Merry Merry Christmas!

2014 is headed out the door and as luck would have it I've been down and out with a strange virus that comes and goes as it pleases for almost a week now. I've had to put a few projects on the shelf :( 

and I've been trying to take it easy before the big day. I've been hanging out with Bing a lot but tonight I'm headed for the hills with Maria. 

I'm wishing you all a Merry Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year! :)

Hangin' by the Wood Pile 40's Style.

My husband has a thing for wood, can you tell? We don't burn wood he just collects it in hopes of putting in a wood stove next year. (which would have been handy since while writing this we had a power outage and things got a bit cool for my liking) I have been checking out wood cookstoves. I think it would be interesting to learn to cook and bake with wood plus I think the wood makes kind of a neat background for pictures.

So these are my 1940's trousers made from this pattern and fabric picked up from a thrift store.

As you can see the pleats are missing. I took them out. To me they weren't flattering on me in the 80's and that hasn't changed now. If I had lived in the 40's I can't see me liking them much then either but I suppose the design was to mimic the men's trouser since women wearing pants was still a fairly new thing. 

You may be wondering why oh why I'd want to make a pair of 1940's pants but as I continue my journey of only wearing clothes I've made or thrifted a whole new world has opened back up for me.

 I've always adored the simplicity of 40's clothing and the 50's with it's petticoats and hat wearing styles. If you've known me for a really long time you'd know that wearing these eras is not really new for me. I've played with these styles since highschool.

 Yes thats me at prom with sweetheart and husband to be. My ensemble was not the same as every long gowned girl but more reminiscent of a 40's knee length style complete with hat and black lace gloves. 

I find today's clothes fairly generic and that's why I've found making my own clothes has begun to suit what I've been missing for so long... a reflection of me. It's not that I'm trying to stand out in the crowd by wearing vintage clothing but because I'm beginning to feel more at home in my clothes again.

These pants not only cover what today's jeans don't on my backside when bending over, ( think the old plumber's cliche and you get the picture) but they allow me to wear my beloved long johns underneath! 

I made the blouse from another 1940's pattern and the sweater came from a thrift store as did the shoes. 

I can tell you this is not my everyday wardrobe but its more of my going out to dinner or Sunday go to church look.

Right now if I took a picture of myself you'd see a yoga pant, sweatshirt clad girl and I intend to sew myself some new everyday clothes and share those with you too.

I also find that I can't call myself The Vintage Counterfeiter and not at least try and look the part. :)

Number 47

This past weekend I celebrated number 47 and right now I'm liking my age and everything that comes with it.  1 handsome husband, 3 girls married to wonderful boys, 1 boy who I get to on occasion hang at  home with, 4 grandbabies to play with and the feeling that I'm really only 25. I'm experimenting with new clothing styles and learning new sewing techniques right down to my undergarments. I've learned this past year that with patience that yes you can thrift, sew, knit and crochet your way into a new wardrobe and that I'm leaning towards a simpler style of decor and furniture.

Back to the celebration. Saturday was filled with cupcakes and cake because we sang not only for me but for the 7 birthdays that happen in the family all within the past and future couple of weeks to come. ( Leah had a cupcake and candle too. Her birthday is June but hey any time is a good time to celebrate your birthday right?)

Sunday Roger took me out for lunch and to one of my favourite places to poke around. They now have two stores to do just that. I found some vintage Christmas balls anndddd.........


this beautiful blue green picnic basket to add to my picnic basket collection aannnddd.....

this wonderful wicker purse to use with my summer wardrobe.

So what does one wear on such an outing?? ( I also wore this outfit at the sale last week)

A Christmas skirt that was thrifted.

And a sweater I bought at the thrift store years ago to make into mitts but didn't have the heart to because of its cute faux fur collar.

I like to make fun of these "hands on hips" poses but when standing alone your hands naturally gravitate towards your hips. Go figure.

The other great thing about Sunday was that yes it was just this warm and I didn't need a coat so I got to show off this great skirt. So whoever you are who happen to sew this cute skirt I had many, many complements.  :)

The Krackin'

A while back I had bought a bottle of stuff that was supposed to give me a aged crackle finish. I used it on a few things but never got the look I wanted. So I began to look at inexpensive products to achieve a wonderful crackle finish. (I'm always hopeful that there are cheap ways of doing anything) I found this glue being used by someone on Youtube who was doing crackle finishes and it seemed promising.

 I  bought it from Amazon because Canadian Tire or any other local store didn't seem to carry it. I then used it for its intended purpose and let me tell you, it's an awesome wood glue. But it is a hide glue which means it has a fun odour, a little like stinky feet.
I thought I'd finally give it a try while I was making my signs to see if I could get that wonderful aged vintage look to my signs and guess what...it works!!

This was my first sign to try it on.

And my chalkboard also got a dose. See how super shiny it is after it dries.

A little goes a long way when using this glue. You dont need too "paint" it too thick but if you're to thin you won't get the crackle effect either. The best part is it needs to dry completely. The other stuff I used said wait till tacky. If I waiting to long nothing happened. If I didn't wait long enough it turned into a mess. You kind of can't go wrong with this glue, it just magically makes itself old. Heres a tip: don't go back over it to much when your painting or it will smear your work and won't crackle properly.
When it was dry I sealed it with my homemade beeswax polish because I had used a chalk paint on the frame. Ordinary latex paint should be fine without sealing it.

You've got time my friends to make yourself or someone else a fun christmas sign, frame or even try it on furniture. :)

My little Shop for the Day.

I've been having a woohoo moment for the last couple of days. My little sale went swimmingly and I met and went beyond the goals I had set for myself.  We've (hubby and I) had lots to think and talk about over the last couple of days and we are not short on ideas for the future. But I always have ideas and  ideas and reality are two different things. Making sure i's are dotted and t's are crossed is something we need to do before jumping into any of these ideas, which could take a while or they may never happen and that's the reality. So I just want to hang onto my woohoo moment a little longer.

This was my little booth.

I had loads of fun doing it and I've already talked with the organizer ( Ashley my daughter hehe) about doing it again next year.

With Christmas coming full steam ahead I thought I'd share some of the things I made and how I made them.

So in the next couple of days I'm going to show you how this,

                                                                                                    Goes to this,

To this!!:)

A little Detour

As I was painting up a couple things for the sale my mother brought me this little bench. It's little seat that would have been used for a vanity and it's design just happens to be my favourite; a waterfall piece. I always associate it to the 20's and 30's because it seems that any period movie from that time uses this design as a prop. Every time I see this design I always fall madly in like all over again. It's not many peoples favourite in the painting world but it sure is mine.  So I took a little detour from projects and worked on it.
My aunt is moving and as someone who has lived in her house for years and years she has treasures lurking in dark places. Once upon a time my mother, her little brother and her parents also lived in this house, so there is a bit of a time capsule happening in her home.
The story about the bench and where it appeared from was a little foggy. My mother thinks my grandfather (my opa) had found it or possible acquired it as a cast off from someone.

The bench was found in the basement which had doubled as my opa's workshop years ago.  You could see it had been used as a painting bench because you can still see where something had been sprayed and left the mark of a wrench in it's fabric. It has also stood in water because you can see water marks on it's feet.
It caught my mom's eye the other day as they were moving things but as things were happening it got lost in the mix. She mentioned to my cousin that if she saw it could she save it for her. My cousin found it... in the dumpster and rescued it. My mother dropped it off and said "can you do anything with it?" Checking it over there was really nothing wrong with it that a little glue wouldn't fix.

Such lovely curve appeal.

It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine to take something that has lasted for years and may have a few quirks to find it going off to the landfill. So here's a secret, people like me will still buy these things from a thrift or restore. I've put back together a few bits of furniture over the years. This one comes to mind.

Here's what I did to bring  the little bench back to life. I started by giving it a good cleaning and sanding. The water marks in the legs weren't that bad and just a quick sanding evened things out. Then I glued and clamped all the loose joints and painted it with homemade chalk paint, distressed it and sealed it with my homemade beeswax polish. Next it's new seat. Roger cut me a new wood bottom since it's original was super musty. I used some vintage sheets to upholster the seat but reinforced it with some sturdier fabric underneath. Since actually using and sitting on it won't happen all that often I felt I could get away with using the sheet. (Doubled up the fabric is quite sturdy, I may do this again sometime) Its found it's home in front of my vanity.:)

To Market, to Market to buy a Fat Pig

Well maybe not a pig for certain but for me the past couple of weeks I've been deep into Christmas merry making and its felt odd thinking Christmas with leaves gentle falling and spooky pumpkins aglow. But one can't help but feel festive when preparing for a Christmas Makers Market.

My daughter Ashley is putting together the sale and what I love about a Makers Market vs Craft Show is the variety. Anything hand made or locally grown may be at a Makers Market so meat, coffee, honey, candles, chocolate, and crafty things can be found. One stop shopping! 

So what crafty things have I come up with? Here's a bit of a tease.

 Ugly Sweater stocking!

I've got a few furniture pieces coming along as well. Keep checking my Facebook Page as I add more teasers! :)

A little Help Please.

A couple of years ago I found this huge piece of fabric still on the roll at my local thrift store. I put it away till a project came to light and now is that time. What I want to know is from era do you think its from? I wasn't thinking that is was very old until I watched Bomb Girls ( 1940's)  and the fabric they used for drapes reminded me of this one.  I can't even tell you what I think its made from except that it seems to have great drape ability. So any guesses????  :)

Mittens Kittens!

                                                    

I'm still learning this whole knitting thing and thought what better way to learn a few things then to knit some mittens. For me learning to knit socks and mittens are easier to rip out and start over again on my brain verses a sweater... that I just invested a whole week into and only have one sleeve now instead of two because I made a huge mistake by using the wrong size needle and didn't notice till I was almost finished....but I digress. When it comes time to try something with a pattern, mitts will be a small enough project for me to learn with, plus I'll have a completed project instead of a lot of practice swatches.

So with Roger working night shift and weekends I thought it would be the perfect weekend to have a Harry Potter marathon and learn to knit mitts. Yup, you heard right I finished the mitts in a weekend and I am by no means a speed knitter. They are not perfect and I'm in fact happier with the second mitt then with the first so I'm making progress. I'm also happy they will keep my hands toasty on these cooler fall days. :)

Fall Flavours

Somewhere along the line I may have shared this recipe but I'm going to do share it again because it is the most versatile recipe and one that I should make more often. (I've also been in a baking mood, :) blame it on the weather)

It is a recipe for the humble Coffee Cake.

This cake has been baked in so many flavours...cherry, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, peach, rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, apricot, mixed berry but rarely has it been apple.
I used to bake it for friend who owned a road side stand and almost never did I bring one home that didn't sell. It has been requested for birthdays and loved by guests. I've even made it gluten friendly if the need arose it's just that interchangeable but like I said I just don't pull this recipe out much.  I don't know why because it's always a hit.

With Canadian Thanksgiving celebrated yesterday I had some leftover cranberries and thought they would be perfect for a coffee cake. So Cranberry Coffee Cake it was!
If you change the filling and make your own like I do it needs to equal approx. 2 cups of filling and a 9x9 pan works well instead of using a springform pan.

The recipe can be found on the website here but I've also added it. Enjoy! :)

APPLE STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

2 1/4 c. flour 3/4 c. sugar 3/4 c. butter 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 egg, beaten 3/4 c. buttermilk 1 (20 oz.) can apple pie filling 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional) 1/3 c. raisins Combine flour and sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly; set 1/2 cup of mixture aside. To remainder add the baking powder and soda; set aside.Combine egg and buttermilk; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spread 2/3 of batter over bottom and part way up sides of greased 9-inch springform pan. Combine pie filling, flavorings and raisins. Spoon over batter. Drop spoonfuls of remaining batter over the filling. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

A Truly soft and Chewy Pumpkin Cookie.

Pinterest. Many of us use Pinterest to find ideas or recipies and over time I've found it very useful. I find though that as many as I've pinned do just that... stay pinned to my boards never to be seen again but I really wanted to try this one.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I followed the recipe to a tee (except I dropped the cookies instead of rolling them) and I can tell you that this is the best pumpkin cookie I have ever had. They are not cake like at all. I cannot tell you how many pumpkin cookies I've made that were. I think its because its because there are no eggs in the recipe but your pumpkin acts like the egg. Who knew?

So thank you Pinterest for a great cookie to add the recipe box and to have for our upcoming Thanksgiving. :)

The Baby Girl gets Married!

See this picture.

I want to frame it so badly because those are my babies and by the look on M'lynn's face life as I know it between the 4 of them will not change. That the addition of another son-in-law will not make Isaac less annoying to M'lynn. That the age span between the sisters and brother that concerned me at one time should have never been a worry.  (Contrary to M'lynn's annoyed face she does love her brother and he loves her back.)

See this...

The bridesmaid dresses were made by us. Meaning Ashley made hers,  the mother-of the groom made her girls and I made Amy's. We used this pattern.  Super easy and super comfy.

See this...

The flower girls and the other little girls all matched.

It was made from this pattern.

All four dresses were made from sheets. Yes sheets. We search high and low for a fabric in the wedding colours but found nothing. Little did I know that the answer was upstairs waiting for me to find it. 

See this.... 

The doors are from my garage, the logs from my wood pile the chairs the bride and groom are sitting on from my dining room.

Borrowed picnic tables from town with burlap runners. Wildflowers picked from the side of the road that morning and little pumpkins to pick up the orange in her colours.

We prepared all the food and served and ate from vintage dishes.

We tested out our night time look and we realized we had more Christmas lights then we thought hiding in the basement. So if anyone needs to borrow lights I seem to have an abundance.

See this....

I made the bow ties. This was truly an easy make and youtube helped us learn how to tie them.

Christmas is coming!!!! it would make a neat gift!!!

See this...

This is what all the hub-bub was all about. 

 Not including wedding attire (which was really not all that expensive), the food, flowers, things borrowed and help from friends and family we came in under $1000. And that my friends is what a small wedding budget can look like.  :)

Photo credits go to Anneka Zehr and Amelia Lloyd.

It's Over

Last week was a bit of a blur and the week before that I sat at my sewing machine and made a 1950's jacket for me, two little girls dresses, and 5 bow ties so also a blur. ( I also made a bridesmaid dress but had that done weeks ago)

This week I've been recouping and have gained a nasty cold. Oh well, better this week than last.

This is what I sewed myself for the wedding.

Here's the pattern and here's where I bought it. Fragolina on Etsy.

Here's what it looked like on me.

All the fabric for it was thrifted by either my mom or me. So I stayed with my rule of buying nothing new. I was tempted to give in and buy myself something but after having many compliments I'm so glad I didn't.

The skirt I made myself last year and upon thinking about it, I decided that if I were going to make a skirt it would be very similar so I went with what I had. I did however make myself another petticoat and wore two of them. A white and a black. I had some serious poof going on.

Tomorrow I can show you the rest. I'm letting our bride and groom check out their pictures first, I thought it was only fair. :)

Picture courtesy of Amy Lloyd

New/Old Stuff

Ahhh... there's nothing like it. That something that will finally push you into finishing a project. In this case my exterior/interior door and window.

A looonnngg time ago we found a window...

and then we found a door.

(In case your wondering why we have a window and a door behind our walls, this part of the house was an old porch that had been enclosed.)

Then we made an arch. We found those posts for $10 each.

Then we found and bought a 100 year old tin ceiling and added that to the mix.

Much better then a drop ceiling don't you think?

So here's the thing, the window and the door sat as a window and a door for a very long time. Not that we didn't want to finish it, it's just other things took priority.

Since M'lynn's getting hitched and the reception is at home, you start to see your unfinished projects and want them done like yesterday.

Here's what we started with on this dreary day.

I forgot to take a picture of the door but it looked pretty much the same.

Why yes that is baseboard that we saved and are now our shelves.

Makes for a perfect plate rail and a great spot for cookbooks. :)