Pyrography Portraits

I'm thinking I was quite lucky to come across such a unique pair of antique pyrography portraits. Although I was sorely tempted to keep these ladies for our own collection they were purchased with shop funds and into the shop they must go! You can read all about 'em right here.

Crewelwork Sampler

My favorite-est birthday gift, presented by Patrick, was this unfinished sampler of different crewelwork stitches. Does he know me well or what?! Eventually we'll have it framed up, needle and all--the growing pile of "art to be framed one day" is another story. For now, I've rearranged the inspiration boards in my studio and have hung it front and center. It's a mesmerizing muse and color palette of stitchery for the new year.

Harlequin Alphabet Blocks

This has got to be one of my most favorite alphabet block finds ever! You can't go wrong with a primitive, peachy-pink 'n black harlequin style alphabet block set. Believe me--this folksy set is u-n-i-q-u-e and obviously created with much love. You can take a closer peek at it right here in the shop.

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.

Paper Animals

I'm fascinated by these splayed animal figures I came across yesterday while clipping collage imagery. The bizarre silhouetted animal patterns are from a 1914 volume of amateur handicrafts for children. Thought you might enjoy them too.

My Box Of Books

My outing to our local library book sale this weekend was a big success. I spent a couple hours browsing and called it quits when I knew I couldn't carry any more back to the car.

I scored a good sized pile for Lizzie (mostly vintage!) including an Ed Emberley book (below) which I'll share in more detail on another day.

The one big purchase of the day at $5.00 was this 1915 publication titled Marvels of our Bodily Dwelling by Mrs. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D. The entire purchase was under $20.00 and I was given a Shiner Bock box to carry away all my loot.

Several books were chosen entirely for their flyleaf pattern.

As expected, I spent a lot of time in the crafty book section. The majority of my box was filled with books 'n booklets on a variety of arts n' handicrafts.

Check out this macrame couple! Someday I need a pair these hanging on my wall. Maybe Patrick would take up this crafty cause with me--I could totally see us knotting these up together (yeah right!).

Anyhow, now I have lots of new patterns to peruse and ideas to simmer.

Hope your weekend was beautiful too.

Fact & Fancy

Vintage Wooden Clown available at sevenBC

Wish I could find time to make more treasuries. They are so fun to put together and goodness knows my list of favorites grows by the day due to my Etsy circle of folks with exquisite taste. Take this folksy clown for instance--I really, really want him for my clown collection. Last night I did find time to put one together before calling it a night. Take a peek at Fact & Fancy--a few things worth coveting!

1940's Folk Dance Records

I posted this darling set of 1940's children's folk dance records, produced by Pictur Tone, in the shop last night. While I was researching information on their origins I came across this fun video of one of the records, The Blue-Tail Fly, being played by YouTube user RaymondTVinyl. Enjoy!

Folk Object

I discovered this source of inspiration via Design Sponge yesterday and thought you may enjoy it too. Curator of Folk Object and designer Clifton Burke describes this project as "an ongoing collection of ornament & utility."