Giveaway - Vintage Supplies

Time for another free giveaway!  I had a hard time deciding what to giveaway, but have been feeling creative, so I chose this great collection of vintage supplies so that you can express your creativity.
 

Included in this giveaway is everything you see pictured.  The winner of this giveaway will receive:

• 20 pages of vintage sheet music tied w/vintage ribbon
• over 20 pages of vintage book pages
• 3 wooden clothespins
• 5 already made tags
• 6 large aged shipping tags (aged in apple cinnamon black tea)
• small envelope of vintage buttons
• small old photograph
• 4 apple cinnamon sachets (ready for soaking in hot water)

*A $20.00 value.*

Rules:
1. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

2. Ends Monday, Nov. 1st at midnight PST.

3. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted via information provided in comment entries within 24 hours.

4. Each contest entry requires a separate comment.


To Enter:

- Follow my blog (or tell me you're already following).

- Visit my Etsy shop and tell me what your favorite item is.

- Post on Twitter or Facebook about this giveaway.

- Follow me on Twitter at @ShabbyNChic.


**Remember to post a separate comment for each entry.**
 
Many of these items can be found in the Supplies Section of my shop.

It's Costume Time!

Whether you like Halloween or not (and I do), who doesn't love dressing up?  Whether a child or a child-at-heart, we can all dress up and play pretend.  I recently searched Etsy for costumes for the whole family and I found some fun ones!

I love these custom capes that allow every member of the family to be a super hero - what fun!

Perhaps Dad is not into capes... so there is a classic Charlie Brown style shirt.

And one for your special little guy too!

I absolutely adore this monarch butterfly costume. What could be cuter?

For older children, I found this fun chef costume. I love the festive pants!

I love fairy tales and this Little Red Riding Hood costume is too sweet to pass up.

And for us moms??  So many costumes for women are a bit too revealing for my taste or not very cute.  I found this sexy, but not too revealing costume of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Which is your favorite?

A True Crafter's Storage Solutions

Owner of both a jewelry and supply shop: somewearintyme and SquidooInk clearly enjoys crafting: jewelry, scrapbooking, knitting and more!  Organization is a challenge for anyone, but this dual shop owner has some creative solutions that she was kind enough to share. 

Her yarn fills 2 baskets which contain the yarn and look great!

Lights decorate this green framed cork board which holds her finished necklaces and bracelets. "I just use a push pin...and hang the chain over it."

My favorite has to be this pretty memory board which holds her completed earrings.  They slip behind the ribbon and don't get tangled up anywhere - a great solution!

Finally, the workspace...it is right in front of a large window which is endlessly inspiring.

Everything is at the tip of her fingers while maintaining plenty of workspace.  I love the chair and had to know the story behind it.  Her mother found it... 

"It's the original fabric and lace and the wood around it is solid cherry wood.  We've had to fix the bottom recently because the original burlap,  had finally fallen apart.  As my mom and I peeled the hand tied metal bits back low and behold beneath it was hand sprung coils and it was stuffed with horse hair!  So we put on fresh burlap, and I in my stash had some old vintage nails...and used that to hammer it closed." 

A beautiful work space that shows that organization doesn't just have to be functional.  Her work space is just at beautiful as her work!


Follow Squidooink on Twitter.


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What Do You Think?

Occasionally I run across items that give me too many ideas.  I have had this old drawer for a few months now and cannot decide what to do with it.  One option is to list it in my shop as is, but I really don't want to do that.  It is 12 inches front to back and 9.5 inches wide.

One option is to paint the outside of the drawer and another is to paint the entire thing - inside and out.  I would then attach the brass handle.

So if that option is the choice, what color would I paint it?  White is typically the choice, but would another color go well with the drawer handle?

Another option is to add hanging hardware to the back and make it a hanging shelf/curio.  This option would preclude it from being used on a flat surface.

So... What do you think?  Please comment and help me narrow down my options.

A Fun and Fabulous Studio!

The talented and multi-faceted Rebecca of Phoenix Art Studio on Etsy has been kind enough to share her glamorous work space.  Rebecca has been painting her entire life and completed a BFA in Illustration from Ringling School of Art and Design.  I have always loved stories and have a large collection of fairy tales from all over the world. I find them fascinating! 

This love of stories is what eventually led me to theatre and costume design. While I had always made necklaces and things as a kid, I think that this was my first official venture into accessory design. After that, jewelry making was a way for me to convert my artwork into something wearable.

Her creativity is just as visible in her work space. Rebecca's love for the Art Nouveau period is quite apparent in the decor, especially the stained glass.  I love the baroque style mirror she uses for self-portraits and the pink on the walls looks energizing and sure to get those creative juices flowing!  Gretel is the puppet behind the easel.  Rebecca made her a few years ago during her time as a costume designer.

 

Since she often has many different projects going on at once, Rebecca has two different tables in her studio as well as an easel. The table by the window is a drafting table and is often used for her watercolor paintings and ACEOs while the large table is used for her polymer clay work. The easel is used for her larger paintings. Because it is a rather small room, she placed everything around the perimeter and away from the center to keep the space open.

I asked Rebecca to share some organization tools she uses in her work space.  Here are a few:

1. Above my drafting table I keep a "project board" that holds ideas, sketches and  inspiration for pieces that I'm working on.

2. I keep a large portion of my painting/drawing supplies in a single drawer tower. Everything is labeled for quick access (brushes, colored pencils, watercolors and drawing supplies, pastels, charcoal, etc...)

3. Keep frequently used books and flat materials handy. I keep mine on this shelving unit: watercolor and drawing papers, jewelry catalogues and reference books.

When asked what makes her work unique, Rebecca said "I love antiquities and spend hours scouring though antique shops looking for treasures, but the one thing that I realize I love most about ancient artifacts is that they have a preciousness to them. So much detail! You can tell that so much time and effort and love was put into these pieces. That is what I try to do with my work. Create something precious.

Something that you can tell has hours of work placed into it and a lot of love. I think that this is what makes my work unique. Whether it's a small miniature painting you can wear around your neck, a meticulously painted and beaded polymer pendant, or a detailed ACEO. Whatever it is, I put my entire heart and soul into it and am not afraid to take that extra time for the little details that make it special."

Follow Rebecca on Twitter (where I found her).