Friday Junking

I am a person who loves routines and schedules and my Fridays are no exception. Most go like this: Get dressed in my junking uniform which a version of what I am wearing below: jeans or cords, rain boots at this time of year because there is lots of standing around waiting in the rain to go to a sale, a comfy wool jacket, scarf, and leather backpack. I get an iced americano, black, even in the winter because an iced coffee will last me hours long, all day while I am in and out of the car running around. After coffee and the post office I go to Goodwill and then usually to some estate sales, waiting until the opening hubbub has died away since I don't care for the sign up sheets and pushy people. Yesterday I went to a dream sale! I almost didn't go...the start time wasn't until noon and it was kind of a drive but after lunch I decided to just head over there. There was still a little line to go in but the woman behind me turned out to be a friend from long ago! Once inside I found a vintage leather weekender that at every turn I found something to put inside. I snapped some pictures so show.

junking uniform

can you believe I found 2 of these yesterday? They are 1970's paperweights with nature frozen inside. I found the starfish at Goodwill and then later at the estate sale I found the butterfly. What are the chances? I've never even seen these before and then there were two!
really wonderful bags. a carpet bag overnighter and the leather weekender

hello little owl....

oh! A clock :)

a dozen little amber vitamin bottles with caps

a sweet brass bird and pale pink rayon ribbon

grey silk buttons and a bunch of leather ones

this is one of those wall hanging organizers. I love these! I have one that hangs on the inside of my closet door and inside are my gloves and my scarves. I will get this shabby one cleaned up for the shop.

The glass on this globe is amazing thick and a little cloudy. Maybe it is just dirty? I don't know but I think the look is wonderful

and finally a miniature cuckoo clock

Fall splendor + a camera question

Have I mentioned I love foggy mornings? Today's was especially nice with all leaves that have changed over the last couple of weeks adding a shot of color to the grey mist. I have question for you: I need a camera recommendation. Specifically something that does well in low light. Right now I have a Canon Powershot and am looking to upgrade. What do you use? Now I am heading for the basement and a pile of sewing projects that should keep me busy for the day and beyond.

decorated!

On Sunday Oliver and I pulled out all the Halloween decor from the basement and decorated the house. If you used to read my old blog then maybe you saw most of this last year, things don't change that much :) Although I have been adding a new pumpkin each year to what is now becoming a small collection. This orange beaded one was my first, my best; I got it at an antiques shop a few years ago.
This small vine pumpkin I found at Target over the weekend. They had them in two sizes and they are super affordable (2.50!)

Beautiful handmade velvet pumpkin. This is from Ink and Peat and they are f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s. Handmade in Portland in sizes from tiny to large and available in really beautiful jewel tones. Although they aren't online, I know the owner will ship these.

Cool wire sculpture pumpkin from a harvest flea market a few years ago

A spooky tree found at Goodwill (!) with glow in the dark bats stuck between the limbs and my wonder ball stuffed full of the most wonderful brownish mauve-ish leaves I found the other day on a walk.

a string of pumpkin lights on the mantle

My wooden BOO sign from Michael's that I put glue and silver glitter on tied it up with black ribbon. I love unwrapping this sign every year. It reminds me of the Christmas tree decorating to come when we get to unwrap each ornament like a little gift.

Haha! Perhaps my favorite: our front window. I saw this in a magazine a few years ago when Oliver was just a baby and I had a renewed & child like interest in Halloween. I cut all the shapes out and taped them to the window and then save them each year for the next. It is quite neat at night with the white blinds drawn and the window is back lit with the lights inside.

a weeks worth of outfits...

or at least half a weeks. A few weeks ago I took some thrift store clothes into a tailor for alterations. I have never done that before but because I haven't bought any "new" fall clothes I figured I could spring for alterations on the thrift store stuff I've bought. I wish I had taken in my boots with me because the skirts and dresses are just a tiny bit shorter than I planned but overall I am pretty happy with everything. I had 5 items altered and the cost was $100. I probably could have done it myself but really, I didn't want to risk messing it up and also I would probably not even get around to doing it. I already showed the floral April Cornell dress last week and I still have one skirt left to wear. But here is what I've worn this week so far:

I had this pair of wool trousers shortened. Really shortened! I didn't like the look of the pants long and thought I would liek them more short, just below the knee. And I do like them this way. The top and beret are thrifted.

This is a Liberty of London skirt I got on etsy. It's wool chalis - wonderful! I have been looking for vintage clothing made from Liberty fabric forever so when I saw this skirt I grabbed it. Old cashmere sweater, handmade scarf.....

and leather jacket. I do love a short leather coat with dresses and skirts.

This is a 1920's cotton slip I got at an estate sale. It was floor length, on me at least. It is thick enough cotton to wear as a dress. Thrifted cashmere cardigan tied up so that the drop waist detail on the dress shows, thrifted beads.
a close up to show the pretty pleating detail on the waist
Do you alter your clothes? Change the length, the shape, add something on?

Homespun

That is how someone recently described my style and I loved it...Here are some new pillows I've made for the shop NOUN. Homespun was the inspiration for these. With the exception of the patchwork, all the others are made with vintage wool - most of it Pendleton - and the pink one is vintage cotton with vintage pink plaid wool backing. The patchwork is a combination of pretty scrap fabric I have saved from previous projects. When I first started sewing and the selling my handmade items I wanted everything to be perfect looking, perfect stitches, perfect form, perfect everything. I remember talking to a good friend about it and she reassured me that those little imperfections are what made it handmade and different from the mass produced accessories you can buy at big stores. It gave me a whole new perspective on it and while I make every effort to create a well made product I don't mind the occasional small handmade "flaw".

shop update

Sometimes I wish I had a giant house and could keep everything I find. Such is the case right now. But this little house is full and I wouldn't have a job if I did that. Here are just two small things I am selling but wanting to keep. And there is more in the shop I am dying over right now! And more to come :)

No shops updates today! I did add a bunch if stuff earlier though so if you are inclined please have a look. I just came in from taking many photos for more listings to come in the next couple of days. I wanted to show you my new clothespin doll from Jill Bent! These are really really wonderful and brilliantly handmade dolls she sells on Etsy. Jill also has a super blog that is full of simple and beautiful elegance. When I read her entries and see her photos I feel like I am right there and it is very nice place!

here's mine!

I had a bunch of thrift store clothes altered and just got to pick them up yesterday so I am spending the rest of the week wearing what feels like a brand new wardrobe! This here is an April Cornell dress. Do you know those? They are sort of shapeless and cut big but I love the rayon printed material and there are great details like puff sleeves or in the case of this one, buttons all the way up the back and a faux wrap in the front with plackets down the breast. I have a wool Benetton wrap sweater that I got in a Barcelona resale store for $10 at least 10 years ago! Still a favorite of mine all these years later....leggings, boots. I think this is my fall wardrobe: dresses, sweaters, tight/leggings, and boots. It's easy and I feel good in it.

I spent the morning finishing up a pillow sewing project I will share with you later! This morning I skipped the usual routine of itunes or Pandora and decided to get out a couple of Cd's. These two have been on constant rotation all day. I love this music for autumn. What did you do today?

These pumpkins are the only seasonal decorating I've done so far. I love the bluish grey ones so much. I need to pull out all the other Halloween decorations that Oliver loves so much. I got him a skeleton this year and he can't wait to hang it up! Do you dress up? I don't really but I did find a very cool eagle mask that Im thinking of wearing. I haven't done a what I am wearing for awhile so I took a quick snap this morning. The pants are wool. Not really that flattering of a cut, elastic waistband and all and kind of baggy but for some reason I sometimes like pants that don't look especially good on! I got them on a really big clearance at a local boutique. I can guess the reason they were on clearance was that they are quite scratchy. But I found a pair of silky pj bottoms at the goodwill that I can wear under them. I've been able to wear boots all week and I'm really liking it. I have a ruffled white t shirt from Jcrew on under the coat. The jacket was the first thing I ever bought at Anthroplogie when they first opened in Portland. The scarf is actually a batik sarong but I like it so much more as a big cotton scarf. Also, a few new items pictured that I've added to the shop. The Chinese diorama is quite lovely. The only reason I am parting with that large dome is because I happened to find two in one week! And a very nice vintage scrap book. This would be perfect for doing inspiration pages with! I was tagged! If you want to get the honest dirt on me visit here.

Fingerless Mittens...

I love fingerless mittens. When I used to knit I would make a pair each fall. They are wonderful for wearing around town and you can still access your wallet and drive and all that with out taking off your whole glove. Don't you loves the ones from the Toast catalog? (first three pictures) Look! I have been sewing some too. I started sewing these last winter (I really did! I am telling you that so you won't think I am stealing their look!) from the left over parts of the sweaters I was making hats with. I really want to use as much of the material as I can and throw away as little as possible. Each pair is one of a kind and has handmade flowers attached to the wrist or vintage rayon ribbon threaded through. Some are cashmere, some are wool, all adorable and warm and only $14. I will be listing them on etsy as I get them photographed. If you are wanting a particular color just send me a message. I might have it!

Last night I made zucchini bread and added a couple of tablespoons of baking chocolate to the mix.... It turned out brilliant! I also spent some time with a stack of magazines, scissors, glue and the scrapbook. I haven't done this in a long time! It was so much fun. Here are three new inspiration pages I completed. You can click on the picture for a larger image. I am loving the filtered lighting present in many of the photos, anything mauve or peacock blue, and slouchy knits. What is inspiring you right now?

Found this book a few weeks ago while junking. I bought it to sell but decided to keep it after spending an evening looking through it. A little later life it seems an interest in fine art is developing! In my 20's I visited the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay, the Guggenheim in Venice, Picasso Museum in Paris, Chagall in Nice...loved all of them but can't help but feel it would be even better now. It's exciting! I remember being 17 or 18 and having so many ideas of things I wanted to do and learn and then somewhere along the way it got lost. Occasionally something would spark the desire and I would get that wondeful feeling once again. I kind of feel that way now...I want to take a foreign language course, learn something new. Do you know this feeling? Right now it feels more tangible than ever. It would seem this book tapped an interest buried inside. I picked five paintings that are my favorites from the book. The book is titled Modern French Masters: The Impressionists. Beautiful prints of beautiful art and short biographies of each artist. Do you have a favorite artist or era for art? I would love to know!

Edouard Manet
Edouard Manet

Edgar Degas

James McNeill Whistler

Henri Fantin-Latour

McCall Collection of Modern Art

Holy Cow! + shop udate

To keep your feet warm and dry: water proof mod boots

grey leather belt that would be super over blouses and dresses

It was a very exciting week for me, for LBV really. Unruly Things wrote about the shop on their blog and then on Apartment Therapy Re~nest LBV was listed as one of their TOP 4 favorite vintage shops on Etsy. I thought surely there was some error, a mistake. But I've gone back and checked and the shop is still listed there. To say those two things made my week would be understating it more than a little bit. My boys are off for the day to a college football game (go Beavers!) and I did some junking this morning, mostly for sweaters to makes hats. I've been having a hard time finding them but today I got 8! Really lovely ones too. I have several hats to add to the shop and I will also be adding some fingerless mittens...they are all sewn and ready to go but just need to be photographed. I also have so much good vintage stuff to add I can't wait to get it all ready and listed. Warm wishes for a wonderful autumn weekend. Above and below are some new additions to the shop.

Rare book: 1930's art deco fairy tales

for displaying something special: small easel

To wear something special: 1920's silk handmade slip

To keep warm this winter: hand knit afghan

Made from antique linen: a handmade clutch

This is fun

to do with your kids or if you are like me, by yourself! Oliver wasn't that interested, he made one - the scorpion one - with a toy insect he had and then he wanted to play something else while I wanted to keep doing this. So while he was at school today I made more :) This is Solar Print Paper by Toysmith and some flowers,a fern piece and some lace. You get 12 sheets for $6 and I think it makes the prettiest little pieces of art. I love antique botanical books and drawings and this reminds me of those. Wouldn't these be neat all framed and hung together? One last thing: I have pictures here taken last night of the Chimney Swifts i posted about a couple of weeks ago.

An unexpected weekend alone + photos

My boys left town for the weekend while I stayed behind to work. My first weekend at home without them since Oliver was born. It was nice, although I miss them even more than I thought would. This weekend I wore a new thrifted dress paired with a tall boots, a cardigan, and a thrifted beret. The dress ranks as a favorite...never before have I received so many compliments on an item of clothing! This dress was a wrinkled mess with huge shoulder pads and the worst belt you've ever seen when I found it. But it was $2.95! I couldn't believe it and i loved the print so I just got it. I had no idea how wonderful it would fit and how much I would love it.
Lots of hand sewing and updating my inspiration scrapbook - photos of pages to come! All the while listening to Pandora set to Cat Stevens...lots of him, JT, Van Morrison, The Beatles, Jim Croce and Neil Young. Perfect for a quiet fall like weekend.

Lots of rain, lots of sun breaks. Huge spiders live in our yard and the cutest little fuzzy wuzzy making his way across our front stoop. Oliver loves insects and he and LD were out of town all weekend so he missed this little guy. I took a picture to show him!

A Saturday morning antiques fair with a new friend. It poured rain! But we had a great time and both came home with many things. I got this 1920's handmade silk slip, a hand knit cream woolen throw, and then a counter full of small things that need to be photographed and listed.

A store celebrating it's first year of business. Ink & Peat turned one this weekend! Here are my hats on display, some flowers in the shop, and a picture from the cover of the book Perfect English.

My boys are back in a few hours and I will be cleaning this house and trying to finish some sewing projects until then. It is a beautiful sunny Sunday morning here. Enjoy yours.

Everything looks better on a tray

(this image from the book Found Style)

(this image from the book Found Style)

(this image from the book Found Style)

I've collected quite a few trays recently and finally got them photographed and listed. I' ve included some pictures from my favorite interiors books Found Style. I am pretty sure this is where my love for trays started. The look of small items corralled onto a tray is wonderful, pulling a whole group together with just that addition. The aluminum trays make darling magnetic boards too! Just hot glue a saw tooth picture hanger onto the back. Tray chic, no?

In threes...a shop update

Not long ago if you had an etsy shop you couldn't move the items around. Once they were listed, they stayed in the order listed. Now you can move things around, which I love! But I am still in the habit of choosing which items I want to go next to each other in the shop. I photograph tons of stuff at one time and then store it in my place for unlisted items. Almost daily I try to list something so I go to my unlisteds and choose three things, or six things...always in threes. And I choose which items look good next to each other. I just listed the above three items and think they look like they all belong together, like they could go to the same house and fit in so well together.

Weekend finds

Last minute some friends and I planned a trip to the Coburg antiques fair. We got up before dawn yesterday and drove a couple of hours south of Portland. My thoughtful companions not only drove but brought me a latte and scone for the ride down - mmmm :) The fair was ok...It seemed a little expensive. But the day was cool and nice for shopping and we ran into several friends that we hugged and laughed and chatted with. I did come home with a few things for me, a few things to sell. I took some pictures of the things for me. The first is a portrait print that reminds me very much of an artist whose paintings I admire and would love to own. The next is an army issued sewing kit which I will turn into a needle case for myself. I love old military stuff so I was so happy to come across this kit! The last find made the whole trip worthwhile. It is a brown velvet riding cap with the prettiest little bow on the back side and button on the top. The inside is lined in yellow striped fabric and it fits my head perfectly. One of my other great loves is equestrian type things. I have decided I am keeping the jodhpurs I found a few weeks ago, at least for a while :) What I got and will be selling: a lovely old wooden picture frame, a larger size glass dome, and a dove grey train case.

Little Hats

I am excited to say that I have hats I am listing on Etsy! These are handmade by me from recycled wool and cashmere sweaters and I make the flowers that are attached as well. If you are in Portland you can purchase the hats at Ink & Peat and Noun starting in a couple of weeks. And then I have these that I am adding to Etsy. Right now I am offering free shipping worldwide on the hats plus a handmade lavender sachet will come with your hat purchase. I had big visions of beautiful photo shoots and models but the reality is I don't know really know any and so it was that the photo shoot took place in my garage yesterday with me as model and photographer. Not ideal by any means but I didn't want to delay adding them any longer. I am hoping to add some hand warmers in the next couple of weeks too, also made from sweaters. The weekend was a great one for thrifting and I have added many pretty vintage items to the shop already with more to come.

A what I am wearing site + shop updates

I didn't keep my promise about not shopping this week. I held out until Thursday and since I had made good progress Tuesday on hat making I decided I could go out for a quick junking trip. I am being pretty choosy these days and I still came home with 3 bags of things! A few have made their way into the shop like the really lovely set of six platinum rimmed glasses. I have a set of these myself and they are some of my favorites. I couldn't believe it when I found these six in perfect condition. I have a ton of glass domes, some with bases, some without, to list. The rest are photographed and coming soon. I decided to post another what I am wearing picture because I have a site you must visit if you like these posts! I am wearing my J.Crew cords (again) and with it I have my favorite striped top that is years old and which I will only part with when it becomes nothing more than rags and a thrifted wool vest. I looked for so long for this vest and then one day there it was. My favorite accessory is always a scarf! Take a look at this great site called Urban Weeds: Street Style from Portland. With that, have a wonderful weekend.

What I am wearing + a new bag

I got the brown linen top at Goodwill. It was actually a long dress and I started cutting it up and using it make little bags and flowers because it was such a wonderful color of brown and it was linen. Then a couple of weeks later it was like I was seeing it for the first time and realized it would have been great dress, just shorter than it originally was. By this point I had cut too much and it had to be a top. I tied it with some old rayon seam binding and wore a cotton scarf with it. Look at this wonderful old leather bag I found a few weeks ago! Have you ever seen such a pretty lining? I am going to use it as a magazine/book holder so I can leave it open. I got it from an antiques store and the owner told me a sort of sad story behind it. An old man had come around her shop with a pickup full of stuff. His wife had died and he was needing money and was selling some of her things. This bag was among the items she bought from him. The last picture is of a new cloche I got and that my baby's tears terrarium is loving! They are growing up and out. Yesterday I took Oliver to Oaks Park, a local amusement park. A couple of days a week they have the best offer: for $6 admission and me for free he can ride all the rides he can fit in a two hour period. We had so much fun! Today i found myself smiling when I remembered the sounds of his from the gut laughter and screams on the roller coaster.

Chimney Swifts in Portland

Each September over 30,000 Vaux Swifts come back to an old elementary school chimney here in Portland to roost. It is the largest known swift roost in the world and it is one of the most amazing sights! Hundreds to thousands of people come to sit on the lawn for 10 or so evenings in September to watch. People bring picnics and drinks and hang out and chat. Truly fabulous. One year we saw a hawk hanging around the chimney and the birds were wanting to head inside. After much delay and deliberation these thousands of small birds chased that big old hawk away to the cheers of all the bird watchers. I am so looking forward to going this year. I found an old book on birds a while back that was falling to pieces but the inside illustrations were in just gorgeous prefect condition. And if you know me, by prefect I mean perfect :) So I took them out carefully and am listing them one by one in the shop. I just added to the Swift one in celebration of the coming Swifts.

top photo: mine. bottom photo taken from audubonportland.org

Etsy Favorites

I went completely a#$ wild at the Goodwill today and had so much fun. Some days you just walk in and there it all is. I actually was there so long I made two rounds and found new stuff in each section that they had added while I was in another. I found a pair of vintage corduroy jodhpurs!! It got me over being mad as I realized due to being sick on Tuesday we missed the Pretenders concert we had tickets for. I was so feverish it didn't really sink in when LD said we would skip it. And then this morning I was so completely bummed out because all summer I had been looking forward to it. We do have tickets for another show in September - Modest Mouse! I am keeping my fingers crossed for no illnesses as that show rolls around. Anyways, there is so much great stuff on Etsy it is almost unbearable ;)

The Greedy Seagull

Lea Seguin

No Carnations Vintage

This is all I know

Pollock movie inspiration + shop updates + what I am wearing

Jackson Pollock's studio in New York via flickr AnnaMarieTendler

I got horribly sick on Monday... it totally stunk. The only upside to it was I finally watched Pollock, which I had recorded over a month ago and hadn't made time to watch. I remember seeing this movie in the theater and liking it. Re watching it I loved it. Loved it! What really got me this time were the two houses that were shown in the movie and their wonderful 1940's interiors. It was total inspiration for my shop and I just ate it up for two hours.

I have shown a few new shop items that are either listed or coming soon. And lastly I wanted to show off my new tunic I got on Etsy a couple of weeks ago from Vonlenskavintage. This morning was cool outside so this top with my JCrew cords were perfect. I actually ended up wearing boots because it was too chilly for sandals! Oliver and I went out for a bakery breakfast of pumpkin bread, fried eggs and toast and a big ol' latte for me and then we went to the zoo. Oliver has been really interested in insects so we stopped by the insect zoo for a good long time and just had a wonderful morning.

I didn't mean to be gone for so long. These last summer days are just flying by. And I've been spending more time over here. You know you can always come visit :). So many wonderful new items to be listed for the shop...here is a sneak peek. I am feeling for "1940's cabin in the woods" lately and you can see that reflected in the items I recently listed and those to come. I have three old wool blankets, 1940's figurines, and just so much more. And hats! The last two pictures are also something I have been working on. I have been cutting sweaters and making flowers like crazy and should have have some hats to list in the shop by September 1!!

What I'm Wearing + shop updates

It was one of those not quite summer not yet fall days yesterday and. We had rain finally in the evening after the skies threatening it all day and it rained for 14 hours strait. The air is soft and feels a little tropical and I like it! A few weeks ago I got this men's Brooks Bothers button down and yesterday I wore it with my brand new cords I got over the weekend at the J.Crew outlet. I made the belt! I was using the fabric from a linen apron to make flowers and there were straps with button holes and buttons that buttoned together and then I sewed some of it together and then pinned one of the flowers into it and it was done. The last couple of weeks have presented some personal challenges and I haven't commented much on your blogs. I've visited but just haven't had many words to say from being preoccupied and for that I apologize.

I took over two hundred pictures for the shop yesterday! I have so much stuff to list on Etsy...lots of fall stuff for home and a few items to wear as well. The clothing is proving difficult for me. I can't seem to take a picture that really shows how great some items are and it is frustrating! Here is just a portion of the garage and all the stuff I hauled out there.

And here are some items I am going to be listing over the next week. I have two of these sweet owl platters and look at these cozy coffee mugs.

Riding boots and cap

Handbag and a bread box. I have been loving the idea of a breadbox, especially one all worn in like this one is.