A Blondie Day

Doggin' Around

Hi My Friends...

I have been busier than a dog burying a bone trying to get some new things ready for the shop for early next week. The plan is to close the shop at the end of next week for a spring break, so I want to at least have some new goods in for a few days before I do so. 

I have new designs!  Keeping my fingers crossed you will like them.

In between working, I have also continued prettying up the house a bit for spring.

 

 

One of my newest treasures is this vintage needlepoint of roses.  It was an Etsy find.

 

Things like this just melt my heart because you can see the love and hard work that was put into it. 

I always feel privileged when a treasure like this comes to live with me.

 

 

 

Off to work I go, but I could not let the end of the week go by without wishing my friends a happy and blessed weekend.

 

Much love,

Helena

Sunshine and Shoes

We have been blessed with the most smile-making, sunny, warm weather this past week.  It is hard to remember it is still March, and it is still possible to get snow.  But I'll pretend I didn't say that.

This past week I was absolutely giddy with the sunshine and warmth. I was out running errands in a rose printed dress and my new red shoes. Never underestimate the power of a pair of fabulous shoes and a sunny day.  My spirits were soaring.  I just had to take some pictures when I got home to share.

 

 

I had some company.

 

 

Miss Rita - Head Hen.

 

 

My chickie-girls wondered what all the fuss was about my feet, and they followed me about just in case there was something good to eat near or ON my feet.

 

 

An inquisitive Stella.

 

 

Eventually they tired of my feet and decided to investigate the rest of the yard for possible tasty morsels.

 

 

I was able to photograph my feet - chicken-less.

 

 

This weekend is a bit chillier.  But that's OK because now I can be inside sewing... working on new bags and pillows for the shop.

 

 

Happy Day Dear Friends!

 

Much Love,

Helena

In the Pink

I am still in the process of Springing Up the house.  Today I put up a pair of gorgeous vintage pinkish-peachy rose drapes that were an eBay find.  

They did not disappoint me!  They have perfectly springed up the house, together with other little touches of pinks (which I can't seem to get enough of this spring) and florals.

 

 

See that handsome deer fellow peeking out from behind the curtain?

 

 

He was my Mom's. He's wearing a halter of spring flowers. My Mom made him halters for every season, so he is now perfectly fit and ready for spring.

 

 

 

Another great and wonderful thing about these drapes is that they were much too long, so I was able to trim about 16 in. off of each panel.  So now I have a few pieces of this scrumptious fabric to do something with!

 

(OK, so here comes the token Instagram...)

 

 

 

One thing about Springing Up your house though...

along with it comes Spring Cleaning.

And I have quite a bit of that to do.

 

 

Hope you are feeling In the Pink today!

 

Much love,

 

Helena

 

Vintage Embroidery Joy

Last month I posted this and shared some inspiration from vintage crafting books, many of which were embroidery books.  But there was one book in particular that several people emailed and asked me about.

This book happens to be one of my favorites, and after I received inquiries about it, I started to do a little research on the artist who illustrated/embroidered it.

This was the book...

 

 

I bought this a few years ago on eBay, and since then it has been one of my favorites.

Here is some more gorgeousness from this book.  It is a combination of collage and embroidery, and I adore it.

 

 

This is so sweet, I want to eat it up!

 

 

 

Turns out that the embroidery artist's name was Virginia Tiffany.  I could not find much information on her at all, but I did find that she had illustrated/embroidered several other books.

 

I made it my immediate quest to obtain these books, and I was able to get two of them.

 

A Child's Garden of Verses...

 

 

I know, those flowers are amazing, aren't they??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a Whitman Big Tell-All ABC's...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She has one more book, that I know of, called Rumpelstiltskin, but it is hard to find.  I am working on it.

I love her work. 

 

It is not too stuffy, doesn't take itself too seriously, and is full of charm and whimsy, color and joy.

It's everything I would love my embroidery to be.  So many thanks to Virginia Tiffany for the inspiration.

 

 

 

Hope this inspires you a little too.

 

Have a happy weekend Dear Friends!

 

Much love,

Helena

Springish

Spring has sprung.

Everywhere.

And I am behind in bringing Spring into our house.

It is a balmy 70 degrees outside today.  The sun is shining.  The sky is blue.  The breeze is heavenly warm.  And the chickens and cats are sunning themselves in various parts of the yard.  Time to get cracking!

I played around with a few springish vignettes composed of mostly thrifted goods.

 

 

And old enamel pie tin found for $3, dressed up for spring with a pretty yellow rose decal.  The statue was a thrift store find, lightened up with glossy white paint and trimmed with a bit of fabric scrap and a vintage rose and rhinestone clip earring.  The little chicken is another thrift store find, as is the petite black metal tray and the glass bottle.

 

 

 

The Mary in Prayer vase was my Mom's.  The pretty rose plate with the wire frame was a garage sale item, as was the colorful chicken figurine.  The blue glass bottle was also my Mom's and has been dressed up with a decal.

 

 

 

This gorgeous vintage beaded Asian wall hanging was found at a junque shop.  I gasped when I saw it - it is so lovely.  It was mine for $5.  The Kokeshi was found at a garage sale.  The pretty porcelain bird was from the Salvation Army and the glass bottle from an estate sale.

 

A little bit of a closer look...

 

 

 

 

I also just received the loveliest vintage rosey-pink curtains which I picked up on eBay.  Can't wait to get them up, as I am loving Pink this spring!

 Some new little goodes for the shop...

 

 

Tissue box jackets.  They button closed with assorted vintage buttons and dress up a ho-hum box of tissues with a little touch of vintage.

 

 

And they are also very polite..

 

 

These will be going in the shop today.

 

 

Hope a little Spring Fever is finding you in some way.

 

Much love,

 

Helena

 

Random Cool Friday

I got to thinking if I have Prettiness Upon a Monday, then Coolness on a Friday sounded just perfect.  Do you think?

 

So I put together some random vintage coolness to share on this lovely Friday and get a great start to the weekend.

First, I found the ultimate in coolness quite unexpectedly in one of JW's magazines.  This magazine had an article in it called "Swinging 60's - Vintage Car Ads".  I gasped when I saw this...

 

 

A 1969 Barracuda Mod Top.

I did not even know these existed.

Let's take a little closer look so you can appreciate its "modness"...

 

Ack!  How cool is that?

 

 

The chance of ever finding one - or, even if I did - the chance of ever affording one, is next to impossible. 

But just knowing this bright, happy car existed (or still exists somewhere now), makes me smile.

 

 

But in all reality, I see myself in something more like this someday...

 

 

or this...

 

 

Simpler, a little more understated, still cool and turquoise.

 

And now for other kinds of cool...

 

This kitschy, bright, retro rooster is from a vintage Meyercord decal I purchased on eBay.

 

 

Isn't he great?

 

And this vintage-look loveseat, which is found here, is so amazing. I wish I had more room at our blue house, because one of these would be on its way here right now.

 

It looks like it was upholstered with vintage sheets.

 

Some more coolness that is sweet...

 

 

And this lovely illustration from the 60's by children's book illustrator Concha Matamoros..

 

 

I am so in love with that... the style, the colors and of course the subject matter.  Just lovely.

 

And a little bit more decor coolness...

 

 

I love the idea of simply hanging the lanterns at different lengths with rope off of the ceiling beams.  So rustic and lovely.  Imagine how pretty that looks at night all lit up and glowing?

 

And the last bit of coolness...

how we all wish we could spend our Saturday morning.

 

 

Ahhhh...

Well we can dream, can't we?

 

Also, I have started a new project and hope to finish up this weekend so I can show you on Monday...

 

 

Happy Weekend Sweet Friends!

 

Much Love,

Helena

 

 

Unexpected

 

 

The best things in life are unexpected -

because there were no expectations.  - Eli Khamarov

 

 

I must admit I have been blue lately.  We've had to start doing something that is very difficult - my brother, sister and I - and that is clean out my parents' home, now that they are both gone.  This home is my childhood home, the one I grew up in.  And needless to say it is filled with memories.  Most of them are wonderful ones.

And sometimes it's hard to let go.

 

But a little something came in the mail to me today from a sweet, kind and thoughtful customer of mine - Rachel.  And it was quite unexpected.  

May I share it with you?

 

Let's open it together...

 

 

I love it already, and I haven't even opened it. A sweet, vintage kitty card, together with creative and beautiful wrapping...

 

 

 

I never want to unwrap something so pretty. I like to just enjoy it this way for a while.  But today, I'm not so patient.

Let's see what's inside!

 

 

"ENJOY."

 

Yes, I am already enjoying it!

 

 

 

GASP! 

Two vintage embroidered pins.

My most recent obsession is vintage embroidery and here are two beautiful, retro, vintage-y, yummy pins perfect for wearing on my cardigan sweaters.

I am so thrilled!

 

 

She has for sure brightened my day.

 

Thank you Rachel!

 

Much love,

Helena

 

 

 

Prettiness Upon a Monday

I usually like to post Prettiness Upon a Friday, but then I got to thinking that prettiness on a Monday is probably more fitting - and more needed.  Friday is already pretty on its own, in a way.

So a little Prettiness for today.

First, I will apologize directly.  JW gave me a new iPhone as an early anniversary present, and so I have just begun playing with Instagram. I will try not to drive you bonkers with too many Instragram pics, as I am having way too much fun with it.

Anyway, back to a little prettiness in the form of some nifty recent thrift store finds.

Lately, I have been drawn to reds and pinks, so I was thrilled to find an assortment of lovely silk flowers at the thrift shop last week with lots of pink.

 

 

These thrifted bottles look dressed up and ready to dance with their vintage decals, and the bright yellow owl radio from the 70's...well he speaks for himself - and he is saying "I am such a great and groovy find!" - well, something like that.

 

(warning...here comes the Instagrams)

 

 

Isn't he adorable??

 

Next, I spotted a sweet and very much wanted little Brownie camera and a vintage view master at a garage sale shop.

 

The Brownie still works, but I need to track down the right film to use with it.

 

And lastly, a little "daily inspiration" and a striking tiny metal floral tray, both found at the Salvation Army.

 

"Today is the first day of the Rest of My Life."

 

Well, yes it is!

 

 

Hope you are finding your kind of prettiness today.

 

Much love,

Helena

 

 

 

Ultra Cool from the 60's

A few days ago I mentioned on my Facebook Page that we had watched a movie the night before called "How to Murder Your Wife". I wrote that it was made in the 60's (1965 to be exact) and that it was very cute.

And it was.

However, what I did not mention, and should have, was that it was FILLED with gorgeous 60's coolness, and if you are in love with that era, you will want to feast your eyes on this movie.

But first, a little music to listen to while you read this... it's from 1965, the year this movie was made.

OK - all set?

So, let's begin...

 

 

First, Jack Lemmon is adorable.  He is cute, witty and loveable, even though he is a confirmed bachelor in the story and maybe even a bit chauvinistic.  I won't tell you too much of the plot.  If you're interested in that, you can watch the trailer here.

 

But what I really LOVED and what kept my eyes glued to the screen was the gorgeous setting - Stanley's townhouse in New York City, with it's scrumptious, very tasteful 60's decor and furniture.  I, unfortunately could not find very many photos of the townhouse, but here are few...

 

 

The entry to the townhouse is one room on the first floor, with a fabulous staircase leading up the rest of the house.

 

I wish I could find photos of the townhouse living room, but alas none were to be found.

 

 

This is Stanley's studio in his townhouse... he is a cartoonist...

 

 

...and has a comic strip about his alter ego, Bash Brannigan, Secret Agent...

 

 

Virna Lisi, an Italian actress, is stunning as Stanley's wife, and you will love her clothing and hairstyles.  So very retro yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now the movie is on instant play on Netflix, so if you feel so inclined, go ahead and enjoy!  It's perfect for a rainy day.  Just snuggle in with your vintage afghan and a cup of tea.

 

Go ahead.

You have my permission.

 

And let me know what you think of the townhouse!!

 

Much love,

Helena

 

Oh, and P.S. - I have a few new vintage fabric wall pockets in the shop.  I've had a few requests for them.

 

 

 

Remember Not to Forget!

 

XO