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Texture Tuesday: Vintage Laundry

It's another e-dition of Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen! Our challenge for today was to use at least one layer of her texture called aurora.

 I decided to do a little vintage laundry for the gathering today...

 

 

 
Much more fun than doing the real laundry.

Thank you Kim for hosting this fun event! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone's done with this wonderful new texture Kim sent to everyone on the Texture Lovin' List. If you're not on that list, but would like to be, the info can be found on her sidebar.

Wishing you warm breezes and sunshine {or rain for those who desperately need it!}...xo, Sue

Vintage Laundry Drying Rack

I love vintage.

But I don't love laundry.

However, I do love my new vintage laundry drying rack.

 
...just think of all the things you could display on this sweet thang...

 
 
 
Endless possibilities...

...balloons for a celebration, little doll dresses, drying artwork, hangtags, if your children are little-their artwork, inspirational quotes, drying flowers, or I guess you could even use it for its intended purpose.

If I were wise, I would clip matching envelopes to each clothespin. Inside each envelope would be "something" I've been putting off for too long. Each day I would force myself choose one envelope and force myself happily complete that task.

 
 These are the kinds of finds that I love to drag home with me.

 
Not something I was looking for necessarily...it just caught my eye. Something nostalgic about it...a throw back to the times when people actually {gasp!} washed lingerie by hand. Can you imagine?!

Xo, Sue

p.s. On a more somber note, my heart and prayers go out to all who have suffered loss during this latest rash of deadly storms here in the U.S. May their be an outpouring of love and support...  

dreams versus reality

Yesterday the movers came and loaded up my daughter's belongings which were doing an interim rest in our garage until the lease on her new rental began, in a new city...

My DH and I dutifully supervised the loading in an effort to make sure the right things got on the truck. Lots of "stuff" in that garage these days...sigh.

Then we blazed the trail for the moving truck to follow us to the daughter's new place...

After days of doing battle with this summer cold,

 that likes me so much it refuses to leave,

 and all the hours spent coordinating this move,  

I was looking forward to stealing some quiet time away

in my artsy craft room...

HOWEVER

When one walks through their back door and sees this waiting...

...evidence that there is a houseful of teen-aged boys, dreams quickly get traded for reality, don't they?

On Thursday an out of state visitor arrived to spend five days with our youngest. Since the little visitor --all 6 feet 4 inches of him--was a former neighbor and dearly loved by all, our home has become reunion central! It's amazing how many men-sized teens can bunk out for the night in one child's bedroom. 

Here's hoping that one day soon a little free time will emerge so I can share some of my recent finds and catch up not only on bloggy business but also on rest and life in general. Meanwhile, I'll sneak in this latest snag...

Twenty-something dollars at a local antique shop!!! It is large...maybe 30" x 36"...and the portrait is a pencil drawing! Still not sure just exactly how I'll use this when I do some re-fluffing of our home...will probably give the frame a paint job....hubs thinks the baby looks a little creepy {WHAT?!} so maybe it will have to be replaced...

More sharing is on its way when reality begins to align itself with my dreams.

She says hopefully....

A Free Image...Oh, Sweet Baby!

Not long ago while meandering through an antique store, the owner, a darling lady with not only grandchildren but great-grandchildren, made a casual statement about old photographs. She mentioned she recently gave away a large box of old family photos....to someone she just met.

Seriously. I was stunned. Here was a lady who had exquisite antiques mostly gathered in England and France...someone who loved old things. Many times I have wondered how these beautiful old photos happened to end up in the marketplace instead of being cherished by family members. Never would I have suspected that someone like this, a person who loved antiques, would {{{gasp}}} give away her relatives.

On the flip side, how wonderful that so many of us have adopted these old photos and welcomed them into our homes and hearts. 

[credit: chippy pink paint background free textures flickr: stevetoearth] 

We enjoy gazing upon them, imagining what their life was like, using them in our creations....

 
 I printed a few of these yesterday and transferred them to old linen hankies...still not sure exactly what I'll do with them...just playing for now...

Another thing we all love to do with old photos is share them...so if these appeal to you, please feel free to grab the prints and use them for your own personal use. I'm perfectly fine with someone selling something they've made using any of my free images, but I would ask that you not sell the image in a CD, clip art sheet, etc.

My extracting skills leave a little to be desired, but WHEN I learn, and I WILL LEARN photoshop, watch out stash of photos....

Sweet little blessings on your day,

xo, Sue 

Ready or not, here we go!

 
There are lists, and more lists, piles gathering here and there of what to bring, the washing machine is going, last minute errands, and my head is spinning. Someone must be getting ready to go on vacation! 

But since one of my dreams in life would be to live on a beach, I'll put up with the spinning head..................... 

....because I love the white sugar sand, the skies that stretch to the heavens....

 
 ...the constant wind and roar of the sea that seem to carry away and drown out the cares of the world......................

....and some of my favorite antique stores just happen to be in this area! In January, here are a few of the goodies I snagged at my favorite haunts......

Some old books printed in the 19th century...

When my eyes spotted these adorable french pencils my heart rate hit the danger zone. Practically squealing, I showed them to Mr. Fun who said, "Why don't you get one?"

One? JUST ONE? Is he kidding?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole drive home I was kicking myself for not having bought them all. Maybe they'll still be there? And maybe a flying donkey will drive me back to the store.....

 
 
  The last two photos are of two adorable little linen rompers that cost $6 each.

 There were more great finds, but the clock is ticking and I best keep focused on the packing. Mr. Fun, who was traveling today to see a client called me as he was driving down a mountain somewhere in the state of West Virginia and his day was not going well. So if I hope to buy more than ONE PENCIL on this trip, Little Red Hen better be ready to travel. Smile.....

NOW I KNOW WHY...

 

Yessiree...now I know why. And in a minute, so will you. I know exactly why I'm not making good progress on this mess, I call home. Too many pretty little distractions for this old gal who need never look far, ever, to divert her attention from housework to something else, shall we say, more pleasant? more palatable? more enjoyable? more rewarding? All of 'em actually...

 

It all started with these. Aren't they adorable? In case you're stumped, these are a collection of old baby bottles tucked away in an old wire rack used way back when, for sterlizing. I snagged them from this talented girl's Etsy shop. A blog I was first introduced to by Dawn {another talented blogger}.  The possibilities of how one might repurpose these darlings are endless. But let me try and scratch the surface...

 

 

 

The hankies spark a thought...maybe some lovely flowers in the center bottle. Then perhaps the remaining bottles could hold eating utensils? Each set being wrapped in a pretty napkin that's been tied up with a lovely ribbon. What a way to add a touch of elegance to a picnic or dining outdoors!

 

Or perhaps a more utilitarian approach...colored pencils? Knitting needles?

 

How 'bout some vintage Christmas?

 

As long as we're talking holidays, how about Easter? Tulips in the center, jelly beans, etc. in the other bottles. Do you see how my little handpainted bunny is wearing a necklace of sorts? Well, one day I was out weeding and I accidentally pulled a clump of real flowers....................oh, never mind.  It's all part of the distractability issue I was mentioning earlier.

Maybe you don't have baby bottles and a wire carrier in your stash of stuff. But how about a collection of other bottles? Instead of a wire carrier, maybe the bottles could rest in a shallow glass bowl, or a tray of tarnished silver, or.........

At another time I'll show you the most precious little "extra" that was included in my box of bottles. Talk about sweet. Okay, I will! Because when I went to make sure my link to Lisa's blog was correct, what do you suppose her newest post was about? A giveaway that you will not want to miss!

I need to go now, after all the housework is still waiting.

Vintage Finds

 

There she sat high on a display case, hidden from view. Stuffed in a box no less with an assortment of other broken dolls. I smiled at her and said dolly, today is your lucky day. You're coming home with me. And don't you worry...I'll put you where the puppy can't touch you!

  

Just look at your sweet little eyelashes and those two little front teeth. Despite your signs of aging, it is evident that someone took very good care of you at one time.

 

Is this not the sweetest little shoe, or what?

 

In the same antique store, in another booth, I spied this little baby bonnet. Love at first sight. It was exquisite in its day...and still is, but in a different sort of way.

 

A view of the back of the hat...

 

 

   Another sweet find this weekend was this adorable photo of Evelyn Lyke. Like so many of you, I adore these old vintage photos. Don't you wonder WHY they ever ended up in the hands of strangers? Didn't someone in the family want them?

  Please feel free to adopt Evelyn for  yourself. Save her to a file in your computer and perhaps she'll find a use in your future creations.

 Speaking of futures, I better go tend to mine. After being away for the weekend, I have lots of catch up to tend to if I hope to have an immdediate  future that runs more smoothly.

Until next time...