Aunt Helen's Obsession

A few months ago I made an impulse purchase on Etsy and have been meaning to share it with you ever since it arrived. Lucky for me I came across this potpourri of old buttons lovingly stitched to a bright yellow cloth and cardboard backing. Debra of Saffron Colored Pony says the "buttons in this collection called Aunt Helen's obsession. Sewing buttons onto card stock, mostly in a pleasing manner. They come to you on their original cardboard backing that Aunt Helen culled." I dare say I share in Aunt Helen's obsession. Do you?

And....there is another of Aunt Helen's button cards available here.

Wooden Spoons

I picked up this lovely collection of wooden spoons at Impulse 1672 a couple of weeks ago. A worn and sturdy assortment of the most basic kitchen implement....useful for stirring and serving. For now they are hanging out in the studio but may wander to the kitchen soon 'cuz I'm still trying to decide if I should add to the collection. And now here's some spoon-spiration for you on this last Monday of the month:

Ariele talks about the magic of spoons.
Abbey found this huge spoon collection.
An old spoon assemblage by yours truly.
Elisabeth paints sweet faces on spoons.
Start your own collection via 86Home.
Remember my spoonful of ship?

Vintage Ornaments

We had a low-key holiday weekend....just the three of us. On Thanksgiving we began putting together this Autumnal puzzle and surprised ourselves by finishing it the next day. The tree was set up and adorned with all our old favorites and this collection of new-to-us vintage glass ornaments. I cannot resist a steal on Ebay! Lizzie talked us into colored lights this year so our tree is a kaleidoscopic wonder and we love it :)

I'm back in the studio today packing orders and such. Thank you to all of you who've stopped by to shop at my holiday sale! The sale continues on through this week (details here). A happy month of December to you!

Vintage Kitchen Collection

All sorts of odds 'n ends are being gathered together to form "collections" for the shop. I'm determined to leave Kansas with less stuff than I moved here with 5 years ago--in home AND studio. Anyone who's seen my studio knows this is a TALL order (right Patrick?!). Lizzie jumped in on the action contributed her toy rolling pin to this kitchen collection. She's saving up money for more Legos and will receive 1/10 of the profit when it sells  :)

Vintage Game Boxes

 

Been meaning to share this collection of vintage game boxes that I listed a couple weeks ago. They're currently en route to Istanbul, Turkey (I love the international community on Etsy!). My family played a lot of games when I growing up and now we play a lot of 'em with Lizzie. This past week she's been perfecting her Checker skills and almost beat me. One of these days she will.

 

Owl Family

For the past few weeks there's been what sounds like an entire family of owls parked in the trees outside our bedroom window. They always start hooting back 'n forth when we try to sleep. Anyhoo--thought I'd share this 'lil owl family I've put together for the shop. The mama and papa came from here and the orange baby owl was picked up years ago in Alabama. They make the perfect, kitschy trio--googly eyes and all.

Bunny Jumble

All the bunnies 'round here are in a jumble trying to get organized for the arrival of the Easter Bunny. Thinkin' they may need a bit of help! May you and yours have a relaxing weekend together and be sure to enjoy all your sweet treats.

Found Clowns

While we were out 'n about this weekend I found a few clowns. My favorite is this roly poly fellow. I was inspired by the old clown troupe image to create a little video to show off his delightful roly poly action. Not sure if the little wooden characters are clowns but they could be and they fit into the theme quite nicely. As for the ring toss--Lizzie has claimed it and has become quite adept at helping the clown catch his toy. It looks like we're in for a F-U-N-filled week!

Eye Candy

Most of the weekend was spent photographing some of my personal collections for a special project. Since I can't share them here yet I took a few Hipstamatic images so you'd have some eye candy on this Monday afternoon. Enjoy!

Betty's Valentines

I've been saving these handmade Valentines for months with the intention of sharing them with you today. Each of the darling cards are inscribed to a girl named Betty--I'm thinking she must have saved them from a class party many years ago. Lucky for me she did as they are now a special part of my ephemera collection. My hands-down favorite is the clown Valentine but that anthropomorphic heart comes a close second. May you and your Valentine(s) have a very special day together!

Landscape Stripes

We've been enjoying a new addition to our collection of art objects, Landscape Stripes, a delicate collage by the lovely artist Joy Patrice O'Brien. I'm loving every little detail about it--from it's geometric overtones to the pencil markings and (of course!) the tattered book page. For now, it's nestled on top of our front room bookshelves as I've quite used up my quota of allotted nail holes in our rental house. The whole 'leaning' look is growing on me as a result.

Thrifted Zippers

Thrifted zippers anyone? Thought you might enjoy some retro zipper eye candy this evening!

Things Organized Neatly

My grocery blocks were featured on Things Organized Neatly yesterday. Oh how I love this blog by Austin Radcliffe! Yes, I've raved of it before right here. But...there are a bunch of new folks 'round here so if you've never visited this site be prepared to be sucked into the TON mindset. In no time at all you'll find yourself tweaking 'n arranging all the objects that surround you. Now that I've piqued your interest, here is a great interview that Imprint did with Austin about his blog and you don't wanna miss this article the New York Times featured earlier this year. If you need more you can take a look back at other images of things I've organized neatly here, here, here, and here. Obsession I tell ya!

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?

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.

A Few Characters

Thought I'd show you a few characters I've collected recently. These wooden fellows stand about 4 inches tall and have a pleasant 'chippyness' (new word folks!) about them. As for the old playing cards--they arrived in the mail a few days after the wooden men--a surprise gift from Bird Nests & Papers from whom I'd purchased these lovelies. From what I can find the cards are from a 1930's Snap game by the British toy company, Chad Valley. Anyhow, the figures and playing cards paired up so nicely, I did an impromptu photo session of all these good lookers together.

Favorite Art Objects

A collection of my current favorite art objects on Etsy. The quirky wire glove stretchers are from Leslie Janson's shop which is chock-ful of repurposed vintage home goods and jewelry. Click here to view the entire collection.

Yellow Fellow

I'm celebrating this first full week of summer by linking up with Poppytalk's Summer Colors Week. Today's color is yellow--thus this collection of yellow objects--featuring a certain yellow fellow I borrowed from the inspiration board in my studio. If you're interested in joining in the Summer Colors Week fun, everything you need to know is right here. Happy Monday!

Wooden Spools

A huge bag full of old wooden spools was thrifted the same day as the jar of buttons I shared with you last week. The image represents only about a quarter of them!

Lizzie helped me arrange all the spools for their photo shoot. She's a great little stylist and always has fun ideas. She made up a game called "spool race" where we each pick a spool and rolled/raced them down our slanted driveway. The winner's spool reaches the street first. Even Patrick played!

Of course, there is no way I'll be able to use all of these in my work so I'm listing sets of 24 in the shop. There was one special spool with a greeting that we'll be keeping for sure..."hello there".

A Few Favorites

An Etsy treasury filled with a few of my favorites. I succumbed to the lure of those old paintbrushes and purchased the collection earlier today.