Betty Or Bettie?

The Child's World First Reader, published by Johnson Publishing Company, 1917

Oh to be young and conflicted as to the best spelling of your name.... B-E-T-T-Y or B-E-T-T-I-E? And now Miss Betty Doris Winn's reader has found its way to my studio.

Holidays At Sushipot

I've been tucking one or two (or three!) of these wee gift tags into every package that leaves Sushipot this season. They are printed on Moo MiniCards. I left the back blank so you can write your own message on 'em (a fine tip Sharpie works best).

My work table always looks like this during a session of ornament making. I'm adding a handful of the dangle ornaments in the shop today.

More jolly products from Moo....I've already run out of these jingle bell stickers but more going to arrive this afternoon. If you wanna give Moo a try you can use my referral code and get a lil' discount.

Jingle bells are everywhere in the studio. My little elf loves crafting with them too ;) Had to document 'em before removing them from their lovely retro packaging.

PS: Sushipot's Holiday Sale continues through Monday, December 8th.

Thanksgiving Greetings

Baby & Turkey Thanksgiving Postcard at Lots Of Postcards

Sending out Thanksgiving greetings to all of you celebrating this pie-filled holiday. I came across this bizarro image on a 1909 postcard of what is supposedly a baby riding a turkey? To me all I can see is a freak baby with turkey legs. Is it just me?! Made me giggle so I thought I'd share :) Have a happy one!

Dangle Ornaments

Sushipot's dangle ornaments are here--a baker's dozen of 'em! Ever since I teased you with the image of these in progress I've received several messages asking when they would be in the shop. I'll be listing them throughout the day along with these winter art blocks. I must say they  are quite jolly and look so festive hanging here 'n there on the walls of my studio. They vary in size between 6 and 9 inches and come ready to dangle (and jingle!) by a bit of golden string.

A video posted by Suzanna Scott (@sushipot) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:33am PST

Jack-O-Lanterns

Jack-O-Lantern at Kissa Vintage Design

Oh how I adore these mid-century Jack-o-lanterns crafted of paper mache. Their goofy grins and buggy eyes are hard to resist. Wishing you and yours a happy 'n spooky Halloween ;)

Jack-O-Lantern at exploremag

Jack-O-Lantern at Santa's Haunted Boot

Jack-O-Lantern at Tall Cotton 'n Peas

Jack-O-Lantern at bseron

Ornaments In Progress

Here's what's cookin' in the Sushipot kitchen....dingle-dangle ornaments! I've had such fun concocting these jolly xmas objects. Years of hoarding...errrr...collecting old-timey wooden bits 'n bobs has paid off. Now I just have to figure out how to give them a coat of varnish without gumming up their glorious dangliness ;) Then to photographing the whole crew....there are many, many others to choose from. I'm shooting to have them in the shop the first week of November. I'll keep you posted.

Jingle Bells

There has been a distinct rustling of jingle bells here at Sushipot as I work on all sorts of holiday goodies for the shop.

Lotsa vintage ornaments hanging around the studio these days including some kitschy, hand-painted wooden ones from the decade I was born.

Yes, the holiday blocks are coming along nicely and will be ready to go in the shop early next week. No....I didn't snip these snippets with giant shears....they are just a prop and the largest pair of scissors I own ;)

In other news we found a pair of acorn twinsies on a recent Autumn walk. There are always treasures to be found....you just gotta look.

Chimera Collage

Chimera, original collage on old children's primer cover

I read somewhere recently that September is National Literacy Month. We always have a couple of read-aloud books going with Lizzie in addition to our own individual books. This week we maxed out our 50 book limit at the library. hah! Guess that's the way it goes when you home-school. Patrick and Lizzie are reading the newly released Sky Pyrates Over Oz. Lizzie and I have just started Little Women (we're on chapter 4 of 47). Patrick and I are both trying to read this book (at the same time) and keep stealing it back and forth. Lizzie just discovered the historical fiction books published by American Girl (thus our maxed out library card!) and I've been listening to the original Grimm's Fairy Tales while I work in the studio at night. I'd love to hear what you've been reading!

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.

Follow The Dots

I picked up this dot-to-dot workbook at the Eastbrook Antique Mall on our recent trip to Montgomery, Alabama. Volumes like this are irresistible with their sweet graphics and pencil markings--every image has been carefully mapped out by small hands years ago. The book was published by Cupples & Leon of New York in the 1920's.

Mended Pages

More often than not it is the imperfection of a thing that makes it special. When I'm browsing through old books for collage material the pages that have flaws are the ones that stand out to me. Whether they are mended, scribbled, torn or stained these blemishes are what I seek.

All images gleaned from The New Beacon Primer by James H. Fassett. Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Laite. Published by Ginn & Company, Boston, USA, 1921.

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?

Valentine Clowns

Doubl-Glo punch-out valentines circa 1950's

Picked out especially for you from my vintage Valentine collection. Wishing you a perfectly fun day with the ones you love. Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas

The Night Before Christmas, Artist Unknown, Published by M.A. Donohue & Co, circa 1910

All sorts of secrets are being kept around here 'cuz Christmas is less than a week away! After I tackle the pile of presents that need wrapping I'm going to settle down for a long winter's nap ;)

Wishing you & yours a Merry Christmas...I'll see you in the New Year!

National Bellas Hess

Since we were snowed in all weekend, I finished up most of my Christmas shopping online. Though I love Etsy and Amazon Prime....what I would give to shop via this 1957 National Bellas Hess catalog! Let's see....I would like to order the electric tree with bubbling lights (page 42), a box of argyle socks for Pat's stocking (page 2), a chenille robe for Lizzie (page 4), the happy 'n cuddlesome Humpty Dumpty for my studio (page 9), a perma-bend doll with pink dress for Lizzie (page 27), oh yes....annnnd...add on that economy carriage for the bend-y doll from page 38. Also, I would have to sneak in one of the 6 room steel dollhouse with the add-on family (page 40). This would be a present to myself of course ;) And lastly...a set of those "day of the week" undies as a more useful stocking stuffer. So let's wrap all this up....if I added correctly I've spent a whopping $27.32 + shipping which adds an outrageous $.51. But...if I spend $35.00 the shipping is free so what else do you think should I add to the order?

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!

Mother Goose Plaques

Seriously tacky plaques for the kid-at-heart-with-a-slightly-dark-side. I do not recommend hanging these in the nursery due to their ninja star-like qualities. The imagery is from a 1930's Mother Goose book. These prickly plaques along with a few other paper doll plaques will be sprinkled into the shop over the weekend.

Button Bear

Button Bear, mixed media assemblage

My sieve collection just lost another member. I'm thinking this button bear dressed up a little early for trick-or-treating? There's already been an involved discussion about costume options in this house too.