It's Giveaway Time!

I hope everyone is having a great start of Fall (for those of us in the US) or a great start to Spring on the Southern hemisphere . One of the things I truly love about living in Northern Nevada is that we can feel the change of seasons. The nights become colder and windier. The trees begin to change colors and Ridley begins to sleep/cuddle more with me. I have a need to drink tea all the time. And the baking. All I want to do now is bake.

Over the last few weeks, we've had a lot of visitors. My in-laws came up for Labor Day weekend. We went to Echo Lake near Tahoe and had an early birthday dinner for Jesse. My brother and his girlfriend came up a week or so ago. We had a good time. They got to see it snow on the Sierras. Hannah and I went thrifting and found some great sweaters. I'll have to make a post about all of my thrift finds at a later date. It was nice having my brother up here. He and Jesse got to spend some quality time playing video games.

A few months ago, I decided to host a giveaway to celebrate reaching 50 followers. Now I'm up to 70 followers and figured it was time to get my but in gear. I want to thank everyone who reads and comments on my posts. I truly enjoy reading every comment and try to reply as quickly as possible.

 Now, I've got things together and will be hosting my first giveaway!

                                                                    Rules:

*You must be a follower of my blog.
* Leave a comment to enter
*It is open internationally so everyone is welcomed to enter.
*You can increase your chances of winning by posting about my giveaway on your blog. Be sure to leave a separate comment to be counted in.
*This giveaway will open until Oct 11th. I will draw on Saturday  Oct. 12th

                                                                 Onto the Prizes

A double orange Ranunculus flower clip. Made by me





A pair of silk Orchids.




An embroidered kitchen towel. Honestly, I love the way this turned out. One of my best projects to date.
Side A


Side B



Handmade quilted sunglasses case.


Inside


A hand knit keyhole scarf. This was made using acrylic yarn so it is machine washable and dry-able.






A cherry brooch made from vintage 1950's millinery. A pair of glitter Lucite clip-ons and a pair of screw back cameo earrings from the 1960s.









I wish everyone good luck and a great weekend.

Life As Of Lately

It has been an interesting last few weeks. Getting up at 4 am is a very hard thing to do. Especially since your husband is a night owl. He used to stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning when we first started to date. Now we're in bed by 10 at night and up at 4 am. It's gotten easier. I've learned that if I get up around 7 am it makes my day a lot easier. I tend to get things done earlier and I'm not as tired. Of course I always have Ridley willing to wake me up 15 minutes before my wake up time to "remind" me that he wants his wet food. Darn cat. I love him to pieces  but he does drive me crazy sometimes.


A few weeks ago I went to my local thrift store and found some vintage skeins of yarn. One was a Gold Sayelle Orlon yarn. I love vintage gold colors. It's so pretty and different. The other was Dawn Wintuk in black. It's also an Orlon yarn. The Orlon yarn is a lot more springier and is very easy to knit.A lot of my vintage cardigans are made from Orlon yarn.

 I decided to make a knitted beret because one can never have too many cute hats, shoes or purses. I used this pattern fro Ravelry. It was a really easy pattern and it knit up fairly quickly. I did make it a lot shorter than the pattern called for. I like my hats to be close to my head so I can wear my hair curled or in braids.






This beret I made a few months ago. I made it using super wash wool. Super wash means that the wool fibers won;t felt when you wash and dry them. The pattern for this was out of my giant knitting book A Stitch in Time Vol.2. The pattern also includes a matching pair of mittens. I haven't decided whether I want to make them or not. I also made my sister a couple of "hipster" hats.





I haven't sewed a lot lately. I did fix up all of my petticoats this past weekend so now I can wear them without worrying about them looking bad. Not that anyone is going to see them but I will know the weren't looking too good. I'm neurotic like that. I know people won't know since it's hidden but I'll know and it'll drive me crazy.

I have been looking for elastic cinch belt for a while. Whenever I do find them they elastic is dead and they want more than a couple of bucks for them. I lucked out a couple of weekend ago and found these beauties.I'm not sure if they are vintage go not but I love them. I may need to replace the elastic since they are a bit too tight on me right now.  I had a huge collection of cinch belts when I was in high school. Of course I got rid of them once I went to college.





Last Friday and Saturday was the annual rummage sale at St. Gall. It is a HUGE rummage sale and I've heard that people from out of state come to shop here. Last year I got there around 9 am and it seemed like a lot of the good stuff was gone. I still got some goodies but all of the jewelry was gone and I only had a budget of $10. This year I got there around 6:30 am. I had to drop Jess off at work at 4 am and let me tell you it has been a long time,if ever, that I have driven that early in the morning. It was nice; not many cars on the road. I got to St. Galls and there were already to long lines. There were two lines : one for going to the auditorium (housewares,crafts,jewelry,clothing etc) and once for everything else (furniture, lawn care things, parts). They opened promptly at 7 and the people piled in. I picked up to paper bags to carry my goodies and proceeded direclty to the jewelry section.

I was in there for about an hour and came away with lots of goodies. It was hectic and let me tell you old ladies can be very pushy and rude. Here's what I came away with.


Of course Ridley had to give it his sniff of approval.
 

Whenever I got to thrift stores, garage sales, or ,in this case, rummage sales I always look for vintage purses and jewelry. Those are the first two things I always look for. Then I look at patterns and fabrics.

I had great luck finding these beautiful evening handbags. They all have chain handle that is tucked in so they don't get snagged on each other. They were hiding under a bunch of bad '80s purses.



I saw this purse from across the room. I saw the colors and boxy shape. I figured it was probably an '80s does '50s but low and behold it's a vintage 1960s Verdi. It's a good size purse too. This baby is mine.







I constantly have to remind myself to look under things. Under tables, under piles of clothes, just under things. Luckily this time I did. I found this vintage 1950s wicker purse. It's gone from who9te to cream in some spots and one of the handles is a little loose but I'm sure I'll be able to fix these issues once I get to buy some tools I need. I love the pattern on the purse, the print of the lining which is in amazing condition; no tears or stains. The neatest thing was the eagle emblem on the latch. I haven't been able to find anything out about it.









Here are all of the patterns I found they are mostly from the 1950s and 1960s. I was lucky enough to find a few men's patterns. It seems that those tend to be very hard to come by. I have come acros A LOT of 1970s men's patterns but these are the first from the 50s and 60s.






I found these patterns in the same box that I found the mens pattern. I get to so excited and happy whenever I find vintage patterns. I literally don't see anything but what's in front of me. Which is one of the reasons I always wear a shoulder purse. I wear it across the front of my body so no one can get at it.


These are all preteen or miss patterns. I love the cute  dresses but the nighties and undies are the best.


The first pattern on the upper left is a reversible wrap dress. How cool is that? I don't wear form-fitting dresses otherwise I would keep it. The housecoat pattern next to it is still in it's original state. Factory fold and all. I've never found a vintage pattern that wasn't cut. I'm also contemplating keeping the little boys clothes pattern. I'm not expecting but I would love to make my future children their clothes.



All of the patterns from here on-out are for dolls clothes. There are patterns for Revlon, Cissy and Betsy Wetsy dolls. At first I thought they were babies clothes but I'm sure that it would be easy to grade these patterns up to baby size.





Aren't these earrings gorgeous? They're all clip on and in great conditions. I am very tempted to keep the black cluster bead earrings. I probably won't though.

The black beads sparkle really prettily. They have copper fleck in them that I couldn't capture very well.



I only found a few necklaces this time around.







I love the elephant trim would be super cute for a little girls dress or jumper.



These lovely embroidered doilies are actually tissue holder covers. They have and elastic case hidden under the Christmas theme.





Lovely vintage tea themed table cloth.It's on the small side for a coffee table or small round table.


The dresser doilies are so pretty and feminine.


Gorgeous vintage hankies. I love the edging on these but I don't have the patience for such small, intricate details.



I wish this gorgeous sweater had been in my size. The beading detail is perfect for the 1950s and the detail on the collar is amazing. I need to wash it and then it'll go up for sale.


 


Finally, my tiki guy from Hawaii. Not sure if it's vintage but for a buck who could pass him up. He was also hiding under a table riddled with a ton of candles and candle holders. There are a few things I forgot to photograph but that will be for another post. I think this one is long enough already.


I hope everyone has a great week and weekend. I'm going to make a blouse or two. ANd play some Ocurina of Time this weekend.

By Gum By Golly Is Hosting a GiveAway

Just wanted to drop in a quick post to let y'all know that Tasha of  By Gum, By Golly is hosting a giveaway. One lucky winner will be receive a PDF copy of the beach bustier and an additional pattern of their choice. Be sure to stop by and check out her blog.

Mysti Luxe is Hosting a Giveaway, So Go Check Her Out!

I hope everyone's week is going well. I'm still getting used to getting up at 4am to get the husband ready and on the way to work. It's flipping hard and I give props to anyone who can do this. Wow. I don't think I could  think  much less work that early in the day.We're getting through it some how.







Anyways, enough about that. The reason for this  post is to let y'all know that Mysti Luxe from One Girls Love Affair with the 50s is hosting a giveaway. She is graciously giving away a $15 gift certificate for her store Sinister SweetHearts. Be sure to check out her blog for your chance to enter.

Hope everyone keeps having a great week.

Mari

Curlers and Donkies

I hope all of my American readers had a great Fourth of July and I hope everyone  had a great weekend. We went to my husband's uncle's house and had carne asada. We were suppose to have ribs but hey it was still good. We had apple pie and ice cream which I am a huge fan of.  Such a big fan in fact that a few years ago all I wanted to eat was apple pie and ice cream. Nearly drove Jesse crazy.

No that FireFox isn't being a pain in the butt, I can let everyone know what I've been up too.  Almost a month ago I went to the biggest Rockabilly event in Northern Nevada. It's still in it's very ealry stages but has the potential to be great in a few more years. Last year, it was extremely hot and humid. This year it was hot and windy. Not a great situation when you happen to be wearing a light weight skirt. Good thing I always wear bloomers/biker shorts under my skirts.

Here's a few photos of me at the event. We didn't stay too long since I started to get a mean headache towars the later part of the day. Blouse: Bettie Page Clothing    Skirt: made by me  Hairflower: made by me
I got to wear out my new brown wedge shoes but forgot to take a photo. They were pretty comfy but squeaked a bit whenever I walked.



 






 A couple of weeks before we went to visit the family and did the Rockabilly Riot I went in for a trim. I've been getting my hair trimmed and layered on a regular basis now. I like it shorter and it's much easier to roll in curlers. We went to our usual place and noticed the "hairdressers" were not on the ball. They were paying more attention to their conversation than the customer in their chairs. They were so distracted that Jesse was getting his hair cut without wearing a cape . He got COVERED in hair and then the lady had the balls to say to him "Why didn't you tell me?" Like it's his job to make sure she knows what she's doing. My hairdresser cut my hair way too short. I didn't notice at first since it as wet but once it dried up I was shocked. She cut it too short. Needless to say, we're not going back to them

I haven't been shopping all that much lately. It's been much too hot . We had a heat wave going were it was topping out at 100F everyday for a week. It was only getting down to the high 70's at night.  I did make a few purchases in the last few weeks. Anytime we're in Reno I make it a point to visit Junkie's. I've had great luck finding awesome vintage pieces. This time around I got a few bangles, a pair of Lucky Lou's carved wood shoes, and a vintage Malco Mode petticoat.

Here are my newest bangles top to bottom : Carved Bakelite $2 ,vintage plastic bangle $1.50 , Green Lucite bangle $3.00 I was super excited and happy to get my first piece of carved Bakelite. It's such a pretty brown color. They had a gorgeous 1950's beaded cardigan too bad it was a small. I doubt it would have even fit my sister who is on the petite side.




The Lucky Lou shoes I'm going to sell on eBay. I was so excited when I found them. I have been wanting a pair of them for a while but I can't see spending $100 on one pair of shoes. They almost fitToo bad they are 2 sizes too small and a bit on the narrow side. If they had been a little wider, they would have been mine. All mine.  Here's a listing on eBay 


I went to the thrift dtore last week and they were having a 50% off entire store sale. Yay! I love those sales too bad I never get their calender to remind me when they are. I was able to buy a few things I bougt a bundle of terry cloth fabric. I buy this stuf ehnever I came across it since I make my own cleaning towels. I like being able to cut one up whnever I through out an old one. I also bought a vintage hat that I plan on selling, a cute ood donkey brooch and some vintage curlers.



He may not be vintage but I love him. He looks like he has a bit of an attitude.




I have never used vintage curlers so I diecided to give it a try. I used three of each of the types from the photo above. I figure that this would give me a better idea of how each curled. Here's where the trial and error take place . I really liked the way my hair looked in those green curlers. They were the easiest to sleep in.



I really love the aluminum curlers. Some were made by Goody and the others are TipTop. I loved these curlers. They have a little clip to catch all of your ends and keep them in place. I have a hard time keeping my ends in whenever I do a wet set. They do not want to be tame and controlled.



I slept in them over night. The aluminum ones were a lot harded to sleep in and can get very close to the scalp. In the morning I rolled them out and I got these awesome curls. They were super tight and tiny.


This side is where I rolled the green rubber rollers. Not as defined. I did notice that since the body of the curler was square it really kinked the hair. It was like having a square curl if that makes any sense.


You can see some of the kinkiness a lot better in this photo.


Then came the brush out. I tried and tried for over 30 minutes to get some semblance of unity and uniformity but it just didn't work. I used pomade to try and tame it but nothing worked. At this point I did figure that tiny curlers arent for me. I get a bad perm look.


I was able to roll the hair into some victory rolls. I do  love the way the top of the hair had a slight curl/wave to it. It makes the hair more interesting and cute.


All-in-all, it was a great experience and experiment.  I loved the look of the vintage curlers themselves but I don't think they are for me. Maybe if I had shorted,thicker  hair it would have worked out better. I tried it and I'm glad I got to see what become of them.

I leave you with a photo of Ridley warming up in the corner of the dining room. It was during our mini heatwave when the daily highs were in the 100*F. I didn't let him go out for fear of burining his paws on the cement. He got let out in the evenings though harness and all.

I hope the rest of your week goes great and you have lots of fun.

Liebster Award for me? Why thank you.

Hope everyone is having a fine day and getting along marvelously. I've been in a bit of a funk the last couple of weeks. I think it's this darn hot weather. I was pleasently surprised when Sean from The Fictionista
nominated me for the Lieber Award. Thanks Sean. So without much further ado, here are the eleven questions I have to answer

1. Besides what you blog is dedicated to, what are some of your other interests?  Well as you know I really love sewing knitting, cooking, baking and crafting in general. I also really love to play video games and watching movies. My husband always says that I have a knack for liking B movies. What can I say campy movies are the best.
2. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? Wow that is a great question. After paying taxes (boo) I would first pay off our credit cards, car loan, hubby's student loan, and any other debt we may have. I'd then buy my mom a nice little house where she could do whatever she wanted. I'd give my younger siblings a nice college fund (willing they only spend it on college). I'd love to build a nice house with a couple of acres and a beautiful green house. I'd make some donations to charities and possible set up a scholarship or too. Of course it goes without saying that I would go on a HUGE spending spree. Lol. I love to shop.
3. What made you want to start a blog? Pretty lame but to keep track of my thoughts. It's also a place where I can have the positive aspects of my life in print. It makes me feel good that I see progress in things that I love to do.
4. What took you on the journey to embrace vintage? I've always liked "old" stuff ass I used to call it as a kid. I grew up loving the Batman show, I'd buy old tea sets from the thrifts stores and I loved my long whirly twirly skirts. As I got older I never really felt that "modern" clothes fit my personality all that well. I still feel more feminine in skirts and blouses then I do in a pair of shorts and tee shirt. I love my casual wear but sometimes it's not enough.
5. Have you met any kindred spirits through the world of blogging? I've met a lot of wonderful people in the blogosphere. It's so great that we can connect to people around the world. I love it that more women and men are enjoying the beauty of yesteryear.
6. What does your SO/family think of your vintage lifestyle/blogging? My family loves it. Especially my mom. She's always telling me that she loves that I dress up and do my hair. She also tells me I look like an Old Hollywood actress. Lol, my mom's funny like that. My husband likes it too. Although he says I should show more cleavage.
7. Do you have a favorite decade in fashion and/or history {or both}? I love the Victorian era and 1950s the best. I love the Romanticism behind the Victorian bustle and corsets. Although I'm pretty sure I would never be able to dress the part. I do like to breathe after all. The 1950s fashion tends to fit my body type better. I love the mounds of petticoats, beautiful dresses and accessories. Not to mention it was one of the most influential eras for music. Elvis, Johnny Cash and Little Richard just to name a few.
8. Who is your biggest inspiration and why? My mom. She is one of those women that other men/women were envious of. She's a great cook, a great mom and a great wife.Since I can remember, my mother has always dressed nice. She always wore nice clothes even if she was doing errands around the house. She doesn't even own a pair of sweats. I hope that I can be a lot like her in every respect.
9. Dresses or separates? I love dresses but tend to wear more separates. I tend to wear separates more simply because I don't have as many dresses as I want. 
10. Your favorite item currently {does not have to be vintage}? Hmm this is a toughie. Lately I've been favoring vintage tooled leather shoulder bag. It goes with everything and makes sure that I don't carry too much in my purse. It hurts my shoulder if I do.
11. What is your favorite quote?My favorite quote was from my grandmother "Solo los locos le hacen caso a otros locos." Translated "Only the crazy people listen to other crazy people." In other words ignore people who sounds crazy or you'll end up just as crazy.  My grandmother had a lot of wisdom and awesome stories. Too bad I didn't record them when she was alive.

Remember that if you are nominated you have to answer the 11 questions, nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and make up your own 11 questions. Have fun!

Now here are my nominees:

http://artdecogirls.blogspot.com/
http://mystiluxe.blogspot.com/
http://stitchingpurpleblooms.blogspot.com/
http://tunabake.blogspot.com/
http://fortiesknitter.blogspot.com/
http://petticoatsandpeplums.blogspot.com/
http://incendiaryblonde.blogspot.com/
http://opshopmama.blogspot.com/
http://rascalkosher.blogspot.com/
http://vintagebirdgirl.blogspot.com/
http://dollybowtest.blogspot.com/

And my eleven questions are:

1. What type of weather do you like?
2. What's one of your hidden talents? 
3. Is there a go to outfit that you love to wear when you don't know what to wear?
4. Do you have any pets?How many?
5. Do you still write handwritten letters? 
6. What is one of your proudest moments/achievements?
7. If given infite money, where would you travel and what would you do?
8. Have you every had any supernatural experiences? (Ghosts, UFOs, things that you couldn't explain)
9. Can you drive a car?
10. What's one thing one your bucket list?
11.  What's your favorite book?

Just In Case

 Not sure if Google Reader disappearing is going to affect me but I guess it doesn't hurt to have a back up. So if you have a second be sure to add me to your bloglovin' list. Thanks.


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