Where little banners come from.

Shoes without socks - was I brought up in a barn?

I definitely don't collect old wooden picture frames and yet, I seem to have a bunch of them. And since I don't collect them, they aren't used for anything much such as framing a piece of art but I like having them around. And I especially like the look of a group of empty frames on the wall. 

To me, the frames are art all by themselves.

Ok - this is a little minimalistic, even for me

And so my non-collection of frames inspired my blog banner. Oh sure, I could have done the smart thing and made my banner from one of my billions of photographs taking up space on my hard drive but...

I had this idea.

And it involved those frames. And vintage fabric. Because in my barkcloth-doily-tablecloth-infused world, fabric is art too.

After a series of manuevers, 

Disclaimer: No vintage fabric was harmed during the creation of this banner.

(I used color copies)

stops & starts and arranging & rearranging,

To angle or not to angle?

my banner was born. And because I'm thrifty, I made it a two-fer.

Twins!

Um, fraternal twins.

The top one for my blog and the bottom one for my etsy shop.

And that is where little banners come from. 

(Wow! I'm really feeling the ital today!)

In other news, later this week seems like a good time for a giveaway. Here's a hint...

Really good goods

You may recall in the not too distant past, we all took a little stroll through Karen's beautiful home, that one that's filled with loads of vintage charm and lots of vintage details.

And a couple of sweet cats.

 a peek into Karen's shop window

{click photo to enlarge}

I wanted to let you know that Karen is now an etsy shopkeeper where she's selling her amazing vintage finds -- gorgeous textiles, fun vintage housewares, sweet embroidered samplers and more.

I hope you'll swing by her shop and welcome her to the neighborhood.

Karen is also a longtime seller on ebay with more of her vintage finds there too including stunning vintage quilts, vintage kitchen accessories and Cath Kidston fabrics. 

Karen's etsy shop:  CCAAPPP

Karen's ebay seller i.d.:  PIESAFE

Hope you're having a wonderful day so far. It's blue skies here in Oregon!

The Free Box

 

Yesterday while out at the yard sales, I kept thinking about starting a new blog called The Free Box just so I can have a place to share all the odd, creepy and sometimes gross things waiting in the Free Box.

You know, that box of stuff that the seller's standards have deemed 'unsellable' for whatever reason so they're giving it away. Often times, it's things that are in a transition phase I like to call Pre-Trash.

And it seems Free is rarely synonymous with Clean.

Out here in the country, there's an occasional live mouse too. Oh, how the other yard sale shoppers laughed and laughed when this former city girl yelped and shot several feet off the ground the first time that happened. 

Good times.

But I always look in the Free Box. With just my eyes now.

And I'm happy (and a little amazed) to report that everything you see came from a Free Box.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend so far.

Welcome to the Fruit Loop

I was poking around a local thrift store recently and found some pieces of linen carefully rolled together and tucked in a plastic bag.

And here's what I found when I unrolled them.

A bunch of linen calendar towels, perfectly preserved and never used (not a speck of anything on them) with beautiful vintage fruit crate graphics from the area where I live. 

One of the things we're famous for here is the Fruit Loop.

This one is my favorite. I love that peek of Mt. Hood which I'm lucky enough to see in person every day.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next.

Must. Make. Pillows.

And please allow me to veer off topic for just a moment.

That white chair is my newest photo prop, purchased at the local re-building center for $5. 

Do you have one of these type of stores nearby? I LOVE this place. It's an amazing source for all kinds of vintage, rusty, chippy, patina-ed, worn stuff -- parts and pieces of houses, buildings, machinery -- anything that could possibly be reused somehow. Amazing prices too. 

Don't even get me started on the old chippy doors they have!

There's also a large shed filled with cans of paint -- perfectly good paint -- maybe an 'oops' color or just someone's leftovers that didn't need to end up in a landfill. Also bargain prices. I went for the paint and came home with the chair.

Maybe next time I'm there, I'll pretend I'm a blogger and remember to take some photos.