Magpie Ethel

Yee Haw...it's Cowboy Bill

Apparently I was headed for the Wild West today in my studio when I decided to use one of my vintage cowboy heads.  Introducing....Cowboy Bill.

I had fun with this guy.  His body is made of old wooden beads and pipe cleaners.  Hat is original to the head, but I added the little red and white kerchief.  After a long day at the ranch he is resting against a fence complete with a pipe cleaner lasso and an old tiny red saddle (with great detail).  He is standing on an old ribbon spool with original red ribbon.

I even had this tucked away in my studio so I cut some up to give him some leather fringe on his pants.  You never know when stuff will come in handy!

Now you can probably guess the rest of the story...it is time for Cowboy Bill to ride off into the sunset headed toward Etsy land.  I think I'll go make pork and beans for dinner...I seem to be in that kind of mood.

Patchwork Style Vintage Scrap Art

We have had a very long gray winter.  I am so ready for spring.  My yard is beginning to come to life with leaves beginning to sprout...but I needed some instant color.  We have a small backyard that is bordered by two neighbor's garages...one is brick and charming and the other is just a garage and not so lovely. 

Here is the not so charming garage wall. I have tried to add a little spunk with a couple of old (found) ladders, galvanized watering cans and a large framed print. (area is sheltered, and the print is well weatherized as well)

The print is of old garden equipment and I got it an estate sale 6 or 7 years ago.  The previous owner also hung it outside so it was weatherized.  Over the years it had faded and I was ready for a change.  I love the frame, but I wanted to add some color! (before)

I got out a bunch of floral vintage scraps of tablecloths, dish clothes etc. that all had similar colors.  I pieced them together and sewed them up into a patchwork quilt type piece of art to fit the frame.

I stapled the quilt to a piece of cardboard.

Remember, I live in Oregon so I REALLY weatherized this piece of work since it would hang outside.  It is on a protected wall and has a huge tree that leafs out in the spring to protect it further...but I took no chances - here is the back of the piece.

Presto chango...some much needed spring color!

I love how it turned out...a little pop of vintage flower fun is just what I need!

This was a pretty easy project and a great way to use up old scraps!

Oscar and Felix live in my Studio

I am usually a fairly organized and tidy person.  On a scale of 1-10 I would give myself an 8.  HOWEVER, when I am working out in my studio, a dark side of me rises up and I lose all senses of order. Thus I work in utter chaos.

Note I have hardly any uncluttered work surface to work on.  I opened my suitcase full of bump chenille (on the floor), but I did not close it up...thus I step over it a million times as I go back and forth in my studio.

I have more than one pair of scissors (about 8) since I am always setting them down and unable to located them.  This small square of table is essentially where I work.

This is at my feet.  I drag jars or bins over and set them on the floor.  I also throw stuff on the floor as I work. Not a good habit.

I also do not shut drawers or put things away.  I wait until I am ALL DONE crafting and then I do a massive cleanup.  This is my drawer of cupcake papers and nut cups.  I love this drawer in spite of its jumbled mess.

My cabinet drawers stay open and my counter tops are cluttered with goodies. (please note the cabinet contents are fairly organized...I speak the truth when I profess to be organized.)

And for those of you wondering if Felix and Oscar (title of my post) are new little friends I have made... Nope, (and here I go dating myself), but they are characters from a 1970s sitcom starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman about a neat freak and a slob that lived together.  Mind you I was only 6 or 7 when I watched this show!

Now it is time to go clean up the studio with the help of Felix (the neat freak).

The Tale of a Chef, a Fairy, A Flower and a Bunny

Once upon a time in the studio in my backyard, the morning was spent crafting up some new figures.  I decided to venture out of Easter mode for a bit and ended up making these friends.

This little flower gal was made from a spun head, vintage bump chenille and an old metal mold. She wears a lovely pipe cleaner hat embellished with lots of old flowers.

This smiling chef cracks me up.  You never know what genre of spun head one will come across.  He holds an old metal child's play fork and wears an apron of crepe paper.  I added part of an old recipe on the base.  The recipe is for Meatballs in Cream Gravy and calls for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and 3 Tablespoons of Fat. I think the recipe card was an old promotional piece from Kellogg's.

Then I decided a fairy was in order since I had this great old head with a crown.  The flowers on the base are made from old birthday candle holders.  I was in a very yellow springy mood with this gal.

 

One more bunny hopped out of my studio this morning as well..  A nice springtime colorful bunny in happy, sunny, colors.

These friends are ending the story with a trip to Etsy.  Hopefully they will find new homes and live happily every after.

the end

Yet Another Collection

The collector bug has not just infected me.  Our whole family has one thing or another that I look for when hitting estate sales.  For my husband it is pharmacy antiques (he is a pharmacist).  We have a great cabinet in our living room that has the original turquoise paint inside.  When I bought it I knew it would be perfect to house my husbands collection.

A lot of the old pharmacy containers were gifts from pharmacy friends that knew he collected.  I also always hit the bathrooms of estate sales to see if I can find old medical tins or prescription bottles.  It is interesting to see all the labels on the old prescription bottles that were from the mom and pop operations.  They are long gone and have been (for the most part) replaced by the big chains. 

I also enjoy the old graphics on the boxes and tins.

The label on the Cod Liver Table bottle proclaims  Chew one or two daily - Eat them like candy - Youngsters love them.  I have never actually had a cod liver tablet, but I don't know if I would eat them like candy!

The cabinet also features other oddities like FIG flavored laxatives, mutton suet salve (excellent for use in tired aching muscles, back aches or lumbago), mustard plasters, Flu and Cold Dope and the classic Grove's Chill Tonic for Relief of Malaria. 

The world of medications have certainly come a long way!

Vintage Pillowcase Fabric

In my last Estate Sale Friday post I found some old pillow case fabric or sheeting.  I have seen this in different sizes for making pillowcases or sheets.  I love this type of fabric and of course I have a stash of it. It is all unused and is ready for a project. 

I love the one below on the right with the roses and polka dots. On the left is my newest purchase at the estate sale this past weekend.

Also have a few pieces of the old pillowcase ticking that was often used to make feather pillows.

Here is one project I have used pillowcase sheeting for.  These curtains are in my bedroom.  The lower panel is sheeting that I just followed the patterns scalloped edge and cut accordingly.  I made them into a long curtain  valance that goes across the whole window.  The top panel is some old ticking that I found at and estate sale that was already made into a valance.  I just layered the two and then cut up an old chenille bedspread and used that for my longer side curtains. (we don't usually close them as there are blinds hidden behind the curtains that we bring down at night.)

A perfect project for the pillowcase fabric besides making a pillowcase.  I do think I will make some pillowcases tho...after getting out my fabric stash it is just too pretty to be sitting in a drawer...it belongs under my head at night help lead me into vintage flowery dreams!

Estate Sale Friday...

Chomping at the bit.  I am so eager to get estate sale season in full gear again...just giddy with anticipation.  I hit four sales this morning.  Two duds, two mediocre.  I still found some good stuff tho.

A box of the older cardboard poker chips, two cute little birdie figures, two boxes of unused swizzle sticks in fabulous colors, a yellow and white Shawnee flowerpot, vintage birthday candle holders in boy and girl shapes and old bingo cards.

A great bark-cloth curtain panel and some unused sheeting with lovely fountain and floral graphics. I have an obsession with old sheeting and buy it whenever I find it. (and that is another post!)

An old bird book with fantastic illustrations and some pom-pom fringe in blue and pink.

My favorite find was a box of old blocks. It had some treasures within.

Nursery rhyme blocks...well used.

Some graphic blocks.

But my favorite were these old farm style blocks marked "Made in Japan" on the sides.  The original paint is worn from years of use, but they are so charming.  To the left is a whole pile of brick painted blocks.

Pigs, sheep, houses, trees and little fences. 

I really love the whimsical look of these blocks - especially the little girl above who is chatting with Mr. Sheep. I remembered seeing recently on Vintage by Crystal blog where she had used the molding above her door for a narrow shelf.  That inspired me to display some of these little blocks like this....above the door leading into my kitchen.

Not a bad Friday...hoping to hit a sale tomorrow as well!  Happy Weekend.

Harriet and Flo

I often fall in love with the little spun head friends I make in my studio.  I have fallen hard for this duo...Harriet and Flo.

These are the only two chick heads I have and I love how they turned out.  Harriet is on the left, Flo on the right.  They initially had little paper party type hats on their heads.  The hats didn't do it for me.  I was inspired by some pipe cleaner hats that some birds were wearing at Oodles and Oodles.I knew these two gals needed some sort of pipe cleaner Easter bonnet.  I went to work...and voila, a wonderful Easter bonnet.

As much as I love the pair...I am letting one go.  Flo is flying the coop and heading off to Etsy land.  Harriet is staying with me and joining my collection of Easter chicks.

I am sure that Harriet will find a good home.  Flo will be sure to stay in touch.

 

A Rainbow on a Very Gray Day

 Today is a very rainy gray day here in Portland, Oregon.

It was the perfect day to organize pipe cleaners (or chenille craft stems as they are called on alot of the old packaging) in my studio.  Yes, pipe cleaners.  I had them in about four different areas and they were begging to be organized by color.

I have way too many of them.  I pick them up whenever I find the old ones at estate sales.  I am a pipe cleaner snob and they just don't make them the same anymore.  The color and texture of the old ones just don't compare to their modern day counterparts. 

Of course, I am also drawn to the old graphics on the packages.

I love the ones that are multicolored patterns or stripes.

I have a whole container that are JUST the old traditional white pipe cleaners.

The directions that came with some of the old packages are a hoot.  Here are some projects that are suggested:

Cover salt and pepper shakers.  Smoothing face powder.  Curtain tie backs.  Make a child's hat.  Wrapping coat hangers.  Setting your hair into curls.  Jewelry.

These are just a shorter version of the pipe cleaners (in the turquoise jar).

I didn't need to organize these as they are in the original boxes of 100 each.

Once I got them sorted into old cans and canisters it was amazing how many variations of each color there are.  I was giddy with color overload.

Pinks and reds, yellows, greens, blues and violets...all nice and neat. I do love a tidy studio.

A perfect cheery project on a very gray day.  And as I head out of the studio for the day, what should appear, but a rainbow!

 

 

Such a Nice Looking Man...

I found this photo a couple of months ago at an estate sale. It was in a box with a bunch of other old black and white photos.  The minute I saw it I said to myself (using my best Irish accent) "Aye, It's a little leprechaun man".

Isn't he so cute with his little bow tie and his pipe?  He just looks like such a nice man.  He inspired me to do this.

First I made a color copy of the photo (reducing the size).  I then glittered the bow tie and the band of his hat with a green Leprechaun glitter.  I mounted the copy on an vintage green bingo style card using those old fashioned black photo corners.  The final touch was adding a vintage St. Patty's day sticker with a cute little puppy.  Super easy project...all inspired by Mr.Leprechaun man!