Fabulous Vintage Fabric Flower Brooches

Oh sweet friends, I had so many wonderful comments on my last post, thank you all. I feel blessed to have so many creative & supportive friends walking with me & in front of me & next to me on my journey, you always make my blog feel like home!

{SOLD ~ Thanks so much Jayne!}

I have been OCDing on making these fabric flower brooches out of vintage fabrics & buttons. They are super fun & easy to make & I love that they can be made from scraps. Any holey {not as in 'holy', lol} vintage tablecloth or curtain or barkcloth or muslin can be used.

Here are some brief instructions for any of you who would like to make some yourself & I will be listing these in my etsy for $12.95 in case you must have one made by vintagesusie herself in a complete OCD frenzy!! lol

OK, I've never done this before so bare with me...& plug in the glue gun.

1. cut a 3in circle free-hand of any cardstock you have handy

2. cut a 2" strip of fabric about 2ft long, work with your fabric folded in half, right sides out, frayed edges are cool & you will be twisting this fabric so it doesn't need to be ironed or neat

3. put a dollop of glue in the center of your circle & attach a twisted tip of your fabric, let set

4. now start twisting the fabric & wrapping it in a circle towards the center, as you go put a drop of glue each 1/2" or so to hold your rolls in place {this craft really does look like a cinnabun as your making it}

5. continue twisting & wrapping & gluing until it's at your desired size, leave a little paper showing & then STOP

6. cut the tail off leaving enough fabric to pull over & glue on the back, undercut the paper circle around the flower {no paper should show}, now glue the tiny tale to the back

7. make a smaller 2nd flower & glue down in the center of your flower

8. in the center add some bling, glue on a vintage button or earring or faux pearls

9. using a circle template {mine was the top of a champagne glass} cut & glue a piece of fabric onto the back of your flower to cover your work {I was always taught to cover my work}

10. last attach a pin back with your glue gun & VIOLA...your own custom vintage fabric floral brooch

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for sleepless nights, cramped fingers or any OCD related injuries...make flowers at your own risk! LOL

XOXO

Cute & Shabby Chic

Lambs & Ivy is looking soooooo charming lately!! I just got in this sweet little Shabby Chic pink dresser with darling detail on it, it makes me want to decorate a little girl's bedroom.

And this vintage 50's, pink decaled Teddy Bear tray is adorable! Wouldn't it look fabulous in a baby's room with little vintage glass jars on it?

And just to remind us that winter's ALMOST over, a vintage French postcard of a darling bird looking at new blooms, preparing to try her wings & fly. Let's join her!

XOXO

Our Vintage Travel Trailers & Spamboree

Good Morning Friends...

The sun is shining, the sky is blue & I'm in the mood for hitting the road, traveling Route 66 in our Vintage 1956 Pathfinder to see the USA! Now, I know we can't do this today because my shop is waiting for me to show up & my Hunny has a couple of jobs to finish...but soon, very, very soon we will be heading out for a couple of weeks. In anticipation for this much needed trip I'm sharing a little movie I made with some of our over 60 vintage trailers we've owned, sold, restored, camped in & loved. We have been involved in Vintage Vacationing for about 10 years & it has been a HUGE JOY in our lives. We go to gatherings or Rallies where everyone comes in their vintage cars & trailers to share, laugh & camp together, sooooo much fun! One such rally, Spamboree, is in Oceanside, CA in September. In the video our current 'BABY' is at the beginning, then you'll see some Spamboree fun, we have a yellow Tear-Drop trailer at that event & then after Doheny Beach are pics of some of our favorites & a pic of me in front of our flamingo colored Shasta with Wings. Good Times!!! I can't wait to FLY again!!!

XOXO Friends,

Satchmo 'The King of Jazz'

'A Kiss To Build A Dream On'

Give me a kiss to build a dream on,
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss.
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this:
A kiss to build a dream on.

Give me a kiss before you leave me,
And my imagination will feed my hungry heart.
Leave me one thing before we part,
A kiss to build a dream on.

{1949 cover of Time Magazine}

When I'm alone with my fancies, I'll be with you,
Weaving romances, making believe they're true.
Give me your lips for just a moment,
And my imagination will make that moment live.
Give me what you alone can give,
A kiss to build a dream on.

Songwriters: Ruby, Harry;Kalmar, Bert;Hammerstein, Oscar

I was just born in the wrong era...that's all there is to it. When I listen to Louis Armstrong, I can't help but smile. I LOVE this quote..."What he does is real, and true, and honest, and simple, and even noble. Every time this man puts his trumpet to his lips, even if only to practice three notes, he does it with his whole soul."

Leonard Bernstein on Louis Armstrong (1956)

Enjoy some GOOD MUSIC friends!

XOXO

Friday Flea Market Fun

{vintage baby christening gown for a mere $5...that's mine, thank you}

Follow the Wild & Wacky escapades of the 'Old Town Crestline Junker's' as they make their way through the convoluted aisles & alleys of the Friday morning Flea! Watch them as they haggle to save $2, see them turn away & say no only to return to get the treasure for an amazing bargain price, witness their incredibly rusty & slightly broken cart as it fills to the brim with unimaginable wonders!!!

{my daughter Courtney found this one, brand new in the box...grasshopper, I have taught you well}
{isn't it soooooo pretty, the lace is really lovely}

{vintage Golden Books .25 cents, you can never have too many of those}

{camp blanket $2 & vintage prints $8 for the set...Niiiiiiiice}

{vintage satin stocking holder $6...I want to keep this one but since I haven't worn a pair of stockings since 1974, suntan, I will tell myself 'NO'}

{SOLD ~ vintage Boy Scout Handbook $FREE, thrown in with the set of vintage prints. I love the 50's, don't those boys look 'HAPPY' & doesn't it look like 2 of them might be twins??? Yes, I do have an inquiring mind!}

Not included in the pics is a very cool set of blue Bernard prints for $15 & a working, vintage wrist watch I got for a buck. What can I say, I have more fun buying for my shop then I actually do working there! LOL It looks like Courtney, Jenni & Susie had another amazing adventure this morning digging through junk, eatting burritos, passing out one's like they were going out of style & laughing through most of it! Wouldn't you like to come along with me on my next adventure? Till next time...

XOXO

Vintage French Postcards & Famous Love Letters

Good morning, on July 7

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mail coach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine
ever mine
ever ours

This & 2 other love letters were found in Beethoven's desk after he died. They were not addressed to anybody so it is impossible to know who he was writing to, but historians feel they were written to a married woman who he loved dearly, and who was leaving the city at the time the letters were written.

This next letter is written by Napoleon Bonaparte to his beautiful wife, Josephine, just prior to their 1796 wedding, it shows surprising tenderness and emotion from the future emperor of France.

Paris, December 1795

I wake filled with thoughts of you. Your portrait and the intoxicating evening which we spent yesterday have left my senses in turmoil. Sweet, incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart! Are you angry? Do I see you looking sad? Are you worried?... My soul aches with sorrow, and there can be no rest for you lover; but is there still more in store for me when, yielding to the profound feelings which overwhelm me, I draw from your lips, from your heart a love which consumes me with fire? Ah! it was last night that I fully realized how false an image of you your portrait gives!

You are leaving at noon; I shall see you in three hours.

Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire.

To Robert Browning:

And now listen to me in turn. You have touched me more profoundly than I thought even you could have touched me - my heart was full when you came here today. Henceforward I am yours for everything....

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Let's be brave & write a love letter to our loves? Let's take out a pen & some crisp, white paper & truly write what our heart is feeling without the fear of it not being good enough. I don't believe that Hallmark can convey our true self's better then we can. Let's imagine that 100 years from now, someone will be reading our love letters & from there content will know how profound our love must have been to have been willing to put our souls so exposed onto paper. Then let's fold it up, add a drop of sealing wax & know there is no greater gift then the gift of something given truly from the heart!