March of the Maminkas

I've been working on some new Maminka dolls over the weekend. I love the way they look huddled together just like they're immigrating! I made some lovely ones from an old flowered tablecloth and I love the pastels. I was able to use some beautiful handkerchiefs that I'd been saving and I really enjoyed making their tags from old flowers and vintage wallpapers.

Little Miss Pansy is currently being offered in my Etsy shop. Some of the others I am saving for a cooperative gallery that I am involved with here in my town. I would much prefer to sell my things on-line though because they come straight from my studio to my customer and do not get handled by anyone but me. I am fussy about that.

These are made from wool and the tags are made from vintage altered playing cards.

Hopelessly Devoted..to my Clothesline

I wait all year for this... a lovely breezy spring day to dry my clothes. I don't attend church but this is where I do my thinking and have my quiet time. It is pure simple joy to hang out my clothes and inhale that clean fresh scent of cotton when I take them in. I hang out clothes all year long, even trudgeing through hip deep snow and dealing with sheets that are frozen like glaciers. I may be crazy but it's just my thing. I LOVE my clothesline!

I bought these cheery curtains Saturday morning at the church rummage sale and they were hanging out on my clothesline by noon.

Some more signs of spring... wild bleeding heart and pulmonaria (polka-dot plant).

Couldn't resist taking this shot of my four-legged "helper" Miss Bella Luna. She loves it when I turn on the hose!

Thursday Thrifting

Had the opportunity to stop in at my favorite antiques/junk shop "The Big Red Barn". I always find a few little things for not much $. Usually these things slip in unnoticed but it occurs to me that my husband reads my blog occasionally and this might not be a good thing. Not because of the money but because of the clutter/junk collecting factor. I married a minimalist and the poor man has been living with me and my "stuff" for nearly 30 years... love you sweetheart! Love the color of this vase and how it looks with these faded vintage hankies.

This was a cute couple although they need a nice sponge bath. I love the linen and lace doiley... will look good appliqued to something.

Great old fabric advertising tape and this little wooden figurine with the peeling paint just got to me... so forlorn. Maybe she will show up in a collage or assemblage in the future.

Love the prints on these cocktail napkins... each one different.

This was a nice yard of a vintage rural print... farms and villages and reminds me of the town where we live in New Hampshire.

Great old poker chips in patriotic colors and a neat old Parker Bros game still in the original box.

That's it for today... happy thrifting where you live!

Paper Brooches

I've been busy having fun with bits of paper, lace and buttons. These little brooches are fun to make ...like tiny works of art on a pin. I will post them on my etsy shop tonight.

Each is stitched, stuffed, carefully handpainted , embellished with gold paint and varnished.

All the embellishments are the fun part.

They look nice on top of a pretty package!

Souvenirs from Texas

I didn't really do that much shopping on our vacation (husband and kids were around) but these are a few little things that I found. These cute little cards were found at "The Mercado" a big touristy open air market place in downtown San Antonio.

Of course I had to bring back some bluebonnet seeds. I don't know if they'll grow in New Hampshire. I think they are just a shorter version of our lupin. We'll see...

I found the nicest little fabric store in Fredericksburg called Things in a Room. It wasn't very big which proves it's not the size of the store but the quality of the selection!!! They had lots of retro Moda prints, repro barkcloth and some the Free Spirit fabric I have been searching for for ages here in NH. The fabric stores around here only carry traditional (boring) quilting stuff and the chain stores are the same old stuff. This was great. I bought small samples and will find something to do with them.

This was actually a Moda napkin from a set with a matching tablecloth. Would have liked the whole set but I need another tablecloth like a hole in the head. I restrained myself.

Had to make a stop at the World Market which I love! We don't have any in the Northeast at all so I always jump on one when I am traveling south. Got these nice handmade papers in a roll. I found some cool stuff for the kitchen too and some hard to find spices. You can see how shopping deprived I am in our small corner of NH... I practically hyperventilate when I get to a shopping rich area!