

This shelf has since become much more "cluttered", but in the best way possible. ;-)  It's just too tempting to keep putting cute vintage ephemera up there!!

Gretel got me these c. 1912 magazine pages for my birthday one year, and they hang above my sewing machine so I can admire them all day. :-)

What do practical baskets need?  Why, a mini bunting, of course! ;-)  Our ironing board remodel is still one of my favorite additions to the room!

I covered some boxes with paper several years ago, and they've become quite useful for holding odds-and-ends.  The photo squares are cute, but also make re-labeling the boxes a breeze!  Speaking of which.... I think it's high time to move the last of the paper crafting out of the sewing room. ;-)

Our library was getting rid of their old cardboard magazine files, and at the perfect time!  I was deep in my re-covering boxes phase, so these were suitably refurbished as well.  They also proved to be the ideal use for the Early 1920s Fashion Plate Paper We Couldn't Resist. ;-)  I keep my old magazines, small pamphlets, and assortment of notes/patterns in them.

Maybe in a year or two I will finally have decided how I want to remodel the room, and I can share pictures of the whole thing then. ;-)

· Photos by Kathryn! ·

· While I was away..... ·

Well, life has been quite the whirlwind!!  I am attempting (too often unsuccessfully! ;-P) to find out what my new "normal" is and settle in.  The local sewing business has picked up considerably and is keeping me quite busy!  On the down-side, I've had a bit less time to devote to my Etsy shop than I originally planned.  But, that's how life goes, right? ;-)

This week continues in the "busy" mode, and the next 2 look to be just as full, as a good friend is getting married and I will be in the wedding party!  I get to work on her wedding gown, and let me tell you- I can't wait to finally show you all pictures! :-D  I'm a big fan of the dress. ;-)

Posting might be a bit sporadic leading up to that, so for now I'll just leave you with a short re-cap of the things I deemed "photo worthy" in my spring sabbatical. ;-)

Hosting a fun "Vintage Travel" themed party!  See??  I really do need all that vintage luggage. ;-)

(post with more pics coming later!)

A girls trip to Lake Michigan where I saw my very first giant sand dunes.  Wow.  Those are crazy!  While we were there.....

.... we were tourists in Holland, MI.  So of course we visited the delft and wooden shoe factories.  As well as parking along the road to take photos of the only patch of tulips blooming.  All 7 of them. ;-) 

We had better tulip and daffodil luck at the flower farm!

And we took trips down to the beach each night to take photos of the sunsets. :-)  It was a beautiful change from the cornfields around here, but I don't think I'm quite a beach addict yet. ;-)

This trip was also my very first time taking my camera out in public.  Big step for me!!  I still haven't made much progress in the Photography Skills department, but now that the weather's warmed up, I'll have more excuses to take photos. ;-)

Finally, I received my first custom Etsy order!  I was so excited that I had to take a picture before I even got around to the buttons. ;-)

It's good to be back blogging- I've missed you all! :-)

· Spring Sabbatical ·

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you all know that I'm taking a break from blogging for the next several weeks to devote more time to family, friends, and projects! :-)  I look forward to blogging more later this spring!

· Friends and Relations ·

One thing that has (shamefully!) yet to make an appearance on my blog is one of my other collections- vintage fur. :-)

About a year and a half ago, I realized that my wardrobe was sadly lacking in the soft, fluffy, and oh-so-quintessentially-vintage department and determined to keep my eyes open while antiquing.  I must have chosen a good time to start, because my first day shopping resulted in this stole and collar, as well as one more collar!

While our area is too rural for frequent vintage clothing finds, it does boast frequent opportunities for very affordable furs! :-) (One of the reasons I love those old stores- when you do come across something amazing, it's usually very cheap!) Consequently, I have quite the collection going...  But really - fur collars add so much to an outfit, and they're so very versatile!  What started out as a simple idea of owning 1 or 2 pieces of fur has now become an obsession of giving every piece of fur I find a loving home. :-)  Over the past few months, I've had to reign myself in a bit.  So now only the very lowest of prices are an inducement for purchasing.  A sad day.

This stole is made from 4 pelts, and one of the "mouths" has a clip to attach it to any other part of the stole.

Just two of the many different ways this stole can be worn!  The version on the right was my "style of choice" for the '13-'14 year. ;-)

The cord-covered snaps attach to the stole with a plastic (bakelite?) chain.

This quirky fur hat seemed just the right touch for the ensemble. ;-)

Oh, and the title of this post comes from my name for this stole.  Shortly before I purchased this, one of my friends was gifted a single mink pelt.  She didn't know much what to do with it other than give it a name- so it was christened "Twinky".  Once I purchased my stole, it seemed only natural to refer to it jokingly as "Twinky's friends and relations".  The name stuck, however, and it is now commonly known by the title "Friends and Relations". :-)  My other furs are currently unnamed, and I intend on keeping it that way. ;-)

This is a super fun fur collar that I also got the first day!  I was intrigued by the unique shape and the potential for versatility! :-)  Each of the ends of the collar has either a hook or a loop, so you can mix and match which ones you want to fasten (or all 4 at once!).  On the left, I have it asymmetrically fastened, on the right, the lower two are fastened.

Asymmetrically was my favorite way to wear this collar in the '12-'13 year. ;-)

I've become quite sold on wearing fur!  It is sooo warm- these 3/4 length sleeved dresses are now officially warm enough to be "winter approved" with the addition of a fur stole or collar!  And it's sooo soft.....  I'll be sad to see April come, which is my self-imposed curfew on fur-wearing.  Come October, I'll be more than ready to get them all back out again!!

· Photography by Kathryn ·

· "New Look" Velvet Jacket ·

Here it is- my one and only original vintage garment! :-)

Mom and I decided to go visit an "An-Teek" mall in a tiny nearby town 2 1/2 years ago.  Given the choice of spelling, we had low expectations for the merchandise offered. ;-)  The mall is rather large and some of the booths do tend towards the sketchy-garage-sale-castoffs, but there were lots of gems just waiting to be discovered! :-)  It was such a fun mall after all, and we determined that we prefer our vintage shopping experiences to be "in the rough" and an adventure.  The thrill of the hunt adds such fun (and the lower prices are also a bonus! ;-)).

This velvet jacket was hidden amongst a rack of 1980s dresses, but what a wonderful surprise it was!!  It looks to be handmade, and I'm guessing it is from the early 1950s.  It came with a pencil skirt that seemed more 50s styled, but the jacket seems very "New Look" and edging toward the late 1940s.  The gathered peplum is lined with a stiff taffeta, the front and back are fitted with released tucks, the neckline is gathered into a collar in the back, and the kimono sleeves are finished off with cuffs.

Oh, and it has shoulder pads.  But since they are practically imperceptible (and period!), I made peace with them. ;-)

I was so pleased that this jacket fit, and that it was in such wonderful condition!  No mending/alterations needed. :-)

And these buttons are AMAZING! :-)

All in all- not a bad purchase for $10. ;-)

We've been back to the An-Teek mall several times since, and it has always resulted in many exciting finds!  Despite its somewhat undesirable appearance, it remains a guaranteed fun outing for the two of us. :-)

And yes... while everyone else is posting about the official start of spring this week, I post snowy photos. Besides the occasional warm days, we haven't had much evidence of a new season, so I felt justified in posting this anyway. :-)

· Pictures by Kathryn ·

· Navy 1950s Dress for Kathryn ·

As you may recall, Kathryn and I have a deal worked out about my blog- she does my website design and photography, not to mention the ambitious undertaking of Encourager and Motivator, and in turn, I make her vintage dresses.  It is the best sort of business arrangement, because we both feel like we're getting the better deal!  But really- my side of the bargain is the best.  And I hope no one ever makes her a more tempting offer. ;-)

This dress was the result of my visit last November.  It is made from navy blue moleskin, and I used Butterick 5707 (out of print now- I'm sad I didn't pick up my own copy!).

And yes, I have the prettiest friends.

With the prettiest hair.

I want to be Asian someday.

I was a bit wary about using moleskin fabric for a vintage dress, but it really works well, has a great drape and body, and looks very classy. :-)  This simple dress is finished off with a self-fabric belt.

The neckline has small pleats on the shoulders and the keyhole neckline has a fabric tie for interest.

Kathryn pulls off this sophisticated look so effortlessly.  I'm jealous. ;-)

I feel kind of funny not having a hugely long post about this dress, but I have been getting dreadfully verbose lately!  And in reality- it was just so simple to put together!  Kathryn was so easy to work with, and I'm looking forward to showing you more pictures of the next dresses I've made! (well, and am in the process of making.... ;-))