Indulge Your Shelf

Here are some postcards I made for a swap with my Facebook group Vintage Crafter's Cafe.  Scroll down to see all those I received! Mine all have the same vintage wallpaper base. Besides the wallpaper, I used vintage ephemera, rub ons, and stamps. Also, reproductions of vintage images, and some "new" embellishments. Here are the lovely cards I received in return:  And, individually: by Michelle Hill  by  Edna Nathan by Cathy Forbes  by Jeanne Morton by Ruth Wood

This is the last of the three swaps I did in May, which I've finally received!  It was with a Facebook group called Rag Bag Gals, and was a "Perky Pin or Pendant" swap.  Here is the pin I made and sent out -- seven of them!: I created it with a vintage doily, which I cut the middle out of and inserted a piece of vintage cotton fabric; then, I cut it up into seven sections; here's how it started out: Here are the wonderful contents of my returned swap package -- a pile of pins! Here they are individually:  A happy face by Deborah Piefke  Sweet doll by Penny  Dyed, painted apple by Brooke Bock  Red heart with crochet by Coleen Franks Angels by Glenda Miles Vintage style dream by Jean Rubman A gift from the sea by Catherine Etter Here's a close up of what's under the netting in this pin -- seashells!  This swap took a lot of time and energy -- but what a fun return!

I received my wonderful package from Kim for the Altered Paint Sample Card Swap!  It really is a feast for the eyes! I just adore how Kim put the tags together, and then embellished them with this fabulous paint brush to go along with the theme! Under that, the beautiful pink tag with the pom pom trim and the birds was made by Kim.  The next tag was mine; I created them using a sassy "vixen" theme with scrapbook cards showing women in lingerie! Here are the tags I received: Sweet embossed pink paint card! I really love how this one was done in "steps" over each of the shades of paint! Softness and a beautiful button!  Bountiful flowers and dyed ribbon! And here they all are again -- drool!  I rarely do, but this time I FORGOT to take photos of all my finished tags before mailing them off for the swap!  So I can't show you the rest of the ones I made, but they were a hoot!  Isn't swapping fun?

I got this globe at Goodwill -- notice it's missing a stand and that it has separated and been sloppily taped in the middle? Here it is now, after decoupage, stamping and painting! I attached it to a candlestick; it's tall and, I think, stately now! I now have three more abandoned, damaged globes waiting in the wings to become projects.  I am a little bit obsessed.

Wanted to show you some more of the thrift store fun I've been having while unemployed: In the photo above there are shallow tin canisters that I have had fun decorating; I'm saving them for a future special (unknown) project, or as gift boxes.  There's also a Yahtzee score pad, which I think makes great ephemera, a papier maiche angel, a wedding topper, and a lampshade frame.  The Alice in Wonderland print has already sold in my shop, and the sweet silhouette one is still here because I couldn't list it, I love it too much! What's not to love?  The details -- like the cat being tempted by the parasol tassel, and the mouse in the clock...! This set of hand carved mid century bookends has been popular in the shop (lots of favorites) but so far no takers! Sometimes I buy stuff I have to research and am then surprised, like when I realized the pearls in this fancy souvenir ashtray are probably genuine!  It is also in my shop . I really love the graphic ...