A Party, Another Family Day and Some Bargains

I'm going to try to fit it all in one post if I can. So much going on and I have some other posts in the works so without further ado..have you seen this?



Back in November, I think, Joy and Isabel and I were talking about how much fun it would be to have a blog party where we could meet local bloggers in person. We were going to try to do it in December, but with the snow and holidays it just didn't make sense. So, now it's all planned and we are committed (or maybe we should be-ha ha). I think it will be great fun to meet some of you who I have only known through comments or by reading your blogs. If you would like to join us, and I hope you will, you can RSVP to me here in my comments or to Joy or Isabel or Martha. I guarantee a good time will be had by all.



After the success of our last family outing to the beach, we decided to make a day trip to the city of Astoria. I had never really visited this lovely town that is rich with history, so off we went. First order of business, find all the thrift stores. Fortunately it was pretty easy to find them and I was able to find several great items for very little money. More on that later.


We were starving so we decided to have lunch at a lovely restaurant called "Baked Alaska" that was right on the water. I had some delicious clam chowder and a fancy green salad.

Next we decided to visit the Flavel House. It was built by a retired sea captain and it was just lovely. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the inside, too dark, but the furnishings and the wood work was amazing, trust me.


Our next stop was the Astoria Column. Great views from up there even with the cloud cover.


Finally, we drove out to Pier 39 and had some hot cocoa at the Rogue Brewery. Okay, hubby had a beer while the rest of us had hot chocolate. A great ending to a fun day.


Now for the part you have been waiting for. My thrifty finds.

Miscellaneous rick rack and vintage garters .....................$2.00

Doll slip & little crochet basket with roses..............................$4.75

Two locker baskets and Christmas book............................$2.00

Pink satin vanity tray, birdy in nest & crochet tea cup.....$1.75

Day out with the family....................................................Priceless

Well, that wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Not much planned for this week yet. Just the usual thrifting, trip to Monticello, a little housework thrown in. Not too exciting, but I am going to try to get going on a project I have been planning. We'll see how that goes. Have a great Monday!

Got Barkcloth?

If you've been reading my blog awhile, it should come as no surprise that I love vintage barkcloth with roses. I have been collecting barkcloth and other vintage rose fabrics for a few years now and can not pass up a piece if I find a pretty pattern and the price is right.

On previous posts, you have seen that I use this lovely fabric for making pillows. I have also used it in embellishing denim jackets that I sell as well. Mostly, I just covet this fabric. I just love looking at it. Having a good stash of vintage rose fabrics makes me happy. If loving barkcloth is wrong, I don't want to be right! ha ha

Here are just some of my favorites as well as some fairly recent finds.

This is the Glen Court barkcloth with a pink background that I recently bought from Sue.

One I got on ebay not too long ago.

I think I got this one on ebay too.

I've had this pattern a couple times. I've used it for both pillows and jackets. Would make pretty chair covers too.

This is one I found at a garage sale in my neighborhood. It was in mint/unused condition. After a good soak (boy was it dirty:), it came out soft and lovely.
I found two of these curtain panels at a shop in Vernonia several years ago. Still waiting for the perfect project for them.

This fabric is actually a valance that Isabel gave me.
This is a very small piece that I bought at Expo. (I think?) I just love the colors.
I got this fabric at Monticello from Debbie. It was actually a vintage garment bag that I cut up.
Normally I don't buy pillows as I can make them myself, but I just fell in love with the fabrics on this one and bought it from Kathy at the Coburg Antique Fair a few years ago.
I found this fabric at the Brownsville Antique Faire a few years ago and it was just the right size for a little pillow case. It is pretty fragile and I have had to patch a few holes, but I think it's lovely.

Another purchase from Debbie. This one I got at one of Monticello's Sales. It is a vintage bedspread. The fabric is a strong light weight canvas. I haven't had the heart to cut it up and have used it on my sewing room bed.
This is another bedspread. I think I've shown this one before. I found it at the Portland Antique Expo last year.
And finally, my most recent piece is one I bought on ebay and just got in the mail a few days ago. I just love the corally color of the background and the lovely roses.

I hope you have enjoyed my parade of vintage rose fabrics.

On another note, some of you have inquired about the name of the pattern on the aprons I made and showed on a recent post. The pattern name is Lilly Apron and it is put out by Busy Bee Quilt Designs. (http://www.busybeequiltdesigns.com/ ) You can probably find it at any good quilt shop. I saw it at a quilt shop in Milwaukie just this week.

Hope you are all enjoying your week. I'll be back soon with more thrifted goodies.

Some Thriftin Fun

After taking quite a long thrifting break during the "Artic Blast" and the Holidays, I have made a small effort to get back on the thrifting trail. I hit my usual spots a few times these past couple weeks and while I haven't found any super awesome things, I have enjoyed my time out and found some small stuff.

Here's some pictures what what I have been buying lately.

That birdy and jewelry box got in the picture twice. The little doll slip pictured above has a new purpose which I will show you in an upcoming post.

Last week I went thrifting with my friend Mitzi,( aka, finder of vintage shopping carts), and we had a great time. We started at the Goodwill Outlet and from there, hit several more Goodwill stores and even stopped at Hippo Hardware. It had been years since I've visited that fun store and I wish I had been smart enough to snap some pictures, but of course I was too busy oohing and ahhing to remember to take some.

Unfortunately, at the last Goodwill we went to that day, I had the unlucky surprise of a parking ticket on my car when we got back. It was totally my fault, but I swear we were only in there like 15 minutes.

A couple days later Mitzi stopped by with this.

I had mentioned that I have been looking for broken jewelry for a project I will be working on and I was tickled that she had these for me.
The pearls alone would have been enough, but all the little tidbits were great too. Again, I really do have the best friends.

One thing I found at the Goodwill Outlet was this book. It is in pretty sorry shape, but I love the illustrations. I'm not sure of the date of this book, but I can tell that it's fairly old

They sure don't publish nursery rhymes like this anymore. Do you think the poor kids who had these books had nightmares?

Yesterday, Isabel and I decided at the last minute that we would check out the Clark County Antique Expo. More than anything we wanted to see our friends and just get out of the house for a bit.

Joe and Cindy were both there selling together

So were Joy and her sister, Terri.

Isabel took a bunch more pictures than I did so you can see more pics of the antique show if you go here.

Here is a picture of my haul.

I was thrilled to find a dealer selling glass knobs, both old and reproduction for $1.00 each. I bought a bunch so I should be all set for all of my furniture makeover plans. The flower hats I got from Cindy and the cute basket with ruffle came from Joy.

I got the cute aqua rhinestone pin and millinery rose from our friend Susan. (I forgot to take a picture of her awesome booth, but Isabel got some.) And finally, another silver watch to add to my already huge collection. Seriously, how many vintage watches does one girl need. Don't answer that.

So, that's it for now. The hubby is finally going back to work today after having almost a month off. Kids have today off so I'll just be hanging out with them trying to get some house work done. Such fun!

Fun at the Beach

Last Sunday my family and I, along with my daughter's boyfriend, took a trip to the beach for a little fun. We started off at Lincoln City where we bought a bag of day old bread to feed to the seagulls.

We really lucked out with the weather. It didn't rain all day and even though it was a bit overcast, it wasn't really all that cold either.

After a little stroll down the beach we decided we should drive on down for a yummy lunch at Mo's. If you are an Oregonian, you already know about Mo's. I always get the same thing, bowl of their yummy clam chowder, dinner salad with shrimp and garlic cheese bread. The Mo's restaurants are famous on the Oregon Coast, plus it is a tradition in our family. A day at the beach = lunch at Mo's.

We stopped at Depot bay and watched the waves breaking. There were some pretty big ones. Mesmerizing to watch.

My two favorite dudes.

After lunch we decided to go to the Newport Aquarium. It was fun to see all the cool sea life. My favorite were the sea otters. Isn't this little guy cute?

Cute puffin. A little camera shy though.
This octopus was huge. He was moving around a lot and it was hard to get a good picture of him behind the glass.

Cool jelly fish.

After the Aquarium we decided that we needed a little bit more beach time so we headed on down to Nye Beach in Newport. It was fun strolling on the sand. I just love the beach. Must be because I'm a water sign (Cancer). Every time we go to the beach I always say the same thing, "I want a house at the beach." I actually say it several times and I'm sure it drives my hubby nuts.

Here's a picture of my daughter and her boyfriend. They just celebrated their 3 month anniversary. It was his first trip to the Oregon Coast and I'm glad he was able to come with us.

You can tell that she's smiling in this picture.

This was a really cool old house/hotel in Nye Beach.

One of my favorite things to do at the beach is walk on the sand and check out the neat houses along the beach. The older and funky ones are my favorites.


After awhile we decided to head home. It was a very good day.

Thank You Dear Friends

If I haven't mentioned it before, I have some of the dearest friends ever. They really are the best and not just because they give me stuff either. They truly are wonderful people and most importantly, they "get me."

Recently, my BFF Timi, gave me this sweet blogging award. It's the "Proximidade" award. "This award focuses not on the glory and fanfare of blogging, but in the PROXIMITY to one another through this on-line world (kind of a Six Degrees of Separation sort of thing)."Blogs who receive this award are 'exceedingly charming' say its authors. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement." I am so honored that Timi feels that way about me and my blog as I never imagined all the wonderful friends I would make as a result of starting this blog back in July of 2007. To all of you who read, comment and support me and all that I share here, I am truly grateful.

On Monday I was suppose to go to Martha's house for a little get together with her, Isabel, Joy and Diane. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it as I had to take my dear hubby to the airport. Yesterday Isabel dropped off a little surprise for me from Martha. Look how adorable this little box is.

I couldn't believe it when I opened it. Just look at all this wonderful goodness inside. I was overwhelmed with her generosity and am always in awe of Martha's talent and creativity.

To make it even more special, Martha gave me something else. A sweet blogging award. The lemonade stand award which is awarded to those blogs that have great attitude/gratitude. Thanks so much Martha!

Since I'm sharing the love and sweet things/awards I have been given, I thought I would also share with you some other gifts I've been given recently.

Isabel, my dear friend and partner in crime, came over before Christmas bearing gifts. Unfortunately, I have put most of the little treasures away, or ate them, but I wanted to show you this beautiful square of barkcloth she gave me.

Isabel has a wonderful collection of gorgeous barkcloth and has always been so generous to share some bouquets with me for pillows. In fact, I think most of the barkcloth pillows I showed in my last post were made with fabrics Isabel has given me.

Last October I was at the Portland Antique Expo and I had commented to Diane who was also there that I hadn't found any good barkcloth (like Isabel, I'm always on the lookout for pretty barkcloth to add to my collection). She mentioned that she had some smaller pieces perfect for pillows. We tried to get together before the holidays, but never was able so I decided to call her on my way back from my in-laws at Christmas to see if I could stop by and pick up the fabric as we were going right by where she lives. Okay, I know this is getting to be a long story, but I'm almost done. I was in heaven when I saw what she had for me.

Look at this lovely fabric! Some of the prettiest I have seen. I told her I wouldn't be greedy and would share some with Isabel and I would make her (Diane) a pretty pillow with some of it too.

I want to end this post with an gigantic THANK YOU to all of my wonderful friends (you know who you are). Your support, encouragement, ability to listen to my constant ramblings and just the time you spend with me is something I could never put a price on. I am and will always be grateful for you and hope I can continue to be worthy of your friendship. Okay, enough gushing.

I got some fun posts planned so come back soon and have a great Wednesday!

Top Ten Projects for 2008

I saw a few blogs that posted their top 10 projects for 2008 and I thought I would do the same. I, like a lot of bloggers out there, love a trash to treasure project and last year I did quite a few.

In no particular order, here are some of my favorites.

Simple barkcloth pillow. I kept all of these. Some are on my living room sofa and some on the day bed in my front room.

Vintage spoon lampshade. Got this idea from Isabel who got it from someone else. I love it on this little lamp I bought at the Silverton Antique Show. Another keeper.

This was an old mail cart Joy got for me from the auction. This was a super easy and fun project. Sold it to a lady at the Coburg Antique show. She said she was going to put it at the bottom of her laundry shoot.

While I made over a dozen shopping cart liners for sale last year, this is the first one I made for myself. I love it. I used some of my most favorite barkcloth era fabric and and adorable tiny rose fabric I got from Jo Ann's. This particular cart is kind of wonky with a funny shape and wobbly wheel. It squeaks too, but I love it.

This dresser was an ugly brown when I found it at the Salvation Army store. Another dresser which I bought and kept was the inspiration for this one. This cutie sold in the last minutes of the Farm Chicks show last June.

Another different laundry cart. My friend Debbie helped me make this one. It was challenging, but I think it turned out adorable. It also sold at Farm Chicks.

Inspired by a cute banner I saw at Joy's house, I made my own. This was one of the first collagy type things I made and I really enjoyed using things from my stash. It currently lives on the window in my sewing room.

I bought this folding screen on craigslist and spent a couple hours covering it with a lovely patchwork of vintage wallpaper. I was inspired by Pam Garrison who got the idea from Alicia Paulson. Pam did an entire closet and Alicia, the back of a door. I love how it turned out. It is currently for sale in my booth at Monticello.

This mirror was something I found in a box lot at the auction. It didn't look like this at all. I love how it turned out after I attacked it with paint stripper. Now that I think about it, this may have been a 2007 project, but it is definitely one of my favorites. Here is what it looked like before I went to work on it. Who would do this, I ask you? Ugh, it was hideous, but I could see the potential. On the back of the mirror is a tag with an 1883 date on it so I'm glad I could make it look presentable. It now has a place of honor on my mantel.

This vanity bench was one I bought from my friend Karen at her garage sale. It was brown and ugly. Amazing what a little paint and fabric can do. This one sold at the Fall Harvest Sale at Monticello.

My first attempt at crown making with Joy. Another fun project using what I already had in my stash.

And finally, a cute little trunk that I used sheet music and miscellaneous vintage ephemera on. This cutie also sold at Farm Chicks. Now I'm wishing I had kept it.

Well, that's it. I think that was a few more than 10, but who's counting, right. This post has inspired me to get busy working on some new projects. Better go get started!