Thank you to everyone who stopped by to enter my Aforementioned Giveaway! I always learn so much from your comments -- for example, I was interested to hear some of you actually would like to win a bag of fabric scraps (careful what you wish for!), that many of you have vintage tablecloths you can't bring yourself to cut up (I try to work with 'cutters' as much as possible but sometimes the scissors have a mind of their own...) and that you're from all around the country and all around the world. Love that!

A special thank you to Meadowbrook Farm, Oodles and Oodles and Sweet Cottage Dreams for telling their vintage people about my giveaway.

Before revealing the winner of the 'Aforementioned Giveaway,' I'd like to mention one more thing, which is this:

"Aforementioned?" Really? I don't know which meal I missed the day I came up with that.

I'd also like to introduce (sort of*) a blog-shy but very important member of the doily factory. His responsibilities include randomly drawing a winning comment for aforementioned giveaways, providing as-needed comic relief during 'doily emergencies' and the extremely important computer and internet-related technical services that make all of this possible.

So here he is (again, only sort of*), Mr. Into Vintage. And he's more like Mr. Tolerates Vintage or Mr. Neither For Nor Against Vintage. Not quite fully Into Vintage yet. But he's coming along.

*Because putting his photo on this blog could cause a complete implosion on his part, I'll leave Mr. Almost Into Vintage's appearance to your imagination. Baby steps, people.

And now, on to our winner...

Congratulations to Kathleen Grace of Kathy's Cottage!

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I checked out her blog and in a funny coincidence, Kathy's Cottage is having a giveaway right now for this red gingham cottage pillow. You know what to do.

Meanwhile, here's what's been happening in the doily factory lately. Just trying out some new ideas for Spring. 

Hope you had a great weekend.

other people's kitchens

With a doily factory full of sewing to do, as-yet-unplanted flower pots outside and an overall lack of interest in the nearly life-size dust bunnies which are now shadowing me around the house, this seems like the ideal time to take a break and explore some more of Karen's home. You know, where things are tidy and neat and vintage.

The Kitchen

This is the photo that started it all. Karen sent it to show me where she was using some pillows I made for her, never suspecting I'd end up driving a virtual tour bus through her home. Everybody wave at Karen as we go by!

I love the vintage details in Karen's kitchen including these cookie jars and canisters and I can only imagine how much fun she had finding all the right pieces -- the hunt is half the fun, isn't it? The cherry canisters are my favorites although the Nestle hot chocolate tin is a close second. Did you notice the chicken wire in place of panels on the cabinet doors?

Here's Karen's vintage tablecloth stash, stored where she can enjoy them even when they're not in use. She uses hers and I use mine too. If you look closely, you can see all of the switchplates have been covered with vintage wallpaper.

The Laundry

Even Karen's laundry room has been thoughtfully filled with vintage finds, from vintage canisters stacked high on the cabinet tops to the tiny vintage porcelain plate hanging over the framed cover of a vintage Good Housekeeping magazine.

More vintage prints and magazine covers and one of Karen's 27(!!) embroidered vintage samplers, all of which are on display throughout her house.

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The Hoosier Nook

And now, please take a deep breath because we are headed to see The-Hoosier-That-Was-That-Color-When-She-Bought-It. I know! Can you believe it? Lucky Karen!

This little nook was originally destined to become a computer work area until that fateful day when Karen came across this Hoosier cabinet which just happened to fit into the space perfectly ... size-wise and style-wise.

Proving inspiration is everywhere, Karen got the idea for this hankie jar from an eBay seller who told the story of her grandmother who kept a jar of hankies by her front door so visitors could choose one as a gift when they left. Karen's hankies are from her Granny too but they're staying put for now.

While waiting to be hung, framed pieces of vintage fabric sit above a vintage coat rack from an old school. They may have to wait a while longer because they look good right where they are.

 

One more sampler

 

Thanks for joining the tour today and please watch your step as you exit the bus.

 

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All photos were taken by our industrious homeowner and vintage collector, Karen. She has been into vintage for about 5 years.

Her ebay seller i.d. is PIESAFE.

 

Kitchen curtains are vintage and were altered to fit.

Found at the International Collectibles and Antiques Show in Charlotte, NC.

Laundry room rug from The Land of Nod.

Laundry room curtain is a shower curtain from Anthropologie.

Here's more info about vintage Good Housekeeping magazine covers.

Karen soaks her vintage samplers in Restoration, available at The Stitchery.

Vintage wallpaper from eBay store Rosies Vintage Stuff.

Wallpaper is decoupaged onto switch plate covers by etsy shop Fondue. 

Yellow cuckoo clock in Hoosier Nook is from Urban Outfitters.

 

aforementioned giveaway

A long time ago, in a post far, far away, I believe there was some talk about an upcoming giveaway.

First, let's discuss what I should be, but am not, giving away.

1. Many of the random chairs and other seating devices I've acquired (certainly not 'collected' although there are way more than three of them which does indeed constitute a 'collection' as per The Official Rules & Bylaws Regarding Collections, Chapter 12, Section 5, Paragraph 8) over the years as photo props for the countless pillows manufactured in the Doily Factory to date. Shipping a chair to the winner ultimately removed this as a possible giveaway prize.

2. Fabric scraps by the pound. Also deemed 'un-giveaway-able' as I am not trying to compel readers to leave in droves.

3. The crochet hooks I bought for my thus far ill-fated plan to teach myself to crochet according my Vintage Crafty Resolutions for 2010. In fairness to myself, there are many months left before the end of the year so technically this could still happen. (Stay tuned for The Great Crochet Hook Giveaway of 2011).

Due to the amazing pre-Spring and now the actual Spring weather around these parts, I've developed a mild case of outdoors-itis with symptoms including flower pot planning and tomato plant fever.

And it's flowers and sunshine and Springtime in general that inspired me to create a little table runner especially for this giveaway -- handmade by me from my vintage tablecloth cutter stash.

click on this photo to see the entire runner

To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post before midnight PST March 27th. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, March 28th. This is open to anyone, anywhere and there'll be a few extra surprises added too.

And speaking of collections, here's one of mine. Four white vintage pottery vases, urn-shaped and (this is one of my criteria for this collection) each cost $1 or less. Filled with last summer's hydrangeas that I cut and brought inside on Thanksgiving.

Hope you're having a wonderful Spring so far.

arrivals and departures

Easter gal created by The Vintage Whisperer herself, Magpie Ethel

This giddy lady stopped in for a brief visit recently while on a roadtrip to her new home. She was certainly a lot of fun to have around and I almost asked her to stay on indefinitely but she wanted to be settled into her new place in time for Easter. Plus her arm gets really tired holding that shiny bouquet containing the world's tiniest Easter chick. 

A huge thank you to clever vintage crafter Barbara/Oodles and Oodles for this little family.

There's three of them so that makes an Official Collection.

This family just arrived after their long journey from the East coast. As usual, Jr still has oodles and oodles of energy but Mrs just wants a hot bubble bath while Mr says "Where's the remote?" For now, they're staying in a cozy teacup while they look for something with a backyard. 

And Mrs is just a little grumpy as it's tax time and she is in No Mood. 

Not to mention she can't remember where she put that box of receipts. 

They just need a couple days to get settled.

Then they can help with a giveaway here later this week along with more peeks into Karen's house. 

Hope you had a fun weekend.

other people's homes: Karen

Recently a longtime customer-turned-friend, Karen, innocently sent me a couple of photos of her kitchen to show me how she was using some pillows I made for her. Little did she know her kind gesture would turn into an epic photography project for her, complete with homework (fill-in-the-blank and essay questions about her home) as "May I show your vintage-inspired kitchen on my blog?" quickly turned into more. So much more. I'm sorry Karen! But thank you for sharing!

I might mention that Karen and I have never met in person and she lives on the opposite side of the country from me so I was especially excited to have this virtual glimpse into her kitchen (ahem) entire house. Today we'll start our tour with the master bedroom and bath.

Warning: While viewing these beautiful rooms with their vintage details, you may become disoriented and perhaps even feel that you are leafing through the pages of Country Living magazine. This is perfectly normal. 

the master bedroom (all photos can be clicked to enlarge)

Karen told me this room was specifically designed with the idea that the bed would 'float' in the center of the room to take advantage of the mountain views. 

"...of course I envisioned myself waking up each morning, sitting up while stretching my arms and gazing out at the beautiful mountain view...that's not usually how it happens, but it was a good idea anyway." A girl can dream...

The ladies on the vintage mantel are Karen's mother-in-law when she was class valedictorian and Karen's late Granny.

This entertainment center used to be a cabinet for a vintage radio/record player. Karen removed the speakers and record player, added a shelf inside (where the DVD player goes now), painted it and dressed it up with vintage fabric panels.

This piece was also a vintage radio cabinet that was gutted and painted and now stores some of Karen's vintage linens.

See the window framed by the blue vintage shutters? It overlooks the Great Room downstairs. Karen has a daughter who will one day be a teenager. Karen thinks ahead. 

the master bath

A pretty corner of the master bath with Charlotte Becker prints in vintage tin ceiling frames.

 'His' side is dark wood and masculine. See the peek of Jennifer Paganelli's fabric for curtains? Karen occasionally sells vintage fabric on ebay and one of her buyers turned out to be Jennifer Paganelli! It's a small world for vintage-fabric-people.

'Her' side is light and feminine. I love the little splashes of soft aqua.

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Here's some additional info about the resources Karen used for her master bedroom and bath along with a sneak peek of more of her home tour to come. Thanks for stopping in.

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All photos were taken by our industrious homeowner, furniture painter and vintage collector, Karen. She has been into vintage for about 5 years and also collects vintage linens.

Her ebay seller i.d. is PIESAFE.

Paint color for the entertainment center is "South Pacific" by Olympic. Available at Lowes. 

Vintage tin ceiling frames are from ebay stores Fragment Freaks and Vintage Home Accents.

Links for information about artist Charlotte Becker and fabric designer Jennifer Paganelli. 

 

Just popping in to let you know I am busy dusting off the shelves in my etsy shop, VintageHome, to make room for some freshly handmade-from-vintage things today at 10 am PST. Yikes -- that's any minute now.

Hope you're have a wonderful day.

De-stash efforts stalled. Film at 11.

I've had to institute a temporary emergency embargo on my de-stashing efforts. 

That's right -- vintage linens incoming! A group of vintage tablecloths were in need of immediate adoption so I selflessly stepped forward and offered them a (somewhat crowded) roof over their vintage heads here in the doily factory.

Because I'm a giver.

 (heavens part, angels sing, etc)

I know! The arrival of this stack of vintage tablecloths made my week. It was like opening a big box filled with fresh flowers. In the middle of winter. And vintage fresh flowers but you know what I mean.

You may recall my post about how I was strolling through the blogdom one day and stumbled across Teresa's beautiful blog, Meadowbrook Farm.

the farmhouse of Meadowbrook Farm

After that post I started chatting with Teresa and we realized we've been crossing paths on the internet for a couple of years now. She saw my doily factory items back when I was selling them on ebay and then she found my etsy shop, VintageHome. Now I'm happy to report that this cyber friendship recently blossomed to include these magical words,

"Would you be interested in some vintage cutter* tablecloths?"

Yes, please.

The added bonus about this is Teresa is donating every penny she makes from her de-stashing to benefit Haiti's earthquake relief efforts.  She's the real giver.

All of these new-to-me vintage prints and colors have really inspired me to get to work in the doily factory! Here's a preview of some of the things I've been working on lately and I plan to have an etsy shop update this Wednesday, March 3rd at 10 a.m. PST. 

 

Hope you have a terrific week. I heard somewhere that Spring is on the way.

*You probably already knew this but just in case -- 

a cutter is a linen that's damaged or stained enough to be cut, guilt-free, into pieces for other projects.