And the Winner is...

The winner of my Vintage Supplies Giveaway is...

Danielle Jeanne who blogs at:
http://fromthebriarpatch.blogspot.com/

Thanks to all who entered. Keep watching for more giveaways to come!

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.


.

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).

My Collection: Tea Cups and Saucers

I don't know why I haven't shared these before, but I collect and adore tea cups and saucers.  My collection started when I was 16 years-old.  My angelic grandmother passed away and I was given this dainty cup and saucer with purple flowers that had belonged to her.  I didn't drink tea or have a desire to, but I loved my grandmother dearly so this became a very meaningful posession.  It is Bone China called Sweet Violets from the Royal Albert Collection.

I was also given this cup and saucer when my other grandmother passed away.  It is not a family tradition, just coincidence.  This one is larger and more stout than the other.  For years, these were the extent of my collection.
 

In recent years I started really looking at tea cup and saucer sets at antique shops, estate and garage sales and anywhere else I could find them.  I love the shape, the flowers, the pretty handles...  These two are pretty ones I found a couple of years ago - both Bone China.

Ironically, I never drank tea until about a year ago and now I am hooked!  I drink black tea every morning with breakfast, another tea with caffiene mid-day, and usually a cup of chamomille tea in the evening before bed.  Also ironically, I have yet to have a cup of tea in any of my collected tea cups.

This is my most recent set I received from a friend.  It is Summer from the Duchess Collection.  She knows me!  I love the dainty sets the most and there is something about pink and yellow that I love!

Finally, one of my favorites because it is a 3-piece set which I think is rare (but don't really know) and I found these pieces at two different sales over the same summer.  With all of the gold, it is a bit gaudier than what I usually like, but I love that it has 3 matching pieces to it.  It is Phoenix Bone China, made in England.

Perhaps one day I will actually have a cup of tea in one of my tea cups - imagine!

Upcycled and Repurposed Treasures

I absolutely believe in upcycling and repurposing.  I not only enjoy finding previously loved treasures and getting them at a great price, but also knowing that I am not buying something new.  One of my favorite finds from Summer (my busiest treasure hunting time) is a pair of glass containers that I actually found at two separate sales.

Do you recognize them?  They are globes from mid-century light fixtures.  They make perfect candle holders that go with a variety of decor styles, depending on what they are paired with.  One vignette here uses tealights and a rustic decor style.  The other a lighter, softer cottage style and uses pink votives.

Whatever your style, you can't go wrong at 25 cents for one and 10 cents for the other!  One candle costs more than both of these together!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

A lot of recipes lately and I'm not sure why that is, but I hope you enjoy them!  This one is definitely a comfort food and great one for the cold weather that's coming.  I love it because it's easy, it uses just a few ingredients which you probably already have, and everyone will love it!  It's macaroni and cheese!

Here is the enormous ingredients list of 4 items...
- macaroni pasta
- 2-4 different cheeses (about 1.5-2 cups grated)
- milk (about 1/2 cup)
- water
Who doesn't have all of those?


Step 1: Boil water.  (Hopefully I don't have to explain this step further. If I do, you probably shouldn't be boiling water.)  You can grate the cheese while you wait for the water to boil since you'll just be standing there anyways.

Step 2: Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Stir occasionally and drain the pasta once it feels like the texture you like when eating pasta.  *You can use pasta other than macaroni for this... You will just need to change the name to spaghetti and cheese or penne and cheese or zitti and cheese.  You get the idea.

Step 3: Pour half of the pasta into a large oven-safe casserole dish with a lid.  Cover the pasta with half of the grated cheeses.  Pour the other half of the pasta on top and then cover it with the rest of the grated cheese.  Pour the milk over the pasta and cheese.

 Step 4: Bake at 350 degrees with the lid on for about 30 minutes.  When you take it out the cheese should be melted and the milk should be completely absorbed (not all sitting at the bottom of the dish).

Step 5: This is a difficult one because it is going to smell really good!  Wait a few minutes for the pasta to cool before serving.  This would be a good time to prepare a vegetable side or two if you haven't already.

Enjoy!

Upcycle Your Baking Pans

If you're like me, you don't like throwing things away.  I often have items that I know I could use for something else, but sometimes have to think for awhile about what to do with them.  Here are several ideas of how to reuse or upcycle your baking pans.
 

Cookie sheets can double as serving trays.  It's as simple as putting a pretty napkin over it and setting the goodies on top.

Cookie sheets also make great magnet boards!  If your looks a little less than something you want to hang in your home, just clean it thoroughly and paint with silver spray paint.  That's what I did with this one which was pretty well used beforehand.

Bread pans are very versatile!  They are perfect for storing office supplies in a drawer or on a desk surface.  They would also work great in a junk drawer or to organize drawers in your kitchen or bathroom.

Larger bread pans can also store mail or stationery.  These could also be spray painted and one could get quite creative with the colors!  Think of the savings (economical and ecological) when you reuse pans rather than buying a new container at the store.

Here is a very creative upcycle use for a cake pan by MCDB on Etsy.
 

Muffin tins can be very useful! They are perfect for holding small items such as:
- jewelry
- beads
- buttons
- hair accesories...

The possibilities are endless!  Feel free to comment with your ideas for more upcycle uses for baking pans.