First Grade

Lizzie officially started the first grade this week and photographic documentation was taken.

Anatomical Prickly Plaques

And...more anatomical prickly plaques are in the shop for the upcoming Halloween season. Isn't that the most bizarre image of a figure in a chair? It came from an 1895 home health book and is some sort of first aid illustration.

Halloween Art Blocks

Goblins, ghouls, jack 'o lanterns, haunted houses, trick-or-treating children, windy days, spider webs 'n fairies are taking over the shop. The first bunch 'o Halloween art blocks was added over the weekend. Enjoy!

Wabash Park Campground

Our recent family reunion was held at the Wabash Park Campground & Retreat Center in Clay City, Indiana. We were all housed in a lovely new lodge but Patrick took time to wander the grounds and the kitchen. I thought he captured the campgrounds character beautifully with these images! For the record....I'm going to claim all credit for his addiction to Instagram and I'm beginning to think he may be a *bit* more addicted than me. Want more of this grungy goodness? Take a look at his entire portfolio when you get a chance.

Salesman Button Sampler

This old salesman sampler of buttons 'n buckles has been sitting in my studio for months and was finally placed in the shop. I kinda had to come to terms with letting it go to a true button collector. As you know, I love, love, love me some buttons but I'm more the sifting, sorting type of "collector" who loves to play with them and use them in my own projects. Of course, the OCDish side of me wants to just sit and admire the beautiful neatness of these pages! The Patent Button Company of Waterbury, Connecticut was founded way back in 1876. I found some interesting history on the company while surfing the interwebs but I just gotta say--they sure set their salesmen up for success--didn't they?

Hello Friends

Hello friends...I'm back! My end-'o-summer-bloggy-break ended up not turning out how it was supposed to but I'm guessin' that's life--right? The first half was absolutely wonderful. We took a road trip to Indiana last weekend to attend a family reunion/birthday party for my Grandma who is turning 90! She's the lovely lady in the above photo (that's my Dad inside the car). It was a fun trip and great to see aunts, uncles and cousins some of whom I haven't seen in waaaaaay too long. On the trip home we even squeezed in a quick stop at the Apple Wagon in Missouri where I found many, many new treasures for the studio and shops.

The second half of my break started off just fine with unpacking, laundry and getting organized around the studio and then....I got sick....ended up spending most of the week in bed. Friday I was back on my feet and 'cept for a darn cough things are looking much better now. We do have a lot on our plate this week with Patrick starting a new semester and a first grader starting first grade very soon (maybe next week now!)--oh, the beauty of homeschooling! So, that's what I've been up to. What have you been doing? Is summer officially over for you? Kids heading back to school? Speaking of kids--don't you just love my aunt's bobby socks in the photo?!

Ice Cream Break

Ice Cream Cones by Lizzie (guess which one is for her!)

Hello all! I'm thinkin' I need an ice cream cone break and a bit of a blog break too. Summer is wrapping up soooo quickly 'round here. I'll be sure to stop in some point next week especially if I have new work to share. Take care of yourself and go indulge in an ice cream cone!

Luscious Lines

Fresh'nd Aire Electric Fan, All The Best Vintage

Wishing you a breath of fresh air on yet another hot summer day. Take a peek these Luscious Lines, a collection of my recent Etsy favorites.

Circus Clown

Yep...I'm still on a circus kick! Finished up this happy-unicyclin'-clown over the weekend. You can take a good look at him right here. Enjoy!

Granulated

A new pirate-themed collage, Granulated, in the shop tonight.

Acme Building Blocks

How about some architectural eye-candy this morning? This incredible set of building blocks was manufactured by Acme of Japan. Talk about color 'n detail! I'm especially loving the pops of hot pink and that front door is absolutely sweeeeet.

Vintage Watercolor Tins

This slew of old lithographed watercolor tins was a lucky score on Ebay. I love thinking of all the pictures painted by kids (all grown up now) with these partially used cakes of paint! It was a pleasure to photograph these as a collection and put them together into smaller groupings which will make their way into the shop later on in the week.

Monogram Plaques

New monogram plaques in the shop tonight. Let me know if you would like a specific letter and I'll see if it's still available. These illustrations were gleaned from a 1922 volume of the French dictionary, Larousse Universel.

Rush Less, Play More

Skipping Rope from Box Of Hollyhocks

I'm thinking "Rush Less, Play More" is a fitting mantra for this new month as we soak in these last weeks of summer. Happy August!