Magpie Ethel

Easter Egg Swap

SPOILER ALERT If you did the Monkeybox Easter Egg swap read no further it will spoil the surprise!!  But, if you are like me and just can't wait...here is what I made.

I had to make 13 Easter eggs and send them off...in return I would get 13 back from the different participants. I took me awhile to think of an egg to craft...but this is what I came up with.

 

I used styrofoam eggs and created a little scene on the top of each egg. I painted the eggs and then decorated them with tiny bunnies, mushrooms, candle holders and vintage flowers that magically sprout from the top...a light rain of glitter makes each world sparkle.

 

I'll share the ones I get in the swap as soon as they arrive, which should be later this week.

Also I am coming up on my 400th post!  Crazy!  I think this momentous event will warrant a giveaway...stay tuned for more info!

The Old Fashioned Way

I have a love affair with stationary and old fashioned snail mail. Sure, I love email, but there is something about finding a letter or an invitation in your mailbox that makes me happy.  I always send out invitations for birthday parties. I write thank you notes.  I always send Christmas cards.  This may explain my obsession with stationary.  I don't scribble notes on any old scrap of paper...

I keep my supplies in a couple of vintage metal lunch boxes.

Even these envelopes make me happy! Bright colors and polka dots are my current favorites.

I often find some great stationary at T.J. Maxx.  Etsy is another one of my favorite spots to haunt.

Occasionally I may use some of my vintage cards or notes.  I feel really lucky when I find a box full at an estate sale.

 

I need to sit down this afternoon and write a couple of thank you notes.  Then I will get my umbrella and take a neighborhood walk down to the mailbox.


I like a little bit of the old fashioned world in my day...

Home Sweet Home

Rested after a week in sunny Puerto Vallarta with my family.  No sunburn.   Faced my fears and did a tour which featured zip lines and rappelling down a 75 foot waterfall. Great food and family time.

Good to be home, but now face loads of laundry, piles of mail, 268 emails to sort thru and 424 new blog post to read via google reader.

I may need another vacation when I finish it all....

Vintage Find #4

I had been searching for a chair with a little funky side to it for my upstairs landing.  This chair was found at an estate sale a few years ago.

It was the perfect fit for this space and had the perfect "funk" to it as well.  The bottom of the cushion has some original scrap fabric that came with the chair when I bought it.  I only replaced the cushion that you sit on...the rest of the chair is as I found it.

It really does fit perfectly on my little cozy landing.  You can read more about this cozy spot here.

It is a wonderful, wonderful chair...and thus made my favorite find list!

Vintage Find #3

This is one of my favorite possessions.  Her name is Bluebell.  I found her at a house in the Hollywood Hills covered in ivy.  Luckily my sister was able to strike a deal with the owner of the house and she ended up surprising me with Bluebell as a Christmas present.

Bluebell has her original paint.  She is wearing a little sun suit and has the skirt of it gathered up to catch water.  I love her curly hair.  If you turn her around she has a big bow on her sun suit.

The original blue paint is still on the bow.

I love all the details on her.  Look at these toes!

She weighs a ton and I have never seen another statue like her. She totally makes the list of my favorite vintage finds!

This is one of my favorite possessions.  Her name is Bluebell.  I found her at a house in the Hollywood Hills covered in ivy.  Luckily my sister was able to strike a deal with the owner of the house and she ended up surprising me with Bluebell as a Christmas present.

Bluebell has her original paint.  She is wearing a little sun suit and has the skirt of it gathered up to catch water.  I love her curly hair.  If you turn her around she has a big bow on her sun suit.

The original blue paint is still on the bow.

I love all the details on her.  Look at these toes!

She weighs a ton and I have never seen another statue like her. She totally makes the list of my favorite vintage finds!

Vintage Find #2

This vintage find was found on the second day of a sale in the basement.  I couldn't believe that it was still there.

It folds up and has a handle on the top.  The top is a bit scratched, but this is one side of it...

this is the other side of it.

and it folds out to make a great table.

I have seen a couple of these at antique stores over the years, but they price tag on them is always more than the $2.50 I paid for this table!  My kids always use it to sell snacks during our neighborhood annual garage sale and people always comment on it and ask to buy it.  Sorry, not for sale I like this quirky table too much!

FYI - The graphics on the game top feature these items:

Spell bingo, a multiplication table, a travel and buy game, a ruler, checker board, length measurements, width measurements and a whole slew of other measurements.

Fun find!

Vintage Find #1

While I am on a little spring break vacation with my family I thought I would share a few of my favorite vintage finds that I have come across.  These finds won't necessarily be expensive or collectible, but something that brings a smile to my face and makes me happy.

Find #1

I was at a sale of few years ago and came across a large amount of old PLASTIC serving pieces.  Yes, they are plastic, but the colors and the shapes and sizes make me quite happy.

I think they were supposed to look like fancy cut glass.  I haven't run across them since, and I love this little collection.

They are also perfect for a summer party and I have put them to use here and this is the post where I talked about finding it.

Estate Sale Friday - Ditto on Odds and Ends

Last Friday I mostly found odds and ends at the estate sale I hit...ditto this week.  Odds and ends are better than nothing tho!

Adorable Santa Box, tiny chain of flower frogs, old ribbon, a pair of shoes and a box of chalk.  Box of chalk goes to my collection..this makes the 12th box I have found with different manufacturers/graphics.

I really like these little shoes..I think they will be sweetened up for the fourth of July.

An assortment of old playing cards, vintage Christmas stickers, old noise makers and a few old birds...maybe in need of a party hat?

A bunch of old angels that need a little TLC, but have potential to become something marvelous.

Short and sweet today on estate sales as I really should be concentrating on packing for spring break.  Hubby, kids and I are headed to Puerto Vallarta for a week.  I have a few posts scheduled while I am gone, but will be in the land of sun and fun for awhile.

Hope you all have a good week!

Prize Ribbon Inspiration

Last year when I went to the Farm Chicks show,Kim from Camp Whimsy and I encouraged other bloggers to create badges to wear.  The intent was for bloggers to connect and say hello.  I met some great gals and the idea worked well and I will be wearing my badge again this year.

Inspired by this initial badge I was recently contacted by a blog reader and Etsy customer, Melissa, to create a special badge for her.  She is a huge University of Kansas Jayhawks fan and wanted to have a unique badge to show her spirit.

I love projects like this and thought I would share what I came up with...

I used an old prize ribbon and basically revamped the whole thing in the spirit of the Jayhawks.  The Jayhawk logo I copied from their website and printed it out on card stock.  It is mounted on a old poker chip.  I mounted the poker chip with the foam mounting squares to give it some depth.  A couple of red and blue feathers peek out from under the poker chip.  I also had to add a bit of glitter (of course).


I wanted to decoupage some old newspaper to the background to cover the original horse logo on the ribbon.  I used a cardboard circle and decoupaged vintage newspaper to it.  The oddest thing about this whole project was the newspaper I used.  I have a huge stack of vintage newspaper (well preserved library archive).

I got the newspaper quite a few years ago on a Kansas road trip.  The newspaper is dated 1936..it is from Lawrence, Kansas - the HOME of the JAYHAWKS!  How is that for a really random coincidence?  If you look at the newspaper I decoupaged  you will see the words "Kansas Wins" and "Jayhawkers" - it was from an old original sports page dated 1936!  A project meant to be!

The words "ROCK CHALK" are a popular phrase on the KU campus. I color copied old Anagram letters (reducing the size) and decoupaged those on the badge.  I have vintage ones that come in a couple of colors, but I liked the yellow ones that matched the Jayhawk's beak.

I also wanted to have the word "Jayhawks" somewhere on the badge.  I used an old fabric tape measure that was pretty faded on one side and rubber stamped the word out.  I darkened it a bit with a sharpie marker.

I am boxing this off and mailing it out to Melissa.  I think she will like it.  I hope it has inspired you to do something fun with an old prize ribbon as well!

Wear Green... I Am!

My little vintage leprechauns are telling you to wear a little green today!

I love this photo of this older gentleman.  I think he looks like a friendly Irish fellow and maybe a little bit like a leprechaun.

I have used his image when I do some of my St Patty's day crafting.

But today he has inspired me to get my Irish going (and yes I do have some Irish blood in me).

I don't think I will get pinched today for not wearing green.

FYI. The pipe I am holding was my grandfathers.  My aunt embellished it with rhinestones when she was a little girl...I thought it was the perfect pipe to get in the spirit with!