Magpie Ethel

Chatting with the Curious Cowgirl

I had a great interview/conversation with Mary of the Curious Cowgirl and had to share this fun little blog post about little old me. It had me grinning ear to ear and made me want to meet ME.  Pop over to the Curious Cowgirl for a interesting read...the link is here.  I think you will enjoy it too. 

I Have Some Exciting News

Yep, that is an magazine spread about ME!  I have an article in the late issue of Flea Market Style (summer 2018)! It is a great story and wonderful photos of my house and studio.  I could not be more thrilled with how it came out. I am on cloud nine.

The backstory.  I was contacted by the magazine about doing a shoot. They had a photographer that was going to be in town in February and I had about three weeks to get ready. The hardest part was getting my house ready for the shoot.  LOTS of cleaning, organizing and fluffing.   It was really a fun day though. The photographer and his assistant were here for a FULL day of shooting and I basically followed them around and watched them at work. It was really interesting to see the whole process and how long a shot took.  It was fun to see my house though the photographers eye.  I worked with Jody, an Editor at the magazine and had lots of emails and a few phone calls with her.  The story itself was written by a local writer (Samantha Swindler) who had written a newspaper article about me last fall.  I got to proofread the copy and see the photos before it went to print so I had an idea what the article would look and sound like (and could make changes if needed). The hard part was the anticipation of waiting for the magazine to show up on the newsstands. (I didn't share much prior about the article coming out as I didn't want to jinx it)  

The magazine is finally hitting the newsstands and I could not be happier.  I hope you pick up a copy.  Thank you Ki and Flea Market Style magazine for making this happen.  It truly is a HAPPY DAY!

Mollie Makes...Makes Me Famous

It is always a thrill to see yourself in print.  The latest issue of Mollie Makes has a little spread on my birdie collection.

A couple of months ago Mollie Makes contacted me after seeing one of my Pinterest photos of my bird collection. They had also seen a photo of some vintage deer on my IG account. They asked if I could swap the collection spots out and do some photos with the birds on the shelf where the deer were displayed.  It is a cute little vintage shelf and it has some darling wallpaper from England as a background. I was happy to oblige and do the switcheroo.

It is always a bit nerve wracking to wait for a magazine to hit the news stands.  Mollie Makes is A UK magazine but available here as well...usually at Barnes and Noble.  I actually had a IG friend (who lives in the UK) contact me about a month ago after getting her issue. She sent me a screen shot of the article which only made me more eager to see it in person.

Anyhoo, it is out and on the newsstands. I am thrilled. Thank you Mollie Makes for making my day!

Definitely a Happy Day!

 

Young at Heart Birthday

I so love vintage birthday cards.  Especially those that were intended for children.

These came with pin back buttons that you wore on your birthday.

I love that some proudly declared the age of the birthday child.

How could you not love a card that had a birthday message that included a smiling elephant with an ice cream cone?

A swinging birthday cake of cuteness.

A flowery dog with birthday wishes.

Why the reason for sharing these darling cards?  It is my birthday!  Happy Birthday to me! 

Past birthday posts are here, here, here, here, here, here and here...I have been celebrating with my blogland friends for awhile now!

Happy Birthday to me!

Studio Evolution

I had the pleasure of having Maddie, Erica and Hannah from the Pyrex Sisters come by the other day for a studio tour. I was explaining how when we first moved in our house it was used as more of a sun-room for entertaining.  It finally dawned on me one day that it would make a great space for a studio and I started hauling supplies out to it and filling it up with goodies.

I had the pleasure of having my studio featured in a magazine way back in 2006.  I have never shared this spread on my blog, so I thought it might be fun to see the article and what my studio used to look like..in the early years.

This is my studio on the cover.  March issue 2006.

Here is the article. My studio was so sparse compared to what it is today.  (You can double click on photos to enlarge.)

Fun huh?  Thrilling to see it in print.  Better Home and Gardens contacted me after that article ran and they were doing a new feature on collections.  The February 2007 issue had me smiling from one of the pages with my collection of trays.

My walls were totally covered in trays. Most of them have been taken down to make room for shelves and other means to store supplies.

If you go the sidebar on my blog you can see various posts on my studio and how it looks today. Much, much different...but a spot that I dearly love!

happy day!

Dang Excited

Dang excited!  Amy from Inspire Co. produces a delightful digital magazine called Inspired Ideas.  I have been a fan of it since she first starting producing it and have never missed purchasing one.  I am thrilled to be included in the current issue that just came out.

I came up with an easy to make Easter garland, which I of course embellished with lots of my vintage and quirky doo-dads.

You can find my little spread and lots of other colorful spring inspiration in this little gem of a magazine.  Money well spent.  You can purchase it here (as well as enjoy a little preview).

Thank you Amy...you have truly INSPIRED me! Oh Happy Day!

 

 

 

A Big Day

Today is my birthday.

This cute little vintage rattle arrived in my mailbox yesterday. My friend Doreen, sent him to me as a birthday gift.

I am smitten with the shoes..those vintage details.

In case you were wondering.  I have not quite reached that milestone birthday.  Close, but not yet. I guess I could give some sort of clue...

There you go. Happy Day to Me!

I do a birthday post every year.  You can see past posts here, here, here, here and here.

A Choice of Invitations For A Special Event

Today is my birthday.  If I could I would invite all my blogland friends to spend the day with me.  I would have no trouble finding an invitation to send out for the event.

No emails or texting...perhaps a good old fashioned birthday phone call.

Perhaps if I light my birthday candle and make a wish..invitations would arrive and we could have quite a party!

Maybe if we all wished together...happy day!

 

A Little Fun Blogland Press

You know me and how much I like my collections.  Kristal of Rikrak Studio writes a column for Etsy called "The Collectors" that features a person and their collection.   Today they featured ME and my vintage eyeglass collection!  You can read about me here on Etsy.  You can also check out the same post on Kristal's darling blog - Rikrak Studio.  Thanks Kristal...bringing a smile to my day!

 

Two Reasons to Smile

I have two reasons to smile.  ONE is this darling squeaky Pinocchio that I found at the Plucky Maidens sale in my friend Janet's booth.

Number TWO is a super sweet post that my friend Pam from One Gal's Trash did about little old me.

Pam came over the other day and hung out with her camera in my studio. For those of you who want to see my studio thru her eyes, check out her blog.

I really like the shot of all my spun heads.

Two reasons to smile. Happy Day.