In from the Wild.

Roger is allergic to a real Christmas tree so for years a fake one was all we had. I have nothing against fake trees in fact this year I'm partial to the white ones but I just love the smell of a real tree. Since moving here many years ago I once again could have a real tree because it sits in my living room. The door is shut to this room during the week so it stays cool enough to have the tree up already and no sneezing and sinus issues. Win, Win!
Normally we buy our trees but for a couple of years I wanted a tree that didn't come from a tree farm. I wanted one that grew in the wild and hadn't been perfectly manicured to fit the Christmas tree requirements. Google vintage Christmas trees and you'll see what I mean.

So off to my favourite in-laws to find the tree of my dreams.

I really get the whole Clark Griswold thing now. Walking thru the woods looking for just the right one until the heavens open and you see " Your " tree.

This is it!! My tree. Roger is tucked in behind and Jools is front and center waiting to help.

And help he does.

A lot. hehe

I can also tell you that what you think is the right height is way off, just ask my daughters. We brought a tree for each of them and they looked like Buddy the Elf's Christmas tree when they brought them in. A little to tall for the room. Oops.

So here it is my perfectly perfect tree!! It just touches the ceiling.(insert giddy laughter)

I just can't stop smiling when I sit and bask in its Christmassy glory.

Today is also my birthday and look what those two favourite in-laws got me for my birthday!
Vintage goat skin gloves!!!!

They came in this wonderful box all wrapped in tissue. Eek!! what a great day so far. :)

What Happen???

Remember how I said that I was going to tell you why I don't wear lipstick and what the details of my 1940's suit was? Remember last year I was making a crochet rag rug and never showed you the finished product? Remember I wanted to make a crochet hat pattern to share a looonnnng time ago?

So what happen?? Between life happening and losing interest in some projects along the way everything just got put into a pile, forgotten or neglected like my blog recently.
This month has been about a health check because I've hit a wall of exhaustion. Looking back it's been coming on since last summer but I kept putting what I was feeling as  "it's all in my head" because  that's what I do. (It's probably why I was sick every other week this winter)  Finally this past June I gave up thinking it was all in my head when things started getting worse and went to the doctors. So now we test for this and that and I've gotten a few answers but still can't seem to shake the need to have a two hour nap in the afternoon and 12 hours of sleep at night. The rest of the time I just drag myself around waiting for those magical good days to pop up when I can get something done.

In order for me to feel like I accomplished something I got out my rag rug a month ago and finished it.  Now you know why I never showed you because I didn't finish it.

It has been so nice to wake up in the morning while we are camping and step onto this cozy rug and it felt great to finish something that had gone onto a pile of forgotteness. 

I also cut my hair. All these cute short cuts where showing up online and so I took a cue from Miss Fisher and went slightly longer then her but I sure do like it. 

And now for the burning question as to why I don't wear lipstick.

No matter what kind of lipstick inexpensive or expensive it dries my lips something fierce and if I don't take care of the dryness right away it can develop into a cold sore. So when my beets are ready I'll be drying a few to make beet root powder and make my own lip colour from beeswax and coconut oil. 

The forgotten hat pattern wasn't really forgotten, I just found this one by Hopeful Honey for free and it turned out lovely. I wanted to line it for winter but winter was slipping away already when I made it so it went back onto a pile of things to have ready for winter. 

I still want to give you the details of the suit because there is another story that goes with it that I want to share. So in between naps I'll hopefully get that done but if I'm absent for awhile you'll now know why. 

:)

The Cigarette Pant

Long before leggings or jeggings or super slim fitting jeans or pants, came the cigarette pant. Heck if you goggle it now you can find they've made a comeback of epic proportions but I'd have to say in my opinion it was the most beautiful Audrey Hepburn who made the women of the 60's covet these pants.

Pinterest

Here's the pattern that I used to get my own version of these pants.

I wanted a pair of pants that I could wear year round more or less so I wanted a comfy stretch denim. I had no idea that denim( I haven't bought denim in years and years) had gotten so pricey at $20 a meter and then I had to do a quick pro/con list. 

Pro- I'll get the pant that I want and it would be the vintage high waisted loveliness I'm becoming accustomed to.

Con- I can probably find something similar in a low rise much cheaper then 40 plus dollars 

The latter was winning out in my mind but I had one more chance at obtaining my goal. The remnant pile!!

Searching through the remnant pile like I was searching for the Holy Grail I found approximately 2 meters of stretch denim at $8 meter. Now we were in business, pants for under $20. 

But wait...when I took my fabric to be measured she asked me if I'd be willing to give my email address to get an additional 50% off. Uhh YES.

My new jeans were going to cost me $8 in fabric plus a zipper and thread. Now this cheap  thrifty little dutch girl was dancing in her wooden shoes.

Fitting and sewing pants is not for the faint hearted I'm learning. It took me a trial run in another stretch fabric and one in cotton to get major fitting issues out of the way. (I'm thinking I might want a cotton capri from this pattern as well) 

With my new jeans I still had to tweak some fitting issues and with the help of YouTube I'm now happy with the fit and have worn them a few times and I find them super comfortable. I've rolled the pant leg up and down, so I'm checking the box that allows me to wear them all year as long as it's not too hot out.

One day people I will own a serger but for now my seams are old school.

 Sew, trim and a zig zag stitch to finish them off.

I can see why women adored these fun, casual pants so much because...

Oh look you can pretend to water the plants when its' pouring outside in them.:)

This entire outfit cost was $15.

Sweater -thrifted

Shirt -thrifted and modified

Pants- made by me

Earrings-thrifted

scarf- I already owned 

A Musical in Orange

It's been "hot then it's cold"  and I've been "busy as a bzzzz bee" throughout it all. ( hehe a little musical humour for you)
But seriously folks, we've had hot spring days already and as usual it's caught me off guard in the clothing department. Want I want is clothing that can be worn that gets me through the chilly spring days but also the dog days of summer.

" Welcome to the Sixties" Ok, ok .. I know I've said before that I wasn't a fan of the sixties style of clothing and now I appear to be a liar. What I've come to like is what I like to call sixties casual.

By the way, I'm still not thrilled about taking pictures of myself. Those Sear Catalogue poses, what to do with your hands, the far off looks you give... so I find myself looking through the pictures and coming up with captions for them. 

This one says " oh look, it's raining and I'm pretending I'm not freezing because it's only 8 degrees outside"

This one says " Oh no!! My sweater is falling off. Now I know I'm bound to freeze because it's only 8 degrees outside. Who will save me!!!!!" No worries, I saved myself.

I originally thrifted the sweater because of it's brand new just knitted condition. Some may have passed on this sweater because of its electric orange colour but I saw it at least as something to wear around Halloween. The earrings were also a fun find. 

But what this picture was really saying is this shirt started out it's life looking like this.

I bought this shirt the other day at Goodwill because it was gingham annnddd it was a peachy orange gingham. I knew I wanted to tear it apart and put it back together and if it didn't work, no biggy I'd cut it up even further to become something else.

Here's what I did do. I took the sleeves and collar off and opened the sides. 

From the sleeves I fashioned a new 60's wider collar from a pattern I had. I added darts in the sides and made the shirt a little more fitted at my waist. I trimmed the top of sleeve back a bit so it hit better on my shoulder and made a facing from bias tape.

I'd say success for me!!

The question you may be asking yourself is why not just buy an already made shirt. 

1. It likely won't have that vintage feel I want.

2. It was a super cheap shirt that I didn't have to pay a lot of money for and since the fabric feels high end..bonus!

3. No muslin making!!!

4. Although not the answer to the real problem it was one less shirt made in a probable sweat shop. 

( it says made in Malaysia so I am just assuming, feel free to correct me)

As for the cigarette pants, that story is for another day.

I leave you now with my best KISS impression. :)

Happy Maywin Socket Day!!

The story of St. Patrick as told by Veggie Tales is one I still watch every St. Paddies Day even though my little ones have little ones of their own. It helps reminds me why we celebrate this englishman!

I'm not wearing green today. I don't wear green as a rule because it tends to wash me out but I was excited this weekend when I got to add to my collection of enamelware and it has green!!!
Cottage Treasures in Thedford has moved to a new store so right now they've got two locations while they move things around. Means more fun for me!

And what fun things did I find?? Gorgeous pots and pans that's what.

The ladles were actually a find from before and thats when I became smitten with with the off white and green colours of enamelware.  I've got white and black, white and red, white and blue, off white and red and off white and blue. I've even got one with a pattern of flowers on it.

 
I started my collection one day while out yard saleing and found a nice big bowl, which I use on a regular basis. The bowl felt homey even though I don't remember ever having much in the way of enamelware growing up. (which we may have, sisters do you remember?) As for the rest of the collection, its on display in my kitchen.
On occasion Roger will ask if I have enough yet. Not yet. I've got some empty spaces to fill. :)

A little Spring???

I've been asked by our local thrift store if I would like to participate in their upcoming anniversary celebrations. What they'd like me to do is share my recreations of things I make bought from their store like my shoes. So I've been going through some things and thinking what I'd like to bring to the party.

I thought I'd make some dresses. My beautiful vintage sheet and pillow case stash is quite large and I thought perfect for a vintage style kids dress. I kept thinking while I was making them, wouldn't the girls look cute wearing these with matching head scarves and Jackie O sunglasses. (I sew in silence so my mind tends to wander. :) )

It's a simple A-line dress from a pattern I bought thru Etsy from Lily Bird Studio. I adore this simple easy to follow pattern. She's got quite a few things that adore actually because I bought a shorts pattern too. I've said it before and I'll say it again and I'll probably say it again in the future, I like Etsy shopping, especially for patterns. One click and the pattern is zoomed across the internet and right to my email. Check out where this pattern came from and you'll see what I mean.

As you can see we are still knee deep in snow but the sun is shining and the icicles are melting although we are under yet another extreme cold advisory for tomorrow. Blah. Making these added some cheery spring feelings to my heart and the feeling that the snow can't last forever...right? :)

For the Love of Hats.

I may have mentioned before my love of hats, hehe. Any type of hat will do summer, winter, fall or spring, I'm always on the hunt for a good hat.

Meet Elsewhen Millinery. I found her etsy shop while going through patterns before Christmas and fell madly in like with her hats and patterns. The hats are 1920's inspired and I like the fact that I can buy a pattern or  I could have her make me one. So every once and a while during the holiday's I'd go back and look through her shop and oouu and ahhh. With the January chill settling in I thought it would be the perfect time to purchase one of her patterns and make a hat. I settled on " Penny"  and began sewing. Her patterns are wonderfully easy to follow with clear instructions and pictures to help you along.

                                                             ( I added one of my handmade wooden buttons.)

I did make a goof though. I was lining my hat with polar fleece for winter warmth and cut my hat much larger thinking I should compensate for the bulk. I didn't need to do that and I should have stuck with her cutting suggestions.

I wore it out over the weekend and it I was indeed warm.

The nice thing about this pattern is I can change it up and make it for spring although I do have my eye on a couple more of her designs. In my opinion a girl can never have too many hats :)

Hello New Year

Today's the day everything goes back to normal. People are off to work, most of the decorations have been put away but I am having a hard time taking down the tree as I do every year because I like it so much. Nary a needle has left the tree and this was taken this morning.

So what did I find as my highlights of 2014?

First, my thrift store project.

 It is more than possible to buy only secondhand fabric and clothing and survive.
Sewing my own wardrobe has definitely made me a better sewer. I find I'm reaching more and more for clothing I made to wear rather then store bought. I might have spent $50 on my clothes and fabric for the 2014 year. The best part is I'm getting exactly what I want (which I can never seem to find in a store) and it fits properly too. This project also taught me patience. Believe it or not I found everything on my wish list throughout the year by thrifting and waiting.  For the most part I will continue shopping this way for my clothing. My favourite piece I made....my blue polka dot blouse

My favourite would have been my Christmas dress but when sickness came a week before Christmas it got put away because I still had 3 of the 11 pj pants to sew. You'll see it soon though when it becomes my Valentines dress!

The trailer. 

It was one of my biggest time consumers of the year and totally worth it. This is only time I bought new fabric and even then it was wasn't much because I had a lot on hand. I had managed to find a huge chunk of heavy duty navy blue for the cushions from a thrift store which put a huge dint into having to buy new fabric.

The trailer is sitting in the yard all tucked away for winter and I can't help but wait for warmer weather to sleep in my little tin can. I realized that I don't have a great "Lets take a tour" pictures of it, only pictures here and there so come spring when we begin the work on the trailer (yes there is more fun stuff to happen in the way of a new sewer system) we shall continue that story.

A baby! Little Charlotte came into the world on April 1st.

She's a happy bubbly girl who makes your heart melt when she stretches out her arms to be picked up. She loves hanging out with any one as seen here with her Aunt Ashley.

A wedding

 The planning of the wedding took place at the same time as the work on the trailer so things began to feel a little hairy. We needed the trailer as a guest house for the wedding and the trailer liked to give us unexpected surprises. Thankfully the wedding did not. Oh things happened on the big day that I knew wasn't supposed to happen but M'lynn didn't know and thats all that mattered. 

My favourite furniture project was the chair.

It was in my opinion the first piece of upholstery that I did that I really liked other then this chair from way back when.

What's already found its way into the projects of 2015?

This little beauty. It needs to be rebuilt so I'm thinking the month of January should suffice...I hope. :)

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. :)

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.:)